Over the year, several new streaming services have sprung up around the world, with many of them available in Aotearoa.
Returning cult TV shows like The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul remained popular in 2020, but some brand new series quickly established passionate fanbases.
So what were the very best TV shows released this year?
According to average review ratings professional critics, the greatest new television series of 2020 was City So Real.
The National Geographic miniseries documented the 2019 mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social upheaval following the murder of George Floyd.
It scored 100 percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus hails it an "epic portrait of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a diverse and divided community" that has "even handed, empathetic storytelling".
In second place is NBA documentary series The Last Dance, which can be viewed via Netflix in New Zealand.
The list from review aggregator Metacritic below is the 10 highest-scoring first-year TV series, including limited series, that debuted in the US between January 1 and December 31.
They're ranked by their average review rating or 'Metascore' and can only be included if seven or more reviews have been published on them.
Metacritic's top 10 new TV shows of 2020:
- City So Real (Nat Geo)
- The Last Dance (ESPN)
- Visible: Out on Television (Apple TV+)
- Lenox Hill (Netflix)
- The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix)
- Mrs America (FX on Hulu)
- I May Destroy You (HBO)
- P-Valley (Starz)
- Unorthodox (Netflix)
- Immigration Nation (Netflix)
