(CREDIT: FX/YouTube Screenshot)

When making Best Episode lists, some TV critics limit themselves to one entry per show, but I never operate by that self-imposition, as certain shows are just masterful when crafting a single hour or half-hour (or whatever runtime they feel like using), and that ought to be reflected in the ledger. So you’ll find that several shows have wound up more than once in this list, and those tended to be the ones that also fared the best on my Best Shows of 2020 list. You’ll also find at least one program that didn’t make my Best Shows list, as it’s possible to have one excellent outing within an otherwise disappointing season. So forthwith, if someone who missed all TV in 2020 asked me for a refresher, here is where I would direct them:

1. What We Do in the Shadows, “On the Run”
2. Middleditch & Schwartz, “Dream Job”
3. Joe Pera Talks with You, “Joe Pera Goes to Dave Wojcek’s Bachelor Party with You”
4. Better Call Saul, “Bagman”
5. Better Call Saul, “Bad Choice Road”
6. Rick and Morty, “The Vat of Acid Episode”
7. A.P. Bio, “Gary Meets Dave”
8. How To with John Wilson, “How To Split the Check”
9. What We Do in the Shadows, “Colin’s Promotion”
10. Animaniacs, “Anima-Nyet”/”Babysitter’s Flub”/”The Warner’s Press Conference”
11. A.P. Bio, “Katie Holmes Day”
12. How To with John Wilson, “How To Make Small Talk”
13. What We Do in the Shadows, “Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires”
14. American Dad!, “Brave N00b World”
15. Beef House, “Prunes”
16. Killing Eve, “Are You From Pinner?”
17. Dispatches From Elsewhere, “The Boy”
18. The Baby-Sitters Club, “Mary Anne Saves the Day”
19. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Glitch”
20. Big Mouth, “Nick Starr”
21. Search Party, “Irrefutable Evidence”
22. Never Have I Ever, “… started a nuclear war”
23. The Mandalorian, “Chapter 16: The Rescue”
24. PEN15, “Vendy Wiccany”
25. Big Mouth, “Horrority House”