‘Widow’s Bay,’ ‘Half Man,’ and more of the best TV of the year so far

So. Much. TV. Every week. Every day. All the time. So we’re going to keep this as simple as possible. Here are my 10 favorite new shows of the year so far. I wrote about many of them when they came out, anticipating that they might be worthwhile. What can I say? I have good taste. A quick glance will reveal that it’s been a great half year for HBO, which claims half the spots on my list.

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In alphabetical order:

The screwball comedy is alive, well, and screwier than ever in this madcap, high-energy farce about two bickering adult siblings (Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega), their overbearing mother (Laurie Metcalf), and the low-level Russian mobsters they come to serve. We knew Metcalf and Levy were great, but Ortega might be the TV find of the year. Stream it on: Netflix.

A kind-of murder mystery that ends up being more of a complex portrait of loneliness and friendship, “DTF” never goes where you expect. Jason Bateman, Linda Cardellini, and David Harbour are excellent as the wobbly legs of a bizarre love triangle. Stream it on: HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video.

The mockumentary format has some serious tread on its tires. But “Reggie Dinkins” flips the script by introducing a disgraced documentary filmmaker (Daniel Radcliffe) set on chronicling the comeback of a disgraced former football star (Tracy Morgan). Odd couple chemistry and second chances ensue. Stream it on: Peacock, Prime Video.

It may be a bit much for some, but Richard Gadd’s follow-up to “Baby Reindeer” proves to be a relentless drama of family ties that can’t be broken (even when they should) and the long-term damage of toxic masculinity. Gadd and Jamie Bell give searing performances as the two leads, as do Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson as the younger versions of the main characters. I devoured it. Stream it on: HBO Max, Prime Video.

The latest “Game of Thrones” spinoff is, naturally … a tender-hearted buddy comedy, about a bumbling wannabe knight (Peter Claffey) and his wannabe squire (Dexter Sol Ansell), who turns out to have powerful family connections. It’s got some grit, but a lot more wit. Stream it on: HBO Max, Prime Video.

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Sneakily thoughtful, aesthetically daring, this British drama came over from the BBC (where it premiered in the UK in 2024). Rebecca Hall stars as a suburban London woman who can’t stop hearing a mysterious hum, and encounters a cult-like group that claims to hear it, too. An unnerving meditation on the need for community and belief. Stream it on: Starz.

Frothy but deceptively substantive, this David E. Kelley concoction (based on a novel by Rufi Thorpe) pairs Elle Fanning as a young mother who finds an OnlyFans following and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mother, who knows she’s made some mistakes of her own. Nick Offerman is welcome as always as the estranged dad, an ex-pro wrestler with a heart of gold. Stream it on: Apple TV.

Make that 100, as of last Sunday. Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio’s two-part documentary on the enduring funny man is loving but not fawning, exhaustive but never exhausting. And it’s not shy about observing, with help from Brooks’s family, that he was never the easiest guy to live with. Stream it on: HBO Max.

In 1983, the enormously popular Italian TV variety host Enzo Tortora (Fabrizio Gifuni) was wrongfully arrested after a delusional mobster (Lino Musella) named him as an associate. This Italian language series, whip-smart and brilliantly acted, explains how it all went down. Stream it on: HBO Max.

Sometimes tone trumps everything else. The term “horror comedy” seems to work as well as anything for this unique modern fable about a cursed New England island and the unpopular mayor (Matthew Rhys) trying to maintain calm, solve the mystery, and perhaps drum up a little tourist business. Meanwhile, Kate O’Flynn all but steals the show as the mayor’s awkward right hand. Stream it on: Apple TV.

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