In the age of binge-watching, when television is so readily accessible to everyone who has internet, first seasons rather than first episodes have become the hook for audiences everywhere. But sometimes a good first season is all a TV show has. Sometimes a TV show has such a strong first season that it’s almost impossible for the writers to improve upon it in the next; sometimes writers have too much creative power over their works, get too confident, and their work deteriorates; and sometimes, great series are cancelled before they’re given a chance to fully bloom. Nevertheless, whether its second season deteriorated or the the series was cancelled, some first seasons are worth watching on their own.
This is by no means a comprehensive list; it does not include TV series with solid seasons 2’s and 3’s, like Breaking Bad or Six Feet Under. The list below focuses on the best season one’s on TV, but only those that can be considered stand-alone seasons, those that were cancelled, and those that deteriorated.
1. True Detective
There’s nothing new about detective stories, in fact, some would say there are too many out there already. But in some of the best detective stories, the cases serve as the backdrop of the story while the characters take center stage. With Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s performances, Pizzolatto’s rich and complex writing, and Cary Fukunaga as director, HBO’s character-driven crime drama is a must-watch. Even though Season 1 is a stand-alone season, it feels wrong to find the hot mess that was Season Two under the name of True Detective.
2. Mr. Robot
Unlike True Detective, Mr. Robot’s first season does not stand alone. Mr. Robot is one of the most compelling and provocative series on TV right now, but there’s no denying that Season 2 took a turn for the worse. Mr. Robot follows the life of Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and brilliant hacker with crippling anxiety and depression, as he is recruited by a group of hackers that refer to themselves as “fsociety.” The first season received high praise from both critics and general audiences, as well as a large number of awards, including the 2015 American Film Institute Award for Television Programs of the Year. When Season 2 came out, expectations were too high and the quality of the season turned out to be inferior to the first, leaving viewers disappointed. Even so, Season 1 stands as one of the most original character-driven dramas in recent TV history.
3. Freaks and Geeks
The cancellation of Freaks and Geeks is still one of TV’s greatest storytelling tragedies. The 18-episode series succeeded in being a realistic portrayal of the odd, singular, and often simultaneously hilarious and devastating experience of high school. The comedy/drama focused mainly on the stories of 16-year-old Lindsay Weir and 14-year-old Sam Weir and their interactions with their friends (of which we never got any closure for!). The show met its end before the first season had finished airing due to it having an awful time slot, having to compete with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for ratings, and because the creators, including producer Judd Apatow (director, writer, and producer of The 40-Year Old Virgin) refused to give in to the demands of the network. According to Apatow, the network wanted to make everyone “cool,” while the creators were seeking to portray something much closer to reality.
However, even without a proper ending, the brilliance of Freaks and Geeks’ only season continues to gain a cult following.
4. River
I stumbled upon this gem after binge-watching all three seasons of the Scandinavian TV series The Bridge, mistakenly believing it to be an UK remake of the former. River is a six-part British drama that originally aired on BBC One, but was bought by Netflix, where it aired internationally. The show follows John River, a brilliant detective as he investigates the death of a fellow police officer and partner, and struggles to find a balance between reality and the workings of his unbalanced mind. While the trope of the genius detective can be exhausting, the writers made the character of River unique and very much their own, adding a few twists to the trope along the way. However, what really makes this show a must-watch is the fact that it explores the mental health of the protagonist in a way very few other TV shows ever dare to do.
5. Twin Peaks
Love or hate Twin Peaks, you have to admit there is nothing out there like it. The cult TV series created by David Lynch and Mark Frost originally aired its first season in 1990, and centered its plot around the investigation of the murder of the local homecoming queen, Laura Palmer. In season 2, ABC, the channel on which it aired, put pressure on the creators to reveal the murderer of Laura Palmer, something Lynch didn’t want to do. As ABC’s demands increased, Lynch’s creative control declined, and so did the quality of the series. What had been an unique, imaginative, and experimental drama deteriorated into a soap opera that proved to be almost unwatchable. In an interview with TV Line, Lynch himself said, “The second season sucked.” However, the first season still stands as one of the most original TV dramas out there, and now with the airing of season 3 twenty-five years after its cancellation, there is hope Lynch will get to tell the story he set out to tell years ago.