TVLine Is Thankful For: Blasts From Grey's Past, Trebek's Fitting Farewell, Mask-Free Laughs, Hulu And More

There hasn't exactly been much to love about 2020. But we've gotta hand it to television: When we needed a distraction from this tense, anxious year (which was often), there was no shortage of small-screen gems to capture our attention.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Team TVLine is reflecting on the television moments for which we're most grateful this year, from big surprises like that Grey's Anatomy return to small details like The Undoing's fabulous fashion.

In the list below, each member of our TVLine staff — President/Editorial Director Michael Ausiello, Editor-in-Chief Matt Webb Mitovich, Managing Editor Kimberly Roots, Executive Editor Andy Swift, Senior Editor Dave Nemetz, West Coast Editor Vlada Gelman, News Editor Rebecca Iannucci, Staff Editor Ryan Schwartz and Weekend Editor Nick Caruso — has singled out three things from the past year of TV that brought us some joy. (Or brought us bottomless heartache, in the case of Netflix's Haunting of Bly Manor.)

Our gratitude also extends to HBO Max's recent (and cathartic!) Fresh Prince reunion, an endless string of Drag Race content, a terrific final year for the late, great Alex Trebek, and a Saturday Night Live impression that's thankfully heading into retirement.

Scroll through the list below to see all of our 2020 gratitude, then drop a comment with your thoughts! (And come back on Thursday to see what you, the TVLine readers, were thankful for this year.)

GREY'S ANATOMY HAVING A BLAST WITH ITS PAST

Between the return of McDreamy, Alex and Izzie's off-screen reunion and Meredith regularly name-checking BFF Cristina, the ABC drama is leaning into its rich and complicated history like never before.

STARGIRL BRIGHTENING UP THE ARROWVERSE

On the heels of Arrow's sad sendoff and The Flash's latest run being cut short in the midst of a dark arc, Courtney Whitmore was just what the Dr. Mid-Nite ordered — an eager new superhero with stars in her eyes and gray Vancouver nowhere on her radar.

OUTERWEAR THAT IS MY UNDOING

Grace Fraser's life is a hellscape. Her husband is a lying, cheating, possibly murdering — but still somehow really charming — bastard. Her Upper East Side social circle is dissolving like a sugar cube in a tropical storm. BUT THAT COAT, THO. Whenever Grace steps out in her green, flocked velvet number, my eyes are drawn to its hooded radiance like Jonathan was drawn to Elena: with an undeniable need to possess. (Too soon? Yeah, probably too soon.)

A CLEARING OF THE BEL-AIR

Never in a million years — OK, fine, 27 years — did we think The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's original Aunt Viv (Janet Hubert) would ever appear on screen with her replacement (Daphne Reid), much less publicly squash her feud with Will Smith. We'd like to think that Uncle Phil (the late, great James Avery) enjoyed his TV wives' long-awaited first meeting from the best seat in the mansion.

ALEX TREBEK'S FITTING FAREWELL

Who is the best game show host of all time? We all know the answer to that question: It's Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, and though he passed away this month of pancreatic cancer, the beloved quiz master still managed to have a heroic final year. Not only did he host Jeopardy! episodes until the very end, with dozens of episodes still in the can, but he also emceed the primetime tournament Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, which pulled in huge ratings for ABC in January. Here's to an all-time great going out on top.

ALL RISE'S PLATONIC BFFS

Male-female relationships on TV are often all about the sexual tension, so it's refreshing to see Lola and Mark support each other and banter as just longtime pals. The Season 2 premiere was rough on the duo's bond, but their friendship is already stronger for it.

REALITY TV'S (MOSTLY) NORMAL RETURN

While scripted shows are still figuring out how to safely film in COVID times — which, on more than one occasion, has prompted series to shut down production — unscripted favorites like Big Brother, Dancing With the Stars and The Voice have managed to produce new seasons that feel nearly normal. Sure, there are some tells that we're not exactly living in typical conditions — Dancing's phantom audience, The Voice's separate Battles stages, Big Brother's masked post-eviction interviews — but the mostly familiar feel of these low-stakes competitions has been a welcome comfort.

ONE DAY AT A TIME'S ALL-TOO-BRIEF ENCORE

I can choose to be sad about the Pop TV cancellation... or I can choose to be grateful for the six episodes (and one animated special) that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. In the last episode alone, Penelope and Max committed to spending the rest of their lives together, Schneider proposed to an expectant Avery, and Lydia finally made peace with Berto's death. I'm not convinced we ever would've gotten a more satisfying series finale than that.

SHUDDER'S TERRIFYING TV

Netflix is great and all, but if you're a horror geek like myself, Shudder is a must-have component of your streaming TV arsenal. From docuseries like Horror Noire and Eli Roth's History of Horror, to the revival of Joe Bob Briggs and Creepshow (plus, imported gems like Todd and the Book of Pure Evil!), scary small-screen stories have never had a better home.

THE CROWN'S KING-SIZED PRODUCTION BUDGET

Netflix's royal phenom has always packed a sumptuous visual punch, but my "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing output increased tenfold in Season 4.

THE MANDALORIAN'S WEEKLY GUESSING GAME

With so many otherworldly creatures buried beneath makeup and full prosthetics, it's a fun little side mission for viewers to identify the familiar voices of John Leguizamo, W. Earl Brown and others.

OUTLANDER'S MOD MURTAGH!

Ye need wrap no presents for me this Hogmanay, mo chridhe, for I have already received all I need to be content for the year: the vision of Outlander's Murtagh in late 1960s/early 1970s finery. That mustard jacket! That turtleneck! Those patterned pants! And the fact that, in Claire's vision in the Season 5 finale, the silver fox and Jocasta were together? Well, that was just groovy gravy, man.

RUPAUL'S NON-STOP DRAG RACE

We used to think it was a bit much when new seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race and All Stars would air back-to-back on VH1... but that was before quarantine. Now, we'll take all the queen-related content we can possibly consume. And thanks to an endless stream of international content (Season 12! All Stars 5! Untucked! Secret Celebrity Drag Race! Canada's Drag Race! Vegas Revue! Drag Race Holland!), we have been well fed.

HULU'S HOT STREAK

Don't look now, Netflix, but Hulu is gaining on you. The streamer had its strongest year of original content yet in 2020, with intriguing newcomers like High Fidelity and The Great joining established veterans like PEN15 and Ramy and standout miniseries like Normal People and Little Fires Everywhere. Plus, thanks to a new deal with FX, star-studded series like Mrs. America debuted on Hulu... and brought home Emmy gold, too.

NETFLIX KEEPING THINGS LIGHT

The world is a dark and heavy place right now, with many shows choosing to reflect that reality with COVID storylines. In response, I found myself gravitating to the streamer's light-hearted fare, like Julie and the Phantoms, Dash & Lily and Emily in Paris. These shows may not be award-caliber, but they provided a much-needed dose of escapist fun.

MICHAELA COEL GETTING THE FAME SHE DESERVES

Though her 2015 sitcom, Chewing Gum, was (rightfully) critically acclaimed, it wasn't until this year that Coel's bold, superb storytelling skills got the mainstream kudos they deserve. With her fearless HBO dramedy I May Destroy You, Coel explored her own experience with sexual assault, somehow managing to strike a tone with her scripts that was both heartbreaking and empowering — and though Coel has been a star for years, it was gratifying to watch her shine brighter than ever in 2020.

COVID-FREE COMEDIES

CBS multi-cams have been a great source of comfort during these uncertain times. As fascinating as it has been to watch some of my favorite comedies navigate the pandemic (particularly ABC's The Conners and NBC's Superstore, which have managed to find the humor in this dumpster fire of a year), fellow sitcoms Bob Hearts Abishola, Mom, The Neighborhood and Young Sheldon have provided me with a greatly needed escape from the pandemic of it all.

SURVIVOR'S ALL-WINNERS BATTLE ROYALE

Twenty years, 40 seasons, one... Survivor! And what better way to celebrate the series' legacy than this year's Winners at War? The fierce competition served up twists, turns and blindsides (The Queen Slayer!) like never before, proving that the show and its players still have plenty of fight left in them.

PAT SAJAK'S CAREFREE CONTESTANT BANTER

Sure, the puzzles are fun, but for my money the real draw of Wheel of Fortune — which has become one of my most dependable and comforting pandemic-era guilty pleasures — continues to be the good-natured, occasionally cheesy, supremely dry ribbing Sajak gives the players when they overshare about their personal lives or request a letter a little too loudly. After nearly 40 years as the iconic game show's master of ceremonies, the 74-year-old Sajak clearly still loves his job. And these days, that little bit of joy goes a long way.

CABLE AND STREAMING "KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON" THIS SUMMER/FALL

When the broadcast networks' springtime productions screeched to a halt because of the pandemic, and summertime staples such as Big Brother were delayed in kind, it fell upon streaming services and cable networks to feed us TV fare during the early months of quarantining. Thanks to the likes of Perry Mason, Psych 2, Greenleaf and Wynonna Earp, among others — along with fast-tracked movie releases such as Hamilton via Disney+ — our bored, bored eyeballs kept busy until the "fall" TV season truly arrived in mid-November.

BLY MANOR'S BEST COUPLE

While I loved Dani/Jamie and understood the tragic drama of Peter/Rebecca, The Haunting of Bly Manor's most captivating romance was the unspoken love between T'Nia Miller's Hannah and Rahul Kohli's Owen. The combination of the characters' naked yearning for one another, paired with the fact that neither was brave enough to acknowledge the attraction until it was far too late, left me in a puddle of tears so deep that the Lady of the Lake could've made it her summer home.

THE END OF ALEC BALDWIN'S DREADFUL TRUMP IMPRESSION ON SNL

Now that Baldwin is formally hanging up his toupee, we have to ask: Was his Trump impression ever that funny? Was it ever even that accurate? One thing's for sure: When Americans went to the polls on Election Day, they weren't just choosing their next president. They were also choosing the impression they'd have to suffer through for years to come. And their voices were heard.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT, EVERYWHERE WE LOOK

I'm a firm believer that adding Olyphant to any TV show makes that show better, and 2020 certainly put that theory to the test, with the Justified alum popping up in no fewer than four different shows. He poked fun at his Raylan Givens persona (hat and all) on The Good Place, guest-starred as a former sheriff who helped take down a dragon on The Mandalorian and played yet another smooth-talking lawman on the new season of Fargo. Oh, and don't forget: He also irritated Larry David in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm! The man is truly unavoidable... and we're not complaining.

SELENA GOMEZ'S FORAY INTO COOKING

Watching the singer tackle, fumble and conquer her way through culinary lessons on HBO Max's Selena + Chef is not only relatable, but also highly entertaining. Plus, I got some delicious recipes and tips out of the program!

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY'S SENSATIONAL SOUNDTRACK

The excellent music cues on Netflix's comic book drama can really be summed up in three words: Backstreet's. Back. Alright.

THE CONNERS' NEW SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

The Roseanne offshoot pulled off the impossible when it found Dan another superb match in Katey Sagal's Louise. Likewise, Jay R. Ferguson's Ben has proven to be such a perfect fit for Darlene (and the show) that I seldom think about how the Powers That Be went and destroyed Johnny Galecki's character by making David a deadbeat. So, huzzah!

BETTER THINGS' SEASON 5 RENEWAL

Praise the TV Powers That Be because Pamela Adlon's FX dramedy is a unicorn. Its stories portray slivers of joy and turmoil, favoring the unpredictability and mystery of life over forced plot twists, allowing Adlon's carefully crafted style and chutzpah to shine through. Rarely does a show feel this raw, real and most importantly, relatable.