If one theme defines this year’s TV, it’s that there has been too much for anyone to watch everything worthwhile. Here’s a rundown of all 112 shows that our critics voted for in the Best of 2015 TV poll, with handy micro-reviews all the way to No 1 so you can bluff the ones you didn’t see

Never catch-up TV: 2015 was the year of too many good shows

If the Guardian’s Best TV of 2015 countdown proves anything at all, it’s that there was simply too much television this year. There was more TV than anyone could realistically watch.

Once all the ballots were compiled, our writers ended up voting for 112 different programmes. Assuming the mean length of each programme was 10 hours (although some were one-off documentaries and some were, ahem, Homes Under the Hammer), that works out at 46 and a half days of television – 46 and a half days, watched straight through without work or sleep or food or going outside. That’s simply an unreasonable amount of television to be expected to watch. Even I, as someone who writes about television for a living, missed out on about a third of the list.

What’s surprising is the sheer number of sources that these shows have come from. They’re smeared across 28 different platforms; big traditional channels such as BBC1 and Channel 4, but also on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime and iPlayer. Even TruTV gets a look in. (I didn’t even know what TruTV was until now. Apparently it’s a channel famous for a series called Santas in the Barn. That one didn’t make the list, by the way, which is a shame because it looks amazing.)

And these are just the shows we liked. There’s so much more out there, all the bad television: the cruddy lower-EPG filler documentaries about shark attacks and men who kill, and endless, pointless auctions. We ignored those in favour of diligently crafted, beautifully shot labours of love that were full of heart and interesting points of view and winning performances. And we still ended up with 112 of them.

Obviously, you’re going to disagree with most of the list. You’re going to point out shows that nobody here voted for (such as the terrible third season of House of Cards), and shows that premiered slightly too late to do better (such as Jessica Jones). You’re definitely going to have something to say about Homes Under the Hammer, because I can’t work out why that’s there either. But, as a snapshot of the programmes that the coddled broadsheet metropolitan elite enjoyed this year, it seems largely representative.

However, there was so much good television this year that, inevitably, you’re going to get caught out. You’re going to meet someone, and they’re going to ask you what you thought of Mr Robot, and you’ll be left spluttering and flailing like an uncultured fool. So consider this a cheatsheet; here’s every show in the ballot, in reverse order of popularity, accompanied by a micro-review that you can use to fool friends and acquaintances into thinking that you’ve seen them. You are welcome.



112 The Flash (Sky1): So-So

111 Grayson Perry’s Dream House (Channel 4): Intelligent

110 The Man in the High Castle (Amazon): Potential

109 Rupaul’s Drag Race (truTV): Colourful

108 Homes under the Hammer (BBC1): A Clerical Error

107 Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise (BBC4): Hypnotic

106 Jane the Virgin (E4): Relentlessly Entertaining

105 The Game (BBC2): Less Than The Sum Of Its Parts

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104 Wet Hot American Summer (Netflix): Giddy

103 Agent Carter (Fox): An Empty Delight

102 Inside the Commons (BBC2): Dry, But Fascinating

101 Danger Mouse (CBBC): As Good As You Remember

100 1864 (BBC4): Kaspar Juul!

99 The Royals (E!): Trashy

98 Raised by Wolves (C4): Mouthy

97 Downton Abbey (ITV): The End, Thank God.

96 Cyberbully (C4): Eat Your Vegetables

95 Toast of London (C4): Bizarrely Low

94 Cradle to Grave (BBC2): Weirdly-Accented Nostalgiafest

93 W1a (BBC2): Pathologically Self-Referential

92 Gotham (C5): Pointless

91 Shark (BBC1): Beautiful

90 Girls (Sky Atlantic): Off The Boil

89 The Detectives (BBC2): Scarring

88 The C Word (BBC1): Touching

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87 Orange is the New Black (Netflix): Shapeless

86 People Just Do Nothing (BBC3): Electric

85 Chef’s Table (Netflix): Too Reverent

84 Gogglebox (C4): Apparently Entertaining

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83 You Me and the Apocalypse (Sky1): Ambitious

82 Bojack Horseman (Netflix): Deliberately Depressing

81 My Son the Jihadi (C4): Startling

80 Ray Donovan (Sky Atlantic): Perennial B-Lister

79 Togetherness (Sky Atlantic): Duplassy

78 Sense8 (Netflix): Dildotastic

77 Storyville: India’s Daughter (BBC4): Gut-Wrenching

76 First Dates (C4): Awkward

75 The Outcast (BBC1): Read The Book Instead

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74 Ripper Street (Amazon): Back!

73 Handmade: Metal (BBC4): Absorbing

72 Justified (Spike): Already Missed

71 House of Fools (BBC2): Silly

70 The Legacy (Sky Arts): Peak Danish

69 Broadchurch (ITV): The Most Disappointing Show Of The Year

68 Fortitude (Sky Atlantic): Genre-Bending

67 Penny Dreadful (Sky Atlantic): Silly

66 Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central): Breakout

65 Scream Queens (E4): Showing Promise

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64 Narcos (Netflix): Less Than The Sum Of Its Parts

63 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (BBC1): Vast

62 The Last Kingdom (BBC2): Game Of Moans

61 Unreal (Lifetime): Cable Drama By Numbers

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60 Weekly Wipe (BBC2): Cutting

59 Homeland (C4): Much Improved

58 The Clangers (Cbeebies): Delightful

57 Not Safe for Work (C4): Nearly Funny

56 The Daily Show (Comedy Central): Essential, With Or Without Jon Stewart

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55 Critical (Sky1): Already Dead

54 Veep (Sky Atlantic): Dazzling

53 Nurse Jackie (Sky Atlantic): Still Going

52 Bitter Lake (iPlayer): Either ‘Bold’ Or ‘Impenetrable’, Depending On Who You’re Trying To Impress

51 Louis Theroux (BBC2): Maturing

50 Chewing Gum (E4): Real

49 Jessica Jones (Netflix): Better Than Daredevil, Worst Theme Tune Of The Year

48 Community (Yahoo): Hidden

47 Grace and Frankie (Netflix): Less Than The Sum Of Its Parts

46 Count Arthur Strong (BBC1): Solid

45 The Affair (Sky Atlantic): Annoying

44 Doctor Who (BBC1): Resurgent

43 The Walking Dead (Fox): Slightly Less Resurgent

42 Made in Chelsea (E4): A Clerical Error

41 Daredevil (Netflix): Great, Then Terrible

40 Detectorists (BBC4): Charming

39 The Americans (ITV Encore): Wiggy, But Gripping

38 Bloodline (Netflix): Less Than The Sum Of Its Parts.

37 Last Week Tonight (Sky Atlantic): Barnstorming

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36 No Offence (C4): Shameless

35 Hunted (C4): Unintentionally Silly

34 Silicon Valley (Sky Atlantic): Incredible

33 Peter Kay’s Car Share (BBC1): Very Popular

32 Game of Thrones (Sky Atlantic): Redacted, On The Basis That Any Description Will Be Misread As A Spoiler, And I Don’t Need The Ballache

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31 EastEnders (BBC1): Live

30 Peep Show (C4): Please Don’t Go

29 Great Canal Journeys (C4): Elegiac

28 Rectify (AMC): Southern Gothic

27 Hannibal (Sky Living): Lysergic

26 Last Man on Earth (Dave): Riotous

25 The Returned (More 4): Gorgeous

24 The Good Wife (More 4): Full Of Backstage Hatred

23 Broad City (Comedy Central): Zeitgeisty

22 The Leftovers (Sky Atlantic): The Best Show Of The Year. This Poll Is Broken.

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21 Great British Bake Off (BBC1): Heartwarming

20 Transparent (Amazon): Touching, Important, Not Very Funny

19 Show Me a Hero (Sky Atlantic): Eat Your Vegetables

18 The Jinx (Sky Atlantic): Sinister

17 Doctor Foster (BBC1): Brutal

16 Inside No 9 (BBC2): Nightmarish

15 Unforgotten (ITV): Gripping

14 This is England ’90 (C4): Muscular

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13 Humans (C4): Ambitious

12 Cucumber (C4): Harrowing

11 Fargo (C4): Crackling

10 River (BBC1): Haunting

9 Better Call Saul (Netflix): Fantastically Offbeat

8 Empire (E4): A Sensation

7 Mr Robot (Amazon): Fight Club With Floppy Discs

6 Master of None (Netflix): Didactic

5 London Spy (BBC2): Not Quite As Good As Everyone Says

4 Catastrophe (C4): Brilliant

3 Mad Men (Sky Atlantic): A Perfect Send-Off

2 Wolf Hall (BBC2): Stunning

1 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix): An Absolute Force Of Nature