Must Watch Series

[Buehler445]

All this talk about series, how network TV Sucks, and how hard it is to find quality shows, and some excellent shows that fly under the radar, I need a comprehensive review of all the series I need to see.

For good entertainment, I would be willing to buy DVD sets. But I've recently picked up HBOGO by kiping it from my parents, and recently got Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Here is a listing of shows that I currently own or have seen all the episodes of. If it isn't on the list, just assume I haven't seen it.

Spoiler!

Great Shows – Must See
Game of Thrones
Mad Men
Longmire
Burn Notice
House
Spartacus
House of Cards
Justified
True Detective
Breaking Bad
The Assets
The Wire
Sherlock (BBC)
The Americans
The Walking Dead
Deadwood
Netflix: Daredevil
Jack Taylor
Luther
Bosch

Good shows
Travelers
Ozark
The Leftovers
Conviction
Medici
The Last Kingdom
Firefly
Dollhouse
The Good Wife
Hell on Wheels
Big Bang Theory
Falling Skies
Suits
White Collar
Agents of SHIELD
Arrow
Boss
Rome
Orange is the New Black
Orphan Black
The Knick
Goliath (Amazon)
Iron Fist
Show Me a Hero
Hell on Wheels
Shooter

Mediocre
Robin Hood (BBC)
Vikings
How I met your Mother
Scrubs
Chuck
That 70's Show
Top Gear
Graceland
Hung (HBO)
Gotham
Conviction


Crap
Camelot
Top Shot
Defiance
Legends of Tomorrow

Here is a listing of shows that I'm currently watching

Spoiler!

Great


Good
Boardwalk Empire
Westworld

Mediocre

Crap

Here is a listing of shows on my list to watch (mostly due to this thread)

Spoiler!

The Sopranos
24
Fargo (missed getting it on the DVR )
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
The Comeback
6 Feet Under
John Adams
Battlestar Glactica
Friday Night Lights

I work a ****ton, so it is hard for me catch a series while it is on to get it on the DVR, but I recognize the entertainment value and am willing to go after the Must See shows. Accordingly, I'm not necessarily looking for anything that is still running. I'm up for watching stuff that has run its course.

So what say you, Planet? Which shows should I see?

UPDATED for the shows I've seen recently.

[KCUnited]

Marianne on Netflix if you're into suspense/horror. French, subtitled, and extremely filmatic for a series. Demonic type suspense/horror that's very well done. Had to pull myself away from it.

[Baby Lee]

If you haven't watched, you owe yourself, and the new season starts soon!!

[Pepe Silvia]

I've been watching "The Righteous Gemstones". It's not as good as "Eastbound and Down" but it's pretty entertaining and funny. Goggins as "Baby Billy" cracks me up.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I'm not gonna look it up...

Killing Eve on BBC America just finished its second season, and it's one of the best shows on TV. Only 8 eps/season, so it's not hard to get caught up. I DVR'd and watched the entire second season in one sitting, in fact. It's worth it.

Fleabag lives up to the hype. [FTR, lead actress, writer and creator of Fleabag is writer and creator of Killing Eve].

Very British, very now. But still very relatable.

The central conceits are the competing stresses of family and relationships, particularly in the clash/environment of wild personal lives with proper manners/etiquette. This is informed by the central character making the audience her confidante, telling the camera the subtext of the situation or her personal reactions in the middle of the scene. I've honestly never seen someone who can say so many many many things with her eyes.

It's 2 seasons, 6 eps each, 30-minute eps. Very bingeable, or nice little bite-sized bits to mix into your rotation. Looks like it's done, but it's done like the BBC Office was, not because it wasn't popular but because the story is told [for now]. And besides the humor and situations, the overall story is moving as well.

Somewhere midway between Hugh Grant, Woody Allen and Ricky Gervais.



EDIT - to add, thinking on it, a lot of people might be dissuaded from this show by the buzz of how it's all this feminist girl power. That it might be some of that strident preachy stuff that's en vogue right now. But one of the most refreshing things about the show overall is how open and honest it is about the main character talking a good game about modern empowerment, while she harbors some deeply sentimental and traditional notions. There's a lot that's messy, but the things they are striving for will set many hearts aflutter as it resonates with their own personal foibles. It's tough to detail without spoiling far too much, but there are decisions made and growth demonstrated that you might not think possible these days. Maybe the talent of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, beyond just being a good writer, is being a good writer who respects the complexity of both trying to be unique AND finding meaning.

[MelGrif]

Great thread! Since The Big Band Theory finished, I'm looking for the good series to watch. I've already seen True Detective (liked the 1st and the 3rd seasons), The Umbrella Academy (now I'm looking forward to the new season) and How to Get Away with Murder (liked only three first seasons). I should say, there are many good suggestions here. Tanks for sharing!

[MahiMike]

I'm getting tired of LeftFlix. Seems every show I try to watch has not so subtle leftist undertones. Is there anything left that doesn't include LGBTQ bias?

[KCUnited]

The Confession Killer on Netflix

bugs bunny sawing texas off the union.gif

It's a Making A Murderer, Innocent Man type docuseries.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

‘You’ Season 2 hits Netflix today.

[KCUnited]

I'll add Messiah on Netflix for the first 4 episodes alone. From there it gets a little wonky (change in directors) but still finishes relatively strong. Overall, it's very well done with a lot of layered thought material. Still processing it a day later. It's a legit binger.

Synopsis: conman, the actual messiah, or antichrist, intertwined into present day geopolitics

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

I'll add Messiah on Netflix for the first 4 episodes alone. From there it gets a little wonky (change in directors) but still finishes relatively strong. Overall, it's very well done with a lot of layered thought material. Still processing it a day later. It's a legit binger.

Synopsis: conman, the actual messiah, or antichrist, intertwined into present day geopolitics

This! It really is a good show.

[Buehler445]

I got a half rate on Showtime for a few months so I decided to watch a couple series I've been wanting to catch.

Ray Donovan I didn't really know what to expect here. I thought maybe it would suck hard, but holy **** I couldn't get enough. Especially binging it. Liev destroys the role. God I wish I was as cool as that dude. There aren't too many things that the show did wrong. It wasn't terribly groundbreaking in terms of plot, but the writing was tight and it did everything well. I cared about all the characters, even the ancillary ones like Terry and Bunch. John Voigt was probably born to play Mickey Donovan. I think one of my favorite characters was dog the dog. Or colloquially Dawwg the Dawwwwwwg.

Homeland Long live Inigo Montoya! Mandy Patinkin does a kick ass job in this show. The first season does a great job of leaving it up in the air of whether Brodie is a terrorist or not. 2 and 3 aren't as good because it's out, but it picks up after that. It does a really solid job and Claire Daines gets better every season.

[Baby Lee]

I thought I'd posted about it in past seasons, but High Maintenance is back.

Such a gem of a show. Just the right length, brilliant concept, and this season's premiere was genuinely moving.

If you're not familiar with the conceit, the bearded biking dude in the trailer is 'the dude' and he's a weed dealer in NY. And the stories are only peripherally about him. Week to week, you drop in on his various and random [though occasionally serialized] customers as they go about their lives then interact with him when they buy their weed. So it's a bunch of little slice of city life stories connected by weed.

And the greatness of it is it can go anywhere. From loners and shut-ins to yuppies and broadway stars to nudists and swingers, to even boomers in the suburbs. Whomever wants some weed is the storyline for the week.

If you haven't caught any of it, they are worth catching up with past seasons, and it started as a web series, so you can still find a lot of it on youtube and vimeo and dailymotion. And of course, HBO has the whole package if you stream them.

[ThaVirus]

I finished Ballers on HBO. It was entertaining but somewhat hollow.

Thinking of hitting Deadwood or Rome next. The first episode of Rome did not impress.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I finished Ballers on HBO. It was entertaining but somewhat hollow.

Thinking of hitting Deadwood or Rome next. The first episode of Rome did not impress.

Rome is legit. It’s not aged the best but it is good. Stick with it.

Have you watched the wire?

[vailpass]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Rome is legit. It’s not aged the best but it is good. Stick with it.

Have you watched the wire?

This x100. Liked it so much I ended up naming my dog after a character.