The Year in Cheers & Jeers: 2015’s Best and Worst in TV

It’s that time of year again… Here are some highlights from our annual look at the best and worst of the year in television…

Cheers to supreme diva (and our Performer of the Year) Taraji P. Henson for giving a weekly master class in attitude as Empire’s delectable Cookie, an outrageous lioness of a hip-hop heroine, dominating network TV’s biggest, boldest hit. Tossing shoes and throwing shade—we live for her Dynasty-style catfights with “Boo Boo Kitty”—this fashion-forward fox is the cat’s meow.

Jeers to TV’s big “deaths.” The Walking Dead’s Glenn (Steven Yeun) ended up surviving that zombie attack and Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow (Kit Harington) appears to be alive as well—if the HBO posters for Season 6 are to be believed. When producers toy with an audience’s emotions, their credibility as authentic storytellers is immediately jeopardized. Fool us once…

Cheers to the next generation of late night. David Letterman and Jon Stewart are irreplaceable, and their emotional sign-offs won’t soon be forgotten, but Stephen Colbert’s brainy reinvention of CBS’s Late Show and Trevor Noah’s appealing stewardship of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show haven’t missed a beat. James Corden and Larry Wilmore are terrific newbies, the Jimmys (Fallon and Kimmel) are at the top of their game, John Oliver is killing it on HBO and, soon, Samantha Bee’s new TBS series will finally bring a female POV into the mix, giving us yet another reason to stay up.

Jeers to Miley Cyrus on MTV’s Video Music Awards. Miley, honey, what’s good? You were supposed to host the show, not give it a two-hour bad touch. Go put on some clothes, remember that you have real talent, and for the love of all things holy, please stop sticking out your tongue.

Cheers to Katy Perry’s Left Shark. The singer’s performance of “Teenage Dream” at the Super Bowl halftime show was quickly upstaged by an uncoordinated backup dancer who eschewed the established choreography for an avant-garde showcase complete with wildly flailing fins. His moves missed the mark, but as far as entertainment value goes, this shark didn’t bite!

Jeers to Grey’s Anatomy for sending Patrick Dempsey’s McDreamy to an eternal dreamland in an unsatisfying exit after 11 seasons. The shocking move left Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) a widow and single mom—though does anyone ever see those kids?—and left longtime fans wondering if it isn’t time to put this ABC medical soap out of its misery.

Cheers to Viola Davis’s Emmy victory. After making history as the first black woman to win Lead Actress in a Drama (for her portrayal of complicated lawyer Annalise Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder), Davis gave a heartfelt, rousing speech that classily criticized Hollywood for not creating enough roles for women of color. To be clear: She killed it.

Jeers to FX’s fleabag American Horror Story: Hotel for making Lady Gaga look so anemic as the bloodsucking Countess. Bringing back terrifying memories of Madonna’s acting career, Gaga’s performance was all style—but what style!—and too little substance. Hotel was the most incoherent American Horror yet. We checked out early.

Cheers to The Flash and Arrow for digging deep into the DC Comics archives. Whether it’s Jay Garrick, Firestorm, Hawkgirl, Wally West or even Gorilla Grodd, the CW hits have saved the day for comic book fans who never thought they’d see these heroes and villains on live-action TV.

Jeers to The Good Wife for faking Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Kalinda’s (Archie Panjabi) farewell. The final moment between the characters should have provided closure; instead, it fueled rumors of off-camera turmoil since it was clear the actresses didn’t shoot the scene together. Margulies blamed Panjabi’s scheduling conflicts, but Panjabi fired back, tweeting, “I was in New York ready to film the scene!” Not the kind of drama the series wanted to produce.

For more Cheers & Jeers, pick up the December 21/December 28 double issue of TV Guide Magazine, on sale now.