“12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer”

Comedy Central

Amy Schumer had a lot of highs in 2015: her blockbuster film Trainwreck, a Saturday Night Live hosting gig, a slew of Emmy nominations, a series of Internet takedowns calling her a racist and/or a sexist (which, some might say, is a sign you’ve made it in comedy). But Schumer’s greatest moment was an episode in which she barely appears, except as a headshot. “12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer,” the third episode of her show’s third season, was a 20-minute long sketch featuring 12 male jurors debating whether she was hot enough to be a star. It was every piece of gross Internet commentary and personal insecurity: the ultimate ego trip, and at the same time a devastating piece of self-examination. It was one of those things you laugh all the way through then get depressed thinking about after: in other words, a perfect piece of comedy.

The Netflix Comedy Boom

Netflix

Just a few years ago, stand-up comedians were bemoaning the uncertain future of the hour-long special, once the provenance of premium channels like HBO and Showtime. Louis C.K. said in 2014 that one reason he was motivated to self-distribute his specials was that no networks were interested. At the time, his decision was hailed as the future of comedy, but just a year later, it already feels outdated. Netflix, the standard-bearer of “Peak TV,” produced 11 specials this year and promised more for the future. There were big names, like John Mulaney’s brilliant Comeback Kid, Aziz Ansari’s Live at Madison Square Garden, and Chris Tucker’s return to the stage. But there were also up-and-comers like Iliza Shlesinger, breakout stars like Chelsea Peretti, and perhaps best of all, Jen Kirkman’s I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine), a searing, open-hearted work about growing older and pushing back against cultural norms. Once floundering, the comedy special now feels more vital than ever.

The Carmichael Show Proves Summer TV Wrong

NBC

Buried on NBC’s summer schedule, where unwanted shows are usually “burned off” to be forgotten, Jerrod Carmichael’s The Carmichael Show instantly proved itself one of network’s most vital sitcoms in years. After so many attempts to make the old-school, multi-camera, laugh-track sitcom relevant again, Carmichael cracked the formula by embracing the staginess and centering every week around a socially relevant or politically tense issue. A new sitcom usually takes weeks, if not years, to find its feet. The Carmichael Show was interrogating the black family’s generational reactions to Black Lives Matter in its second week—and it was being funny while doing it. Its renewal for a second season was one of the heartening success stories of the year, and its ratings success was further proof that the traditional September-to-May model of TV programming is nearing obsolescence.