Best Moments on TV of 2015

Kyle Chandler in 'Bloodline' on Netflix

John Landgraf, a TV executive at FX Networks, told the Television Critics Association during summer press tour that "There is simply too much television." Landgraf cited research his company did on the increase of original, scripted series and how there is a perception of them all being overwhelming for even the avid TV viewer. He worried that the current business model wouldn't be able to sustain the growth in content and the apparent decline in advertising revenue as part a result of fractured viewership.

Even though I love the network, Netflix is contributing to Landgraf's so-called problem. If anything, 2015 should be considered the year of Netflix. The amount of original programming the company provided this year has been incredible and monumental. It's on the level of any other television network and arguably a lot greater. Netflix has just been bombarding its subscribers with so much shows.

Just within the past 10 months, Netflix released six dramas, six comedies, one docu-series, six new kids shows, two hour-long specials, eleven stand-up specials, eight documentaries and two feature films. Hulu and Amazon Prime are the other two major online services providing new TV content, and neither seem to be slowing down. They're not slowing down especially in light of the awards recognition.

For example, Amazon's Transparent was nominated for 11 Emmy nominations. It won five, including Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for Jeffrey Tambor. Tambor's win made him the first actor to win for playing a transgender character. While there's still a ways to go in terms of representation in the media, 2015 has dramatically increased the amount of transgender people on TV.

Along with Tambor, there's Laverne Cox in Orange is the New Black. On the final season of Glee, there were two transgender characters, played by Alex Newell and Dot Marie Jones. The series on ABC Family The Fosters had a transgender teen played by Tom Phelan. The new show Sense8 had Jamie Clayton who is transgender in real life play a transgender woman in an action-thriller.

In what might be a spoiler, the show Pretty Little Liars has a transgender character. The soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful introduced daytime's first transgender woman, played by Karla Mosley. Other shows include American Horror Story: Hotel and Penny Dreadful which both had trans characters. Two reality shows that both premiered in July 2015 followed the lives of trans women. One was the little known I Am Jazz and the other was the much-hyped I Am Cait, which was about the transition of Olympic champion Bruce Jenner.

Jeffrey Tambor in 'Transparent'

In a sense, the world said goodbye to Bruce Jenner this year. The world said somewhat of a goodbye to two late-night titans. Both David Letterman and Jon Stewart ended their roles on their respective shows, The Late Show and The Daily Show. Neither has totally disappeared. Stewart in particular has become a fierce advocate for military veterans and first responders during the 9/11 attacks. His efforts in relation to the Zadroga Act have been incredible.

What has also been incredible is the performance of the new show Empire. The ratings for its first season, which debuted in January, was remarkable in that the ratings continued to grow week-to-week. No show has done that in over 20 years. The series became a phenomenon. While I love Taraji P. Henson's Emmy-nominated performance as Cookie Lyon, the series did not make my very long list of the best shows of the year.

The full list is below, starting with as usual a list of the individual moments from mostly live events that I thought were the most outstanding. There were some moments that were too silly like the Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump feud at the FOX News Republican debate and other moments that were too serious like the WBDJ shooting in Roanoke, Virginia, live on-air. Yet, this list is representative of landmark instances to be remembered.

Best Moments on TV

8. Bruce Jenner comes out as transgender to Diane Sawyer (April 24)
7. Charlie Sheen comes out as HIV positive to Matt Lauer (Nov. 17)
6. Common and John Legend perform "Glory" at 87th Oscars (Feb. 22)
5. The Fosters on ABC Family has youngest, same-sex male kiss (March 2)
4. 40th anniversary special for Saturday Night Live (Feb. 15)
3. Undateable on NBC goes live for first time (May 5)
2. Viola Davis wins Outstanding Lead Actress at Emmys (Sept. 20)
1. The Jinx has a shocking finale (March 15)

Best Reality / Variety

INSIDE AMY SCHUMER: SEASON 3 (Com)
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER (HBO)
MAKING A MURDERER (Netflix)
THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON (NBC)
TROY - STREET MAGIC: SEASON 2 (Syfy)
TODRICK (MTV)

Best Movie / Special

NIGHTINGALE (HBO)
WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? (Netflix)
TIG (Netflix)
THE SLAP [Australian] (Hulu)
ROAST OF JUSTIN BIEBER (Com)
AZIZ ANSARI LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (Netflix)

Best Comedy

LOOKING: SEASON 2 (HBO)
SURVIVOR'S REMORSE: SEASON 2 (Starz)
UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT (Netflix)
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: SEASON 3 (Netflix)
SILICON VALLEY: SEASON 2 (HBO)
NURSE JACKIE: SEASON 7 (Showtime)
BOJACK HORSEMAN: SEASON 2 (Netflix)
THE GRINDER (FOX)
COMMUNITY: SEASON 6 (Yahoo!)

Best Drama

BLOODLINE (Netflix)
AMERICAN CRIME (ABC)
BATES MOTEL: SEASON 3 (A&E)
SENSE8 (Netflix)
HOUSE OF CARDS: SEASON 3 (Netflix)
MASTERS OF SEX: SEASON 3 (Showtime)
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER: SEASON 2 (ABC)
AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: SEASON 3 (ABC)
EXTANT: SEASON 2 (CBS)
CHICAGO FIRE: SEASON 4 (NBC)

Best Individual Performance from Non-Listed Series

Taraji P. Henson - Empire
Chris Messina - The Mindy Project: Season 3
Kristen Schaal - The Last Man on Earth
Josh Peck - Grandfathered
Jesse L. Martin - The Flash: Season 2
Christopher Sean - Days of Our Lives / Hawaii Five-0

Best Individual Episode from Non-Listed Series

"Cop Story" - Louie: Season 5
"Discovery" - The Good Wife: Season 7
"Ryan Gosling / Leon Bridges" - Saturday Night Live: Season 41
"Chris Hemsworth / Zac Brown Band" - Saturday Night Live: Season 40
"Dwayne Johnson / George Ezra" - Saturday Night Live: Season 40