Channel 4 tops Guardian's best TV of 2013

19 December 2013

Channel 4’s programming has been awarded more places in The Guardian’s top 30 best TV programmes of 2013 than any other channel – including the number one spot for The Returned.

 

The top 30 programmes chosen by The Guardian’s critics included critically acclaimed dramas The Returned, Utopia, Fresh Meat and Southcliffe; 2013 smash hit Gogglebox; cult comedy Toast of London; the hugely successful Educating Yorkshire as well as glamorous US drama The Good Wife (More4).

 

Jay Hunt, Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer said: “It’s fantastic that Channel 4 has been recognised in this way for taking some big creative risks in drama, comedy and factual. We are thrilled to have seven shows in the Guardian critics’ top 30 TV shows of 2013 – more than any other channel.”

 

No 1 – The Returned

“This French drama brilliantly subverted the conventional zombie tropes to create a TV programme unlike any other.

 

The subtitled French drama The Returned was quite the classiest programme of the year. While unashamedly acknowledging its thriller and horror roots – Twin Peaks and The Omen to name just two – it brilliantly subverted the conventional zombie tropes to create a TV programme quite unlike anything that had been previously made.”

 

No 3 – Utopia

 

“Bold, theatrical and unlike anything else on the box at the moment – Dennis Kelly's graphic novel-influenced drama was as shocking as a chilli eye-bath… one of the best, most original dramas of the year.

It's a drama cleverly peopled with truly likable yet totally unknowable characters. You invest in them, then they do something unspeakable. You're constantly asked to adjust your moral take on what you're seeing. Each one of them reaches a moral impasse, as in Breaking Bad, and they have to make difficult decisions without completely losing the audience's sympathy. In a world where it's never clear who is bad and who is good – we're constantly shifting allegiance. It's the opposite of a passive viewing experience and almost a physical workout at times.” Julia Raeside

 

No 7 – Fresh Meat

 

“Not just a series of student stereotypes, Channel 4's comedy drama had moments of real poignancy

The secret of Fresh Meat's enduring appeal is the width as much as quality. The dramatic legroom afforded by its hour-long running time (or 43 minutes if you want to be pedantic) allows fuller stories and even – fancy! – series arcs for its six leads. By the end of 2011's first series of eight, which actually made me cry a bit when both JP's father and Oregon's horse die in the same ep, a bona fide comedy drama was born, and born to run.” Andrew Collins

 

13. Gogglebox

 

"Gogglebox comes into its own when every sofa has the same talking point, such as Hayley and Roy's poignant scenes in Corrie, which spark a debate about euthanasia and the best way to "go". But the most reassuring thing about how other people watch telly is those "I do that!" moments. Who doesn't have a Mastermind face, used at that point when it becomes clear you're not going to get any right tonight? And in every family house, there is a dad with a Quiz Show Finger, ready to point to whoever they decree should know the answer." Hannah Verdier

 

18. Southcliffe

 

"Southcliffe is cinematic, harrowing and ambitious: its four episodes tell the story of a small-town spree shooting, following the killer in the buildup to the crimes, then panning out on the aftermath – a day later, a week later, a year later. At times, it is difficult to watch. In less capable hands, a fictionalised shooting might be used as a cheap dramatic device, transforming memories of shocking events, such as the Raoul Moat shootings in 2010, into headline-grabbing TV. But Durkin has a sensitive eye. The result is subtle menace laced with sadness in a drama that is calm and unhurried – which only makes its tragedy more potent." Rebecca Nicholson

 

20. Educating Yorkshire

 

"British television tends to the more cynical end of the spectrum, but Channel 4's Educating Yorkshire may have changed that. The quiet camera gives the patient determination of the staff at Thornhill community academy the time to shine through. The Dewsbury-based school for 11- to 16-year-olds was rated "good" in its last inspection but it's been struggling with falling numbers and a higher than average number of children on free school meals. At least it was struggling until its head, Jonny Mitchell, along with other staff and some of its pupils, became the series' stars. There are a lot of teachers out there who really should be national heroes." Guardian editorial

 

29. The Good Wife (More4)

"The Good Wife is uncommonly good. If you're looking for a quality drama box set to escape the family this Christmas, look no further. It has no smoking, brooding male anti-hero, and it's not a period piece, but The Good Wife is exciting and smart and underrated. In fact, it's much like its protagonist." Bim Adewunmi

 

30. Toast of London

"In Toast they have created a monster, a fabulous thespian one. The whole thing is of great imagination and surreality. Just remembering some lines – "resembling Brucie from any era is bound to be traumatic for an African woman" for example – is setting me off again." Sam Wollaston