2020 has been a topsy turvy ride for everyone as the world suddenly came to a standstill and we all got confined in our homes. TV shows, movies and series have been a respite from the monotony for most people. Here is a list of 15 of the best TV shows of 2020 that were released despite the Coronavirus pandemic and made our year a little bearable.
1. The Queen’s Gambit
Story: The Queen’s Gambit is a coming of age period drama set during the era of the cold war, follows the life of Beth Harmon, who is an orphan. She is a child chess prodigy who has set out on the journey to becoming the greatest chess player in the whole world. The series focuses on the challenges in her ways and how she deals with them and also brings into perspective her personal life in which she struggles with drug addiction and alcohol dependency.
The series is inspired by a novel of the same name written by Walter Tevis, which is supposed to be based on true life events. The Queen’s Gambit is also a famous opening move in chess, so we can agree that the series has been appropriately named.
Director: Scott Frank
Main Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Bill Camp, Moses Ingram, Isla Johnston, Christiane Seidel, Rebecca Root, Chloe Pirrie and others.
Genre: Coming of age, Period drama
Where To Watch: Netflix
IMDb Rating: 8.7 / 10
2. Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
Story: Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet follows the story of video game developer Ian Grimm. Along with his colleagues at their video game developing studio, he releases and runs a popular game Mythic Quest. While gearing up to release a major expansion to the game titled ‘Raven’s Banquet’ and keeping Mythic Quest on top of the charts, the team struggles to get along with all the underlying office drama.
The series is a perfect reminder that challenges met in real life are a bigger deal than any challenge met on an online game in the virtual world.
Director: Rob McElhenney
Main Cast: Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, David Hornsby, Ashly Burch, Jessie Ennis, Imani Hakim, Danny Pudi and others.
Genre: Comedy, Sitcom
Where To Watch: Apple TV+
IMDb Rating: 7.6 / 10
3. Never Have I Ever
Story: The series Never Have I Ever follows the teenage struggles of Devi Vishwakumar, a first-generation American Indian living in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. After the untimely demise of her father, she struggles emotionally and mentally. An embarrassing freshman year leads her to make a resolve to climb up the social ladder.
A strained relationship with her mother and teenage drama and dilemmas at the school make her task all the more difficult. Dealing with school, family, friends, crushes and teenage politics all at once makes the series a joyful, emotional and topsy turvy ride. This coming of age teen drama is a must-watch.
Director: Lang Fisher and Adam Shapiro
Main Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Darren Barnet, Richa Moorjani, Jaren Lewison, John McEnroe and others.
Genre: Comedy-drama, Coming of age, Teen drama
Where To Watch: Netflix
IMDb Rating: 7.9 / 10
4. Scam 1992
Story: Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story is based on true events which occurred in succession and culminated in 1992. The series follows the story of Harshad Mehta, a well-known stockbroker at the Bombay stock exchange. He started modestly as a Gujarati salesman who then took up a job as a jobber at the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Living in a one-room apartment in the suburbs with his parents, wife and brother, Harshad wished to gain wealth to improve their conditions. Soon he set up his own financial consulting firm which grew in power and influence as he gained experience in the field by bribing government officials and exploiting loopholes in the laws of the financial market.
The story parallelly follows Sucheta Dalal, a journalist who gets tipped off about Harshad’s illegal and shady activities. Shes also gets to know about his involvement in a scam at the State Bank of India and decides to spring an investigation. The series is based on a novel by the original Sucheta Dalal, titled ‘The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost and Who Got Away’.
Director: Hansal Mehta and Jai Mehta
Main Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Anjali Barot, Nikhil Dwivedi, Mamik Singh, Lalit Parimoo, Rajat Kapoor and others.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Where To Watch: SonyLIV
IMDb Rating: 9.5 / 10
5. Paatal Lok
Story: Paatal Lok is the story of a striving but an honest police officer. He gets assigned a devious case where there is a deeper meaning to everything and everyone involved. Four suspects get arrested for the attempted murder of a journalist, which overjoys him as he thinks he has a solid lead in the case.
However, the case proves to a twisted one as nothing is what it seems at first. To solve it, the police officer has to journey through the underworld of crime, that is, Paatal Lok. The journey faces him with the most horrifying truths and the past of the four suspects. Engulfed in treachery, deceit, lies, power, money, crime and danger, will he be able to solve the case?
Director: Avinash Arun and Prosit Roy
Main Cast: Jaideep Ahlawat, Gul Panag, Neeraj Kabi, Swastika Mukherjee, Ishwar Singh, Abhishek Banerjee and others.
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Where To Watch: Amazon Prime
IMDb Rating: 7.8 / 10
6. Panchayat
Story: The series follows the story of Abhishek, a young engineering graduate who fails to secure a good decent job. Out of necessity, he decides to take up the post of a secretary at the Panchayat office in Phulera, a small village in Uttar Pradesh, India. Stuck between crazy villagers and a tedious lifestyle in the rural areas, Abhishek’s sole motive is to get out of there as soon as possible no matter what the cost. As a result, he starts preparing for CAT exams. Shuffling and juggling between his exam preparations and his job while surrounded by wild villagers and ridiculous panchayat members, Abhishek finds himself in an odd situation. The series makes for a great comedy-drama.
Director: Deepak Kumar Mishra
Main Cast: Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Biswapati Sarkar, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Pooja Singh and others.
Genre: Comedy-drama
Where To Watch: Amazon Prime
IMDb Rating: 8.7 / 10
Also read: 8 Bollywood Celebrity Hairstylists to Follow on Instagram Right Now
7. Aarya
Story: Based on the Dutch drama series, Penoza, the series Aarya, starring Sushmita Sen in the lead role, tells the story of Aarya Sareen, a mother of three kids who are forced by unexpected and sudden circumstances to go to extreme and shady lengths to protect her family and keep them out of harm’s way.
The story starts with the happy Sareen family, Tej and Aarya and their three young and beautiful children. Along with a friend and Aarya’s brother, Tej runs a pharmaceutical company. Against his dissuasions, the other two loot drugs from a shady crime lord and decide to sell it through their company.
When Aarya’s brother gets arrested, and Tej shot outside their family home, only to pass away in the hospital, Aarya takes up the responsibility of the family. With the inspector in charge of the case looking for a particular pen drive and an unknown kidnapper blackmailing her, Aarya decides to take the matter into her own hands. But how far will she go to protect her children? And will she be successful in saving them?
Director: Ram Madhvani, Sandeep Modi and Vinod Rawat
Main Cast: Sushmita Sen, Chandrachur Singh, Sikandar Kher, Ankur Bhatia, Alexx O’Nell, Namit Das, Manish Choudhary and others.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 7.9 / 10
8. Perry Mason
Story: The series is a period drama based on the story of the famous defence lawyer Perry Mason, in Los Angeles, United States. In 1932, Los Angeles is getting back up on its feet while other places are still struggling as an aftermath of the Great Depression.
Perry Mason, a private investigator and defence lawyer, is busy fighting his demons which includes the trauma of the First World War and the heartache of his divorce. During this time, he is hired for the trial of a child kidnapping case which has a profound impact on him. The case turns the table and seriously changes the lives of Perry Mason, his loved ones, the politicians and all others associated with the case in any way.
Director: Tim Van Patten and Deniz Gamze Erguven
Main Cast: Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, William Talman, Ray Collins and others.
Genre: Legal Drama, Mystery Fiction
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 7.6 / 10
9. I May Destroy You
Story: The series tells the story of Arabella Essiedu and how a particular event changes everything for her. Arabella is a writer, who has written the popular novel Chronicles of a Fed Up Millennial. While striving to meet the deadline set by her publishers for her second novel, she decides to take a break and enjoy a night out at a local club in London to meet up with her friends.
Things take a major turn from their intended course when she wakes up the next morning unable to remember anything about what happened to her the previous night. The series focuses on her attempts to find out what happened with the help of her best friends Kwame and Terry, a struggling actor.
Director: Sam Miller and Michaela Coel
Main Cast: Michaela Coel, Weruche Opia, Paapa Essiedu, Marouane Zotti, Ann Akin, Chin Nyenwe, Rebecca Calder and others.
Genre: Comedy Drama
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 8.1 / 10
10. Mrs America
Story: With feminists from all around the United States rallying in support of the signing of the Equal Rights Amendment Act, a conservationist and activist, Phyllis Schlafly, strongly opposes it. Despite being a lady, she leads the movement against the proposition in full force and complete and utter irony.
The period drama is a fictional take and loosely based upon the era of the advent of outright feminism in the United States. It impacted and permanently changed the perspective of American politics and policies to a great extent. It is believed to have been one of the most culturally conflicted times.
Director: Tracey Ullman and John Slattery
Main Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, Kayli Carter, Ari Graynor, Melanie Lynskey and others.
Genre: Historical Drama
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 7.8 / 10
11. P-Valley
Story: Based in the fictional town of Chucalissa in Mississippi, the United States, the series P-Valley focuses on the life of the employees at a small but interesting strip club, The Pynk. When a newbie stripper named Autumn is welcomed with open arms by the owner of the strip club, Uncle Clifford, and the best and most experienced stripper and dancer, Mercedes, people are intrigued.
Autumn turns many heads at the club. All they know about her is that she moved to town after surviving a hurricane. Unknown to everyone is that a lot of new things are about to unfold, adding to the drama and interest slowly. The series focuses on all the colourful people who walk through the doors of that little club.
Some are lost, some are broken while some are looking for more than they let on. With the crazy politics between employees and Mercedes considering to move, the series takes an interesting turn and successfully manages to keep the audience on edge.
Director: Tasha Smith
Main Cast: Brandee Evans, Nicco Annan, Shannon Thornton, Elarica Johnson, Skyler Joy, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Parker Sawyers and others.
Genre: Drama
Where To Watch: Hulu
IMDb Rating: 6.7 / 10
12. The Undoing
Story: Grace lives in New York City, United States, with her family which comprises of herself, her husband and their young son. Her son attends an exclusive private school in the city, and she is a successful therapist. Getting to help others with their problems and coming back home to her loving and devoted husband, Grace believes herself to be living the life of her dreams until one single night changes it all for her and brings her whole life crashing down.
A morbid murder is pinned on her husband, and as an accused suspect would do, he is on the run. Grace is shattered, but she must compose herself for the sake of her child. Painful but truthful revelations destroy her as she attempts to build another life.
Director: Susanne Bier
Main Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Edgar Ramirez, Noah Jupe, Lily Rabe, Matilda de Angelis, Ismael Cruz Cordova and others.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 7.6 / 10
13. The Great
Story: The series focuses on Catherine the Great, the longest-ruling female ruler in Russia. Bringing her personal life into perspective, the audience gets to see her young days and the choices she was faced with after her marriage into the royal family. Marrying Emperor Peter presented her with two choices, her happiness or the safe future of all of Russia.
This period drama is a satire based on her era and an anti-historical take on the struggles of Catherine to rise to power and claim responsibility for all of Russia.
Director: Ben Chessell, Colin Bucksey and Matt Shakman
Main Cast: Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, Gwilym Lee, Adam Godley and others.
Genre: Comedy Drama, Historical Fiction
Where To Watch: Hulu
IMDb Rating: 8.1 / 10
Also read: Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari Movie Review: A Clever Parody to Watch this Weekend
15. Upload
Story: The series is based in the year 2033. People can now upload themselves after dying to whatever afterlife they choose for themselves. A young computer programmer, Nathan, finds himself uploaded to the expensive Lake View after his untimely death only to find himself subjugated by his living girlfriend, Ingrid.
He finds himself strangely drawn to Nora, his living customer service representative as he helps her deal with her problems as well. Nora finds herself falling for Nathan as well as she gets to know him and starts to figure out that possibly he was murdered. The series is a must-watch.
Director: Greg Daniels
Main Cast: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Josh Bandey, Jordan Johnson Hinds and others.
Genre: Science Fiction, Satire, Drama, Television comedy
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 8 / 10
15. Devs
Story: The series follows the story of Lily Chan, a successful software engineer working for a quantum computing company named Amaya which is run by Forest. She becomes involved in the disappearance of her boyfriend, who is believed to have died on the very first day at his brand new job at another company names Devs.
Lily then starts to investigate a secret branch of her company which she believes is responsible for everything. But where will her search lead her and what will she find for the audience to find out.
Director: Alex Garland
Main Cast: Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Karl Glusman, Alison Pill and others.
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Technological thriller
Where To Watch: Disney + Hotstar
IMDb Rating: 7.7 / 10