We’re half-way through the year, but that never stopped the TV networks (or streaming giants) from churning out quality shows for us to binge. From compelling documentary series, revamped versions of classic favorites, or the continued off-the-wall brilliance of Donald Glover’s creative reign, this year’s television offerings prove that it’ll take a lot of work to clear our DVRs—and our streaming queues.
More than a decade after its original run, Queer Eye returned to television to take eight every day men and revamp their lives. With five new experts tackling the areas of food, grooming, design, fashion, and culture, the Bravo cult-series found new life and a new, rabid audience on Netflix (not long after the first eight episodes became available for streaming, the reboot was renewed for a second season). The show’s two seasons follows the new Fab Five across Georgia as they makeover everyone from a pastor to a NASCAR enthusiast. Though the show has definitely adapted to a new generation and political climate, the core of the show remains the same: Everyone can come together and agree that cargo shorts are not the answer. —Justin Kirkland
Without revealing the Season One finale’s mind-blowing plot twist (and subsequent cliffhanger), Good Place fans could have been easily nervous about how the cerebral comedy’s writing team would keep the momentum going in its second season. Luckily, creator Michael Schur and his team proved they had plenty of tricks up their sleeves. The result was an equal match to the show’s debut season, with the next 13 chapters delving into heavy logical conundrums that felt less like Philosophy 101 homework and more like the most clever (and funniest) brain teasers one could conjure up. —Tyler Coates
While the first season the web-series-turned-TV-show closely followed its small-scale predecessor, linking together the tales of various New Yorkers who were all linked by their weed dealer known simply as The Guy, the second season of HBO’s comedy series made the character more of a central figurer. This shift was a narrative departure from the previous episodes, both because the co-creators Ben Sinclair (who plays The Guy) and Katja Blichfeld ended their romantic relationship and brought in more writers to craft the storylines. What results is a similarly genius look at the lives of everyday city dwellers, but the show also gives some human insight into The Guy that made him less of an omniscient drug dealer and more of a person. —Tyler Coates
The Good Fight has always been willing to tackle an uphill battle. Before anyone was willing to make any sure bets on CBS All Access, it became one of the first scripted shows to appear on the streaming service. After a successful first season, it’s returned to take on a new narrative challenge: work on very specific plot points associated with our reality. While other shows test the waters with discussions about race and politics, The Good Fight dives in directly and convincingly enough that it doesn’t feel like a trope. Even as the series works to impeach President Donald Trump (why cast drama if it’s already been cast for you?), you believe in the story because the showrunners know exactly where it’s going. —Justin Kirkland
Based on Edward St. Aubyn’s incredible series of novels, Patrick Melrose follows the titular character (played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who delivers an incendiary performance) throughout his life as he battles the demons of addiction and childhood trauma. Hugo Weaving co-stars as Patrick’s brutally cruel father who would be unbelievably evil if he weren’t based on St. Aubyn’s own abusive father. Despite its darkest moments, Patrick Melrose offers a wickedly funny perspective on the dying British aristocracy, told though the manic lens of a ruined man who is trying at all costs to keep himself from falling apart. —Tyler Coates
At a time when we’re fascinated with reexamining how the media and our government reacted to some of the biggest scandals of the ‘80s and ‘90s (think O.J., Tonya Harding, etc), Wild Wild Country does much more than deliver the juicy footage of a notorious sex cult. It uses the community of Rajneeshpuram as a case study for examining the effects of xenophobia in this country. When a religious group relocates to a small Oregon town, the locals’ reluctance to accept the robed foreigners into their community eventually explodes into an international conflict involving plotted assassinations, bombings, and bioterror attacks. Most millennials who come across Wild Wild Country on Netflix might have trouble believing any of this happened at all. —Matt Miller