Kevin’s 7: TV ‘18...

I’m changing things up a bit this year. As you may recall, my Kevin’s 7 lists are all Top 7 within their respective categories... save for TV. That list has always been seven random awards with a single awardee. 

As unique as that approach may be, its not always easy to come up with the awards and winners and, honestly, the list is never truly representative of Katie's and my viewing habits.

That said, it's time to bring my TV list in line with all the other lists. And it will contain two lists of 7. A Kevin’s 7x2, if you will.

The Lower 7:

I should consider a better adjective than "Lower." It sounds so negative but these are all still really great shows.

14. The Toys That Made Us

I tore through this Netflix documentary series like it was nothing. It’s really a lot of fun with each episode focused on a different toy line that has made an impact on the lives of children over many decades. Star Wars, Star Trek, Barbie, Hello Kitty, LEGO, G.I. Joe, Transformers, you name it. The cool thing is that, despite the theme song denoting only two seasons of episodes, Netflix announced a third season that, I believe, will drop in January or February. 

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13. Magnum, P.I.

While I really wasn’t looking forward to yet another reboot, I have to admit that this Jay Hernandez starrer has really grown on us. He’s a great leading man and we do enjoy tuning in.

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12. NCIS

Sure, this show is sloughing characters on a pace that rivals Trump’s cabinet, but we still tune in regularly. It’s weird to think that Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is the only credits-named star who has been in it since episode 1.

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11. MacGyver

Yes, another reboot has made the list. But this show has grown and adapted and made changes necessary to keep it going. And, from what I’ve read, one more change is coming with the departure of George Eads (Jack) at the end of this season. To be honest, I can do without him. I’m all about Lucas Till (MacGyver) and Tristin Mays (Riley).

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10. G.L.O.W.

The second this loose adaptation of the rise of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling league in the early 1980s was announced, I was on board. And, while I’ve tried to sell Katie on it, she has no interest. So this one is all me and I’m okay with that. It’s a great show that is perfectly cast and a lot of fun to binge.

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9. A Million Little Things

Okay, yes, a month or so ago, I said I was ready to drop this show. I wanted little to nothing to do with it. But, at the time, we were five or six episodes behind and now we’re all caught up and we like it. We look forward to it. So... we’re sorry! We were wrong!

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8. Young Sheldon

This The Big Bang Theory spinoff telling the story of Sheldon Cooper’s childhood in west Texas is good. It’s well cast and interesting and I can’t wait to see how it starts to build Sheldon into the man he becomes. I guess that depends on the ratings holding strong. We shall see.

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The Upper 7:

These are the best of the best insofar as Katie and I are concerned. 

7. The Resident

We started this medical drama against our better judgment. Medical dramas? Really? But this one sold us with the promise of Matt Czuchry and Emily VanCamp. This year, they added Malcolm-Jamal Warner to the cast. Freakin’ Theo Huxtable as the most self-possessed doctor since Alec Baldwin in Malice. And he’s masterful. He represents everything I hate about doctors and hospitals but he’s so much fun to watch. 

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6. The Rookie

I used to love Nathan Fillion. He was one of my favorites for the longest time. Then Castle kept going on and on and on and on and on and I just couldn’t take him anymore. He became Castle. Everything he did from that point on was the same old same old. So I was not looking forward to this at all. Thankfully we gave it a chance and Fillion’s rookie LAPD beat officer John Nolan is so subdued compared to his past roles. I love it and I love him again. Woo! And I hate for this to sound like a postscript but I really like Richard T. Jones in just about anything he does.

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5. The Haunting of Hill House

I really shouldn’t have to say that this was a Kevin-only viewing, but I will anyway. Katie does not do horror or ghost stories or anything like that. Nuh-uh. No way. So I watched this one all my own and I’m so glad I did. It wasn’t nearly as horrific or jumpscare-filled as I was expecting it to be. Much more psychological. Katie still won’t touch it with a ten-meter cattle prod.

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4. Jack Ryan

I truly think that this John Krasinski starrer about Tom Clancy’s most famous leading character is the show we’ve most anticipated for the last year, maybe two. Despite not being based on any of Clancy’s books, it’s still really good. And Krasinski owns the role. We can’t wait for season two. 

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3. American Housewife

With each season that this sitcom about a fish-out-of-water family in a wealthy Connecticut town, it just gets better and better. The cast gels better and there is no inequality between parents and kids. Both are well written and well represented in each episode and that makes it highly enjoyable.

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2. Will & Grace

NBC’s beloved ratings hit from the 90s/early 00s came back with a bang and you’d swear it never missed a beat. Some of my favorite television moments of the last few years are from this show. I can’t even count the number of times Katie and I have watched ”Grandpa Jack” (although this episode is 2017) and “Three Wise Men.” Comedy gold.

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1. Santa Clarita Diet

I had heard decent reviews of this show from people who refused to tell me what it was about. I’m glad they didn’t. It’s not the easiest show to explain. And all I can say to you is that if you haven’t watched it, you should. Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant are my favorite on-screen couple in years. If I was still doing Kevin’s 7 the same way, Drew would totally have earned my Dark Alley Award. I love her. Oh, and yes, this show also features smarmy Nathan Fillion. But I’ll forgive him.

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As a related aside, can someone tell me what the heck decade it is? How is it that I can watch Murphy Brown, Will & Grace, Magnum P.I., MacGyver, and Hawaii Five-0 in a given week. Plus shows like The Goldbergs and G.L.O.W. are set in the 80s, Young Sheldon straddles the turn from the 80s to the 90s, and Fresh Off the Boat is set in the 90s. Nostalgic much?

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Kevin Spencer

With the golden age of TV upon us, there are more shows that I could possibly watch in my lifetime it seems. Every week at work I get a "oh you should watch...".

kapgar

I hear that so much as well. But we at work all also complain all the time about how it’s impossible to keep up with it all and how we’re all constantly trimming stuff out of our viewing queues... despite how much we may want to watch it.

Marty Mankins

My list of shows and movies to watch is so long. Thank goodness for the Projects function of Things app. It's organized enough to keep me in reminders.

I like you list and there are many shows that I see, but they are in passing as my wife (who is the TV watcher in the house) watches them. Young Sheldon and Will and Grace are ones that I do sit down and watch with her.

I want to watch G.L.O.W. due to Marc Maron being in it.

kapgar

I find myself making background noise of a lot of what we watch, too. So what’s the deal with Marc Maron? I’ve never heard of him before GLOW.

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