Bridgerton (Netflix)

If you pass on Bridgerton because it looks like yet another stuffy period piece, well, don’t. Bridgerton may be superficially like a Masterpiece Theater rendition of a Jane Austen classic, but once you look beyond the description, you’ll see why it has captivated so many.

First of all, Bridgerton isn’t from the BBC, it’s a Shondaland production, which means it’s more Scandal than Wuthering Heights. Shonda Rhimes, known best for introducing the world to the sex-crazed docs on Grey’s Anatomy, updated her empire-waist drama for this millennium.

While it’s still about marriage-minded young ladies setting their caps for dukes and barons in Regency-era London, on this show, the gowns and breeches come off. Bridgerton has nudity, profanity, and string quartets playing Ariana Grande songs during the high-society dances.

The main story follows Duke Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) as they agree to a faux romance that leads, as one might predict, to a real one. But the show is stuffed with a beautiful, racially-diverse cast whose stories are as compelling as the main one, retrofitting a feminist and humane sensibility into the 1800s. But it works.

With 10 hours of sumptuous costuming and set design and sexy stars in its first (and only, so far) season, Bridgerton is a delicious treat for viewers.

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

After watching maybe ten minutes of the first episode of Ted Lasso, there’s a good chance you’ll start to feel something like joy. Keep going. It only gets better.

There’s a reason that critics and fans alike have been singing the praises of Ted Lasso to anyone who would listen since it debuted back in August: it is magnificent. And yet, on paper, it looks too simple to be more than the average sitcom.

Ted is played by Jason Sudeikis, a small-time but successful football coach in Kansas, is recruited along with his assistant Beard (Brendan Hunt) to turn around the fortunes of a failing English football team. Ted knows nothing about soccer but does know how to motivate people – if they let him.

Ted was hired by AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) for her own nefarious purposes, revealed in the first episode. He faces nothing but obstacles: the team hates him, the press attack him, and the fans despise him on principle, as he’s American and inexperienced.

The real magic in this show lies in eternal optimist Ted’s efforts to win over everyone, from Rebecca to star player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) to the denizens of the local pub, who colorfully refer to him as ‘wanker’.

Bill Lawrence, the man behind Scrubs and Spin City has created a show that may be the most charming and delightful show available in 2020.

It’s not exaggerating to say that after a year that unequivocally sucked, watching Ted Lasso feels like a balm on a psychic wound.

Truth Seekers (Amazon Prime)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the duo behind the Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and The World’s End, team up again for television this time.

Well, not exactly – in Truth Seekers, Pegg plays a recurring but minor role. In this show, Frost’s comedy partner is Samson Kayo, as the affable rookie installer Elton John. (Seriously.)

Frost and Pegg co-created and co-wrote the series (alongside Nat Saunders and James Serafinowicz). Here Frost plays Gus, a lonely broadband installer who rolls around the countryside in his van while investigating paranormal activity, at first in his spare time but then full-time, as Elton’s presence seems to ramp up the weird factor in his job.

Pegg plays his genial boss, but appears in only a scene or two per episode, until the season finale, when he plays a much larger part. Emma D’Arcy is Astrid, a woman who appeals to the two to help her exorcise her ghosts.

Nothing’s quite what it seems here: characters have hidden motivations for their quirks and desires. Elton is a reluctant spook-hunter who suggests to Gus that they give up the supernatural business. When Gus responds that they are on the cusp of something, Elton says “I don’t want to be on the cusp of anything!”

It tuns out there’s good reason for that. Other series regulars like Gus’s Father (Malcolm McDowell) and Elton’s sister Helen (Susan Wokoma) move from background to foreground as Gus and Elton’s fates intertwine.

The series offers a plethora of ghosts, magic and…electronic equipment, weaving them together brilliantly. Truth Seekers has a mere 8 half-hour episodes but is a relatively complex story filled with callbacks, coincidences and character development in a clear, concise style.

Despite being a comedy, the series doesn’t joke about the ghosts that haunt the characters, and it serves up those ghosts, and the scares they provide, rather seriously. The humor is in the characters’ reactions to what’s going on, a very deadpan (and very British) take on horror that in its understated way is very amusing.

Check out all three series, and let us know your favorite in the comments. If you have a favorite unsung show of 2020, let us know that too!