WHETHER YOU’VE BEEN watching on your telly, Netflix, or streaming online, you’ve probably spent much of 2015 trying to catch up with the great TV shows on offer.
It’s been a pretty excellent year for television, with the likes of Netflix and Amazon demonstrating that the traditional television model has really benefited from a shake-up.
Then there were the many film releases which had us flocking to the cinema. Whatever about duds like Pitch Perfect 2, tickets were bought out months in advance for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
What about you – what did you enjoy watching this year? Tell us in the comments. To kick things off, we asked our team at TheJournal.ie the same question, and here’s what they said:
Christine Bohan
This has been a vintage year for great TV shows but Broad City is consistently the funniest thing on television and my favourite comedy since 30 Rock. Shout out for Olive Kitteridge, UnREAL and The Affair for second place.
Quinton O’Reilly
Master of None, Narcos, Jessica Jones, Daredevil (all I watched was Netflix).
Paul Hosford
I loved: Master of None, Narcos, Bloodline, and Wet Hot American Summer.
Aoife Barry
I loved The Affair so much, even though it was incredibly depressing. I also adored The Bridge, which thankfully didn’t lose its mojo in its latest season (despite losing a main character). Also enjoyed Master of None, enjoyed hating True Detective, gave up on Girls and kept meaning to watch Jessica Jones.
Sean Farrell
No idea what the latest season of Walking Dead is like yet, but I’ve bet myself into it from the start this year – zombies are really easy to kill, but I like how it’s more about looking into the monstrous nature of people.
Loved Mad Men up until the final scene, but that’s okay because there’s no good way to end great shows. I miss you, Don, you horrible bastard. Game of Thrones was pretty poor by comparison with the season previous as it took (probably necessary) shortcuts in the source material.
Eoin O’Callaghan
Mad Men: The last season of Mad Men was an absolute master-class in TV writing and the final episode did what so many other series failed to do in the past: actually satisfy.
American Crime: When it came to topical and relevant TV shows, the racial tensions at the centre of this under-rated gem was a perfect social commentary on the current state of play in the United States.
Fargo: The dark, moody magnificence has been retained and the bleak, sparse landscapes of North Dakota only serves to heighten the quirks and idiosyncrasies of a host of peculiar characters.
The Americans: Elizabeth and Philip Jennings continue to be one of the most-compelling TV couples and the brilliantly-engineered push-pull of their high-octane spying missions and humdrum domestic life is wonderful.
Paul Fennessy
Louie and Girls were both pretty great. Also, Monday Night Football with Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville was brilliant as ever and has taken sports analysis to a new level.
Jackie Cahill
Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2. Religious viewing (not strictly speaking but you get the message!) on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Fiona Hyde
This Is England 90. Really sad to see it go. I think it’s a really special programme, even if it’s really difficult viewing almost the entire way through.
Steve O’Rourke
I haven’t watched a lot of TV this year (except The Vampire Diaries, don’t judge me!) but The Last Man on Earth is fine.
Sean Farrell
Have been pretty poor for the most part his year (Southpaw was the worst thing I’ve ever seen), but Whiplash was sensational. A bit like doing a bungee jump, I was stressed to breaking point by the end and almost relieved to leave the cinema to cushy real life. But I’d go watch it again for the adrenaline rush.
Loved Inside Out because it was a total antidote to that, a feelgood movie if ever there was one.
Christine Bohan
I loved every last second of both Birdman and Magic Mike XXL. Don’t make me choose.
Paul Hosford
I loved: Me and Earl and The Dying Girl, Jurassic World, Beasts of No Nation, Mad Max, Selma, The Seven Five.
Eoin O’Callaghan
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: Alex Gibney’s feature-length documentary is worth watching if only for the very weird footage of leader David Miscavige presenting poster-boy Tom Cruise with the Freedom Medal of Valor at an annual Scientology ceremony (think Stanley Tucci in The Hunger Games). There’s also a clip from the 1980s of John Travolta being cajoled on stage to sing Happy Birthday to the recently-deceased founder L Ron Hubbard. It’s all incredibly bizarre but hugely engaging thanks to the litany of contributors (including Hollywood screenwriter Paul Haggis) who had, at one time or another, been immersed in the upper echelons of what they describe as a ‘cult’. Fascinating, gripping, a must-watch.
Orla Ryan
I loved Birdman and This Changes Everything.
Fiona Hyde
Me, Earl & The Dying Girl, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Mistress America, Macbeth. (Earlier on this year I made it a weird mission of mine to get use out of my Cineworld card and see as many new releases as possible. I can confidently say that the worst films of 2015 were Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Pitch Perfect 2. I would rather never watch a film again than see the latter a second time.)
Paul Fennessy
Birdman, Inherent Vice, Mistress America, Eden and Whiplash were all brilliant in their own way and impossible to separate.
Steve O’Rourke
Still Alice. Not a date movie, but I was left feeling like I’d been hit by a train after it. That’s a good thing, I think.
Emer McLysaght
I loved: Mad Max: Fury Road, Diary of a Teenage Girl and Magic Mike XXL
Quinton O’Reilly
Mad Max, Mistress America (purely for the second half), The Man from UNCLE (was surprisingly good)
Aoife Barry
I thought I’d hate Mad Max: Fury Road, but I loved it – Charlize Theron was amazing. Inside Out was just lovely, with a message as applicable to adults as children. I adored Spy, which was 10 times better than Spectre. Sicario was an extremely tense thriller, but still enjoyable. Magic Mike XXL was a glorious riot. I got a sneak peek of Room and that will many people’s highlights of next year. Superb.
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