Monday, April 13, 2015

Top 10 favorite current TV shows

There are often articles written about what the best show on TV is. I understand that it is usually a way to grab attention but why does there have to be only one? There is so much quality TV fiction out there that I thought I would challenge myself to making a top 10 list of my favorite current TV shows* for today's post.


*don't care about platform (network, cable, Netflix, Playstation, etc and whatever); nothing canceled, nothing old. This is a current list, not an all-time list. Also, for a couple of days something like Justified would qualify, but in a couple of days it won't.

Better Call Saul - I had pretty much zero hope for this show when it was first announced. But it has turned out to be a great addition to the Breaking Bad universe. I do think it has a tiny bit of an identity crisis in its first season but there is a lot to like and a lot to love here. Funny, surprisingly touching at times, and, halfway through the season, you get one of the all-time great single episodes.


Bloodline -  Family Noir is getting tossed around in more then one place to describe Bloodline, and it fits. This is a dense, subtle show with possibly the most stacked cast on TV right now. The acting and some of the scenes are just staggering.


Bob's Burgers - I watch this show with the kids. The Belcher's love each other and all of their craziness and I love them too.


Fargo - You'd think that True Detective was the best thing evar last year based on all the press it got but don't sleep on Fargo. Fargo is a genuinely touching and human show that augments the Coen brothers universe. It's quirky and funny but also goes to some really dark places. 


Fortitude  - This show just ended its first season and is on a network that most people don't seem to have (Pivot) so I think a lot of people just aren't aware of it. I hope that changes when it becomes more widely available on Amazon Prime or Netflix (fingers crossed). This is a moody, atmospheric, and subtly weird show with great characterization.


Justified - Only one more episde left! Justified has some really great characters and the best dialog and character exchanges on TV right now. I'll be sorry to see this one go.



Orange is the New Black/Wentworth (tie) - A cheat I know. These show have some  broad stroke similarities but are not the same show. Orange is maybe a bit more richer in its secondary characters and Wentorth is darker and more violent. They are both exceptional shows in their own ways and deserve your attention.


Orphan Black -  This is a multi-genre (science fiction, thriller, cop show) show that moves with a quickness but never loses it's way.

Peaky Blinders  - UK answer to Boardwalk Empire? Sure, if that does it for you. This is a gritty UK period crime drama that might be the most gorgeously shot show going right now. 


Rectify - I had this one sitting in my Netflix queue for a long time and only recently got around to it. Now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. This might just be the most emotionally devastating  show on TV right now with scenes that leave you gutted. I would say that Rectify is unlike any other show on TV right now. 

So what are your top 10 current TV shows?

6 comments:

pattinase (abbott) said...

Pretty much the same. I wish we got PIVOT.

John McFetridge said...

I'm still watching New Tricks (new episodes on TV here, I don't know if it's still running in the UK).

Rick Ollerman said...

"Orphan Black" is strange to me, with a mintues-long recap to start each show, the same to end each show, and a long title sequence all leave me with a feeling like they feel they have too many minutes to fill. The police work is hokey and the lady cop drives me bonkers. But Tatiana Maslany, as everyone must know by now, is amazing.

"Rectify" qualifies for me as being probably the best drama of any type I've ever see on TV. You don't know where it's going, who's really behind what, and the emotional strings it pulls, the devastation of the family, Daniel's seeming inability to act in what everyone else thinks is his best interest, makes for a constant burn throughout the entire show. This one to me is brilliant.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

Thought Orphan Black jumped the shark midseason last year.
Have not been able to see Peaky Blinders or Fortitude(It comes out on DVD next wk).
I would have to add Bosch and Ray Donovan and Game of Thrones.
Detest Bobs Burgers-hate the animation, the voices and the unfunny storylines.

Manuel Royal said...

Fortitude has really impressed me. Different from anything I've seen on tv, really. I love the way answers come in their own time, and one's view of a character will change with exposure, getting deeper into them without changing their essence. Great international cast, and genuinely disturbing; some scenes were truly hard to watch.

I wasn't sure whether the 12th episode was the season finale; can't imagine what will happen in a second season.

Al Tucher said...

Orphan Black, and The Americans, which I think has the best writing on television today.