Best Moments on TV of 2016... So Far

Scene from ESPN's O.J.: Made in America

As weird as it sounds, there has been one thing that has risen to the top of the television landscape and dominated it. That one thing has been OJ Simpson.

Over 20 years since Simpson's infamous, murder trial, the so-called "trial of the century," the acquitted black man has come roaring back into pop culture. It started on February 2 when FX premiered the 10-episode series, The People v. O.J. Simpson. It was a ratings smash and a critical success as well. It spawned a lot of conversation around racism and sexism in this country.

ESPN continued the conversation on June 11 when it premiered O.J.: Made in America, a 7-hour film, which played in select theaters but aired as a 5-part miniseries. It is currently the best-reviewed thing on television, according to Metacritic.

Martin Sheen is also reportedly going to narrate a docu-series on the Simpson case for ID channel. A web series called About Him, about a young, African-American exploring his sexuality, references the Simpson case in Episode 3, which was posted on YouTube on March 31.

The History Channel aired a remake of Roots starting on May 30, a 4-part series with Malachi Kirby filling in for Levar Burton in the iconic role of Kunta Kinte. It's odd but the original 1977 version featured OJ Simpson in a small role.

Yet, it wasn't the only TV show about slaves to make it on the air. Underground aired on WGN America. It told the story of runaway slaves. Given all the conversations about race that have been forced due to things like Black Lives Matter, this series and the Roots remake make sense. Yet, they weren't my favorite programs of this half-year.

The following lists were my favorite programs since the year started, but first up is the list of incidents on TV that were outstanding, water-cooler moments. Usually, they're live incidents, or one-time, unique things that echo or resonate in powerful ways. Or else, they're just weird or strange occurrences.

Best Moments of the Year

10. Beyoncé releases Lemonade on HBO (April 23)
9. Beyoncé performs during Super Bowl 50 (Feb. 7)
8. Series finale of The Good Wife airs with a surprising slap in the face (May 8)
7. SNL pays tribute to Prince with "Goodnight, Sweet Prince" (April 22)
6. Jon Snow returns to Game of Thrones, Season 6, Episode 2, "Home" (May 1)
5. "Onions" - Apple iPhone commercial (April 25)
4. Stage Crasher at the People's Choice Awards on CBS (Jan. 6)
3. Kendrick Lamar performs at 58th Grammys (Feb. 15)
2. Larry Wilmore at White House Correspondents' Dinner uses the N-word (April 30)
1. Jesse Williams gives amazing speech at the BET Awards (June 27)

Best Variety / Reality

I AM CAIT: SEASON 2 (E!)
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (HBO)
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER (HBO)
THE TALK (CBS)
THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JIMMY FALLON (NBC)
HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT (NBC)

Scene from 'Grease: Live'

Best TV Movie or Miniseries

GREASE: LIVE (FOX)
CONFIRMATION (HBO)
LADY DAY (HBO)
OUT OF IRAQ: A LOVE STORY (Logo)
THE MAN IN 3B (BET)
DADDYHUNT: THE SERIAL (DaddyHuntApp)
ABOUT HIM (YouTube)
LOVE @ FIRST NIGHT (Artkutec)

Best Comedy

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: SEASON 2 (Netflix)
SILICON VALLEY: SEASON 3 (HBO)
THE GRINDER (FOX)
UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT: SEASON 2 (Netflix)
FRESH OFF THE BOAT: SEASON 2 (ABC)
GRANDFATHERED (FOX)
BLUE MOUNTAIN STATE (2010) (Netflix)

Best Drama

BLOODLINE: SEASON 2 (Netflix)
BATES MOTEL: SEASON 4 (A&E)
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER: SEASON 2 (ABC) 
AMERICAN CRIME: SEASON 2 (ABC)
SHADES OF BLUE (NBC)
WAYWARD PINES: SEASON 2 (FOX)
SCANDAL: SEASON 5 (ABC)
CHICAGO FIRE: SEASON 4 (NBC)
BLINDSPOT (NBC)

Best Individual Episodes from Non-listed Series

THE X-FILES: SEASON 10 - "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster" (Feb. 1)
HOUSE OF CARDS: SEASON 4 - "Chapter 42" (March 4)
CHELSEA DOES - "Chelsea Does Racism" (Jan. 22)
GIRLS - "Hello Kitty" (April 3)
GOTHAM: SEASON 2 - "A Dead Man Feels No Cold" (March 7)
UNDATEABLE - "The Backstreet Boys Walk Into a Bar" (Jan. 29)
CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND - "Josh and I Work on a Case!" (Feb. 22)
THE CHARACTERS - "Natasha Rothwell" (March 11)
THE REAL O'NEALS - "The Real Grandma" (April 5)

Best Individual Performances from Non-listed Series

Danny Miller - EMMERDALE
Ben Whishaw - LONDON SPY
Sarah Paulson - THE PEOPLE V. OJ SIMPSON
Calista Flockhart - SUPERGIRL
Daniel Dae Kim - HAWAII FIVE-0
Wentworth Miller - DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW