Best of 2019: TV’s Special Achievements

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Jonathan Newton /The Washington Post via Getty Images; Michael Becker/FOX

From the moments that made us gasp to the performances that lit up our screens, here’s a look at the best of 2019 — and the biggest cliffhangers heading into 2020!

Here, we take a look at notable achievements in…

Sports as Entertainment: The World Series

The seven-game slugfest ended on Fox with the Washington Nationals (above) on top, and viewers apologizing to neighbors for all the noise they made.

Defying All Logic: The Masked Singer

Fox’s hit guessing game shouldn’t have worked. Mystery celebs perform in disguise? And yet, here we — and Patti LaBelle, above — are.

Restoring Faith: One Day at a Time

Canceled by Netflix after three seasons in March, the beloved reboot of the family sitcom was picked up by Pop TV in June for a fourth.

Soap Opera Insanity: Days of Our Lives

What’s bolder than the NBC soap’s one-year time jump? Stephen Nichols is back, not as fan fave Steve “Patch” Johnson but as villainous Stefano DiMera!

(Chris Haston/NBC)

Cameo Coups: What We Do in the Shadows

The FX spoof assembled a starry council of “vampires” in May to judge its bumbling bloodsuckers: Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood), Danny Trejo (From Dusk Till Dawn), Paul Reubens (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive), and, via Skype, Blade‘s Wesley Snipes.

Halloween Costume Ideas: Schitt’s Creek

Moira Rose’s (Catherine O’Hara) comeback film, The Crows Have Eyes III, got shelved on the Pop TV comedy. But her mutant Dr. Clara Mandrake lives on.

For More of Our Best of 2019:

5 Series Finales That Did It Right

Biggest Scene Stealer: Meryl Streep on Big Little Lies

Matt Roush’s Top 10

5 of TV’s Most Shocking Twists