What TVLine Is Thankful For (2019)

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Team TVLine is showing its gratitude for the television that 2019 had to offer. Which small-screen developments are we thankful for this year? Scroll through the gallery below to see our picks, including highlights from Grey's Anatomy, Watchmen, The Resident and more.

ANDY SWIFT IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE IRREFUTABLE ROMANTIC CHEMISTRY BETWEEN 9-1-1's BUCK AND EDDIE

Ross and Rachel. Sam and Diane. Buck and Eddie. Everybody loves a good slow-burn romance, especially one that burns extra slowly because the characters involved are literally firefighters. Here's the thing... I understand that fans of TV shows often see things simply because they want to see them. But sometimes — hear me out — they also see things because they're actually there. Sure, Buck and Eddie might not be aware of their feelings for one another, but I'm willing to wait while they figure things out. I've got time.

KIMBERLY ROOTS IS THANKFUL FOR...

EVIL'S COLD ONES

Look, when you and your co-worker share an undeniable chemistry but can't act on it because he's a hot (almost) priest and you're married to a mostly absent mountain climber, you need something to take the edge off. Enter Dr. Kristen Bouchard's drink of choice, the pre-made margarita in a can. Every time she cracks one open at the end of a long day, I get it: When there are demons to debunk, four daughters to raise and evil incarnate shtupping your mom, who's got time to mix a cocktail?  

VLADA GELMAN IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE NEW GREY'S COUPLE

Since Amelia finally broke things off with Owen and started flirting with Link, she's been like a new person. Chris Carmack's charming addition has brought out a wonderfully unburdened side of Amelia that has been a joy to watch, and his confession of love was absolutely swoon-worthy. So if her baby turns out not to be Link's, I'm gonna pitch a fit.

ANDY SWIFT IS THANKFUL FOR...

EVERYTHING LIZ GILLIES BRINGS TO THE TABLE

According to SearchQuotes.com, Maya Angelou once said, "I believe that every person is born with talent." Well, I believe there's no one to whom this quote better applies than Dynasty's Liz Gillies, one of network TV's most underrated, game-for-anything stars. I mean it. You need someone to melt your face off with an unexpected '80s rock ballad? She's on it. And now you also need that same person to do an extremely accurate impersonation of post-surgery Nicollette Sheridan? Done and done. What else do you want her to do, jump through flaming hoops? She won't love it, but she'll do it.

ANDY SWIFT IS THANKFUL FOR...

ELIZABETH BROOKE MCGUIRE'S RETURN TO TELEVISION

Delighted as I was by the initial news of Disney+'s Lizzie McGuire revival, I didn't immediately think it was necessary. I've always considered Younger's Kelsey to be the grown-up version of Lizzie that Hilary Duff never got to play, and I was willing to live with that... until the pictures started coming out. Lizzie's family! Gordo! The bangs! I thought I was over it, but after just a few drops of that sweet Disney magic, I'm suddenly hooked all over again. If we get Lalaine back as Miranda, an intervention will need to be staged.

REBECCA IANNUCCI IS THANKFUL FOR...

KATHRYN HAHN GETTING THE LEAD ROLE SHE DESERVES

Throughout Mrs. Fletcher, HBO's naughty limited series based on Tom Perrotta's novel, Hahn's Eve does the following: works through the heartache of sending her only son off to college; goes skinny dipping in the swimming pool of a senior center; fantasizes about hooking up with a sample saleswoman at the grocery store; has a panic attack on a first date; and pleasures herself quite often. If Eve sounds like a complicated character, it's because she is, and it's exactly the kind of meaty role that the charismatic Hahn deserves after spending years in ensembles. Eve is compassionate, anxious, seductive, misguided — and as a longtime fan of Hahn's, I'm thrilled she finally gets to portray a woman this complex.

RYAN SCHWARTZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE GOOD DOCTOR'S NEW ROMANCE

Shaun navigating his first-ever romantic relationship with Carly has been a breath of fresh air after Season 2 muddied the waters with his best gal-pal Lea. Much of the credit is owed to the writers, who have chosen to take things slow without bringing the story to a screeching halt. This has allowed Shaun to take his time and enjoy the smaller victories along the way — including his first kiss, his first date and his first time getting to second base — all of which Highmore has played with just the right sense of wonder and, in some cases, trepidation.

ANDY SWIFT IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE SHEER AUDACITY OF TYLER PERRY'S THE OVAL

Not since the days of Passions — with its zombies, volcanoes and occasional Bollywood numbers — have I been so regularly gobsmacked by a soap opera's willingness to shoot for the moon. And not even our moon. BET's White House-set drama is such an inexplicably bizarre viewing experience, it transcends outdated notions of "good" and "bad." It just exists. With its scenery-chewing performances, nonsensical plot twists and an overall disinterest in exploring any actual political storylines, this guilty pleasure is more entertaining than it has any right to be. (And yes, that is a screenshot of the First Lady tasing her daughter in the White House foyer. What are you going to do about it?)

KIMBERLY ROOTS IS THANKFUL FOR...

WATCHMEN'S JAMS

All those versions of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" in the Looking Glass episode? Mozart's "Requiem" when Angela finds Judd's Klan robe? Laurie Blake's Devo moment?  None of the pitch-perfect soundtrack choices would have been possible without the series' crack music staff, which includes Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

DAVE NEMETZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

A FRESH WAVE OF SKETCH COMEDY

SNL has been coasting on name recognition for a few years now, so it was nice to see it get a little competition this year from a pair of hilariously daring half-hour sketch shows: Netflix's off-the-wall absurd I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (himself a former SNL cast member) and HBO's gleefully inspired A Black Lady Sketch Show. It's admittedly a mini renaissance, compared to the Key & Peele/Inside Amy Schumer/Portlandia glory days, but these two newcomers give me hope for the future of TV sketch comedy. 

DAVE NEMETZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

A SURPRISINGLY SATISFYING EMMYS

Fleabag! Billy Porter! Jodie Comer! This year's Emmys shocked me by actually handing out trophies to some very deserving shows and actors for a change — and after years of uninspiring winners, it was beautiful to see truly great performances like Fosse/Verdon's Michelle Williams and When They See Us' Jharrel Jerome being acknowledged by the TV Academy. Sure, Game of Thrones still managed to win Outstanding Drama Series for a lackluster final season... but you can't have everything.

REBECCA IANNUCCI IS THANKFUL FOR...

EUPHORIA'S EYE MAKEUP

HBO's teen drama is daring in a lot of ways. (We all remember that locker room scene, no?) But the biggest risk the show takes can be seen on its female characters' eyelids — and I'm a little obsessed with the bold makeup choices Euphoria's high schoolers make on the daily. Jules' multicolored eyeshadow on any given school day? Maddy's bedazzled lids in Episode 2? Those glittery triangles under Rue's eyes at the carnival? I love it all, even though all the YouTube tutorials in the world couldn't teach me how to pull off those looks.

VLADA GELMAN IS THANKFUL FOR...

NOT GIVING UP ON FLEABAG

Confession: I did not like the first season of the critical darling. I recognized its merits, but it was not my cuppa tea. Still, I persevered through it, wanting to know what all the hype (and Hot Priest talk) was about, and thank Hot Priest's God I did! I was rewarded with one of the most perfectly executed TV seasons ever, and my viewing of those early episodes only deepened my appreciation for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's masterful creation.

KIMBERLY ROOTS IS THANKFUL FOR...

PROTECTING THE THRONES

It would've been so easy for HBO to greenlight the first Game of Thrones spinoff that came down the Kingsroad. But the premium cabler chose to pass on Jane Goldman's pilot, opting instead to order to series the Targaryen-centric House of the Dragon. I'm choosing to read that move as proof that the network knows the kind of success the original series had is a rare thing, and putting out content that's not up to par will do more damage than wildfire under the Great Sept of Baelor. (Also? I'm kinda psyched for more dragons.)

VLADA GELMAN IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE MODERN-DAY BUFFY

If you had told me in 2009 that I would be watching a second spinoff set in the Vampire Diaries universe in 10 years, I would have scoffed. But here we are in 2019, and I am completely engrossed by Legacies, a series that has the wits, twists, scary monsters and emotional turmoil of a modern-day Buffy the Vampire Slayer successor.

RYAN SCHWARTZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

SHORTER SEASONS ON STREAMING SERVICES

In an age of 500+ scripted series, I've come to appreciate when a new show on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime consists of just eight or nine episodes that I can get through in one or two sittings. Some of my favorites this year — Living With Yourself, Sex Education, Unbelievable and Undone — all managed to tell great stories, and they did it without the unnecessary bloat that you often get with 13 episodes. It's a #PeakTV blessing, if there ever was one.

DAVE NEMETZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

SEXUALLY FRANK TEENS

Their parents sure don't want to think about it, but TV was full of teens openly exploring their newfound sexuality this year, from PEN15's awkwardly fumbling Anna and Maya to Sex Education's eternally mortified Otis to Euphoria's drug-fueled, tech-savvy high schoolers. All three offered unfiltered insight on a decidedly taboo subject in their own distinct way, without ever feeling exploitative. Throw in a third season of Big Mouth's barely pubescent animated nerds, and we all sort of got lucky this year, didn't we?

VLADA GELMAN IS THANKFUL FOR...

BROADCAST NOT BACKING DOWN

In this time of ever-growing streaming options, I'm watching... a whole lotta new broadcast shows! This fall has given us several promising freshman dramas, including CBS' scary/fascinating Evil and the enjoyable legal series All Rise, ABC's offbeat Stumptown and Fox's psychological mind trip Prodigal Son. After a couple of ho-hum seasons, the old broadcast giants once again have my attention.

MICHAEL AUSIELLO IS THANKFUL FOR...

SCHITT'S CREEK GOING OUT ON TOP

The onetime Pop TV underdog's premise always lent itself to a finite run, but the television graveyard is littered with series that carried on well past their expiration dates in the face of success. Props to Dan Levy and Co. for prioritizing the show's legacy over their bank accounts.

MICHAEL AUSIELLO IS THANKFUL FOR...

SARAH SNOOK AND MATTHEW MACFADYEN'S FLAWLESS AMERICAN ACCENTS ON SUCCESSION

She's Australian and he's English, and you would never in a million years know it from listening to them banter, scheme and speechify away on HBO's loquacious family drama.

RYAN SCHWARTZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

SUPERSTORE GIVING SANDRA HER DUE

After stealing scene after scene, season after season, the workplace comedy finally did right by portrayer Kaliko Kauahi and made her a series regular — and her increased screen time has paid off in spades belly laughs. Sandra's engagement to Jerry has been the gift that keeps on giving, from the pathetic engagement party in the stockroom, to her sit-down with wedding officiator Glenn, where she detailed just how much she enjoys her fiancé's body.

DAVE NEMETZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

TRASHY DATING TV

2019 was a banner year for wannabe influencers hooking up on camera and fighting about it... and we're so grateful to them for it. MTV's Are You the One? broke ground with a cast full of sexually fluid daters, Temptation Island returned with a vengeance with two seasons of tropical infidelity — and after this season of The Bachelorette, we'll never look at a windmill the same way again. Not to mention Love Island (the UK version, only, please), Bachelor in Paradise, Dating: No Filter, the revived Blind Date... none of it was exactly Emmy-worthy, of course, but man cannot live on Chernobyl alone.

RYAN SCHWARTZ IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE AFFAIR'S UPLIFTING (AND FUNNY!) SERIES FINALE

The Showtime drama was never exactly a "feel-good" show, but its last two seasons, in particular, were especially dour, beginning with the death of Ruth Wilson's Alison Bailey and culminating with an ill-conceived #MeToo storyline. So it came as a total surprise when the final episode opened with Noah choreographing a flash mob for Whitney's wedding ("Ride the tractor! Kick the puppy!"), and ended with him recreating that same dance as an old man, all by his lonesome, years after reuniting with ex-wife Helen. It was an unexpectedly great payoff for a show that had previously lost its way.

MATT WEBB MITOVICH IS THANKFUL FOR...

F—KIN' SUPERHEROES, MAN

In case this Very Important Bit of Journalism didn't make clear my POV, I think it is great — and natural — that for every half-dozen broadcast/cable-friendly Arrowverse and Marvel TV shows, we also now have series such as The Boys, Watchmen, Titans and Doom Patrol offering a grittier and arguably more realistic take on the genre. Because let's face it: When the going gets tough in crimefighting, people gonna cuss.

KIMBERLY ROOTS IS THANKFUL FOR...

MASKED SINGER'S UNSUNG HEROES

I'd understand if you've never given a second thought to the background dancers on Fox's bizarre singing competition. But I have. Week after week, these hard-working professionals don the most ridiculous of get-ups — when Black Widow's arm was messed up, they had to dance in slings! — and give it their all while someone in a lot of fake fur, feathers and/or foam rubber gets the spotlight. Their costumes range from silly to disturbing (I'm still having nightmares from some of the Season 1 wardrobe choices). Their efforts are always eclipsed by some dumb Ken Jeong joke. And they're made to scatter the moment the number is over. Yeah, that's the gig — but the gig is insane. Now, don't even get me started on the dudes who play the bodyguards...

REBECCA IANNUCCI IS THANKFUL FOR...

THE RESIDENT'S FAITH IN CONRAD AND NIC

The Fox medical drama had every opportunity to split Conrad and Nic up for good, what with the arrival of Dr. Alec Shaw and Nic's sudden reluctance to move in with Conrad, among other things. But rather than put its central couple on the break-up-then-get-back-together roller coaster, The Resident offered a lovely and realistic alternative: Maybe these two adults could stay loyal to each other and work through their issues! Kudos to the show for subverting expectations and resisting tropes we've seen way too many times.

MICHAEL AUSIELLO IS THANKFUL FOR...

THIS IS US' CHILD-ACTOR WINNING STREAK 

The NBC drama's sprawling ensemble features nearly a dozen young cast members, and they all posses the acting chops of performers three times their age and experience. Heck, even the infant actors are stealing scenes!

REBECCA IANNUCCI IS THANKFUL FOR...

FEMALE FRIENDSHIP TAKING CENTER STAGE

My favorite episode from Younger's sixth season — in which Diana learned Liza's secret — had nothing to do with Liza's ongoing love triangle, and everything to do with her and Diana's wonderfully complex relationship. And Younger isn't the only show to mine the depths of female friendship in all of its fantastic, rewarding, messy glory. Dead to Me, Big Little Lies, GLOW and more series also prioritized lady-centric stories this year, and the TV landscape was better for it.

MATT WEBB MITOVICH IS THANKFUL FOR...

BABY YODA OHMIGODLOOKATTHOSEEYES

The Mandalorian himself may be a far cry from warm and fuzzy, but his most unexpected "quarry" is more than making up the difference. NOW WHEN DO THE OFFICIAL PLUSHES GO ON SALE?! TAKE ALL OF OUR MONEY.

MATT WEBB MITOVICH IS THANKFUL FOR...

WEEKLY EPISODES: THE COMEBACK KID

Just when it seemed as if Netflix, Amazon and sometimes Hulu had locked in "binge" releases as streaming's new standard, Apple TV+ and Disney+ arrived on the scene to say, "Uh, not so fast." The best part? With weekly releases also returns the old-timey notion of weekly discussion and speculation!

MATT WEBB MITOVICH IS THANKFUL FOR...

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!

Ziva's back on NCIS! How to Get Away With Murder's Wes is alive! This Is Us' blind singer is Future Baby Jack! It's nice to know that no matter how many scoops and spoilers a person may consume, no matter how many actors' Instagrams one creeps, TV can still spring a quality surprise on us.

MICHAEL AUSIELLO IS THANKFUL FOR...

JENNIFER ANISTON FLIPPING THE BIRD TO HER PERSONA AS AMERICA'S SWEETHEART

As Alex Levy, co-host of The Morning Show within The Morning Show, the actress formerly known as Rachel Green is gamely tackling a character who is insecure, foul-mouthed, petty, vindictive, power-hungry and emotionally broken and we have never loved her more.