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Top 10 Weirdest Shows On Television

Top 10 Weirdest Shows On Television
VOICE OVER: Emily Brayton WRITTEN BY: Alex Slade
Sometimes TV is straight forward, and other times it can be just as weird as experimental cinema. Ok maybe not THAT weird. But these shows really do a number on its audiences by doing their best to mess with the visuals, audio, plotlines or all of the above. So join WatchMojo as we count down our picks for the strangest shows currently on TV.

Written by Alex Slade

Just because we haven’t seen something like this before, doesn’t mean we should stay away. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 weirdest shows currently playing on TV.

For this list, we’ll be taking a look at 2018 TV series with unusual and far out-there plots. If the show is over the top, overly graphic, features a weird premise or just plain feels different, it’s eligible for this list.

#10: “Final Space” (2018-)


If a show features an adorable sidekick, a little green ball of cuteness that has enough power in it to actually destroy planets, then it’s on the right track. Oh, and to boot, its name is Mooncake. “Final Space” is an animated sci-fi adventure comedy, executive produced by Conan O’Brien, that tells the story of an astronaut seeking the meaning of the universe, and saving it when it’s in danger. The cast includes heavy hitters like David Tennant and Fred Armisen. There are definitely new and exciting things waiting for us in upcoming seasons.

#9: “Hap and Leonard” (2016-)


This show often seems like an old choose-your-own-adventure-type book you used to read as a kid (or, hey, still do). And it is based on a series of novels after all. Only if you’re still a kid, you should probably not watch this show. Hap and Leonard, two amateur investigators, are fully thought out individuals that make them some of the realest characters on TV. We get to know them, and all their . .. very weird quirks. Not to mention swamps, psychopaths, lost treasure and a whole lot of adventure.

#8: “American Gods” (2017-)


Incredible visuals, with a lot of just plain weird things happening on screen at a time, will have you raising your curious eyebrows when watching Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”. The show features literal personified Gods walking around in our world. Complete CG sequences, scenes that make us uncomfortable and leave us with our mouths wide open litter the show, as we discover more and more Gods and what they’re really up to and how much power they have. Each episode is a cinematic treat filled with discoveries.

#7: “Preacher” (2016-)


Vampires, cowboys, God, Satan, Hitler… what more can you want in a series based on a comic book (and co-produced by Seth Rogen)? We follow a preacher on his journey to find the aforementioned God, and not in the spiritual sense. A lot of plot developments tumble around in the earlier half of the first season, with no real overarching momentum clearly presenting itself, but it’s a slow build that leaves us eager for each new episode. Overall, the show is a dark and entertaining ride, with great action scenes and some comedic moments. We’re constantly surprised at where the next episode takes us. Yes, it’s straight to hell.

#6: “Baskets” (2016-)


We all aspire to be something in life, right? Maybe you’re striving to become an airline pilot, or a schoolteacher or a chef. Lots of great careers to sacrifice for. Well, this show, co-developed by Zach Galifianakis and the now-scorned Louis CK has Zach’s character, Chip Baskets, aspiring to be a clown. Potentially creepy, right? But it makes him happy. It also makes the viewers happy, as it sets up some hilariously odd TV. You’ll always find something to enjoy from “Baskets” even if you suffer from crippling coulrophobia. Or not.

#5: “The Good Place” (2016-)


We have to admit it: dying and going to a TV representation of what Heaven would be like is a good concept. Heaven and hell are usually portrayed in grand, epic scales with 100 million dollar budgets, so it’s refreshing to see them in a sitcom scenario. Kristen Bell plays the outcast on a journey of self-improvement, helped along by the delightfully cast Ted Danson. Oh, and if you thought the first season was peculiar, the second just amps things up a lot more, thanks to a completely unsuspected plot twist in season one which we’d go to the Bad Place if we revealed.

#4: “Atlanta” (2016-)


At first glance, you’ll think you’re just watching a simple story of a rapper trying to make his way up in the world. It’d be very easy to make a drama simply based on that, but “Atlanta” takes it to the next level. At times, it feels like we’re watching a weird, surreal, parallel version of our own world, and when the show hits those marks, that’s when it really shines. Mysterious beings, sci-fi technology, and downright creepy scenes abound, but it’s still about our very real world. Donald Glover is a magical realism visionary.

#3: “Counterpart” (2017-)


Anything with parallel universes and multiple versions of oneself is weird from the get-go. Counterpart has movie-quality action, effects, stunts . . . and the great JK Simmons. It’s a unique viewing experience: conventionally, with a show like this, we’d be knee-deep in heavy sci-fi themes, but instead, what we get is the traditional framing premise, but enriched with some deep character studies, and a mystery that keeps us constantly guessing and impatient for the next development. It also makes us wonder what our own alternate version of our self would be like.

#2: “Legion” (2017-)


If “Doctor Strange” was, well,much stranger than the rest of the Marvel movies, “Legion” is the same for Marvel shows, only even weirder more psychedelic. Whether or not David, AKA, Legion has schizophrenia or dissociative personality disorder, he has almost limitless power, that’s for sure. (He is the son of Charles Xavier, after all). The voices he hears in his head, crazy ideas, and violent outbursts, accompanied by dance numbers, make Legion a very unpredictable, yet exciting show to watch. What sets this show apart from the other Marvel TV outings, is that it feels less like a superhero series, and more like a psychological thriller.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions:

“High Maintenance” (2016-)

“Future Man” (2017-)

“Santa Clarita Diet” (2017-)

#1: “Happy!” (2017-)


There's a lot to take in here. “Happy!”, co-written by comics auteur Grant Morrison, stars a Christopher Meloni, whom you may know as Elliot Stabler from “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” as ex-cop-turned-hitman Nick Sax. Sax, in addition to his resume, also happens to have been resuscitated from near-death, only to be able to see and have contact with an imaginary, blue, talking and flying winged horsie. (Now there’s a phrase you don’t get to hear every day.) Gory and surreal, this funny yet disturbing crime dramedy doesn't aim to please everyone but its target audience, and boy, are we pleased.

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