Special Miniseries
Acknowledgement:
Genre: Crime Drama
Cast:
Billy Bob
Thorton, Allison
Tolman, Colin
Hanks, Martin
Freeman, Bob
Odenkirk, Joey
King, Keith
Carradine, and Adam
Goldberg
Channel: FX
Plot
Summary: When a drifter named Lorne Malvo arrives in a small Minnesota
town, he begins to rile things up with his malice and violence. Downtrodden
insurance salesman Lester Nygaard is one of the first to fall under his spell
of mischievous dissonance.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: The miniseries inspired by the Coen
Brothers’ brilliant film Fargo
is one of the best things on TV right now (and would have made the top ten if
it were an ongoing series). It is a glowing example of what FX does best:
dramas that focus on gruff and rough, societally fringe characters who cannot
seem to get out of their own way. The cast is wonderful and the writing is
sharp. The Coen Brothers serve as executive producers while Noah Hawley
handles the writing duties (some might remember his short-lived but fun series The Unusuals).
25-21:
Rank: 25
Genre: Action/Adventure
Cast:
Stephen
Amell, Katie
Cassidy, David
Ramsey, Willa
Holland, Paul
Blackthorne, Susanna
Thompson, and Emily
Bett Rickards
Channel: The CW
Current Season: Third
Season Premiere Date: October
2014
Plot
Summary: Oliver Queen was once a spoiled billionaire playboy; but after
a tragic yacht accident at sea claiming the life of his father and girlfriend,
Queen reemerges, spending five years stranded on an island, as a changed man
set on cleaning up the city he believes his father failed and let fall into the
hands of bad men. He becomes the vigilante Green Arrow.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: Arrow is about as close as it comes to a modern TV
version of Batman (well until Gotham kicks off on
Fox in the Fall – although, that does focus on James Gordon). It feels like a
Batman narrative (I am completely unfamiliar with the comic book version on
Green Arrow) and derives some of its initial charm due to this similarity (as
we all love Batman). Arrow at first gets by as a better than average adventure
of the week with big over-arching stories, but as the show develops it becomes
something special, harkening back to the great shows from The CW’s (and its
prior incantations The WB/UPN) past (particularly Angel).
It is the best superhero-esque series on TV right now.
Rank: 24
Genre: Action/Drama
Cast:
Charlie
Hunnam, Katey
Segal, Mark
Boone Junior, Tommy
Flanagan, Kim
Coates, Maggie
Siff, and Theo
Rossi
Channel: FX
Current Season: Seventh
and final
Season Premiere Date: September
2014
Plot
Summary: Jax Teller has the dilemma of whether or not he wants to lead
his motorcycle club (gang) or not. His wife Tara keeps trying to pull him out
so that they can raise his two sons and his deceased fathers wrote letters to
Jax detailing how he wanted more for his son, but the politics of the club and
the draw of violence constantly pull Jax back in.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: Sons of Anarchy has always found a great balance
between drama and action, featuring strong engaging moments of excitement but
with even more compelling characters – something creator Kurt Sutter
learned writing and working on The
Shield. The show is able to feel dark and gritty even with the restraints
of being on basic cable, which is a credit to Sutter, the writing staff, and
the actors. It is among the most interesting dramas on TV and will be missed
when it ends.
Rank: 23
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Cast:
Aden Young,
J. Smith-Cameron,
Clayne Crawford,
Luke Kirby, Jake Austin Walker,
Abigail Spencer,
and Adelaide
Clemens
Channel: Sundance Channel
Current Season: Second
Season Premiere Date: June
19
Plot
Summary: Daniel Holden spent nineteen years on Georgia’s Death Row,
convicted of killing his girlfriend, before he is set free as new DNA evidence
has come to light calling his conviction into question. He now tries to put his
life back together.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: The brilliance of Ray McKinnon’s
Rectify is also why some will not like it – it has a fantastic slow burn to it,
ever building and mounting tension, slowly revealing bits of information and
character detail. Daniel Holden is also one of TV’s most interesting
characters. He is oddly charming, though he very well might be the murderer
many think he is and Aden Young’s performance is second to none.
Rank: 22
Genre: Supernatural/Horror/Drama
Cast:
Anna Paquin,
Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Chris Bauer, Nelsan Ellis, Carrie Preston, Deborah Ann Woll, Alexander Skarsgard,
and Kristin Bauer
van Straten
Channel: HBO
Current Season: Seventh
and final
Season Premiere Date: June
22
Plot
Summary: Sookie Stackhouse and her friends may face their most daunting
challenge yet: how to survive in a world overrun by infected hungry vampires
unleashing a plague that could end mankind?
Why
It’s Worth Watching: True Blood is an absolute riot. It is great fun to
watch with its eccentric characters and its ambitious storylines, not to
mention all the gore. The series has not really pulled its punches in the past,
but this being the final season means that really anything can happen and
anyone can die (and for once, the season will not end of a horrific cliffhanger
– which generally gets viewers yelling at their televisions). Personally, I am
most interested to see what happened to Eric Northman as the show left in in a
rather precarious situation when season six ended.
Rank: 21
Genre: Action/Period Spy
Drama
Cast:
Keri Russell,
Matthew Rhys, Holly Taylor, Keidrich Sellati, Noah Emmerich, Annet Mahendru,
and Margo
Martindale
Channel: FX
Current Season: Third
Season Premiere Date: February
2015
Plot
Summary: The Jennings seem like the typical American family, but they
have one big secret: unbeknownst to their children, Elizabeth and Phillip
Jennings are really Russian spies.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: The Americans has a fun 1980s nostalgic feel while
also delivering a strong spy narrative wrapped in an ongoing family drama. The
show succeeds to a high level thanks to its great leading performances
(especially Keri Russell who is fantastic). The series also features a great
soundtrack of classic 1980s tunes. It is the best spy series in TV right now.
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