The Best and the Worst of 2016 - Reader Review - RESULTS

As we begin the new TV viewing season in 2017, let’s reflect on the year that was. 2016 was a busy, busy year for television. We have loved and hated several television shows, their actors, the writing, the romance, the friendships. This is evident based simply on the incredible answers on this post alone. 1500 responses!

That is why we have a platform like this one, to celebrate shows that aren’t usually and always recognized by awards. To declare which shows won us over and which ones disappointed. Thank you for taking the time to put your thoughts to words in this long form. It was worth it!

Before we dive in, here are a few very, very important notes to keep in mind about the winners.

1. Each winner's list consists of the top three choices that got the most nominees/mentions for their categories. Not all the categories were compulsory to answer, therefore, the number of total votes you see for them will vary.

2. The answers really surprised me and made me happy in the sense that an incredible range of shows got mentions. From the obvious ones like “Supergirl” or “The 100” to the surprises such as “The Get Down” or “Major Crimes” were shown some love by you guys.

3. It was specified in the rules that you only have to answer ONCE. I expected some readers to not adhere to this to bring forth their favorites and get them the most nods, and ooooh boy, was I right! Like it was mentioned, all of them have been disqualified.
For example, it is truly amazing just how many fans there are of Alycia Debnam-Carey and her shows. It’s great to be passionate. But to respond to all the questions, some without even reading them, because Carey got nods for “Best Actor (Male)” is silly because you should know it will not count! Also, answering with the same names back to back with the exact same answers...not going to help. Without disappointing any readers, who have all the right to love their shows and actors, the results are very fair and hopefully, you will all appreciate it.

4. You will see some names in contrasting categories. That is, the most favorite and least favorite show or actor is there in both places. Nothing wrong with that, it simply shows the conflict faced by fans when it comes to their beloved series.

5. Below some of the results, I have added some fun details I noticed as I was compiling the results.

Here is an overview of the few things I’ve learned after doing this:

• “The 100” and “Supergirl,” who dominate most of the wins, have really dedicated fans! Especially, “The 100.” Man, that show has a polarizing impact on you guys! It really says something about it, the creator, the writers, and the actors. I watch it and enjoy it, but I may have to give it a second viewing just to understand exactly what churns all of your feelings about it.
• “Game of Thrones” may have not come up as the champion in more than a few spots, but it’s been a very close call for the show but it is still a big fan favorite.
• "The Walking Dead” is another long-running show that causes lots of back and forth for everyone because the fans are so divided after the season 6 finale and ongoing season 7. Most of you love it, but also love to hate it! This mostly applies to “The Vampire Diaries,” too. Lots of mixed feelings about that one.
• Lots of new shows have garnered appreciation, but “Eyewitness” and “Westworld” rank the highest. Of course, as does “Stranger Things.”
• Despite the talented list of winner's, I wish there was some more representation of different shows. The good part is almost all the current shows got nominated in some form, they just didn't have enough to make the cut.   

Without further ado, here we go!

Favorite TV Show:
Total votes: 1546
"The 100": 359
"Game of Thrones": 320
"Supergirl": 237

Least Favorite TV Show:
Total: 1546
"The 100": 502
"Grey’s Anatomy": 101
"The Vampire Diaries": 88

Favorite Episode:
Total: 885
Battle of the Bastards, "Game of Thrones": 161
Hearts Still Beating, "The Walking Dead": 159
The Bicameral Mind, "Westworld": 144

*For those of you wondering how “The 100” episodes are not in here, it’s because several episodes got nominated but neither of them had big numbers.

Favorite Actor (Male):
Total: 1408
Kit Harington as Jon Snow, “Game of Thrones”: 233
Anthony Hopkins as Robert Ford, “Westworld”: 168
Bob Morley as Bellamy Blake, “The 100”: 135

Favorite Actor (Female):
Total: 1518
Alycia Debnam-Carey as Lexa, “The 100” and Alicia Clark, “Fear the Walking Dead”: 486
Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin, “The 100”: 228
Julianne Nicholson as Helen Torrance, “Eyewitness”: 143

*Candice King (Caroline Forbes, “The Vampire Diaries”) was just two votes shy of Nicholson.

Favorite Ensemble (Drama):
Total: 538
"The 100": 180
"The Walking Dead"/"Game of Thrones": 45/45
"Eyewitness": 32

Favorite Ensemble (Comedy):
Total: 440
"Brooklyn 99": 91
"Modern Family": 48
"The Big Bang Theory": 38

*A few votes in this category ended up being a default omission because they were for shows like “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother.” Oh, people even managed to throw in Debnam-Carey’s name in this category!

Favorite Character:
Total: 1414
Lexa, “The 100”: 370
Philip Shea, “Eyewitness”: 301
Alex Danvers, “Supergirl”: 241

Least Favorite Character:
Total: 903
Bellamy Blake, “The 100”: 239
Killian Jones aka Captain Hook, “Once Upon A Time”: 142
Pike, “The 100”: 60

*Ian Somerhalder’s “The Vampire Diaries” character Damon Salvatore was just one vote shy of beating out Pike.

Character With The Best Development:
Total: 965
Alex Danvers, “Supergirl”: 255
Lexa, “The 100”: 101
Lukas Waldenback, “Eyewitness”: 77

*Sansa Stark, “Game of Thrones,” played by Sophie Turner narrowly missed out being on this list.

Character You Will Miss The Most:
Total: 1154
Lexa, “The 100”: 247
Glenn Rhee, “The Walking Dead”: 161
Lincoln, “The 100”: 105


Character Who Needs More Screen Time:
Total: 884
Raven Reyes, “The 100”: 128
Lena Luthor, “Supergirl”: 91
Maggie Sawyer, “Supergirl”: 57

*Carol Peletier (“The Walking Dead”) played by Melissa McBride and Winn Schlott (“Supergirl) played by Jeremy Jordan would be your next best contenders and they would have tied.

Most Disappointing Season/Show:
Total: 1064
"The 100": 491
"The Walking Dead": 80
"The Vampire Diaries": 45

*"Arrow" narrowly missed the cut, only a few counts behind fellow CW show TVD.

Show That Was Better Than Expected:
Total: 876
"Supergirl": 103
"Westworld": 89
"Eyewitness": 55

Show You Gave Up On:
Total: 1150
"The 100": 488
"Once Upon a Time": 135
"Fear The Walking Dead": 109

Returning Show That Improved:
Total: 609
"Supergirl": 122
"The 100": 96
"Game of Thrones": 54

*Two shows that were close to being on this list: “Orphan Black” and “Teen Wolf.”

Favorite Couple:
Total: 1141
Clarke and Lexa, “The 100”: 376
Philip and Lukas, “Eyewitness”: 120
Stefan and Caroline, “The Vampire Diaries”: 64

*Gotta hand it to you, shippers! In that spirit, Maggie and Alex from “Supergirl” missed the cut by only a handful of votes. Okay fine, by 4 votes. They totaled at 60.

Least Favorite Couple:
Total: 603
Bellamy and Clarke, “The 100”: 209
Killian and Emma, “Once Upon A Time”: 205
Oliver and Felicity, “Arrow”: 108
Kara and Mon-El, “Supergirl”: 32

*I am on the fence about the top winner here because technically speaking, they’re not even a couple. Therefore, the fourth winner. (Or the third).

Favorite Friendship:
Total: 312
Bellamy and Clarke, “The 100”: 123
Scott and Stiles/Monty and Jasper, “Teen Wolf,” “The 100”: 30
Meredith and Alex, “Grey’s Anatomy”: 26

An Actor Whose Work Improved:
Total: 833
Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin, “The 100”: 61
Bob Morley as Bellamy Blake, “The 100”: 57
Lindsey Morgan as Raven Reyes, “The 100”: 40

*In case you were wondering who the next three were (cause they were not from “The 100”), and each of whom were only 2-3 votes behind, it’s Chyler Leigh as Alex Danvers, “Supergirl”, Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, “Arrow,” and Melissa Benoist as Kara Danvers, “Supergirl.”

Most Underrated Actor (Male):
Total: 629
Bob Morley, “The 100”: 196
Anthony Hopkins, “Westworld”: 95
James Paxton, “Eyewitness”: 40

*Ricky Whittle (Lincoln, “The 100”) had a count of 39!

Most Underrated Actor (Female):
Total: 957
Lindsey Morgan, “The 100”: 132
Eliza Taylor, “The 100”: 90
Julianne Nicholson, “Eyewitness”: 53

Most Underrated Show:
Total: 730
"Eyewitness": 170
"Supergirl": 139
"Person of Interest": 68

Most Overrated Actor (Male):
Total: 762
Bob Morley, “The 100”: 299
Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”: 92
Stephen Amell, “Arrow”: 54

*Two more votes for each of them and they would have bumped up over Amell for a tie: Dylan O’Brien, “Teen Wolf” and Norman Reedus, “The Walking Dead.”

Most Overrated Actor: (Female):
Total: 658
Alycia Debnam-Carey, “The 100” and “Fear the Walking Dead”: 149
Lena Dunham, “Girls”: 104
Emily Bett Rickards, “Arrow”: 89

Most Overrated Show:
Total: 917
"The 100": 447
"Game of Thrones"/"The Walking Dead": 73
"Arrow": 41

Your Favorite Cameo:
Total: 228
Shawn Mendes, “The 100”: 48
Tyler Hoechlin, “Supergirl”: 26
Hillary Clinton, “Broad City”: 25

*This was the least voted category, with a lot of responses being that you didn’t know of any cameos.

Show You Will Miss The Most (Aired Finale in 2016):
Total: 453
"Person of Interest": 113
"Faking It": 57
"Castle": 41

Best New Show of 2016:
Total: 747
"Westworld"/"Stranger Things": 190
"Eyewitness": 88
"This Is Us": 51

Actor Whose Work Surprised You:
Total: 818
Alycia Debnam-Carey, “The 100” and “Fear the Walking Dead”: 251
Bob Morley, “The 100”: 176
Lindsey Morgan, “The 100”: 122

Favorite Newcomer (first acting gig):
Total: 268
Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things”: 56
James Paxton, “Eyewitness”: 32
Kylie Bunbury, “Pitch”: 23

*You guys, of the 268 votes, several were rendered useless. You know why? Because Donald Glover or Viola Davis or John Stamos or Anthony Hopkins are not newcomers even if they were in new shows last year!

An Actor You Were Glad to See Return to TV:
Total: 737
Winona Ryder, “Stranger Things”: 95
Kristen Bell, “The Good Place”: 60
Milo Ventimiglia, “This Is Us”: 47

*Again, many votes did not count because this was about actors who returned to your screen after a gap. Therefore, nods for Chloe Bennet or Bob Morley or Grant Gustin do not apply or matter here!

An Actor You Cannot Wait to See Return on TV (from a show that's already over):
Total: 744
Amy Acker: 103
Sarah Michelle Gellar: 51
Stana Katic: 50

*At the risk of repeating myself, this was for actors who are currently not on any show or their shows were done in 2016. Therefore, I know you’re excited for your shows to return but Andrew Lincoln and Eliza Taylor and Kit Harington don’t count.

Most Painful Character Death
Total: 1149
Lexa, “The 100”: 344
Lincoln, “The 100”: 123
Glenn, “The Walking Dead”: 77

Best Series Finale (aired in 2016):
Total: 600
"Person of Interest": 144
"Penny Dreadful": 99
"Rizzoli and Isles": 48

Worst Series Finale (aired in 2016):
Total: 788
"Castle": 222
"The Good Wife": 100
"Mistresses": 49

Best Cliffhanger of 2016:
Total: 562
"The 100," season 3 finale: 107
"The Walking Dead," season 6 finale: 103
"Westworld," season 1 finale/"How To Get Away with Murder," season 3 midseason finale: 78

A Scene That Left You Shocked (aired in 2016):
Total: 649
Lexa’s death, “The 100”: 181
Wes’s death, “How To Get Away with Murder”: 134
Cersei blows up the Sept of Baelor, “Game of Thrones”: 121

A Scene That Made You Cry (aired in 2016):
Total: 767
Lexa’s death, “The 100”: 296
Poussey’s death, “Orange Is The New Black”: 110
Lorelai recalls her best memory of Richard to Emily, “Gilmore Girls”: 109

*The winners in this category truly surprised me. In a good way. The deaths of Lincoln (“The 100”) and Glenn (“The Walking Dead”) were close behind.

A Scene That Made You Happy (aired in 2016):
Total: 516
Stefan and Caroline’s engagement, “The Vampire Diaries”: 188
Alex coming out to Kara, “Supergirl”: 67
Kelly and Yorkie’s happy ending in San Junipero, “Black Mirror”: 44

A Show That Deserves Better Ratings (Drama):
Total: 642
"The 100": 152
"Eyewitness": 83
"Supergirl": 52

A Show That Deserves Better Ratings (Comedy):
Total: 325
"Brooklyn 99": 62
"Jane the Virgin": 54
"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend": 52

Best TV Event of 2016:
Total: 270
DC Crossover on The CW: 106
Gilmore Girls Revival on Netflix: 44
Sense8 Christmas Special on Netflix: 21

*The "X-Files" revival and #OneChicago crossovers were contenders but didn't garner close to enough votes.

Show With The Best Music (original/background score/from other artists):
Total: 491
"Empire"/"Grey’s Anatomy": 51
"The Vampire Diaries": 44
"Game of Thrones": 43


New Show You're Excited to See in 2017:
Total: 413
"Riverdale": 100
"A Series of Unfortunate Events": 72
"American Gods": 44

Returning Show You're Excited to See in 2017:
Total: 679
"The 100": 215
"iZombie": 144
"The Walking Dead": 59

2016 Guilty Pleasure:
Total: 648
"Eyewitness": 133
"Supergirl": 130
"Pretty Little Liars": 113


What did you think of all the results? Did your favorites win? If not, who would you rather see in their place? What's your best TV memory of 2016? Let us know in the comments! And again, to those of you who honestly participated in this, thank you!