TV Series of the Month – Dexter

This month’s TV Series: Dexter (2006-2013)

Dexter Morgan is a serial killer; but, he is a different type of serial killer. He only targets bad people who have slipped through the cracks of conventional justice (like the police). Dexter is perfectly situated to feed his need to kill, working as a forensic blood-splatter analyst for Miami’s Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Division. He has an inside track to those escaping their due justice. And yet, for Dexter to maintain his forced persona as a normal guy, he must try to fit into the normal world (which is hard for him, as he is a sociopath) – meaning that he must interact with friends/family and find a girl to settle down with all while continually going out at night and murdering criminals. It is a tough juggling act – and worse, his own sister, Debra, happens to also be a cop. Dexter constantly walks a thin line between being free and a condemned criminal himself.

Running eight seasons, the series is based on a novel series from Jeff Lindsay, which James Manos Jr. adapted for television.

The cast of Dexter is fantastic. Michael C. Hall stars with Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, James Remar, C.S. Lee, Lauren Velez, Desmond Harrington, Julie Benz, Geoff Pierson, Aimee Garcia, and Erik King rounding out the other main series actors during its run. The show also features a wonderful array of guest actors, including: Yvonne Strahovski (who plays one of my personal favorites in the whole series – Hannah McKay), Keith Carradine, Colin Hanks, Jimmy Smits, John Lithgow, Sean Patrick Flanery, Julia Stiles, Charlotte Rampling, Edward James Olmos, Jaime Murray, Ray Stevenson, Jonny Lee Miller, and Christian Camargo (among many others).

Overall, Dexter is a brilliant drama series – probably the best that Showtime has produced to date; however, there is somewhat of an asterisk next to its name now due to it having a fairly awful ending (as well publicized online) that does somewhat destroy all its goodwill (something that was already weakened by the atrociousness that is season six). That said, I still highly recommend the series, especially seasons one through three, and I do love the Dexter-Hannah relationship in seasons seven and eight (it is just too bad that the show ends as it does). Also, Michael C. Hall is incredible as Dexter (especially in the first few seasons before the character became overextended by hit-and-miss writing), delivering one of the best characters in television history. Jennifer Carpenter’s character arc as Deb is also very strong. Dexter probably should have been five seasons maximum with a full character arc mapped out ahead of time (saving it from itself), but as it is Dexter is still one of the best things to ever be on TV. It is a must see for fans of dramas on the darker side.

Trailer: Here

Available on: Blu-ray

TV Preview 2013/2014 – 25 Must-Watch Series, Part 4: 10-6

Part 3: 15-11

Homeland

Rank: 10

Genre: Crime Drama/Mystery Thriller

Creator(s): Gideon Raff, Howard Gordon, and Alex Gansa

Cast: Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, and F. Murray Abraham

Channel: Showtime

Current Season: Third

Season Premiere Date: September 29, 2013

Plot Summary: Carrie Mathison is an obsessed, driven CIA agent who believes missing Marine Segeant Nicholas Brody who has recently resurfaced in Iraq after eight years is not a returning hero but a sleeper agent for dangerous terrorist Abu Nazir.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Homeland’s first season was incredible, and while season two also played mostly to critical acclaim many where put off by certain aspects of the narrative (i.e. Carrie got annoying). Showrunners Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa seem to have received the message from fans and have promised that season three will see the series return to its critical status as one of televisions best dramas. They also have brought in a new writer James Yoshumura (in addition to shaking up the current staff). Yoshumura previously worked on Treme and Homicide: Life on the Streets.

The Newsroom

Rank: 9

Genre: Drama

Creator(s): Aaron Sorkin

Cast: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr, Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, and Sam Waterson

Channel: HBO

Current Season: Second

Season Premiere Date: July 14, 2013

Plot Summary: Network new anchor Will McAvoy fell into a rut, putting rating above integrity. But when executive producer MacKenzie McHale, a former girlfriend/love-of-his-life, returns, she lights a fire under Will reviving his tenacity and principles. Now, Will’s new goal is to make a real news show (regardless of ratings and resulting enemies).

Why It’s Worth Watching: The Newsroom is brilliant for multiple reasons. First, Aaron Sorkin’s writing is unmatched – the quick, witty interchanges between characters are delightful. Second, the cast is top-notch across the board, including great guests. And third, the show allows Sorkin to comment on American politics in a manner that is sorely missing from actual news programs (as ‘news’ programs in America are an embarrassing utter sham).

Justified

Rank: 8

Genre: Crime Drama

Creator(s): Graham Yost

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, and Walter Goggins

Channel: FX

Current Season: Fifth

Season Premiere Date: January 2014

Plot Summary: As much as U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens tries to escape his connection to his small, poor rural coal-mining hometown in Eastern Kentucky, he just keeps getting drawn back in resulting in confrontations with dangerous characters.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Justified has walked the line between being a procedural and a serialized drama – and it works as either (and both) really due to Timothy Olyphant’s great performances as Raylan Givens (sort of an old-school cowboy stuck in the modern world) and the strong writing. The series also seems to get stronger with each season (which is rare these days it seems). HBO and FX lead this list with five shows each, and Justified is FX’s crown jewel.

Dexter

Rank: 7

Genre: Crime Drama/Thriller

Creator(s): James Manos, Jr.

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, C.S. Lee, Desmond Harrington, and James Remar

Channel: Showtime

Current Season: Eight, and final

Season Premiere Date: June 30, 2013

Plot Summary: Dexter Morgan is a blood splatter expert who works for the Miami Metro Police Department – he is also a serial killer (but he only kills bad people).

Why It’s Worth Watching: After a very disappointing sixth season, Dexter saw its return to its high standards with season seven – for its first three seasons, it was the best series on television. But, it is time for the show to end, and season eight will conclude the series. Yvonne Strahovski returns as Hannah and season eight welcomes an awesome guest star in Charlotte Rampling. As it is the end, I expect the season to be extreme and fearless in its storytelling.

House of Cards

Rank: 6

Genre: Political Drama

Creator(s): Beau Willimon

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Kristen Connolly, Constance Zimmer, Mahershala Ali, Sakina Jaffrey, and Kate Mara

Channel: Netflix

Current Season: Second

Season Premiere Date: Spring 2014

Plot Summary: Majority Whip Francis Underwood expected to be a member of the President’s cabinet after helping him get elected into office, but he is politically dismissed. That betrayal will not go unpunished, as Underwood plots, schemes, and slithers his way back into a position of power – his goal: to destroy those that crossed him on his way to the White House.

Why It’s Worth Watching: With House of Cards and (season four of) Arrested Development, Netflix has given network television a friendly reminder that their time is over. The series is incredibly addictive and Kevin Spacey is brilliant in it. I cannot wait for season two’s release in another thirteen-episode chunk (which I will again be marathoning over one weekend). Netflix took a big step forward creating original content and hit a homerun (we have all forgotten about Lilyhammer right).

Part 5: 5-1

TV Preview 2012/2013 – 25 Must-See Series, Part 3: 15-11

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The Vampire Diaries

Rank: 15

Genre: Horror/Romance/Drama

Creator(s): Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec

Cast: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Kat Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Michael Trevino, and Matthew Davis

Current Season: Fourth

Channel: The CW

Return Date: October 11, 2012

Plot Summary: Elena Gilbert, a typical high school girl, finds her life plunged into a world of monsters when she falls in love with a pair of vampire brothers who are both drawn to her as she is identical to their long lost sire.

Why It Made the List: The Vampire Diaries started out as a poorly done vampire love-triangle teen soap, drenched in fanciful overly dramatic romance and clunky plotlines about vampires trying to pass as high school students, but about halfway through season one the tone of the series changed to more of an action and adventure romance drama and the show has been brilliant and very compelling ever since. Yes, some of the romance beats are still overly dramatic, but the whole show is stylized to be that way (at its core, it is really a show for teenage girls like most stuff on the CW). However, the series has become very much like a reimagining of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and has much of the same feel (though, considerably less silly and funny – this is much more serious tonally, which makes it different). As a huge fan of Buffy, I have grown to count this among my favorite TV series right now as each season get better and better thanks to very engrossing drama/storylines and great characters.

Treme

Rank: 14

Genre: Drama/Music

Creator(s): Eric Overmyer and David Simon

Cast: Khandi Alexander, Lucia Micarelli, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, Rob Brown, Kim Dickens, Michiel Huisman, Melissa Leo, India Ennenga, and Steve Zahn

Current Season: Third

Channel: HBO

Return Date: September 23, 2012

Plot Summary: Following Hurricane Katrina, the people of New Orleans pick up their lives and carry on.

Why It Made the List: Treme is firstly a great drama (from David Simon, who gave us The Wire and Generation Kill), but the show can also be appreciated and loved for its dedication and passionate enamor for the music of New Orleans. Every episode is full of music and performances. The characters are also fantastic and drawn across the spectrum of the city, so viewers really get a sense of the different parts of the city and separate yet connected lives of its citizens. While not very flashy, it is consistently very good and well worth checking out for both drama and music fans.

Supernatural

Rank: 13

Genre: Horror/Drama

Creator(s): Eric Kripke

Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jim Beaver, and Misha Collins

Current Season: Eighth

Channel: The CW

Return Date: October 3, 2012

Plot Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester, trained as hunters by their father, battle monsters, ghosts and any other supernatural evil that threatens our world.

Why It Made the List: Eric Kripke originally had a five-season story arc for Supernatural, and stepped down as showrunner after season five. I wondered if the show could continue its excellence when Sera Gamble took over for a two-season story arc. Seasons six and seven were just as good as the first five. However having finished the arc, Gamble is stepping down and new showrunner Jeremy Carver is taking over for season eight. Carver has written for the show since 2007 and also brought Being Human to America. Much like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural is sort of the heir apparent to style and genre championed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (The Vampire Diaries is like Buffy, and this is like Angel in a way). For fans of Horror, this is a wonderful action drama that is not afraid to be quirky and aesthetically interesting and tackle moral and deep questions about humanity, all while being very entertaining.

Sons of Anarchy

Rank: 12

Genre: Crime Drama

Creator(s): Kurt Sutter

Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Maggie Stiff, Ron Perlman, Theo Rossi, William Lucking, Ryan Hurst, Dayton Callie, and David Labrava

Current Season: Fifth

Channel: FX

Return Date: September 11, 2012

Plot Summary: The series follows the exploits of the SAMCRO motorcycle gang as they try to hold onto their territory and keep the gang together amidst threats both externally and internally.

Why It Made the List: Sons of Anarchy, much like The Shield (which Kurt Sutter also worked on), is a show that one would imagine being filled with adult language, and yet it is so well written that the viewer never notices or even questions the way the characters speak (being in a PG-13 or less manner). There are a lot of good crime dramas on TV right now (this, Breaking Bad, Justified, Dexter to name a few) but this has different, more rugged feel to it. The characters on this series are not afraid of being complex and having a duality to them, and in many cases being unlikable at times. A drama about a motorcycle gang may not seem like something that would appeal to everyone, but I highly recommend it. This series is gritty and dirty and utter compelling.

Dexter

Rank: 11

Genre: Crime Drama

Creator(s): James Manos, Jr.

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, James Remar, C.S. Lee, and Desmond Harrington

Current Season: Seventh

Channel: Showtime

Return Date: September 30, 2012

Plot Summary: Dexter Morgan is a serial killer, but he only kills criminals that have slipped through the system and avoided justice. To hide his true self, Dexter tries to assimilate into normal society with a family and friends, but his dark secret slowly begins to seep to the surface.

Why It Made the List: Usually, Dexter would be higher on this list. Seasons one through three saw it as probably the best show on TV, but with seasons four and five, while still very good, the show has become reparative with each season arc sort of being the same. Season six was easily the weakest, and rumbling started that the show had outstayed its useful life. That said, season seven will be the second to last, as all involved have stated that the series will end after season eight in 2013. Season seven looks a lot better than six, based on the preview trailers I have seen, and I am excited for the guest stars this season being Ray Stevenson and Yvonne Stranhovski. Plus, the story has finally come to a very interesting and different place than the past seasons.

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TV Preview 2011/2012 – 25 Must See Series, Part 5: 5-1

Has television programming ever been better than it is right now? Not in terms of great individual shows, but in terms of lots of really great shows (many of which did not make this list, and I had some tough decisions) on the air right now. This is a list of the best twenty five series in the upcoming 2011/2012 season.

25-21/20-16/15-11/10-6/5-1/Anticipated New Shows

Community

Rank: 5

Genre: Comedy

Network: NBC

Creator(s): Dan Harmon

Cast: Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Alison Brie, and Gillian Jacobs

Premier Date: September 22, 2011

Current Season: Third

Plot Summary: The series is about a smartass lawyer whose falsified education records are discovered and is disbarred pending his completion of college credits. Thus, he enrolls at Greendale Community College looking to coast through and quickly return to his great life as a lawyer. But, while at Greendale, he meets friends who become life his family.

Why It Made the List: (In the ‘Cast’ section I am limiting myself to listing five names so it does not get out of hand, but I need to list the other three regular cast members here because they are all wonderful: Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown and Ken Jeong). Community is the funniest show on TV. Everyone in the cast is brilliant, each doing their own thing and style of comedy (I love that each has their own moments and style, the show does not confine them to specific generic jokes like most comedies seem to do). Creator Dan Harmon also is not afraid to take the show to crazy awesome places – the paintball episodes, for example, are among the most amazingly great things on TV (creativity and fearlessness like this reminds me of another TV auteur Joss Whedon). There are a lot of great, very funny comedy sitcoms right now – Community is simply just the best.

Dexter

Rank: 4

Genre: Crime Drama

Network: Showtime

Creator(s): Jeff Lindsay and James Manos Jr.

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, and James Remar

Premier Date: October 2, 2011

Current Season: Sixth

Plot Summary: The series is about Dexter Morgan, a likable Miami police forensics investigator, specializing in blood work. But Dexter has a secret – he is a serial killer. He also lives by a code, to kill only those who deserve it and escape justice.

Why It Made the List: Dexter is a wonderful mix of horror, comedy, drama, mystery, suspense, and action. At its best, there is not a show that it better. Michael C. Hall is outstanding in the title role and is really what makes this show so great – plus the excellent writing. Season six has a couple challenges facing it: first, new showrunner Scott Buck is taking over the reins (but he is a veteran of the show and has written many of the great episodes), and second can the show stay fresh, when each season arc is more or less the same. Colin Hanks has joined the cast and is rumored to be the season’s big bad. I love this show, the blood and violence may not be for everyone, but I highly recommend it for those that enjoy Showtime and HBO style dramas.

Game of Thrones

Rank: 3

Genre: Adventure Drama

Network: HBO

Creator(s): David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Cast: Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Jack Gleeson, Emilia Clarke, and Peter Dinklage

Premier Date: April 15, 2012

Current Season: Second

Plot Summary: The series is about the many plots of kings, queens, knights, and renegades to gain the throne.

Why It Made the List: How good is Game of Thrones? Well it is a new show and is already in the top three. Fans of adventure and fantasy genre films have been waiting for a series this good – and one of HBO at that. The cast is fabulous, and is only getting better for season two with the additions of: Stephen Dillane, Carice van Houten, Liam Cunningham, Natalie Dormer, Gwendoline Christie, and Hannah Murray. The visuals and writing are equally as fantastic. The show reminds me a little of Rome, with the larger than life characters and all the scheming. Game of Thrones was the most talked about show of last season, and one you should not miss out on.

Breaking Bad

Rank: 2

Genre: Crime Drama

Network: AMC

Creator(s): Vince Gilligan

Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, and RJ Mitte

Premier Date: July 17, 2011

Current Season: Fourth

Plot Summary: The series is about Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who is informed he has terminal cancer. He is an underachieving chemistry genius who has nothing to leave his family once he is gone. He decides to cook meth to make some money, and just gets sucked deeper and deeper into a life of crime.

Why It Made the List: Breaking Bad is amazing. If you do not watch this show, you really need to start. Bryan Cranston is beyond brilliant as Walter White and Aaron Paul is very good as his partner. Sadly, season five (or the last 16 episodes whether it ends up just being season five or split between five and a sixth season) will be the last. Aside from how well written and acted this series is, what I love about this show is how much it has evolved. Walter White from episode one to present is almost unrecognizable – the best shows are able to do this without missing a beat. In my opinion, Breaking Bad has taken up the mantle that The Shield left for best crime drama on TV.

Mad Men

Rank: 1

Genre: Drama

Network: AMC

Creator(s): Matthew Weiner

Cast: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, and Christina Hendricks

Premier Date: March 2012

Current Season: Fifth

Plot Summary: The series is set in New York City during the early 1960s. It is about Donald Draper, a genius ad man with a mysterious past.

Why It Made the List: The best show on TV means it has the best writing, best characters, best narrative arcs, best performances – Mad Men has all these things. It was a great show from the start, but really came into its own in season two, and has just become better and better with each season. The cast is perfect; in addition to those listed above, these actors also do phenomenal work on the series: Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Kiernan Shipka (who will benefit greatly from the break the show has taken), Alison Brie (who is lucky enough to be on two of the best five shows), Jared Harris, and especially John Slattery. While this does not have the action, suspense or adventure of many of the other shows on this list, Mad Men has fantastically well drawn characters that continually develop over the course of the series –watching the lives of these characters, caring about them all. Season four completely changed up the show, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. With Breaking Bad, Mad Men is a show you must watch.

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Fall TV Preview – 2010 – Part 6: Cable/Top 5

LeapBackBlog’s Fall TV Preview gives you a rundown of the good stuff that is out there – and there is so much of it, too much really. It is broken down by network – ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, and then shows on Cable. Finally, I list the top five shows most worth your time this fall.

Here is the stuff worth checking out:

Part 1: ABC - No Ordinary Family, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family

Part 2: CBS - The Big Bang Theory, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-O, How I Met Your Mother, $#*! My Dad Says

Part 3: NBC - Chuck, The Event, Undercovers, Friday Night Lights, Community, The Office, 30 Rock

Part 4: Fox - Bones, Fringe, Glee, House, Lonestar, Running Wilde

Part 5: The CW - Gossip Girl, Nikita, Supernatural

Part 6: Cable -  Boardwalk Empire, Eastbound & Down, Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, Weeds, Luther, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Terriers

Cable

Boardwalk Empire (premiers Sep 19, 9PM on HBO)

Synopsis: The show is about Atlantic City, NJ, and its beginnings – and the man who has his hand in every pocket, city treasurer Enouch ‘Nucky” Thompson. A politician and gangster, he supplied the city with booze during prohibition and did business with any hood that came to town, including Al Capone. But as much as Thompson cares about his political image, he is impaired by his addiction to affluence and his weakness for the morally upright Margaret Schroeder. There is also conflict brewing as his young protégé Jimmy Darmody has returned from the war changed – he wants it all and is willing to do anything to get it.  

Why Should You Watch: The show is brought to you by executive producer Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver and Raging Bull) and creator Terence Winter (The Sopranos) – a fine pair to bring a show to HBO.  The cast is also excellent. The show stars Steve Buscemi (The Big Lebowski), Michael Pitt (The Dreamers) and Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting) and features supporting work from Michael K. Williams (The Wire), Gretchen Mol (The Notorious Bettie Page), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man), Stephen Graham (Public Enemies), and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road). The show hopes to bring HBO back to its former days of being the network with the best dramas on TV (shows like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, and Deadwood) and what better way to do it than a show about crime, sex and money set in the glory days of America’s gangsters.

Potential Issues: Critics have called the show a straight-forward drama, lacking humor, omens and a great soundtrack, but they also say it is fantastic.

Verdict: Yeah, you probably need to watch or Nexflix this.

Eastbound & Down (season 2 premiers Sep 26, 9:30PM on HBO)

Synopsis: The show is about retired and disgraced baseball player Kenny Powers as he looks for new opportunities to find his way back to the top and happiness – aka making money and insulting people. Season two sees him heading to Mexico to play ball.

Why Should You Watch: Season one was hilarious, why should the new season be any different? Powers will have a whole new country to put down and get into trouble in. Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) has found a character that perfectly fits his best comedic attributes.  It will also be great to see sequences of Powers playing baseball.

Potential Issues: All of season one’s cast is being scratched due to the change of venue, other than Steve Little. It is too bad because there were some funny characters played by Will Ferrell (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), Craig Robinson (The Office), Katy Mixon, and Andrew Daly (MADtv), though some might have cameos.

Verdict: For fans of McBride and co-creators Ben Best and Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way and Observe and Report) this is a must.

Dexter (season 5 premiers Sep 26, 9PM on Showtime)

Synopsis: The show is about Dexter Morgan, a blood splatter forensics expert who works with the Miami Metro Police where his sister is a detective. Only, he has a secret. He is a serial killer – but he only kills bad people.

Why Should You Watch: This is probably the best show on TV, hands down. Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under) is beyond brilliant as Dexter. The supporting cast is also very good, and the show features wonderful performances from guest arch actors like Keith Carradine (Deadwood), Jimmy Smits (The West Wing) and John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun). This season is set to have Julia Stiles (The Bourne Identity). The writing staff has done a fabulous with exploring the characters and fleshing them out. Each season delves deeper.

Potential Issues: Do not start with this season. Go back and watch from episode one, season one. The show is violent and thus might not be for everyone.

Verdict: Watch it.

Sons of Anarchy (season 3 premiers Sep 7, 10PM on FX)

Synopsis: The show is about a motorcycle gang and its two top dogs – Clay Morrow the club’s leader and prodigal son Jax Teller. The gang came together to run a group of white supremacists out of town, but a series of twists and turns have lead to grander problems for all.

Why Should You Watch: The show flies under the radar for such a good show. Stars Charlie Hunnam (Undeclared) and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) are fantastic in the series. Executive producer Kurt Sutter (The Shield) says that this season the road for SAMCRO will be particularly hard and the main antagonist will be played by Titus Welliver (Deadwood).

Potential Issues: The show is highly violent and utterly bleak, not for the squeamish or those looking for light drama.

Verdict: For those that this type of show would appeal to, certainly worth watching or Netflixing.

The Walking Dead (premiers Oct 31, 10PM on AMC)

Synopsis: The new horror show based on the fantastic comic series is about the zombie apocalypse. A small group of survivors including police officer Rick Grimes look for a new safe place to escape and call home. But the road is hard – tension rides high, emotions on edge, a constant state of fear – soon members of the group question who is more dangerous the zombies or themselves.

Why Should You Watch: Comic fans cannot rave enough about the series in book form, and hopefully this series will capture that magic. Chances look good; Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) is executively producing the show as well as writing and directing episodes. And really, who does not like zombies when they are done well? The show stars relative unknown Andrew Lincoln (Heartbreaker). There is no real star power in the cast, but some avid TV watchers will recognize Jon Bernthal (The Pacific), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), Jeffrey DeMunn (Law & Order), and Laurie Holden (The Shield).

Potential Issues: There is so much hype for this show, high expectations – not only from the excellent comic series and Darabont’s involvement, but also from AMC hoping to make another critical hit like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Is there anywhere for this show to go but down and be a letdown? There is almost no way the pilot will meet the expectations despite all involved.

Verdict: ZOMBIES!!!

Weeds (season 6 premiers August 16, 9PM on Showtime)

Synopsis: The show is about Nancy Botwin, mother and drug dealer, and her constant struggle to stay alive/out of jail and keep her family together.

Why Should You Watch: The show started a bit like a family comedy sitcom, but with each season Nancy just digs herself deeper and deeper into the hole she is in. The show has become more of a drama than comedy, but is still very funny thanks to supporting cast members like Kevin Nealon (SNL) and Justin Kirk (Angels in America). But make no mistake; this is Mary-Louise Parker’s (The West Wing) show. She is wonderful in it, maybe the best female performance on TV.

Potential Issues: You cannot start with season six, the characters and show has changed too much, and season six itself is sort of a reinvention for the show. The show has been a wild ride; can the writers keep it going?

Verdict: This is a great show, I really cannot think of a reason not to watch it, but start with season one.

Luther (premiers Oct 17, 10PM on BBC America)

Synopsis: The new show is about a talented detective, DCI John Luther, who specializes in cases involving sociopaths. He is a violent and tormented man, but prides himself on predicting the patterns of a killer and stopping them before they get too far, even if he has to break the rules a delve into his own darkness. Then he gets to the case of killer Alice Morgan. She beats him at his game and becomes obsessed with consuming his soul. Luther’s failing marriage and investigations into his cases make for potent material for Morgan to exploit. And yet, Luther is drawn to her as she is to him.

Why Should You Watch: Who does not love the show’s star Idris Elba? Anyone who watched the The Wire knows he is amazing. The show has a good cast, but probably completely unknown to Americans; however it could be a breakout role for Ruth Wilson (The Prisoner) as Alice Morgan. Series creator Neil Cross previously worked on the British show MI-5. The show is being called brilliant by critics, saying it puts every American crime procedural to shame (probably because the good ones like Life get cancelled).

Potential Issues: The show is so addictive and good, it might be better to just wait for DVD.

Verdict: Contender for best new show, Netflix this (cause who has BBC America?).

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (season 6 premiers Sep 26, 10PM on FX)

Synopsis: The show is about five of the most self-centered, clueless, un-pc people who own a bar in Philly and the situations they get into during everyday life.

Why Should You Watch: The cast is brilliant. They are all hysterical (well played Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenny, and Danny DeVito, well played). At its best, this is the funniest show on TV – at its worst, it is still a pretty funny show. The way the show and character attack “issues of the day” has the ability to not only have you laughing but also turning the issue on its head a bit. Being on FX, the show started with a cult-like following, but it is too funny and has started to become more known.

Potential Issues: There is a definite feeling as you watch the latest season that the earlier seasons were better with season one possibly being the show’s best, but the show still delivers amazing episodes like season four’s finale The Nightman Cometh. Hopefully, on average, the show’s best days are not behind it.

Verdict: If you are a comedy fan and have never seen this, add it to your Netflix queue now.

Terriers (premiers Sep 8, 10PM on FX)

Synopsis: The new show is about ex-cop Hank Dolworth and his friend Britt Pollack, a pair of private detectives, rough around the edges and low on luck. They take any and every case, often getting them into far more trouble than they can manage, but they got to make a buck somehow.

Why Should You Watch: It is the new show from The Shield’s creator Shawn Ryan collaborating with Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven) – and that is a good enough reason alone to be interested in this. It stars Donal Logue (Life) and Michael Raymond-James (True Blood). The show has action and serious danger but also an absurdity to it adding humor. The characters fit the actors well and will draw you in.

Potential Issues: This is not the typical show from Shawn Ryan, being that it is lighter and humorous. But, he did leave Lie to Me to do it so he must have something to it that he likes a lot.

Verdict: It is Shawn Ryan; you at least need to Netflix this.

Editor’s 5 Series Most Worth Your Time:

1.) Dexter (season 5 premiers Sep 26, 9PM on Showtime)

2.) Luther (premiers Oct 17, 10PM on BBC America)

3.) Fringe (season 3 premiers Sep 23, 9PM)

4.) The Office (season 7 premiers Sep 23, 9PM)

5.) Weeds (season 6 premiers August 16, 9PM on Showtime)