First of all, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends, and all of the happiest things in life.

After Christmas, we enter one of my favorite times of the year: Year-In-Review time! I have always been a sucker for a good countdown show about the year that was or a well-thought-out list of the year’s best in almost any category. So, naturally, I’m going to use my little corner of the Internet to share my thoughts on the Best of 2012 in the media.

This post will be devoted to all things TV (look for a movies/literature/music post sometime before the ball drops tonight night). I’m happy to have the beautiful and talented Heather also sharing her thoughts on some of the highlights of this year from the world of television.

Without further ado, let me present my Best of 2012: TV Edition.

Favorite Comedy: Parks and Recreation
With consistently strong storytelling, humor that is both intelligent and slapstick, and actors operating at the top of their games, Parks and Rec was not only my favorite comedy of 2012; it was my favorite television show this year. From the wonderfully satirical campaign storylines through Leslie’s uplifting election to city council and engagement to Ben, this show has proved time and again that a comedy can be both heartfelt and hilarious. I found myself in tears from both laughter and genuine emotion nearly every week, and that is exactly how I like to watch television.

Runner-Up: New Girl

Favorite Drama: Once Upon a Time
I discovered this show during a New Year’s Day marathon, and that started a year-long love affair that has only grown stronger with time. This show has it all: incredibly well-developed characters, mind-blowing plot twists, great actors, and a truly unique and engaging story that is becoming richer and more complex with each episode. Nowhere else on television have I seen the variety of female characters introduced on Once Upon a Time, and those characters are at the center of some of the most interesting relationships I’ve come to root for in any form of media this year. Parents and children (both biological and adopted), husbands and wives, best friends, and even grandparents and grandchildren—this is a show about family and love in all of its beauty and all of its tragedy. It wears its heart shamelessly on its sleeve, and that unabashed optimism is the reason it’s touched my heart like nothing else on TV this year.

Runner-Up: Castle

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