The 10 best TV shows of 2016, ranked

"Mozart in the Jungle," a show about a New York classical music orchestra that was called "niche" when it first debuted, has proven itself season after season to be about so much more. Its newly released third season is no different. The orchestra has fallen apart and its talented musicians have embarked on their own personal journeys. Amid beautiful international settings, we see just how broad this show can get. At the same time, it's grounded in the comedy of bringing these lost souls back together to create beautiful music. Tremendous acting from Gael Garcia Bernal, Bernadette Peters, and Malcolm McDowell give this series the extra edge.

A show about the early years of Queen Elizabeth's reign may not appeal to everyone, but it really brings an unexpected intimate and grounded feel to her life, her marriage, her family obligations, and her role in an evolving England.

An especially timely show as the American criminal justice system is itself on trial, "The Night Of" plots the arrest of Nasir (Riz Ahmed), a young Muslim man suspected of brutally murdering a young white woman after a night of sordid sex and drugs. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but an ambulance-chasing attorney, played by the talented John Turturro, has a gut instinct that there's more to the story. The show plods slowly at a hypnotic pace as more information about the night in question, Nasir, and the victim comes to the light.

Issa Rae brought the spirit of her hit YouTube series, "Awkward Black Girl," to HBO's "Insecure." Cocreated by Larry Wilmore, the comedy explores what it's like to lack confidence in a world where you're expected to be a strong, black woman. The results are pretty insightful, often funny, and many times heartbreaking.

"Baskets" is the hilarious story of a frustrated artist. But the artist is Zach Galifianakis' Chip Baskets and the art is being a clown — in the finest French sense. Of course, there's very little demand for that type of clown and Chip is relegated to being a rodeo clown in his hometown of Bakersfield, California. Aside from the various challenges of that career, his eccentricities, and the harsh realities that life bring Chip, there's a host of great supporting performances — most notably, Louie Anderson's gender-bending turn as Chip's caustic, disapproving suburban mom.

There's a surprise at every turn of the Duffer brothers' '80s-set sci-fi drama. On top of the various movie references littered throughout the season, there are great performances from Winona Ryder and the young stars. This is perfect Netflix fare, as "Stranger Things" is infinitely bingeable.

No one knew what to expect from HBO's adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1973 film, "Westworld." HBO held the details of the series close to its vest, though leaks gave us an idea that it would definitely push boundaries. In the end, it was a suspenseful ride in which the explorations of human fantasy and ambition extended beyond the park's guests to their robotic hosts, and the game-makers themselves.

With Ryan Murphy producing, there was a definite danger that FX's exploration of the events of the O.J. Simpson murder trial could go way too campy. In the end, it maintained a measure of camp but still held on to an emotional grounding that explored how fame, race, and gender shaped one of the biggest criminal cases in modern history. Not to mention the series' stirring performances by Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, and Courtney B. Vance.

The sixth season of "Game of Thrones" was rife with challenges for executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. It was the first time the series would surpass George R.R. Martin's novels. Plus, they would have to deal with continuing after the yearlong fan hysteria following the death of Jon Snow (Kit Harington).

But the producers definitely proved they should be trusted with the beloved story of Westeros and the race to own its throne. The show is still the master of story twists — whether fans like them or not. And it's still an amazing accomplishment of set structures, relationships, battles, humor, and mysticism. All of that made for masterful drama, week after week.

We're hard-pressed to name a show that had a more perfect first-season debut than FX's "Atlanta." It was at once intensely personal, relevant, dark, optimistic, and shocking. Donald Glover threw the sitcom rulebook away and created a journey that was unique and unlike any other show on TV.

Deceptively, "Atlanta" was described as a sitcom about two cousins trying to break into the local music scene, but there were very few episodes that actually dealt with that enterprise. Instead, our protagonists were shown just trying to overcome the travails of daily life, trudging through the muck of racial profiling, exposing the walls that keep marginalized people divided, and the never-ending financial pitfalls of just living. They're all the things that keep amazing people from reaching their goals, making it all seem that much more heroic that anyone achieves the American dream at all.