Client: Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams – Creator; Executive Producer; Talent
It’s an uncertain time in TV right now, with megamergers and a looming recession creating seismic shifts at many studios, networks and streaming platforms. Periods of cost-cutting and belt-tightening too often lead to the jettisoning of bold and singular work, many times from underrepresented voices.
A lot of the HuffPost culture team’s picks for the best TV of the year are shows that are reshaping the medium, such as ones revitalizing familiar genres like the workplace comedy or the period drama, or finding creative ways to make a reboot actually interesting. Some are returning shows that made their second seasons possibly even better than the first.
It’s a reminder to not take any of these great TV shows for granted. Here’s hoping the TV landscape remains as interesting and as daring, no matter what happens in the coming year.
Great Second Seasons
“The Ms. Pat Show”
“The Ms. Pat Show” is a hilarious and compelling look at Black life in the suburbs. Comedian Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams leads the BET+ sitcom as a mom and former drug dealer who moves to the suburbs in Indiana with her family to have a better life. Her sister Denise ― portrayed by Tami Roman, whose comedic timing is as perfect as it is biting ― lives with Pat, her husband (J. Bernard Calloway) and their kids (Vince Swann, Briyana Guadalupe, Theodore John Barnes). The best part of the Emmy-nominated series is that it’s not just full of sharp jokes and slick one-liners, but it is also a look at serious family issues, sociopolitical topics and identity. As Pat struggles to adjust to suburbia and what it means to be politically correct, her husband and her kids are on the ride with her, guiding her as best as they can. — Evans