Mid Year Report: The best TV shows so far this year

From the Handmaid's Tale to Queer Eye - these are the shows that have impressed in 2018.

Killing Eve

Hot on the heels of last year's breakout comedy Fleabag, British actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has proven herself one of television's most exciting new voices, following up with the dazzling spy series Killing Eve. Starring Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, this action-packed thriller comes dripping with equal parts blood and dark humour. A classic tale of cat and mouse, Killing Eve has been hailed as a game-changer thanks to its fierce two leading ladies, breaking the mould of this typically male-dominated genre. Addictive, entertaining and full of suspense, Killing Eve is television at its thrilling best.

The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale is almost unbearably grim, but maybe that's why it's so addictive. Because surely, after all we've been through as viewers, we're all just waiting for a payoff - a light at the end of the awful, brutal tunnel? Who knows, but for whatever reason, the women of Gilead remain one of the most talked-about, binge-worthy cast of characters on TV. The constant to-and-fro of hope and despair, the sheer defiance in the era of #MeToo, and the ever-enthralling talent of Elisabeth Moss make The Handmaid's Tale one of the most gripping TV shows to date.

Atlanta

The most striking thing about Atlanta is how it surprises you. An episode about absolutely nothing can speak volumes and in a split second, you can go from laughing out loud to stunned silence. After getting his foot in the industry door with season one, season two really saw Donald Glover let loose and wade into even more explosive territory, delivering everything from escapades with a barber, to an unofficial Get Out spin-off featuring Glover in terrifying white-face. The social commentary is nuanced and layered, the cast is spectacular and Glover's style of storytelling as wonderfully unpredictable as ever.

Queer Eye

Queer Eye is the strange tale of how the reboot that no one asked for became the only reboot we needed. The Netflix reality series took the rather dusty format of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and injected it with some healthy doses of love and empathy, things we're pretty lacking in these trying times. Instead of focusing on superficial betterments, Queer Eyewas more about demonstrating the overwhelming power of self-love, and that humans have a lot more to learn from those we consider to be different to us than we may initially believe.

The Terror

It seems we just can't get enough grim, bleak horror. So sailing on to the list is The Terror, a show about the grim, bleak and horrific events that took place during a boating expedition into uncharted waters in the 1840s. Produced by Ridley Scott, the show is based on the terrifying true events that befall the Royal Navy after their boats got trapped in icy, frozen waters. It's lavishly produced and wonderfully acted; the crew's descent into claustrophobic madness as days turn into weeks then into months is awfully real and bound to make you think twice before going on that fishing trip...