Best and Worst TV Relationships in 2020

We are continuing our conversation on the most popular music, movies and this week, it’s television. From crime procedurals to one of the wildest docu-series ever that birthed an entire library of memes all on its own, we are going to rundown a list of some of the top shows of last year, discuss the messages they shared about relationships and give our own picks for best relationships on TV in 2020!

What do these shows have in common? NCIS, FBI, Blue Bloods, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med, The Good Doctor, 9-1-1, FBI: Most Wanted, New Amsterdam, Hawaii 5-0, NCIS: New Orleans, Grey’s Anatomy, 9-1-1: Lonestar, Magnum P.I., NCIS: Los Angeles, Station 19,The Rookie, Seal Team and Criminal Minds all have in common besides the fact that they all made the top 25 network shows of last year?

It might sound crazy but 20 of the top 25 network shows from last year were all focused on emergency responders! From the military, to law enforcement, to medical professionals, they were all represented strongly and even though it’s obviously a commonly recycled set up, it still strikes a chord with viewers and that has a lot to with the very human relationships that are portrayed in the many ensemble casts.

One of the aspects that make these characters so relatable, even in the midst of very unrelatable circumstances for most of us watching at home is the familial bond that the characters create with one another and we, in-turn, create with them. We become invested in these characters fictional lives because we recognize the same drives and desires that are simply common to people. The stories that capture us the most are the ones we can feel and all of us have the need for those essential, familial connections.

Now, the streaming world is a whole lot different in terms of what was popular and made an impact in 2020. Cocomelon was the top streamed show in 2020! Cocomelon started as a YouTube channel for toddlers and preschoolers. They got a lot of traction due to the pandemic as many parents, now working from home, were trying to find something safe and hopefully educational to occupy their young children while they were busy on zoom meetings!

According to Netflix’s trending lists they started in February of last year, one show that I am sure you have heard of kept coming back and took the second place spot; The Office (American version, obviously!)

Even though it aired its final episode way back in 2013, The Office and office related merchandise has remained a staple on retail shelves, online forums, podcasts and of course, up until December 31st of last year, on Netflix. (It is on Peacock now, though!)

Again, it comes back to the relationships, which were portrayed incredibly over its 9 year run by the very talented ensemble cast. Now, for the best and worst relationships on the small Screen in 2020 and the worst has to go to every single relationship on the garbage fire that was the Netflix docu-series, Tiger King.

Tiger King really did have it all, if by all you mean over the top drama, greed, deception, spousal abuse, drug abuse, potential spousal homicide and one person even lost their arm after being attacked by a tiger...

It’s easy to see how a show like that would become an overnight sensation when everyone is locked down in their homes for weeks or months, but the saddest part is that these were all real people and real lives. As viewers, we do have to be careful about the fact that what we watch has the ability to desensitize us to what we are viewing. While many of us were quick to share the viral memes and clips from the show, these were people’s lives and people’s families that were really being effected.

Even as Carol Baskin was riding her new notoriety all the way to dancing with the stars, the family of her late husband aired a paid spot during the commercial break of her episode to continue to ask the public for any information regarding his disappearance.

Let us know what your top picks were for best and worst TV relationships in the comments!

And just a little PSA - if you haven’t heard already, we will be going live for our podcast this month and you’ll be able to watch it on Facebook and YouTube as it’s happening. We will be answering questions that you have sent in and we’ll even be taking questions on the spot. We’ll have some games, a giveaway and we’ll be going deeper into some of the top media we’ve already discussed and even hitting on some others that we haven’t mentioned yet!

If you have a question that you’d like us to answer, be sure to leave it in the comments below! And - be sure to join us next week as we sift through the top stories, trends and viral videos of 2020 when we look at relationships through the lens of the internet!