The Trial of the Century, A Closer Look, and The Craziest Ex in West Covina: The Twenty-ish Best Shows of 2016

In 2016, there are relatively few things about television that are set in stone. When I compiled my top ten list back in 2015 I noted that there were over 400 scripted shows across TV's various viewing formats (A term labeled "Peak TV" in the industry). That number has only grown (455 scripted shows to be exact). Shows are no longer kept around or cancelled purely on their number of viewers. Nobody even knows for sure how many viewers shows on the various streaming platforms (notably Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu) get, because streaming sites don't have to share that information. When a show like Good Girls Revolt on Amazon is cancelled, all viewers and industry watchers know is that somehow the show did not please the online shopping giant.

All that being said, right now is one of the most exciting times to be a fan of television. Pretty much any platform that can produce original programming, is producing original programming. That means if you have very specific tastes when it comes to TV, chances are someone is creating something that caters to them. With so many options out there, it can be hard to know which shows to make time for, and which ones to skip. In some cases you might not even know a show or even a whole viewing platform exists.

With all of that taken into consideration, my list this year looks pretty different from last year's list in some key ways. First of all, instead of doing a Top 10 list with a "Runners-Up" section, I've decided to merge the two and just do a Top 20 list this year. With the massive number of options to choose from, narrowing the best shows down to a list of ten just wasn't realistic. List purists beware, there are a few rankings on my list where I have merged two equal quality shows with very similar concepts into one spot on the list. The list technically features more than 20 shows, but I assure you I only paired shows that have an incredible amount of similarity. The "Honorable Mentions" section I used last year will stay intact. I think it's a good way highlight shows that range in quality from "pretty good" to "great" for anyone who might be looking for something new to watch.

Now let's talk about what isn't on the list. You won't see last year's list makers: Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Master of None, or Jessica Jones. Parks and Recreation as mentioned in last year's list has concluded, while Master of None and Jessica Jones did not air new seasons this year. The Mindy Project and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are still fantastic shows, but with the multitude of great shows out there, there wasn't room for everything. Regretfully I also had to leave great shows like ABC's masterful Agent Carter, strong new fall dramas Pitch and This Is Us, Amazon's dark-comedy trifecta One Mississippi/Fleabag/Catastrophe, OWN's powerful family drama Queen Sugar, HBO's stronger than ever Veep, and Netflix's out of the box Lady Dynamite off of my list as well.

What you will find are 20+ fantastic shows like nothing else on TV. Last year my list focused on shows that could only exist in this current state of TV. This year I tried to focus a little harder on shows with a very specific sense of voice. Not just stories that have never been told before, but stories that are being told in brilliantly creative ways. I love these shows, flaws and all. Disagree with my list? Write your own list, I'd love to read it!

**UPDATE** (12/31/16): After finally catching up on some things I had on my DVR there was one more show that I just couldn't leave off of my list. Surprisingly, to me, it was actually a reality show, which I would have never expected to be putting on my list. That being said, this show ended up being so good, I couldn't leave it off.

Honorable Mentions:

Catastrophe (Amazon)
One Mississippi (Amazon)
Fleabag (Amazon)
Lady Dynamite (Netflix)
Veep (HBO)
This Is Us (NBC)
Pitch (Fox)
Arrow (The CW)
Agent Carter (ABC)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Scandal (ABC)
The Simpsons (Fox)
Frequency (The CW)
No Tomorrow (The CW)
The Ranch (Netflix)
Luke Cage (Netflix)
Speechless (ABC)
Madame Secretary (CBS)
When Calls The Heart (Hallmark)
New Girl (Fox)
Daredevil (Netflix)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
The Mindy Project (Hulu)
Queen Sugar (OWN)
You're the Worst (FXX)
The Carmichael Show (NBC)
Life In Pieces (CBS)


21.) Survivor: Millennials Vs Gen X (CBS):

Reality television will never have the same impact for me as scripted TV, but when it's done well, it can be an entertaining look at how people behave when put in a situation where they have to rely on people they are simultaneously competing against. More often than not, Survivor is a show that doesn't live up to its potential. Despite having a ridiculously stupid theme, this last season of Survivor was arguably the best season the show has ever had. Alliances shifted on a weekly basis, every player was playing to win the game, and many of the players had surprisingly motivational journeys along the way. Most of the tribal counsel's were blindsides, or at least entertaining to watch. It's rare that a final three contains three players that actually earned their spot, let alone for two of those players to be very deserving of winning. The jury wasn't bitter, and actually crowned the right person as the winner (though one of the runners-up would have been a fine winner as well). This is what Survivor should look like. 

20.) The Flash (The CW) / Supergirl (The CW & CBS):

I can't justifiably list Supergirl or The Flash here without noting that both shows had their fair share of issues in 2016. The Flash suffered from a season long story arc that was a weak imitation of its very successful first season, a shift in tone that often made the show gloomier than it should be, and began its third season with the ill-conceived "Flashpoint" plotline. Supergirl spent all of season one and part of season two just trying to figure out what kind of show it wanted to be. That being said, when both shows are performing at peak levels, they are the best superhero shows TV currently has to offer. The Supergirl crossover episode "Worlds Finest" (which brought the Flash over to Kara's world) was one of the year's most fun episodes of TV, while The Flash episode "The Runaway Dinosaur" (Which saw Barry trapped in a dream-like reality known as the "Speed Force") was easily one of the best episodes of any show on TV this year. Both characters were also a lot of fun collaborating with their Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow cohorts in The CW's four part DC crossover, "Invasion." These shows seem to be heading in better directions than they started in at the beginning of the year, and Supergirl deserves a lot of credit for switching networks from CBS to The CW and becoming a better show in the process. 

19.) The Good Place (NBC):

It's hard to imagine a show created by Mike Schur (writer for The Office and co-creator of Parks & Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine) that stars comedy veterans Ted Danson and Kristen Bell, not being a success. While the nine episodes that have aired so far in its first season are not enough to put it in "Top 10" range, The Good Place has quickly found a consistent comedic tone that makes it the most promising new show of the Fall. Like Parks and Recreation the show does an excellent job of examining what it means to make ethical choices, while also milking laughs from the absurdities of society (in this case the society of the afterlife). Eleanor's journey to become a better person resonates, because it is the journey of the human experience, that just happens to be taking place in a hilariously absurd setting. It might not be everyone's type of humor, but it's very reminiscent of NBC's comedy heyday, which is always welcome. 

18.) Broad City (Comedy Central):

Broad City, the absurd comedy about two millennials' adventures living in New York City, definitely isn't for everyone. The show's comedic sensibility is often odd, sometimes crass, and definitely out of the box. That's often the show's biggest asset. When a show is up for just about anything like this one is, then it opens up a whole new world of jokes and stories to explore. All of this is led by the battle tested friendship of Abby and Illana, whose chemistry drive the show and many of its jokes. In season three, the show was better than ever. Mundane situations such as going to the DMV, working at a co-op, or traveling to Abby's hometown of Philadelphia, become absurd adventures for the show's two heroines, while both characters also experienced emotional turmoil when meaningful relationships fell apart for them. 

17.) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox):

Brooklyn Nine-Nine was bumped out of the top ten this year because it tried to take a more serialized approach, which got in the way of what the show does best. With the deepest and most across the board funny cast of any show on TV, Brooklyn is never better than when it gives those characters the freedom to bounce jokes off of each other. There are no weak links in this cast, and the writers over time have only gotten better and better at knowing how to best use each character. Four seasons in, it sometimes shows its age, but at this point the show is the equivalent of TV comfort food; always reliable and enjoyable. 

16.) The Night Of (HBO):

The story of a man who appears to be guilty of a murder he doesn't remember committing, The Night Of is a fascinating, if uneven, look at the justice system in America. Riz Ahmed gives one of the year's best performances as Naz, who slowly transitions from an naive college kid, to a hardened product of his time in jail, willing to do just about anything to survive. John Turturro is similarly excellent as an ambulance chasing lawyer who stumbles across this giant case after noticing that the evidence against Naz didn't quite add up. While the show is never quite able to recapture the intensity of its premiere episode, it is still an excellent look at how the justice and prison systems are deeply broken, as well as a compelling mystery. Despite it's occasional weak moments, The Night Of  is an ultimately fascinating show that does a decent job of examining the failures of the justice system in America. 

15.) Underground (WGN America): 

Part 12 Years a Slave and part The Great Escape, Underground tells the highly entertaining and often emotionally powerful story of a group of slaves that make a run for the Canadian border, the loved ones they left behind, and the people on along the Underground Railroad who help them. Most impressive among the cast are the two leads Aldis Hodge and Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who both give exceptional performances. Smollett-Bell in particular gives a fantastic performance as Rosalee a somewhat naive house slave who grows into a fighter over the course of the journey. The "prison" break aspect of the show is often exciting, but never in a way that undermines the fact that the show is set against the greatest tragedy in American history. For so much of history, art was used as a weapon to portray slaves and African Americans as unintelligent and animalistic. The brilliance of Underground is that it constantly portrays its heroes as clever, intelligent, and genuine human beings. It's also worth noting that this show has one of my favorite opening credit sequences of any show currently on. 

14.) Black-ish (ABC) / Fresh Off the Boat (ABC):

Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat represent what ABC's comedy department is doing so well right now: cultivating cleaver, diverse, and socially relevant family comedies. While ABC has many many shows that fall under the "family comedy" banner, these two are the funniest and most thoroughly developed of the bunch. They feature caring, but flawed fathers, and mothers who are both nurturing and successful at their careers. Each show has hilarious grandparents who are perfect for at least one solid joke per episode. Constance Wu and Tracee Ellis Ross are constant joke machines that elevate their respective shows.  Most impressively, both shows have overcome the greatest challenge facing any family comedy: hiring child actors who are exceptionally talented. Personally I find Fresh Off the Boat to be the more consistently laugh out loud funny of the two shows, but Black-ish often tackles socially relevant topics in a way that is unlike any other show. The Black-ish episode "Hope" was arguably the most socially relevant episode of TV all year. 

13.) Search Party (TBS):

Imagine the Scooby Gang as a group of self-obsesses millennials living in New York City (minus the dog) and you've got a decent description of Search Party. Alia Shawkat plays an aimless woman, who finds meaning in investigating the disappearance of a former college acquaintance. As the mystery becomes more complex, she drags her friends into her obsessive search for the truth and asks them to do increasingly dangerous things to help her. The show does a fantastic job of building a compelling mystery around a case that is not at all what it appears to be. It's also a portrait of a generation that is in many ways is so desperate to finding a meaningful way to live, that they will sometimes ascribe meaning to things that really aren't very meaningful at all. I'm a sucker for "normal person turned sleuth" stories, and Alia Shawkat leads an exceptional cast in what is an often fun and suspenseful tale. 

12.) Superstore (NBC):

After pretty much eliminating comedy from their line-up, Superstore became NBC's attempt to reignite their once highly regarded comedy brand. The show got off to a slow start, but by the end of season one it was starting to resemble a lot of the great NBC comedies from the past decade. It has the "work family" theme and office politics of a show like The Office, the heart of a show like Parks and Recreation, and the absurd sense of humor of a show like Community. While Superstore has yet to reach the high standard set by those three shows, it has carved itself out in the TV landscape as a hilarious workplace comedy with a unique voice. That it resembles those shows doesn't mean it is imitating them. Superstore is creating it's own comedy language as it progresses along, which has made it stand out. The cast is deep and hilarious, without any weak links in the bunch. Like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Superstore is a reliably funny, and heartwarming show that I find myself looking forward to above most other shows every week. 

11.) Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) / Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS):

While cable news found themselves almost baffled as to how to cover admittedly the strangest Presidential election ever, the "aww shucks we're just your friendly neighborhood Nazis" group self titled the "Alt-Right," and pretty much anything else going on in American politics in 2016, the late night talk show hosts were primed and ready for the fight. With the exception of a couple of useless Jimmys, late night talks shows are a broad range of comedy/satire vets who refused to normalize ridiculous things like PEOTUS Trump's Twitter rants, or rise of the racist self titled "Alt-Right." Chief among those late night hosts are Seth Meyers, the former SNL and "Weekend Update" anchor, and Samantha Bee, a long time The Daily Show correspondent. Meyer's "A Closer Look" segment takes a critical look at current political events, in a way that is both hilarious and enlightening. Bee's show features many similar segments, which often focus on the absurdity of what is going on in American politics. Whether or not you agree with their politics (I don't always), both have turned their shows into sources of social relevance, such as Meyer's recent call for the media to stop lazily normalizing the term "Alt-Right" or Bee's many segments that focus on putting a human face on the Syrian refugees seeking asylum in America. 

10.) BoJack Horseman (Netflix):

BoJack Horseman at it's best, is a wildly clever and inventive comedy, that also focuses on the artificial happiness of fame, the dangers of substance abuse, and how fear can cause us to push others away. The third season of the show was more uneven than the previous season, but at its best, the show was radically different than any other comedy on TV. The episode "Fish Out of Water" which featured almost zero dialogue and beautiful visuals, was a poignant homage to the silent film era, that arguably belongs in the discussion as the best episode of the year. "The Best Thing That Ever Happened" is a brutal bottle episode in which BoJack destroys his personal and professional relationship with long time friend and agent Princess Carolyn. "Stop the Presses" is a surprisingly creative episode that revolves around BoJack's phone conversation with a customer service representative at a newspaper he receives but never subscribed to. "That's Too Much, Man" and "That Went Well" are heartbreaking reminders that our actions affect those who look up to us the most. It's not all doom and gloom though. The show features an astounding number of hilarious sight gags, and a surprisingly well crafted "Updike" joke. What other show do you know where character actress Margo Martindale plays character actress Margo Martindale, a criminal on the run from the police? 

9.) Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW):

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is just your run of the mill story about a successful lawyer who has a nervous breakdown, moves across the country to pursue a man she dated at summer camp as a teen, and expresses her feelings through musical numbers. As a musical, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creates an astonishing number of original songs. Each episode features around two or three "Weird Al" style music videos that parody anything from classic musicals (Dreamgirls, The Music Man, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, etc.) to specific pop artists (Beyonce's "Lemonade", Shakira, the Spice Girls, etc.) or genres (Rap battles, "girl power" country anthems, 80s ballads, etc). That the show produces so many original songs, and that so many of them are actually funny, is impressive enough. That's only half the story. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is also a hilarious comedy with a clever (if at times odd) sense of humor, which actually acknowledges its heroine's (creator/star Rachel Bloom) mental health issues and takes them seriously. The show never lets Rebecca off the hook for her unhealthy obsessions, but it rightly never demonizes her for them either. The song "JAP Battle" (in which Rebecca goes toe-to-toe with her childhood rival in a rap battle) is one of the best moments of any show this year, and that's just one of many great moments the show had to offer in 2016. 

8.) Happy Valley (Netflix):

Good crime dramas are hard to come by these days, which makes UK import Happy Valley a rare gem in the TV landscape. Sarah Lancashire is the heart of the show as Catherine Cawood, a veteran police officer who keeps the peace in her small hometown of Calder Valley. Unlike many recent crime dramas Cawood doesn't solve crimes through Holmesian deductions or high tech CSI work, she's simply a good, consistent, cop who knows her town like the back of her hand. It's a refreshing approach to crime solving that American networks (namely CBS, but there are other offenders) could benefit from taking a look at. Layered into crimes that Catherine finds herself solving (many of which she stumbles upon as a side effect of her usual case work, as they are not in her department) the show layers in a tragic backstory for our heroine, that does more to speak to her character than to over-dramatize the storylines. Catherine is hard, cause she has to be, but gentle when the job calls for it. The show isn't overly dramatic, and you won't find any absurd plot twists here, but it's an extremely compelling crime drama that features one of 2016's very best acting performances.

7.) American Crime (ABC):

Easily network TV's greatest drama in 2016, American Crime's second season featured a complex story revolving around the alleged sexual assault of a high school boy, and the ripple effect that it has on an entire community. Over the course of the season, the show explores the treatment of rape/assault victims, cyber-bullying and the dangers of cyber-vigilantism, racial divisions, unequal treatment of of women and minorities in the workplace, gun violence, homophobia, human sexuality, and stigma that surround those with mental health issues. Not only does the show touch on those topics, it handles them with a care, respect, and diligence that is rare for any television show network, cable, or otherwise. Part of the reason those topics are handled with such care, is that the deep cast of talented actors is doing such exceptional work. Lili Taylor and Regina King are outstanding as mothers willing to got to any lengths to protect their children, and Connor Jessup gave the breakout performance of the year as a teen who spirals out of control after allegedly being raped by a fellow student at a party, and then being subsequently bullied for taking his accusations to the police. That's to say nothing of the many other great performances featured on the show. Episode seven of the season was one of the most heartbreaking and shocking hours of television this year. That this show aired on a basic network is honestly baffling, but this is the kind of drama that networks should be trying to make.

6.) Mom (CBS):

In this list I've described Brooklyn Nine-Nine as being something similar to comfort food, and said that Superstore is one of the sitcoms I look forward to most each week, but there's better and more enjoyable sitcom on TV than Mom. In it's fourth season Mom still has a sharp and hilarious sense of humor thanks in no small part to comedy veterans Allison Janney and Anna Faris. Bonnie and Christy Plunkett's mother/daughter banter is one of TV's most consistent sources of laughs. The show has also developed a strong bench of supporting characters (played by Mimi Kennedy, Jaime Pressly, and Beth Hall) that it smartly calls on to create a strong support system for the Plunkett's, while never allowing them to get in the way when the story needs to give all of its focus to Bonnie and Christy. Where the show really excels is in the way it balances tragedy with comedy. The show earnestly addresses serious topics such as Jill (Jaime Pressly) dealing with having outlived her mother who committed suicide when she was girl, or Christy's emotional turmoil over the idea of her past example potentially leading one of her kids down the same path, while also being able to find humor in dark situations. In the episode, "Sticky Hands and a Walk on the Wild Side," the group takes a hilarious trip to Canada to smuggle black market maple syrup across the border, in an attempt to avoid processing their feelings over a friend and fellow alcoholic who died from a drug overdose. The episode not only features some of the best jokes of any episode the show has done, it also features a moment in which the women have an AA meeting on the side of the highway to process their feelings about their friends death. It's one of the most quiet and humbling moments of any show in 2016, and a perfect example of why Mom is such an excellent show. 

5.) iZombie (The CW):

From vampires to superheroes, The CW isn't lacking in "genre" shows with a supernatural (funny enough the name of another genre show on the network) twists. The best of those shows, and frankly any genre show on TV, is the hybrid zombie invasion/crime procedural, iZombie. In its second season, the show only became increasingly better, by slowly losing its reliance on a strict procedural format, and allowing the story to naturally develop it season/series long story arcs. The show made a lot of wise decisions, including allowing Clive to be brought in on Liv's secret. As a detective, there's a certain point where Clive begins to look bad at his job if he can't figure out that something is odd about Liv. Where iZombie benefits is from the mistakes that it's creators made with their past series, Veronica Mars. While that show was excellent, it's second and third season hit multiple stumbling blocks. iZombie has so far done an excellent job of avoiding those same mistakes, which gives the creators a change to tell wildly imaginative and complex stories, without having the show fall apart. The greatest complement I can give iZombie is that it is incredibly good at what it does, and what it does is wildly different than anything else on TV. The season two finale, "Salivation Army" was a thrilling homage to the classic "escape the zombie horde" trope, that ended up being one of the most fun and adventurous episode of the year. On top of that Rose McIver not only does some fantastic acting as Liv Moore, but she also handles the many personalities Liv must take on, without making any of it seem cheesy. 

4.) The People V. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story (FX):

The People V. OJ was arguably the TV event of 2016. While it clearly didn't top my list, the show was easily one of the finest pieces of storytelling this year, television or film. The beauty of the show is that it takes a story about a case, to which everyone know the outcome, and turned it into a tense and suspenseful viewing experience. The power of the show is how it encapsulates the vast number of themes that this case represented in real life. It depicts a Los Angeles (or United States really) that was in racial turmoil, a case with such a huge celebrity component that it changed forever the way court cases are reported, opposing sides who both believed they were fighting for what was right even as their personal lives were torn apart, a case that would forever change the handling and importance of DNA evidence, and in the middle of it all the murder of two human beings. Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, and Courtney B. Vance all deservedly won Emmy awards for their performances on the show, with Brown giving what I would argue is maybe the greatest performance of any actor on any show this year. Episodes like "Marica, Marcia, Marcia" (which depicted the many personal attacks made against Marcia Clark as a woman during the trial), "The Race Card", and "A Jury in Jail" were near perfectly crafted episodes of television. If this goes down as the greatest show of the year, I may not agree, but you'll hear no complaints from me either. 

3.) Atlanta (FX): 

Atlanta is pretty hard to describe in a lot of ways. On the surface it's the story of a down on his luck man named Earn (creator/star Donald Glover) who becomes his rapper cousin's manager in an attempt to make a living and provide for his daughter. In reality the show is much more complex than that. This show feels like a piece of Donald Glover put on the screen. Earn's adventures often lead him into increasingly absurd and comically tragic situations, and often Earn's only defense against what life throws at him is that he's aware enough of his situation to point and laugh. Atlanta is a comedy, but not in the traditional sense. It can be deeply dark, and yet somehow find the humor in the darkest situations. What's so fascinating about Atlanta is that the show feels like Glover took a piece of himself, and put it on the screen for everyone to see. I was a big fan of Glover's writing work on 30 Rock and his acting work on Community, but this is Glover writing and acting on a level that is beyond anything he has ever done before. There arguably isn't a show more uniquely individual to it's creator, and that makes Atlanta a rare find. 

2.) Halt and Catch Fire (AMC):

In it's first season, Halt and Catch Fire, a frequently good, and occasionally great show. By it's second season it had developed into a consistently great show. When it's third season aired this year, it somehow took another leap in quality to become the greatest drama on TV. Where many dramas equate dramatic twists and turns with quality, Halt wisely cashed in on three seasons worth of character history to create an often slow burning and quiet drama. That's not to say that the show is lacks suspense or powerful dramatic moments. The boardroom scene in "The Threshold," in which Donna and Cameron's disagreement over Mutiny's direction results in them both calling for a vote to oust the other from he company, was arguably the most tense moment of any show this year. The way Donna and Cameron's partnership eroded over the course of the season was one of the most tragic developments on any show, while Cameron's development of an almost "mama bear" like defensiveness of Gordon, whom she had previously all but hated, was one of the most endearing developments of the show. These characters know the best and worst sides of each other, and some of TV's most powerful moments this season were when these characters found themselves in the same place as one another, forced to confront that fact. The final four episodes of the season constituted the best run of episodes of any show this year, and even gave the show a fantastic direction to head in for its final season. 

1.) Jane the Virgin (The CW):

There's really not a whole lot to say about this show that I didn't say when it topped my list last year. Jane the Virgin is an often hilarious satire of the telenovela genre that is also TV's most earnest, genuine, and heartfelt comedy. Gina Rodriguez is still giving TV's best acting performance, balancing the comedic and dramatic demands of the show with ease, and the rest of the deep and talented cast is still at the top of their game (including the best narrator on TV). Jane's wedding to Michael was one of the most touching and romantic moments on TV (full of fantastic moments like Jane's abuela telling her that all of her hopes and dreams moving to America were being realized in that one moment, or Michael taking lessons form Alba to be able to say his wedding vows to Jane in Spanish). The third season has taken even more creative risks. Jane lost her virginity to her husband Michael, and the show thoughtfully focused on how Jane had made her virginity such an important part of her identity that once she had lost it she felt like she had lost a part of herself. The show is also unafraid to take creative risks. Season three's fall finale was an episode that paid homage to the storytelling style of Alfred Hithcock, and while the show's tone and style might seem incongruent with the works Hitchcock, it made for one of the most inventive and fun episodes of TV all year. That the show has produced 51 episodes without a single dud, is beyond impressive, especially considering how many different themes and storylines the show is juggling at any given time. There's simply no better show on TV. 

Supergirl Review: "The Last Children of Krypton"

Supergirl's second episode at it's new home was mostly a continuation of what occurred in the season premiere. Superman was still around for this episode, but by the time he left at the end it felt like it was time for him to go. The opening montage of Superman and Supergirl helping people around the city, was a great reminder of the great sibling chemistry these characters have, but this is Supergirl's show. These episode did a lot that helped transition the show from CBS to the CW, but it's time for Supergirl to start figuring out what show it is going to be after the dust settles.

"The Last Children of Krypton" at least started to answer that question. Cat Grant is leaving, which means that those outstanding scenes between Cat and Kara, which have been a lot of the emotional backbone of the series so far, will not be present for majority of the second season. It's a shame, and I'm not sure Kara's new boss Skipper (played by Ian Gomez in a role that is almost the polar opposite of his beloved Cougar Town goofball Andy Torres) will be able to fill that role, especially given the gender gap. I'm willing to give that relationship time to establish itself though. The show will need to establish strong connections in Kara's personal life if it has any hope of continuing the momentum that it established over these two episodes.

Otherwise, it was a pretty standard outing for the show. Metallo gave the cousins from Krypton a much more worthy opponent this week than the army of drones they fought last week. So far the show has been able to keep the special effects standards up to par with the CBS episodes, and I would argue that the many fight scenes between the Metallos and our various protagonists were more impressive than just about any of the show's previous fight scenes. Now all that remains to be seen is how the show will handle the many impending changes on the horizon. If they handle them with the same care that they have handled these first two episode with, then it looks like Supergirl will have many bright days ahead.

Other Thoughts:

* James doesn't seem like an adequate replacement for Cat, but at least his new role will give his presence a little more meaning. These first two episodes functioned almost completely without him, so the show is going to have to do a lot to justify his continued presence on the show.

* After two episodes, it is very clear that "Winn DEO Tech Nerd" is a much better fit for the show than "Winn Kind of Unnecessary Catco IT Guy.

* For as much as the show seems to be banking on audiences being intrigued by the identity of this mystery man from space (Chris Wood), the show has done a pretty bad job of actually giving the audience a reason to care about that random storyline.

* The show has necessarily ignored a lot of the backstory established in season one, to make the transition to the CW easier, but how Cadmus transitioned from a secret government facility to a rogue anti-alien terrorist group probably could have used a little more explanation.

* Alex donning the anti-kryptonian suit from the end of season one makes sense, and was a smart way to keep her in on the action in this episode.

Supergirl Review: "The Adventures of Supergirl"

When I first watched Supergirl last season on CBS, I thought it was a decent, but flawed, superhero show. The casting was excellent and the lighthearted approach to superheroics was refreshing compared to the many darker comic book shows that populate television. Like any show, Supergirl took some time figuring out what kind of show it was. The main problem that plauged the show was its location on CBS.

Since the recent cultural superhero boom, the Big Four networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC), have struggled to figure out how to make good superhero shows. The one exception being ABC's fantastic Agent Carter, a show for which the network could never find an audience. From Gotham to Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., these networks have struggle to produce compelling superhero shows because they are creating content in a system that fears genre shows. Genre shows speak to a specific audience, and the network model wants shows that speak to everyone. On a show like S.H.I.E.L.D., for example, the writers are not only hindered by the network's avoidance of the "genre" label (which resulted in the early run of the show basically being superhero CSI), but by the studio (Marvel) which constantly makes the show change course to fit what is going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  When the networks or studios start limiting shows creatively, audiences are smart enough to notice the difference.

The CW has taken a different approach to genre shows. Being the number five network has given The CW a perspective that the Big Four don't have. When you are the lowest rated network, creating self-aware genre shows that other networks are too afraid to create, suddenly becomes a distinction that sets you apart from other networks. Producer Greg Berlanti has created in immersive DC Comics superhero world at The CW between his shows Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash, the latter of which did a very successful crossover episode with CBS's Supergirl (which is also produced by Berlanti) last season. These shows have their fair share of flaws (especially Legends), but unlike other network shows, they are self-aware, and fully committed to their comic book origins. When CBS was unhappy with the outcome of Supergirl's first season, it only seemed natural for the show to move to The CW (a sister network of CBS, that is co-owned by Warner Bros.).

Being the first episode of Supergirl since moving to The CW, "The Adventures of Supergirl," had some important questions to answer. Would it still feel like the same show? Could The CW keep up the quality of the show with more limited resources than CBS? Would the show be able to improve upon the show that CBS had established? While some of those questions will take time to answer, the overall impression left by "The Adventures of Supergirl," is that this is the best version of the show to date.

One of the biggest flaws of the first season, was the way the show avoided ever showing Superman. Yes, Supergirl is the star of the show, but the idea that she would never see her only living relative, or work with him once she became a superhero, became increasingly ridiculous as the season progress. "The Adventures of Supergirl" tackled that problem head on by introducing Clark/Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) early on in the episode, and keeping him around to help Kara/Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) at various moments during the episode. If the show had any fears about Superman stealing the show, this episode proved that the writers can balance having Superman around and still have this be Kara's show. Hoechlin and Benoist have a very strong "brother/sister" type of chemistry that works perfectly for these characters. It was fun to see Clark play mentor to Kara, while Kara got to roll her eyes at how much more humble and charming Clark is than even her. Seeing the sway that Clark has over Cat Grant, or Kara's reaction to Clark thanking the DEO agents for their work provided some of the episode's best moments.

The show made some other changes as well. The DEO has moved to a new location, which gave the show an opportunity to make some meta jokes about how the show moved from CBS to The CW. Despite ending last season having finally deciding to explore a relationship, Kara has decided that her and Jimmy should remain just friends. Winn has moved careers to the DEO to put his tech skills to good use, which is a much better way for the show to keep his character relevant. After receiving the offer to take on whatever role she wanted at Catco from Cat Grant last season, Kara finally landed on becoming a journalist. Sure anyone could see that coming from a mile away, but it also allowed for a really great moment between Kara and Cat, who admitted that she envisioned this future for Kara since the day she hired her as her assistant. Since Cat will only be a recurring character this season (which I suspect will be a huge loss for the show) instead of a series regular, these kinds of moments will be few and far between, so it was nice to see the show take advantage of her presence here. There are sure to be more changes to come in future episodes, as the show gets used to its new home, but for now, the show feels more like itself than ever before.

Other Thoughts:

* Right now Superman is only set to appear in last night's episode and next week's episode, with the option to make future appearances. I hope the show finds room to have him come back every now and then, as the relationship between Clark and Kara was a very strong element of "The Adventures of Supergirl."

* I never had any strong feelings either way about Kara and Jimmy as a romantic couple. I don't necessarily think we've seen the last of that coupling, but if we have, it's no great loss to the show.

* There were some worries that the show might be lacking in the special effects department this season, since CBS has more money to work with than The CW, but this first episode looked like it was up to the standards of the first season. Whether or not the show will be able to sustain that quality for the entire season remains to be seen.

* The show introduced Lena Luthor as a character in this episode. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of her. Clark made a comment that he's learned the hard way not to trust a Luthor, but by the end of the episode Kara and Clark both seem to believe she's as innocent as she says she is. The episode gave us no reason to think otherwise, but I wouldn't be surprised if Lena become to Kara what Lex is to Clark.

* Alex and Hank were pushed to the side for much of the episode. I'm assuming this is due in large part to the episode's focus on the Clark/Kara relationship, but it's nice to see that the show is able to prioritize instead of just arbitrarily trying to service all of its characters.

* The episode starts with the revelation of the mystery man (Chris Wood) in the Kryptonian pod, but never gives any real answers about who he is. Hopefully the show gets around to that sooner than later, but this episode had enough going on that it didn't need to rush that particular answer. I would not be surprised if this character ends up being the key to destroying the new villain we saw being created at the end of the episode. Could he be a villain himself?

Supergirl "Worlds Finest" Review: Supergirl Meets The Flash

Coming off of a weekend where DC's attempt to combine their two most iconic characters on film, went very wrong, Supergirl started the week by showing exactly how good a superhero crossover can be when everyone involved understands the appeal of the situation. I'll admit, the idea of Supergirl and The Flash meeting up in "Worlds Finest," seemed exciting on paper, but I didn't expect it to really add up to much as a final product. I was happily wrong, for a number of reasons.

One of the biggest reasons the episode worked is that Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist are such inherently likable actors. In a world of grim and brooding superhero movies/shows, The Flash and Supergirl are easily the two most optimistic depictions of superheros anywhere. Seeing as a lot of that optimism is owed in large part to each show's lead, watching the two occupy scenes together was effortlessly charming. Gustin pulled off Barry's excitement to show off in front of new friends, without coming across as smug, and Benoist was great at showing how giddy Kara was to have a super-powered peer with whom she could interact.

The writers were at the top of their game here, and that's what it takes for an episode like this to work. The episode established the presence of two villains, highlighted personal problems for Kara to solve both as a person and a superhero, introduced The Flash to Supergirl, gave both heroes a chance to show off their powers to each other, fit in two great fight scenes, and gave the characters plenty of time to just inhabit the same world in a fun way. Doing all of that in one episode requires a strong understanding of when to speed things up and when to slow them down. Funny enough, that sentiment is actually the main message behind the episode's plot.

Do I wish the episode were an hour longer? Sure, but given how unlikely this episode's existence was in the first place, I'm very happy with the end result. Here's hoping another crossover (maybe even one involving the Green Arrow) awaits us in the future.

Some other thoughts:

• The scene where Barry shows off his powers to Kara's friends by getting them all ice cream cones in the blink of an eye is probably the most iconic scene of the episode. If my Twitter feed is any indication, it was also the most popular scene among fans. 
• It was smart to introduce Kara to the Flash by having him save her life. From a story standpoint it allowed the episode to skip the whole "can I trust this person" plot that would have sucked up too much of the episode's time. Also it made for a nice "Who are you and why have I never heard of you?" moment for both characters. 
• The episode had a lot of fun showing how Barry was equally in awe of the fact that Kara was an alien, as she and her friends were of his explanation of the Multiverse. 
• Barry is used to being one among many scientists, but it was fun to see Winn nerd-out over having another scientific mind around to talk to. 
• Kat Grant's comment about Kara, Barry, Winn, and James looking like, "the attractive yet non-threatening racially-diverse cast of a CW show" was a particularly fun jab at Barry Allen's home network. The CW should have no problem laughing it off, seeing as they do genuinely put a greater focus on diversity than just about any other network except maybe ABC.