The best TV show of 2018 on each network so far - from FX to Netflix to HBO

Advertisement
The best TV show of 2018 on each network so far - from FX to Netflix to HBO

atlanta

FX

"Atlanta: Robbin' Season."

The first half of 2018 has already seen a number of innovative new shows and stellar follow-up seasons to established critical favorites.

Advertisement

From AMC's freshman series "The Terror," to solid sophomore outings from Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" and FX's "Atlanta," this year in TV has gotten off to an impressive start.

To figure out which shows that have aired this year are worth watching across all outlets, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to select the most critically acclaimed scripted show that each network and service has aired episodes of in 2018.

We excluded children's shows, talk shows, and docuseries, and we only selected from networks with scripted shows that had enough reviews to receive a "Fresh" designation for a season this year. We also used audience scores to break any ties within networks.

Here is the best TV show of 2018 on each network so far, according to critics:

Advertisement

{{}}

ABC: "How to Get Away With Murder" (Season 4)

ABC: "How to Get Away With Murder" (Season 4)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 75%

Summary: "Murder, deception, fear and guilt are the ties that bind Middleton University Professor Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) to her long-time associates Frank Delfino, Bonnie Winterbottom and her students. But as the group struggles to move on with their lives and focus on their clients, their past continues to haunt them, as Annalise and her inner circle struggle to keep their secrets from getting exposed."

Amazon: "Bosch" (Season 4)

Amazon: "Bosch" (Season 4)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 100%

Summary: "When an attorney is murdered on the eve of his civil rights trial against the LAPD, homicide Det. Harry Bosch is assigned to lead a Task Force to solve the crime before the city erupts in a riot."

Advertisement

AMC: "The Terror" (Season 1)

AMC: "The Terror" (Season 1)

Critic score: 92%

Audience score: 89%

Summary: "Inspired by a true story, 'The Terror' centers on the British Royal Navy’s perilous voyage into unchartered territory as the crew attempts to discover the Northwest Passage. Faced with treacherous conditions, limited resources, dwindling hope and fear of the unknown, the crew is pushed to the brink of extinction."

BET: "The Quad" (Season 2)

BET: "The Quad" (Season 2)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 61%

Summary: "Follows ambitious yet troubled Dr. Eva Fletcher, the newly-elected President of the fictional Georgia A&M University."

Advertisement

CBS: "Elementary" (Season 6)

CBS: "Elementary" (Season 6)

Critic score: 97%

Audience score: 86%

Summary: "Stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD’s most impossible cases."

CBS All Access: "The Good Fight" (Season 2)

CBS All Access: "The Good Fight" (Season 2)

Critic score: 92%

Audience score: 87%

Summary: "In season two of 'The Good Fight,' the world is going insane, and the Chicago murder rate is on the rise. Amidst the insanity, Diane, Lucca, Maia, and the rest of the law firm find themselves under psychological assault when a client at another firm kills his lawyer for overcharging."

Advertisement

Comedy Central: "Corporate" (Season 1)

Comedy Central: "Corporate" (Season 1)

Critic score: 83%

Audience score: 72%

Summary: "Hampton DeVille is a massive, soulless conglomerate that sinks its rapacious claws into everything from arming clandestine wars to exploiting protesters. This is a comedy about working there."

The CW: "Jane the Virgin" (Season 4)

The CW: "Jane the Virgin" (Season 4)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 86%

Summary: "It's been quite a year (or three) for Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez). Although she got married, her husband Michael (Bret Dier) was shot on their wedding night! But luckily, he lived to tell the tale. And then, at long last... Jane had sex."

Advertisement

Fox: "Lucifer" (Season 3)

Fox: "Lucifer" (Season 3)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 87%

Summary: "Lucifer Morningstar, bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, as he retires to Los Angeles and teams up with LAPD detective Chloe Decker to take down criminals."

FX: "Atlanta" (Season 2)

FX: "Atlanta" (Season 2)

Critic score: 99%

Audience score: 84%

Summary: "Two cousins try to work their way up through the Atlanta rap scene."

Advertisement

HBO: "Silicon Valley" (Season 5)

HBO: "Silicon Valley" (Season 5)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 75%

Summary: "In the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success. From Mike Judge comes this satire about a programmer whose game-changing algorithm becomes the subject of a valley-wide bidding war."

Hulu: "The Handmaid's Tale" (Season 2)

Hulu: "The Handmaid's Tale" (Season 2)

Critic score: 97%

Audience score: 84%

Summary: "Adapted from the classic novel by Margaret Atwood, 'The Handmaid's Tale' is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States."

Advertisement

IFC: "Brockmire" (Season 2)

IFC: "Brockmire" (Season 2)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 100%

Summary: "Brockmire (Hank Azaria) is a famed major league baseball announcer who suffers an embarrassing and very public meltdown live on the air after discovering his beloved wife's serial infidelity."

NBC: "Timeless" (Season 2)

NBC: "Timeless" (Season 2)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 96%

Summary: "We continue to race throughout history with our beloved team - Rufus (Malcolm Barrett), a scientist; Wyatt (Matt Lanter), a soldier; and Lucy (Abigail Spencer), a history professor - in an attempt to prevent the destruction of the world as we all know it."

Advertisement

Netflix: "The End of the F***ing World" (Season 1)

Netflix: "The End of the F***ing World" (Season 1)

Critic score: 98%

Audience score: 89%

Summary: "A budding teen psychopath and a rebel hungry for adventure embark on a star-crossed road trip in this darkly comic series based on a graphic novel."

Showtime: "Billions" (Season 3)

Showtime: "Billions" (Season 3)

Critic score: 88%

Audience score: 85%

Summary: "Shrewd, savvy U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Giamatti) and the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Lewis) are on an explosive collision course, with each using all of his considerable smarts, power and influence to outmaneuver the other."

Advertisement

Starz: "Vida" (Season 1)

Starz: "Vida" (Season 1)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 100%

Summary: "A drama-filled story of family, love, and identity."

Sundance Now: "Back" (Season 1)

Sundance Now: "Back" (Season 1)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 72%

Summary: "Comedy starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb about a son facing the death of his father only to have his long forgotten foster brother turn up out of the blue."

Advertisement

Syfy: "The Expanse" (Season 3)

Syfy: "The Expanse" (Season 3)

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 100%

Summary: "Hundreds of years in the future, humans have colonized the solar system. The U.N. controls Earth. Mars is an independent military power. The planets rely on the resources of the Asteroid Belt, where air and water are more precious than gold."

TBS: "The Last O.G." (Season 1)

TBS: "The Last O.G." (Season 1)

Critic score: 83%

Audience score: 73%

Summary: "Released from prison on good behavior, ex-con Tray falls back on skills he learned in prison to support himself and his kids."

Advertisement

USA: "Suits" (Season 7)

USA: "Suits" (Season 7)

Critic score: 91%

Audience score: 87%

Summary: "Stars Patrick J. Adams as Michael Mike Ross and Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter working at a law firm in NYC."