It’s been a dicey year for television. CBS owner Paramount settled a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump, and even late-night comedy seemed at risk with the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s. Despite a handful of adventurous outliers, including Tim Robinson’s “The Chair Company” and Netflix’s delightfully anachronistic “Death by Lightning,” plenty of scripted TV shows this year played it safe, betting on nostalgia to recapture the glories of series past. TV juggernauts Mindy Kaling and Elaine Ko came back with “Running Point,” a pleasant, old-school comedy starring Kate Hudson. Greg Daniels tried to bring back that “Office” feeling with “The Paper,” and Tina Fey teamed up with Steve Carell and Will Forte in Netflix’s fine but underwhelming “The Four Seasons” — itself a remake of a 1981 film. “Stranger Things,” now starring some very old children, continues to chase that ’80s magic, and Netflix’s “Boots” channeled some Norman Lear-style charm (and polemicism) while exploring how closeted service members experienced the ’90s.
