There are many colourful ways to describe the year in review. And if you were lucky enough to spend much of 2020 on the couch, you undoubtedly got to catch up on a lot of streaming and TV viewing…old favourites and new finds, here’s what we watched to help get us through 2020.
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1 / 9
Love Truly Is Blind
When I think about Love Is Blind, I’m reminded of just how long 2020 was. It was one of the first shows we all seemingly collectively binged during the first lockdown. The show was absolutely ridiculous – a show about dating desperation where singles date each other without seeing one another and “fall in love” with their personalities instead. They choose who they’d like to be engaged to and we follow their lives as all hell breaks loose. The show was a mess, but guess what, so was my life at the beginning of 2020 and it helped me forget all about it. - Tracey M., Producer, Slice.ca
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2 / 9
Bon voyage, from home
I watched a lot of reality TV to get myself through the year. I started Below Deck Mediterranean and got through all five seasons pretty fast. The drama between the cast was a great distraction from quarantine. I’m now onto Below Deck (with Captain Lee) and loving it, too! - Jenn P., editor, HGTV.ca
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3 / 9
Always and forever RuPaul
2020 brought us season 12 of Drag Race, season 5 of All Stars, season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race and a season of Secret Celebrity Drag Race. RuPaul also gave us a season of her fictional series AJ and the Queen. So many feel-good vibes in a dumpster fire of a year. - Jen F., editor, FoodNetwork.ca
Related: Slice Salon's inner Goddess tutorial.
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4 / 9
When life is stranger than fiction
Love Fraud — This is a docu-series that follows the life of another real life Dirty John named Richard “Mickey” Smith and his long history of making women fall in love with them only to go Jekyll-Hide on them and steal all their money in the process. It’s unbelievable how he preyed on all these women! A cautionary tale. Dirty John: Betty Broderick — I was captivated by this story and felt great empathy for Betty (whether I should have or not). There were many opportunities for her husband Dan to meaningfully and respectfully walk away from their marriage. This story shows the unravelling of Betty, and what happens when a woman is constantly gas-lit. The Undoing — it was a short and sweet psychological thriller of who-did-it? Will keep you on the edge or your seat and entertained. - Heather M., producer, History.ca
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5 / 9
At long last, some good LGTBQ+ representation
Though 2020 may have been a dumpster fire year in general, there has been some sweet lady loving content that’s made its way onto my screen. Since I live for LGBTQ+ representation (and have become too accustomed to a tragic lesbian love story), the pandemic wasn’t so bad because I had new fictional friends to share my time with. Ratched, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Ammonite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Happiest Season are my queer picks of the year. Though we can do better with racial representation in LGBTQ+ content (intersectionality matters), the stories told were still excellent and helped me get through the year filled with intensity, super moons, eclipses and chaos. The future is gay and I’m here for it. – Chloe T., editor, Slice.ca
Related: The healthiest portrayals of sex on TV.
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6 / 9
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ made 2020 more “cool cool cool”
I feel like 2020 has been the year where I’ve been living in the past, in terms of what I’ve been watching. Perhaps it’s because it reminds me of a simpler time when we could actually hug our friends and watch our favourite shows together on the same couch. Throughout the year I’ve revisited shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sailor Moon, The Office and Dawson’s Creek – I have been, and will always be, Team Pacey (don’t @ me). As they say, though, “you can’t live in the past,” so I’ve also been watching newer shows like Schitt’s Creek, Ratched, The Bachelorette and The Crown. My go-to show at the end of the day, every day will always be: Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I’m not a huge movie watcher, simply because I don’t have the attention span to sit through one, but I recently re-watched The Joy Luck Club and watching it now in my 30s, I can relate to it so much more. - Melissa T., digital strategist, Slice.ca, History.ca
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7 / 9
Rooting for RuPaul
Despite everything, 2020 was actually a great year for television. From I May Destroy You to Better Call Saul, there was plenty of thought-provoking drama that kept me engaged and feeling creatively inspired. But if I’m being completely honest, there was one franchise in particular that got me through the pandemic’s darkest days: RuPaul’s Drag Race – in all its iterations. Not only were fans treated to the 12th season of the Emmy-winning reality competition, but Mama Ru also gave us RuPaul’s All Stars season five, Canada’s Drag Race, Secret Celebrity Drag Race and a 13th season of the original series which kicks off New Year’s Day 2021. RuPaul Charles is a content queen and I’m here for it! - Laura G., assistant editor, FoodNetwork.ca & hgtv.ca
ALEX GHECIU
8 / 9
Television: Not just for people anymore
My heart goes to all the quarantine parents out there. I see you. Being holed up with an attention-thirsty cat all day and night is demanding enough as it is — I can't imagine what isolating with a full-on dependent human child must be like. This year I discovered that YouTube has a trove of invaluable tools to help pet parents out. My favourite is "Videos for Cats to Watch — 8-Hour Bird Bonanza." Any time I need Sgt. Pepper to stop screaming at me, I just put that clip on and he zones out for hours, entering a sort of fugue state. I finally understand why parents buy their kids tablets. (Not recommended for people with expensive TVs, as your cat will eventually start attacking the birds.) - Alex G., editor, Complex.ca
Related: 12 signs your cat secretly hates you.
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9 / 9
‘Veep’ for President
In addition to watching Food Network Canada almost all day (I’m addicted to all manner of holiday baking), and in a year that was as bleak in politics as it was across other major societal pillars, Veep cast a poignant but hilarious lens on America’s most powerful seat. Julia Louis-Dreyfus proved a highly believable if incompetent megalomaniac, only rivaled by her real-life then-counterpart. The series from start to finish tickled my neurons and provided some much-needed comedic relief at the end of a day that was too often filled with unrelenting worry. Come for the humour. Stay for the potent message on what happens when you start to buy into your own deceit. -Dragana K., assistant editor, Slice.ca
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