Across the many streaming platforms and networks, we have compiled a list of the best TV shows of 2019.

Over half of our Top 10 TV Shows for 2019 are either mini-series or brand news series, which is fantastic to see. Sure, there’s always lots of returning shows to pick from, but having new stuff that stands out is always more exciting.

We also have several HBO programs in this list in a year when their biggest show — the biggest show of the year — Game of Thrones ended, proving HBO isn’t going anywhere as a quality provider of fantastic television.

Honourable mention to The Mandalorian which everyone at the Explosion Network is loving, but unfortunately wasn’t eligible for this years list.

The following Top 10 list was compiled by Dylan Blight, Ashley Hobley and Nicholas Prior.

Season 2 of the down-under Australian Crime/Family drama, Mr. Inbetween is again some top-notch TV in 2019.

Ray keeps dry Aussie humour, but his life takes a turn to the dark side dealing with his life falling apart and the way he chooses to deal with that crumbling mess.

It’s a slow burn of a show, but well worth the watch.

– Nicholas Prior

It’s a rarity to say that an adaptation improved on the source material, but Looking For Alaska made for Hulu (streaming on Stan in Australia/New Zealand) and based on the book by John Green does just that.

Although it may start as your typical YA novel with a manic-pixie-dream-girl lead in Alaska Young (played amazingly by Kristine Froseth) the series soon takes a swing into much more adult material and themes than you’d expect. With Charlie Plummer’s sweet performance as Miles in the lead and a nearly show-stealing performance from Denny Love as The Colonel and Jay Lee as Takumi, the eight episodes spent with the cast of Looking For Alaska is one I wouldn’t soon forget from this 2019.

– Dylan Blight

From the mind of Danny McBride comes The Righteous Gemstones, a comedy/drama about a family of deplorable televangelists that you can’t help but feel a modicum of pity for.

All the interaction between the quirky characters are all a joy, but how can they not be with a cast that contains: John Goodman, Walter Goggins, Adam Devine and Danny McBride himself.

– Nicholas Prior

Bojack Horseman retains its position at the top of the animated television art form, even with only 8 episodes released this year. The show continues to flawlessly work the tightrope between being something funny and exploring deeper and darker subject matter. In the same season that Todd tries to steal back the kidney he sold to a media conglomerate for finger puppet money, we get BoJack dealing with his extensive relationship with alcohol and Princess Caroline struggling to cope with her career and motherhood.

In this first half of this sixth and final season, we get to see something that we haven’t seen before: all of our main characters make changes that improve themselves and their lives. Which really makes the wait for the final eight episodes painful as this show has trained us to expect these people to fall prey to their bad impulses and there is definitely a feeling that all or some of their worlds are about to come crumbling down. If they manage to stick the landing, BoJack Horseman would be a strong contender for greatest animated show of all time.

– Ashley Hobley

In a crowded marketplace of superhero properties, The Boys was always going to stand out. Based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, showrunner Eric Kripke trimmed out elements that would have been problematic and made something that is much more accessible for a mainstream audience but stays true to the heart of the source material, while also offering satire on the superhero genre.

In a wonderful ensemble cast, Erin Moriarty shines as the heart of the show and the one true beacon of light. Karl Urban is delightful as the leader of The Boys, Billy Butcher, but it’s Antony Starr’s performance as The Homelander that takes the show to the next level and shows the audience why this world needs The Boys.

– Ashley Hobley

After a weaker second season, the Duffer Brothers took their time to deliver the best season so far. While season two felt like a bit of a retread, this season grew the world of Stranger Things with a Mindflayer causing chaos in the real world and an underground base of Russians.

While the entire cast was very good, it was noticeable how Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and Max (Sadie Sink) were greatly improved this season after a lacklustre first effort, with Billy’s eventual demises being surprising emotional. The introduction of Maya Hawke as Robyn was a delight with her interactions with Steve (Joe Keery) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) some of the best content from the show this year. This season saw us experience every emotion in the book and left us with more questions as to what is coming next season.

– Ashley Hobley

This season begins with Fleabag (Pheobe Waller-Bridge) in a restaurant bathroom, wiping her bloody nose before turning to the camera to tell us “This is a love story”. And a love story was very much delivered, not just between Fleabag and The Priest (Andrew Scott), or as he has become known on the internet: The Hot Priest, but also between Fleabag and her sister Claire (Sian Clifford).

Each episode is filled with great lines and scenes that I have found myself going back to again and again. Whether it’s that family dinner, Fleabag and The Priest sharing G&Ts, that scene in the confessional or the final scene at the bus stop, all of it is as impactful on its 50th viewing as it is on its first. A really special six episodes of television that are worthy of all the critical acclaim it has received.

– Ashley Hobley

The story of the ‘Central Park Five’ is disturbing, sad and a necessary story to tell in 2019. What these boys — now men — went through when they were wrongly imprisoned in the late 80’s digs deep at the seed of racism embedded in America that is still being stoked today. Over four episodes the fantastic cast lead by an award-winning performance from Jharrel Jerome grabs you and makes you shake your head in despair as you ask yourself how could this happen?

Ava DuVernay is a powerful American storyteller that has a necessary voice in filmmaking and television; one that rises high into the air and proudly amplifies the story of these five brave men.

– Dylan Blight

Damon Lindelof managed to create not only an amazing Watchmen series in 2019 but also a story that lives up to the source material as a worthy sequel to the original comic book.

Instead of relying on what we know, and the characters audiences may know from the 2009 movie adaptation from director Zack Snyder, this series introduces just as interesting and deep new characters that fit into the world Alan Moore and David Gibbons created in the late 80s. The series is just as politically charged as it was with Moore in the writing chair and has as much to say about America today as the original comic had to say about America in the ’80s.

Watchmen was the most interesting shows to watch every single week of 2019 with deeply haunting, captivating and often thought-provoking storytelling.

– Dylan Blight

Chernobyl is a masterclass of television with its combination historical authenticity and sharp writing.

It tells the story of the people and the tragic event of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. Although you may think it’s a critique of the Government of the time, it’s, in fact, a story of humanity, it’s flaws and the heroics and sacrifices involved in doing what is necessary to for something larger than yourself.

– Nicholas Prior