I'm getting off track. The point is, these four shows have simultaneously been a part of my life for a number of years and it's tough to see them go. I haven't taken up many new dramas in that time. In fact, these are the four longest running shows on my drama list. To add to the pain, two of the next three longest shows (all starting in 2011) have already announced their upcoming seasons will be their last. Though one will be split into two half seasons so at least I'll get an extra year.
Maybe I'll have to find some new dramas out there. I've already added Narcos and Into the Badlands (though the latter might end up in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror category) as well as the return of Fargo after a year off. I just don't get drawn into the typical TV dramas like police procedurals and medical dramas. The Man in the High Castle on Amazon is the only one at the moment I'm interest in trying.
Ok, again I'm getting off track. Enjoy my drama list and try not to get too sad about all the ending shows. They were all on for a while and had satisfying finishes.
10. Orange Is The New Black (Season 3 - RENEWED) on Netflix 2013-2014 Rank: 9 (-1) I still struggle with calling OITNB a drama, but I suppose it is more drama than comedy. Of course the Emmy's didn't see it that way and OITNB was in the comedy category this past year. It's probably difficult for a show about people in a confined space to keep coming up with new ideas, and I found myself less interested this season than in the past. Still, the show has a mostly-fun cast of supporting characters the still makes the show watchable. There's drama, laughs, anger, sadness and now apparently a celebrity chef who will be joining the prison in season 4. I imagine she and Red will go toe to toe. |
9. Better Call Saul (Season 1 - RENEWED) on AMC 2013-2014 Rank: NEW SHOW I will start by saying that this spin-off/prequel to Breaking Bad is in no way Breaking Bad. This may end up proving to be a good thing. The Albuquerque environment is still the same, and the first season does include a taste of the criminal world, but we mostly begin this story on the side of good. Jimmy McGill, who will one day take on the name of Saul Goodman, is an unsuccessful lawyer who just wants to do good while making a buck. Unfortunately no one takes him seriously. By the end of season one, Jimmy has had it and admitted that there will be a new Jimmy McGill who doesn't get pushed around and won't rely on "good" to get things done. This should be the beginning of his transition to Saul. It is definitely enough to keep me coming back for more...well that and Mike Ehrmantraut! |
8. Shameless (Season 5 - RENEWED) on Showtime 2013-2014 Rank: 11 (+2) It is amazing how Shameless keeps finding new ways to make you thankful you are not a Gallagher. Everyone in the family continues to make poor decisions, highlighted this past season by two of the younger Gallaghers starting to come into their own as teenagers. I guess it helps that there are so many of them in different stages of life, allowing for a variety of mistakes that can take place. I struggle to be a fan of the Gallagher patriarch, Frank, but the kids still show promise for potential good. Lip is in college and has potential to escape, but he's too closely tied to his family who he feels he must look after. In the end that's what Shameless is about. You can't pick your family and no matter what they do, they are still yours. |
7. Parenthood (Season 6 - COMPLETED) on NBC 2013-2014 Rank: 8 (+1) The tissues can now be put away as the biggest tear-inducing show on television has come to an end after a great six-year run. There were multiple years in which Parenthood was on the chopping block for cancellation, but the quality writing and stellar cast helped keep it going. Parenthood was about the Braverman family as well as each of the four adult children's families. The show just felt so real, tackling many topics both good and bad. Obviously a lot happens to their family, as it is after all a TV show, but it never felt over the top. The series closed on a death in the family, which although sad was handled in such a positive way that you couldn't help but be teary and smiling at the same time. I will miss what easily felt like a my second family. |
6. Boardwalk Empire (Season 5 - COMPLETED) on HBO 2013-2014 Rank: 6 (-) The Atlantic City-based prohibition-era mobster series Boardwalk Empire has come to an end after five seasons. I always enjoyed this show, but I think I found myself liking characters more than the show's storylines. Boardwalk could sometimes drag and bore, but when it picked up it was very exciting. I guess that can be said for a lot of shows. The series decided to go out in a bang, literally, by killing off pretty much all of the most engaging characters. That shouldn't surprise as they had no problem killing off fan favorites in previous seasons like Jimmy Darmody, Richard Harrow and Owen Slater. Of course I have to be thankful for Owen's death as it opened up Charlie Cox's schedule for my favorite new show Daredevil. In the end we witnessed many other favorites face their demises...Chalky White, Nelson Van Alden and finally Nucky Thompson. I very much enjoyed Steve Buscemi's lead role throughout this series. We witnessed him go through many ups and down, with challenge after challenge. He was after all the man on top who everyone wanted to take down. Boardwalk was better than good, but I'm satisfied with its end. |
5. The Americans (Season 3 - RENEWED) on FX 2013-2014 Rank: Previously Didn't Watch I have been hearing about how good the Americans for a couple years now. Of course I don't have time to watch every critically acclaimed show on television, otherwise I'd also be watching Homeland, Bob's Burgers, Veep, Mr. Robot, Empire, Rectify, The Leftovers, Masters of Sex, Orphan Black, Limitless, The Good Wife and many more. And honestly, the only shows I'm not watching that I would be interested in trying are Mr. Robot, Rectify and Gotham. But I am here to talk about one I did try, The Americans. The first two seasons were available on Amazon Prime, and I got hooked pretty quick. The premise makes it seem difficult to want to watch a show whose "good guys" and Russian spies in America. I find myself rooting for them and against the American government! Of course it's not the first time anti-heroes have succeeded on TV (see: Breaking Bad). The show does a good job of humanizing the spies, who are masked as a couple raising two children. The children are actually theirs, made as part of their cover. Now that the children are teenagers, it's getting difficult for the lead characters (Phillip and Elizabeth) to keep up their act. Add to the fact that their neighbor and Phillip's "friend" is one of the lead agents against Russian spies for the CIA! And that's only the half of what's going on. It really is a thrilling show filled with action, near misses, espionage and some family drama dabbled in there. The Americans will probably be my flagship drama moving forward with six of the other top seven on this list having just ended or ending after next season. |
4. Justified (Season 6 - COMPLETED) on FX 2013-2014 Rank: 3 (-1) Justified has long been one of my favorite dramas on television. I found it to have great writing, great acting and additionally, a great location. It did suffer from being boring from time to time, but for the most part I loved the series. The final season was not the show's best, but I was pleased with how the story was closed out. I will miss my annual visit to Harlan County, following the adventures of the mostly-good hero Raylan Givens, the mostly-bad but in a good way Boyd Crowder and the season to season supporting cast of heroes and villains. In fact, outside of Rayland and Boyd, the revolving door of adversaries for both Raylan and Boyd were most of the best characters in the series. The Bennett Clan, Ellstin Limehouse, Wynn Duffy, Avery Markham and the Crowes, to name a few, were always worth their screen time. The end was a happy one for Raylan, while Boyd ended up back in prison. Both of which were surprises to me, as I expected them (or at least one of them) to die. |
3. White Collar (Season 6 - COMPLETED) on USA 2013-2014 Rank: 5 (+2) I was sometimes hard to keep up with watching White Collar, as it was on USA and changed its time slot (and time of year) multiple times. It was however easy to get sucked right back in every time I would pick it back up. White Collar was basically a procedural, with its theme being about an FBI agent who partners up with a master thief and con artist who he spent many years trying to catch. Luckily the thief, Neal Caffrey, was a very nice and charming man who anyone could get along with. Over the years, Neal and his FBI agent partner Peter (as well as the other agents in their office) became good friends. Of course they always still felt a bit cautious about Neal, which was well deserved. As for the procedural aspect, the show was so much more with long-form story arcs that would be woven throughout episodic cases (much like Justified). It was also a very light show in that you often find yourself smiling or laughing. The supporting cast, especially Mozzie and Elizabeth, brought much of that fun and happiness in different ways. The series looked like it might have a sad ending, but Neal wouldn't be Neal if he didn't con his way to freedom through a fake death. |
2. Hell On Wheels (Season 4 - RENEWED) on AMC 2013-2014 Rank: 1 (-1) I have believed over the last few years that Hell On Wheels continues to get better every season, which is rare in most television. This past season didn't exactly feel better than the last, but it was still great. The stories taking place took a bunch of different turns this year, which I understand is important to help a long-running series continue to evolve. I'm just not sure I was as engaged with all these changes. New adversaries to the railroad emerged in the new governor of Wyoming, while Cullen dealt with his new Mormon family. A couple series favorites were killed off this year in odd fashion, and the end of the season seemed to close the book on the Union Pacific Railroad to go on a journey further west with Cullen. I don't know how the final season (played out in two parts) will progress. Will it include the folks of Hell on Wheels, like Durant, Eva, Mikey and Ms. Ellison, or will we be sent to a new place whose only familiar faces are Cullen and The Swede. Time will tell, but I'm happy to know that I'll still have the hero I love to root for and the villain I love to hate. |
1. Person Of Interest (Season 4 - RENEWED) on CBS 2013-2014 Rank: 2 (+1) Person Of Interest has continued to provide a compelling show that is almost science fiction but too possible to not consider reality. This past season found our heroes (Finch, Reese, Root and Shaw) taking on new identities to hide from a new, more powerful "machine." In the meantime, they continued to dig deeper into the organization behind the new Samaritan, trying to prevent them from gaining too much power in the world. By season's end, the Samaritan team discovered them and had them cornered. Fortunately they were able to escape (barely) and look to what will probably be a final showdown of AI Gods and the people behind them in the upcoming final season. |
11. Transparent (Season 1 - RENEWED) on Amazon
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