“Streaming” columnist NICK OVERALL nails his best five shows for the year…

IT’S that time of year when the “best-of” lists come out of the woodwork.

Whether it’s movies, moments, music or any other obscure interest, the annual rankings are always sure to spark up an argument or two – just take a look at the response to Tay-Tay taking out “Time” magazine’s person of the year as one fresh example.

So, of course, after a massive year in the streaming world we’re taking a look back at the best of the best to binge over the holidays.

As always, some honourable mentions that absolutely worth checking out: “Black Mirror”, “Jury Duty”, “Planet Earth III”, “Colin From Accounts”, “Reservation Dogs”, “Beef”, “Barry”, “Yellow Jackets”, “The Morning Show” and just missing out on the top five this year “Dead Ringers”.

Without further ado:

5. “Ted Lasso”, Apple TV Plus

TELEVISION’S favourite football coach returned this year, kicking a hell of a goal with its third and final season. 

This tale of a seemingly incompetent but good-hearted soccer fanatic (Jason Sudekis) who leads an English team to unexpected victory proved once again its ability to make audiences both laugh and cry.

While it was a bit slower off the mark compared to the first two seasons, those who stuck with “Ted Lasso” were rewarded with plenty of thrills by the time the final whistle blew. Some refreshingly feel-good TV.

4. “Fargo”, SBS On Demand

IN a world where crime dramas are a dime a dozen, “Fargo” has carved itself out as one of the most inventive, confounding and utterly addictive offerings in the genre.

The fifth season in this anthology series saw audiences return to Minnesota, where a law-breaking sheriff (Jon Hamm) had the ultimate face-off with a seemingly ordinary housewife (Juno Temple) who secretly harboured a deadly skill set.

One of its strongest seasons yet, “Fargo” remains as profound as it is puzzling.

3. “The Bear”, Disney Plus

JUST when audiences thought this culinary drama couldn’t get any more intense, the second season well and truly threw things out of the frying pan and into the fire. 

Set in a Chicago sandwich shop, “The Bear” stars Jeremy Allen White as a manic chef trying to put his restaurant on the city’s dining map. At first glance a show about sandwich-making might seem rather tame by comparison to what else is out there, but “The Bear” puts the pressures of working in a kitchen on full display. 

So accurate is this depiction that some chefs have come out saying they actually find it hard to watch. If that’s not the highest compliment I don’t know what is.

2. “The Last of Us”, Binge

IT was no easy feat turning a video game into prestige television but somehow they pulled it off.

Led by incredible performances from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, this nine-episode series told the harrowing tale of a man and his surrogate daughter travelling across a post-apocalyptic America after it falls to a deadly virus.

On top of stunning cinematography and out-of-this-world production design, what made “The Last of Us” so memorable was its twist ending, which turned the idea of “good” and “evil” utterly on its head, leaving audiences with a disturbing and surprisingly pertinent question.

1. “Succession”, Binge

WHO would have thought a boardroom would make for TV’s most captivating battleground this year. 

The final season of “Succession” pitted the children of a fictional media mogul against each other in one final showdown for their father’s multi-billion dollar empire. 

Hilarious, tragic, one might even go as far as to say Shakespearean, the show was able to put hearts in throats with its bold last episode that dropped the curtain at the perfect moment. When Rupert Murdoch announced he was stepping down from News Corp this year, the story ran around the world as “the real-life Succession”. That says it all.