Rank: 5
Genre: Period Crime Drama
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg,
Stephen Graham,
Grethen Mol, Paul Sparks, Vincent Piazza, Shea Whigham, and Michael Kenneth
Williams
Channel: HBO
Current Season: Fourth
Season Premiere Date:
September 2013
Plot Summary: Nucky Thompson runs Atlantic City
during Prohibition by controlling the selling of alcohol. He lives a bit of a
double life. He wants to be seen as a respected member as the community (and
family man), but he also must be a feared gangster in his dealings with the
likes of Arnold Rothstein, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano.
Why It’s Worth Watching: Boardwalk Empire has taken
the vacated place that The
Sopranos once held on HBO as their premier crime drama (and character
drama). Creator Terence Winter also worked on The Sopranos, and has brought the
same depth that Tony had to his lead Nucky. The entire cast is fantastic and
all play wonderful characters. There is no better gangster series on television
(or among recent films for that matter) balancing the graphic violence with
strong storytelling.
Rank: 4
Genre: Crime Drama/Mystery
Thriller
Channel: Materpiece Theatre
on PBS
Current Season: Third
Season Premiere Date:
September 2013
Plot Summary: Set in present-day London, Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. John Watson assist the police in solving their most befuddling
crimes.
Why It’s Worth Watching: Sherlock, despite its
famous name and characters, is really nothing more than another detective
procedural, and yet it is wonderfully fresh and engrossing. Mark Gatiss and
Steven Moffat have made Holmes’s mysteries feel new and vital, while Benedict
Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are completely brilliant as Holmes and Watson.
The series has a long-episode format with each lasting ninety minutes, which
allows each narrative to play as its own film exhibiting lush character
development and story depth (unrivaled on TV by any other procedural) – A Study
in Pink, The Great Game, A Scandal in Belgravia, and The Reichenbach Fall are
all incredible episodes.
Rank: 3
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Drama
Cast: Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Tuner, Jack Gleeson, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead
Wright, Charles
Dance, and Nikolaj
Coster-Waldau
Channel: HBO
Current Season: Fourth
Season Premiere Date: March
2014
Plot Summary: Four prominent families battle one and
other for control of the Iron Throne and the Kingdom of Westeros.
Why It’s Worth Watching: Game of Thrones is the most
entertaining series on television. That is due to its superb ensemble cast,
production value, and excellent storytelling. Each new episode feels like an
event. Plus, the series seems to be getting better with each season (as season
three has been very strong so far), which is actually surprising given the
sheer number of characters and storylines that the writers must manage. For
fans of fantasy narratives, there is nothing better right now than Game of
Thrones.
Rank: 2
Genre: Period Drama
Cast: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser,
Christina Hendricks,
January Jones, John Slattery, and
Jessica Pare
Channel: AMC
Current Season: Seventh,
and final
Season Premiere Date: March
2014
Plot Summary: Donald Draper is one of New York
City’s best ad men during the 1960s. The series navigates the changing social
and cultural climate of the era and how it affects Draper and his co-workers.
Why It’s Worth Watching: Mad Men is the best written
series on television. It won four straight Primetime Emmys for Best Dramatic
Series (and was nominated as well for season five, losing to Homeland) and five straight
inclusions on AFI’s TV Program of the Year list. Plus, it has one of
television’s best ensembles (with Elisabeth Moss beautifully playing TV’s best
female character Peggy Olson). While season five was slightly polarizing
(though, I would argue it is just as good as the first four seasons), season
six continues the show’s strong run of critical acclaim. Television will be
losing something special when season seven comes to an end.
Rank: 1
Genre: Crime Drama
Channel: AMC
Current Season: Fifth (part
two), and final
Season Premiere Date:
August 11, 2013
Plot Summary: After being diagnosed with cancer
struggling, but brilliant, high school chemistry teacher Walter White decides
to cook meth in order to make enough money to support his family when he is
gone. He turns to a former student (and junkie), Jesse Pinkman, for help.
However, Walter and Jesse seem to just fall deeper and deeper into the world of
crime, forgetting their moral compasses and losing who they once were as they
embrace the darkness.
Why It’s Worth Watching: Breaking Bad has the most
compelling lead character on television in Walter White. If you have not yet
started watching this series, start right now (it is streaming on Netflix).
The show seemed like it might be burning out a bit during seasons three and
four as creator Vince Gilligan turned more towards character development than
story progression, but it has paid huge dividends when the action started to
ramp up to a fever pitch. The show has been incredible from the latter part of
season four through the first part of season five. Part two’s eight episodes
are undoubtedly going to be amazing.
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