2015 CarterMatt Awards: ‘Mr. Robot,’ ‘Blindspot,’ ‘Daredevil,’ ‘Master of None’ up for Best New Show

We’re starting to enter the home stretch of the 2015 CarterMatt Awards, and today we’re really talking about celebrating the new with our Best New Show category. These are the shows that have achieved something rare in coming out of the gate and recognizing almost immediately just who they are and what they are bringing to the table. There is really no specific criteria to this category other than that the series premiere must have aired within the past twelve months.

The winner for this category is going to be announced come December 30.

Past winners – “The Quest” (2014), “The Blacklist” (2013), “Arrow” (2012). Hey, two out of the three have gone on to be long-running success stories! The other just never got the audience it deserved.

“Blindspot” (NBC) – The most anticipated fall series had a lot to live up to with the premise being all about a woman climbing out of a bag in Times Square covered in tattoos. It set itself up well to be a ratings success story, but it still had to create interesting episodes after that to keep people hooked. Luckily, Jaimie Alexander has led a strong cast, and there have been many other interesting characters introduced beyond just Jane. The relationship between her and Weller already is near the top of the list of best prospective TV couples.

“Daredevil” (Netflix) – The Charlie Cox series deserves a heck of a lot of credit for really taking the entire superhero genre to extreme levels. Sure, this was an extremely violent show, but there were reasons for it and some of the darker touches added more layers to the journey for Matt Murdock; it showed us that at times, brutality is not always just visual. Great storytelling, a tremendous cast, and some of the best battle scenes we’ve ever seen on any show.

“Jessica Jones” (Netflix) – Obviously, this was a huge year for Marvel adaptations on Netflix. The reason both are nominated is simply because both deserve it. Each series took an innovative approach to the genre, and they have not been afraid to explore the humanity of these people beyond just kicking butt and trying to keep their secret identity safe. “Jessica Jones” explored the tribulations that can come with powers, especially if they fall into the wrong hands.

“Master of None” (Neftlix) – Aziz Ansari created a comedy this year that feels like a combination almost of a classic New York sitcom and “Louie.” It’s funny, it’s at times heartfelt, and it tries its best to stay close to reality for a working actor in the city. Dev may be the most complex character Aziz has played in his career so far, and you can see the care that he and his team put into some of the scripts from start to finish.

“Mr. Robot” (USA) – Who would’ve thought that a network once known for quirky character-based procedurals would put out the year’s most thought-provoking, innovative drama? Sam Esmail’s twisted hacker drama originally was meant to be a feature film, but he turned it into a series with precision and a perspective like no other. This show challenges what it means to be a narrator especially, and reminds us that just because someone is giving us information does not necessarily mean that the information is right.

“Quantico” (ABC) – The network has done it again in bringing another twisted TV drama to the screen, this time using two separate time periods to tell the story of an FBI agent-in-training who ends up becoming a suspect of one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil since September 11. Priyanka Chopra is fantastic, but she is only one of many performers who carry this show and add to the overall mystery as to who is really responsible.