The Best TV You Didn't Watch

Just admit it: When it comes to television, most of us show up too late to be trendsetters. Did you honestly read a description of “The Office” in 2005 and make a date with your couch to view the pilot? Of course you didn’t. And you probably missed the new-show bandwagon last season, too. But it’s not too late to catch a front row seat to this season’s televised zeitgeist!

Here are five shows that are each only one season old, so you can still get in on the ground floor. To help gauge your priorities, we’ve given each one a “Public Scorn Index”—the likelihood that your peers will ridicule you for being out of the loop. Grab the Season 1 DVDs, and don’t get left behind again this fall.

“30 Rock” (NBC)

Thursdays, 8:30 p.m.

Season Two Premiere: Oct. 4

The obvious one. Hell, even an institution as ignorant as the Emmys had to give “30 Rock” its due, throwing top honors in the Best Comedy category to Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan and the rest of the show’s merry crew. It’s foolish to summarize the “gist” of the show, because it’s risen so far above the initial premise of “All-American girl runs TV show; All-American hard-ass becomes her boss; both have to deal with All-American antics of All-American weirdo celebrity.” In just 21 episodes, Fey and Co. have created a fictional New York so rich with supporting characters and delightfully off-kilter logic that it could unseat the Simpsons’ Springfield as TV’s most fascinating city.

PUBLIC SCORN INDEX: 97%

“Friday Night Lights” (NBC)

Fridays, 9 p.m.

Season Two Premiere: Oct. 5

Don’t worry. You don’t have to see the movie of the same name—it’s totally unrelated to the show. You don’t even have to care about football: like all great fiction, the show merely uses its central conceit as a springboard. You also don’t have to dumb yourself down for the seemingly corny plot threads of the early episodes, as the show handles well-worn set-ups like a great jazz musician taking on the standards. With a brilliant cast of virtual unknowns, stunning cinematography, and a surprisingly appropriate instrumental-rock soundtrack, this little-show-that-could is set to really come into its own. As the Dillon Panthers say before each game, “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”

PUBLIC SCORN INDEX: 72%

“Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” (Cartoon Network)

Sundays, 11:45 p.m.

Season Two Premiere: Nov. 18

It’s highly unlikely that you’ve even heard of this show, much less seen its astonishing 11-minute capsules of neo-Futurism. Beyond the vague term of “sketch comedy,” this brainchild of “Tom Goes to the Mayor” creators Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim wholly defies description. Sometimes it takes the form of a local cable-access talent show featuring a diseased boy and his brother performing catchy tunes about how “life is Number One.” Sometimes it shows John C. Reilly giving tips on the best vegetables to eat. And sometimes there’s a thrilling rock opera about a bald man wanting to have sex with his 300-pound secretary. Tim and Eric are basically time travelers, bringing the comedy of the future to the present day. Give it a shot. The worst thing that could happen is a brain aneurysm.

PUBLIC SCORN INDEX: 12%

“Human Giant” (MTV)

Thursdays, 10:30 p.m.

Season Two Premiere: TBD

This one came out of nowhere! With virtually no fanfare or buildup, three wunderkinder escaped from the purgatory of live comedy and YouTube videos, bringing their vision of so-called “skits ‘n’ giggles” to the world at large. Sure, some bits wear cultural references on their sleeves (visual allusions to “The Terminator,” “Superman II,” and the like), but the show is rooted in an ethos of comedy that anyone can plug into. Who out there can’t appreciate the idea of rival child-talent agents angrily dividing up the town? (“We get fat kids!” “Great—we get freckles and lisps!” “Sassy black kids!” “Amputees!”) Creators/writers/stars Paul Scheer, Rob Heubel, and Aziz Ansari may not be household names yet, but keep your eye on these fellas.

PUBLIC SCORN INDEX: 36%

“The Maria Bamford Show” (SuperDeluxe.com)

Updated periodically

Season Two Premiere: Sept. 2

Okay, this one isn’t technically a TV show, but bear with me. Maria Bamford is one of the funniest women in America (Sarah Silverman can go to hell and take her shoddy material with her), and has quietly reinvented the entire concept of the sitcom with a budget of roughly $25 and a cast of one. Without delving into the world of “wacky voices,” her show features a cast of roughly a dozen characters, all deftly played by the inestimable Ms. Bamford. It all hinges on elegantly cheap editing and rich character illustrations—oh, and also she’s really funny. But what keeps you coming back for more is the fact that, beneath the technical innovation and hilarious writing, Maria’s tale of living at home after a series of career failures describes clinical depression in such a frank, open way that you’d be heartless if you didn’t feel a deep, cathartic belly laugh rise from your guts. Catch her before she’s famous.

PUBLIC SCORN INDEX: 0.5%

—Staff writer Abe J. Riesman can be reached at riesman@fas.harvard.edu.