TV Spotlight – The 25 Best Series on TV 2014 – Part 3: 15-11

Supernatural

Rank: 15

Genre: Supernatural/Horror/Action

Cast: Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles

Channel: The CW

Current Season: Tenth

Season Premiere Date: October 2014

Plot Summary: Demon-hunters Sam and Dean Winchester travel North America exterminating all manner of ghosts, ghouls, beasts, and terrors. They also avert an apocalypse or two along the way.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Supernatural was initially envisioned as a five-season narrative by creator Eric Kripke, and yet here it still is going into its tenth season. The show’s writers continue to tell very good episodic and continuing stories, and Jared Padalecki and especially Jensen Ackles are great in their roles. I have been saying this for a few years now: if you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Supernatural is made in the same mold – from the strong characters, stories, and mix of drama and offbeat comedy to the weird and ambitious episodes.

Downton Abbey

Rank: 14

Genre: Period Drama

Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, and Allen Leech

Channel: PBS Masterpiece Theatre

Current Season: Fifth

Season Premiere Date: September 2014

Plot Summary: This drama tells the story of the continuing lives of those who inhabit the English countryside estate Downton Abbey, from the high-born Crawley family to their servants.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Downton Abbey and its creator Julian Fellowes were faced with the difficult task of weathering a few exits by key cast members, and these exits forced Fellowes’s hand narratively speaking creating some shocking and heartbreaking (and even infuriating) moments. And yet, the series continues on just as good as ever, propelled forwards by its great characters and strong writing. It is everyone’s favorite period soap opera.

The Walking Dead

Rank: 13

Genre: Horror/Action

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, Emily Kinney, Scott Wilson, and Danai Gurira

Channel: AMC

Current Season: Fifth

Season Premiere Date: October 12

Plot Summary: Former police officer Rick Grimes does his very best to lead a small group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies and desperate people.

Why It’s Worth Watching: The Walking Dead is an interesting series that walks a fine line. Personally, I think it continues to get better and does a fantastic job building tension and creating suspense, especially as the show has been unafraid to kill off its characters. That said, the series does feel very repetitive and even tedious sometimes, as there are really only so many ways that its writers and directors can stage a zombie attack. I am interested to see where the series is headed (having not read any of the comics for which it is based). How much bleaker can things get? Will the show ultimately end with Rick all alone, driven completely insane (like many of the characters we have met along the way)? It is definitely not for everyone, but in its best moments it sure is compelling.

Orphan Black

Rank: 12

Genre: Mystery/Action/Drama

Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce, Jordan Gavaris, Kevin Hanchard, and Maria Doyle Kennedy

Channel: BBC America

Current Season: Third

Season Premiere Date: April 2015

Plot Summary: Sarah Manning is a streetwise hustler, who is pulled into a grand conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her. She soon discovers that she has many lookalikes, and she begins working with them to find out the truth – but can she trust them?

Why It’s Worth Watching: Orphan Black instantly became one of television’s most exciting new shows when it debuted on BBC America thanks to its very cool concept. The Canadian production perfectly blends action, mystery, drama, comedy, and sci-fi elements. Plus, Tatiana Maslany is absolutely brilliant, playing each of her many roles splendidly.

Orange Is the New Black

Rank: 11

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Cast: Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning, Laura Prepon, Michael Harney, Kate Mulgrew, Jason Biggs, Natasha Lyonne, Pablo Schreiber, Dascha Polanco, Matt McGorry, Yael Stone, and Uzo Aduba

Channel: Netflix

Current Season: Second

Season Premiere Date: June 6

Plot Summary: Piper Chapman is your typical middleclass woman in her thirties – a nice life and about to be married to a man who loves her. There is just one hitch in her seemingly perfect life: an innocent mistake in her past has come back to haunt her. She has been sentenced to fifteen months in prison after being convicted of a decade-old crime (transporting money for her then drug-dealing girlfriend). Now Piper must find a way to survive and maybe even thrive in prison.

Why It’s Worth Watching: House of Cards was such a big hit for Netflix, Orange Is the New Black suddenly had all this additional expectation put on it when it debuted last summer. Not only has the show met that expectation, it has surpassed it, and I think it is a better overall series than House of Cards. It handles its drama and comedy with equal skill and weight, and it has created some of television’s most interesting and compelling female characters. One aspect that I am curious about is whether creator Jenji Kohan can keep the storytelling and writing at a high level as the show progresses. I say this because her last series Weeds was phenomenal at first but became kind of awful in its later seasons.

TV Spotlight – The 25 Best Series on TV 2014 – Part 1: 25-21

Special Miniseries Acknowledgement:

Fargo

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:

Arrow

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.

Sons of Anarchy

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.

Rectify

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.

True Blood

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.

The Americans

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.

TV Preview 2013/2014 – 25 Must-Watch Series, Part 3: 15-11

Part 2: 20-16

Downton Abbey

Rank: 15

Genre: Period Drama

Creator(s): Julian Fellows

Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Lesley Nicol, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Siobhan Finneran, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Sophie McShera, Allen Leech, and Maggie Smith

Channel: Masterpiece Theatre on PBS

Current Season: Fourth

Season Premiere Date: January 5, 2014

Plot Summary: The series looks into the lives of a wealthy English family the Crawleys and their servants in the early twentieth century.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Downton Abbey is addictive, dramatically engrossing, and wonderfully well written. It features many of television’s best characters as well. Two of the most beloved characters were written off the show in season three due to actors asking to leave the series, causing creator Julian Fellows to alter his plans somewhat (and massive fan outrage), but there is no doubt that Fellows will continue to create new stories that will continue to entice and captivate his audience.

Supernatural

Rank: 14

Genre: Horror/Drama

Creator(s): Eric Kripke

Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, and Misha Collins

Channel: The CW

Current Season: Ninth

Season Premiere Date: Fall 2013

Plot Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester hunt and kill all manner of demons, monsters, and supernatural creatures, following in their father’s footsteps.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Supernatural has a ten season plan. Originally, creator Eric Kripke planned the story to be told over five seasons, and after season five he left to pursue his new series Revolution. Sera Gamble took over as the showrunner for seasons six and seven telling a great two season arc. Now new showrunner Jeremy Carver has taken over and has been able to keep the show fresh and just as good as it has ever been.  Fans of fantasy/horror drama need to be watching this show.

Sons of Anarchy

Rank: 13

Genre: Crime Drama

Creator(s): Kurt Sutter

Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tom Flanagan, Maggie Siff, and Ron Perlman

Channel: FX

Current Season: Sixth

Season Premiere Date: Fall 2013

Plot Summary: Jax Teller and Clay Morrow are locked in a deadly power struggle for control of the SAMCRO motorcycle club.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Sons of Anarchy is a great gritty crime drama. In many ways it resembles The Shield (which Kurt Sutter wrote on) in its style, tone, and storytelling. Creator Sutter takes risks with his characters and is not afraid to make them complex and even unlikable in moments, but he does it all to enrich the overall narrative (the characters and drama). The series gets its hands dirty, exploring the darker corners of humanity – and it is utterly compelling.

Luther

Rank: 12

Genre: Crime Drama/Mystery Thriller

Creator(s): Neil Cross

Cast: Idris Elba, Warren Brown, Dermot Crowley, and Ruth Wilson

Channel: BBC America

Current Season: Third

Season Premiere Date: September 2013

Plot Summary: DCI John Luther is a brilliant but troubled police detective in London.  His inner darkness makes him particularly equipped to take on the most ruthless killers, but it also often leads him down a path towards self-destruction. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: There are too many procedural cop series on television right now – far too many. Yet, Luther (and Sherlock) feels totally fresh. This is due to Neil Cross’s stellar writing and Idris Elba’s fantastic performance as Luther. The dynamic between Luther and meticulous killer/friend Alice Morgan is one of the best and most interesting on television (and yes, she returns for season three). After a hiatus Luther is finally back.

The Walking Dead

Rank: 11

Genre: Horror/Drama

Creator(s): Frank Darabont

Cast: Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yuen, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, and Scott Wilson

Channel: AMC

Current Season: Fourth

Season Premiere Date: October 2013

Plot Summary: Zombies have overrun the world. Lead by police officer Rick Grimes, a small group tries to survive as they seek shelter.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Original showrunner Frank Darabont (who developed the graphic novel for TV) was fired by AMC after season one due to creative differences – but in all honesty, season one was very disappointing. Glen Mazzara took over for seasons two and three and the show became one of the best series on television, but Mazzara is leaving the show now too due to creative differences with AMC regarding where to take the series. Scott Gimple has been promoted to take over running the series. Will The Walking Dead remain brilliant or will it fall back to being the lessor series it was during season one? We shall see. Gimple wrote many of the great episodes of the series, so my hopes are high.

Part 4: 10-6

TV Preview 2013/2014 – 25 Must-Watch Series, Part 1: 25-21

The Americans

Rank: 25

Genre: Period Family Drama/Political Thriller

Creator(s): Joseph Weisberg

Cast: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, and Noah Emmerich

Channel: FX

Current Season: Second

Season Premiere Date: January 2014

Plot Summary: Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings seem like the typical 1980s American family, but they have a secret. They are deep-cover Russian spies.

Why It's Worth Watching: The Americans is a fantastic cold war thriller that explores both its characters as a family drama and the politics of the 1980s (the tension of the cold war). Keri Russell is brilliant on the series (and should be up for an Emmy). What is interesting about the series and what makes its different than Homeland is that it is about KGB agents – the heroes of this series are really villains. This is a must-see series for fans of spy dramas.

Shameless

Rank: 24

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Creator(s): Paul Abbott

Cast: Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, Justin Chatwin, Ethan Cutkosky, Emma Kenney, Cameron Monaghan, and Jeremy Allen White

Channel: Showtime

Current Season: Fourth

Season Premiere Date: January 2014

Plot Summary: The Gallagher clan lives in Chicago, doing whatever they must to stay together even though their mother has left, their father is an alcoholic, and they are dirt broke. So, they must scheme and cheat, but family is the most important.

Why It's Worth Watching: Shameless is wonderfully funny and dramatically engaging due to its superb ensemble cast, lead by Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy. At its heart, it is a family sitcom, but without many of the tired troupes that usually infect the genre. Instead, it succeeds on its great characters and strong writing. And, being that it is on Showtime – it can take its characters to very raw and outrageous places, which is very fun to watch.

Hannibal

Rank: 23

Genre: Crime Drama/Horror

Creator(s): Bryan Fuller

Cast: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, and Laurence Fishburne

Channel: NBC

Current Season: Second

Season Premiere Date: Spring 2014

Plot Summary: Serving as a prequel to the Hannibal Lecture films, the series explores the relationship between a young FBI profiler Will Graham and his psychoanalyst Dr. Hannibal Lecter (who begins helping out on cases, and more).

Why It's Worth Watching: While NBC has yet to decide whether or not Hannibal will return for a second season, the show is too brilliant to leave off this list of the twenty-five best series on television for the 2013/2014 season. Bryan Fuller is one of TV’s most imaginative writers (with past series including: Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies). He brings such a rich texture to this crime drama (when it easily could have just been a slight twist on the boring procedural formula). The cast, especially Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, is phenomenal as well. Hannibal is one of the bright spots for drama on Network television (and the only non-cable drama to make this list). UPDATE: NBC has picked up Hannibal for a second season.

Community

Rank: 22

Genre: Comedy

Creator(s): Dan Harmon

Cast: Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong, and Jim Rash

Channel: NBC

Current Season: Fifth

Season Premiere Date: 2014

Plot Summary: Six friends (formally seven) make their way through Greendale Community College – attending odd classes, making dioramas, and going on adventures.

Why It's Worth Watching: The fourth season of Community was very disappointing (which is why it has fallen out of the top five all the way back to twenty-two). It lost its creative soul when Sony/NBC fired creator Dan Harmon. But, the cast is still the best among any sitcom and it still has its moments of sheer joyful and hysterical bliss. Somehow, despite its perpetual low ratings, it is back for a fifth season (and like season four, it will only have thirteen episodes). Season four showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port simply tried so hard to copy Dan Harmon’s version (and failed) instead of making the show their own. Sony and NBC are looking for a new creative head. Surprisingly, there is a rumor Harmon might be returning. Also, Chevy Chase has left the series (but if Harmon returns, will Chase return too?!?). UPDATE: Dan Harmon is returning!!!!

The Vampire Diaries

Rank: 21

Genre: Horror/Romance/Drama

Creator(s): Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec

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

Channel: The CW

Current Season: Fifth

Season Premiere Date: October 2013

Plot Summary: Elena Gilbert was seemingly just a typical high school girl until her life became filled with vampires, werewolves, and witches. Now she finds herself torn between two vampire brothers Stefan and Damon, both of whom she loves.

Why It's Worth Watching: The Vampire Diaries is at times overly melodramatic (after all it is targeted at teenagers and is on The CW), but mostly it is a very engaging fantasy drama, which often features wonderful story and character arcs (and to some extent fills the void left by Buffy the Vampire Slayer). With Klaus and his siblings finally leaving Mystic Falls (for their own spin-off The Originals), the series can explore much-needed new stories and villains (I feel that Klaus narratively overstayed his welcome by about two seasons, which impaired the storytelling progression).

Part 2: 20-16