2019 is winding down, so it’s time for the Televerse’s annual Smorgasborgy, our massive Best of the Year roundup of the highlights, lowlights, and most memorable moments of the year’s TV. Noel and Kate go through their picks for each of the categories below, as well as a few digressions along the way. Take a listen, then reach out with your picks!
Spoiler Warning: Noel and Kate have a wide-ranging, spoiler-filled discussion about the year’s TV, and that means spoilers for many of the biggest shows of the year, including Game of Thrones, Watchmen, Steven Universe, Veronica Mars, and more. If you're worried about being spoiled for these or any other series from this year, this may not be the episode for you.
Performance Awards (3:13)
Best Performance, Lead; Best Performance, Supporting; Best Voice Acting; Best Reality Personality; Most Novel Casting; Best Ensemble; Most Underrated Ensemble; Best Cameo; Best Guest Appearance; 6th Man Award
Character Awards (10:00)
Best New Character; Best Villain; Best/Worst Parents; Best Kids; Best/Worst On-Screen Deaths; Badass Award; Character/Actor We Want More Of
Writing Awards (17:19)
Best Writing for a Comedy; Best Writing for a Drama; Best Monologue; Best Writing for a Single Episode; Best Episode Title; Best Crafting of a Season
Production Awards (22:59)
Notable Direction; Most Memorable Long-Take; Best Cinematography; Best Costuming; Best Set Design; Best Hair/Makeup; Best Editing; Most Inventive Animation
Music Awards (30:47)
Best/Catchiest New Theme Song; Best Score/Soundtrack; Best Original Song; Best Deployment of a Pre-existing Song; Best Musical Moment
Sequence Awards (37:19)
Best Stunts; Best Action Setpiece; Best Standalone Fight Scene; Best Dream Sequence; Best Dance Sequence; Best New Credit Sequence; Best Montage
Season Awards (43:58)
Most Spectacular Burn-out; Most Spectacular Slow-Build/Season-long Mystery; Best Finale Payoff; Most Underappreciated Finale/Finale Payoff
Series Awards (50:31)
Best New Comedy (non-Top 20); Best New Drama (non-Top 20); Most Improved Series; Biggest Season-to-Season Drop; Most Underrated Series; Most Overrated Series; The Homework Award; The Ringer Award; Srsly Guys, Why Aren’t You Watching…; Srsly Guys, Why Aren’t *We* Watching…; Gone but Not Forgotten
Moment Awards (1:02:36)
Biggest F*ck Yeah Moment; Best Twist/Realization (non-finale); Most Traumatizing Moment; Schadenfreude Award; Most Striking Visual; Best Extraneous Sex/Nudity; Best ‘Shipping; Most/Least Chemistry; Oxygen Award (Comedy/Drama); Most Ridiculous Moment; The La-la-la Award (No Spoilers!); The Head Canon Award (Totally didn’t happen)
Misc. Awards (1:16:51)
Best Surprise; Worst Disappointment; Best Discovery; Spotlight of Shame; Breakthrough Performance; Breakthrough Series; It’s Not Me, It’s You Award; Anchor Award; Life Vest Award; Show We Want to see Make the Leap; It Shoulda Worked…; It Shouldn’t’ve Worked!
Music Featured: “Other Friends” and “Let Us Adore You [Reprise]” from Steven Universe: The Movie; “Change Your Mind” from Steven Universe; “The Darkness” and “Anti-Depressants are So Not a Big Deal” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend; “Holiday Party (I Did a Little Cocaine Tonight)” from Documentary Now!’s “Original Cast Album: Co-Op”; “Della’s Moon Lullaby” from DuckTales; “Love’s in Need of Love Today” performed by the cast of Pose; “I’m Still Here” performed by Patti LuPone on Pose
