Recommended TV shows

[DementedSheep]

I don't really watch TV and haven't kept up with a tv series for years. Now that I have access to a netfixs account and can watch them in my own time without paying for it I figured I might as well watch some...problem is there are a shit ton of them. So Escapist, what's your favourite TV series and do you have any recommendation for someone who is wanting a good story driven one? Genre doesn't matter, though I tend to go more for fantasy or sci fi, just so long as isn't a soapie. It doesn't need to be still ongoing. For Game of Thrones, I've already read ASOIF and I don't really feel like watching it (and I don't think it's on netflix).

 

[Zontar]

If you've got Netflix then DareDevil is the show for you. It's of similar quality to The Wire, definitely the best show on Netflix's original series roster and despite the MCU connection it is just as good when viewed in a vacuum then when the connection is taken into account (you don't need to see any Marvel movie to understand what is happening, though The Avengers alien invasion does set things up a bit since there is a lot of reconstruction going on).

It's a 10/10 show, and is only 13 50-55 minute episodes in its entirety.

There is also Psycho Pass, an amazing science fiction crime drama that I can't recommend to people enough. It's the type of show you show to your adult friends or parents who like NCIS and aren't into anime. 22 half hour episodes, an easy weekend viewing. It's easy to get caught up in "just one more episode" syndrome.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Narcos. I only recently finally got into Netflix, and Narcos is... well like a narcotic. It's a depiction of Pablo Escobar's career in Colombia. The production values, cinematography and acting are on par with any high-level Hollywood film, except Narcos is way smarter than any big Hollywood film you'll likely have seen in years. The dialogue among the drug dealers and even most of the police is all in Spanish, which, if you don't like subtitles, might be an issue, but for the rest of us it only adds to the authenticity. The pacing and writing are so impeccable I just couldn't stop watching. It's incredibly violent and gritty, which means it's actually depicting things as they really were. I haven't watched any other Netflix original shows yet, but Narcos sets a hell of a fucking high standard. ATM I can't really think of anything negative to say about it.

Watch it.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Netflix Originals are a good start:
- Orange Is The New Black. A comedy-drama about a women's prison. Its strongest point is its characters, they're very well written and worked out. Its weakest point, maybe, is the obligatory titillation though your mileage may vary on that one and it gets less throughout the seasons.

- DareDevil. Probably the best superhero series around. Its strongest post might be its groundedness, it manages to sit in that sweet spot between Nolan Batman levels of gritty and serious and the more typical superhero feel. Compared to most other superhero movies it has better action choreography too (with one scene in a hallway standing out) and less flat characters. Its weakest point is perhaps story consistency.

- House of Cards. A no-holds-barred political thriller-drama. Its strongest point is the intricacy and 'real-feel' of the political intrigue going on. It's all power plays, backstabbing, etc etc. Its weakest point is that it can perhaps get a little convoluted thanks, maybe partially, thanks to the consistent use of political jargon.

- Narcos. A crime thriller following the exploits of Pablo Escobar. Its strongest point is I think the interplay of all its element; the cinematography, characters, story, etc. Its weakest point might be perhaps that it stays relatively superficial with some overly fast pacing, perhaps because they only stick to one season.

- Bojack Horseman. An animated comedy show about a washed up celebrity finding his way through the vapidness of Hollywood life. With a couple anthropomorphic animals thrown in because why not. Its strongest points are I think the interplay between the characters and the kind of comedy it produces. Its weakest point perhaps the pacing, but it's not that bad.

Netflix also has a lot of non-originals that I really dig and you might want to take a look at; Breaking Bad (comedy-crime drama), Mad Men (a 60's character piece), Sons of Anarchy (biker crime drama), Arrested Development (a very intricate comedy show), Turn (historical war/spy thriller), Bobs Burgers (feel-good but grown-up animated family comedy), Archer (animated adult spy parody-comedy) Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation (rock&roll style food-travel show), Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown (also a rock&roll style food-travel show but with more culture), Utopia (on the UK one, an insane conspiracy thriller with an amazing visual style). Not all of these have all their season on Netflix, but always the first few at least.

Next to that there's classics ala various Star Trek shows, The X-Files, Twin Peaks, etc. I could go on for ages, I adore the show format as it lends itself well to slower paces and deeper character development than movies. The last decade or so has been a fantastic time for quality shows.

Also, even though it's not on Netflix it has just started so there's no huge backlog to work through; the new Muppets show. I love it so much, the writing is hilarious.

If you've got Netflix then DareDevil is the show for you. It's of similar quality to The Wire

Ehhhhh. I mean it's good, but, The Wire is, well, almost on its own level. I have yet to see DareDevil produce a character on the level of Omar, Cutty, Marlo or Bubbles. The Kingpin is awesome and all, but, yeah.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

I don't watch many TV shows, but my current go-tos are Rick and Morty, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe, all of which are fantastic.

 

[Eddie the head]

You ever watched Farscape? I fucking love Farscape. A quote form tv Tropes. "If Star Wars and Red Dwarf had a baby, and then that baby ran off to join the circus, that's Farscape."

On a similar note I also enjoy Red Dwarf.

 

[Guffe]

My favorite series is Supernatural.
Season 11 starts in 10 days, looking forward to that
In short:
2 brothers hunting supernatural beings, ghosts, demons, gods, other creatures, anything you name it!
Season 1 is just a weekly monsterhunting thing, they are searching for their dad. Season 2 gets a bit more storydriven with hunting a certain demon (revenge thing) and then from season 3 there comes a new "main villain" (superdemon, angel, gates of hell) about every 2 seasons which they try to stop. Part of the seasons still being single episodes about a new type of monster to hunt, like season 1 was.

 

[madwarper]

Falling Skies - Aliens have invaded Earth and are kicking humanity's ass, and the 2nd Mass. is about to mount a counter offensive.
4 seasons, completed.

Suits - Man with eidetic memory pretends to be a lawyer and gets hired by a prestigious law firm.
5 seasons, ongoing.

Orphan Black - A Game of Clones.
3 seasons, on going

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Most have already been mentioned, but...:

-Daredevil is freakin' awesome, and in addition to just being a really great show, has really great action sequences as well (something very rare in TV).

-Orphan Black (streaming not available): Tatiana Maslany may now be my favorite actress ever. Seriously, she's phenomenal in the show and plays about 8 different characters (or maybe more, I can never keep track). All the support cast is great too and the show is just really entertaining.

-Gotham: I'm really digging Gotham, and if you have a strong familiarity with the Batman universe it's even better, because you'll pick up on a lot of things that sort of foretell what's to come in the future. The show can be relentlessly dreary at times (this is Gotham city, after all, where your own dog will sell you to the mob for a bone), but is still entertaining and breezy nonetheless.

-Archer: I think season 3 was probably the worst season, but the show has come roaring back, and I maintain that it's the most consistently funny show on TV.

-Knights of Sidonia: Whether you like this show will depend largely on how much you can tolerate REALLY stereotypically annoying anime elements (ie. skinny protagonist who guffaws 10 times an episode, groan worthy attempts at humor, female characters who all sound like they inhale helium hourly, etc.) because the plot and action, when it gets going, is really, really good.

-Longmire: Interesting show. It actually got cancelled after (I believe) 2 seasons, but Netflix picked up the rights and started making new episodes. It's about a Sheriff in small town Wyoming, and I think this show actually got better as it went along (the first few seasons tried too hard to be action based, but the later ones became much more character and detective work driven). Robert Taylor is on-point as the grizzled old Sheriff

 

[Plinglebob]

In these threads I always recommend the new "The Flash" series. Its more lighthearted then a lot of stuff on TV, but still has a lot of emotional weight and the main story arc goes at a really decent pace unlike a lot of shows that drag it out for the sake of drama.

I'm a bit light on ideas otherwise as I prefer character to story

 

[Dizchu]

Breaking Bad is an obvious one. Then there's Orange is the New Black, Archer, Orphan Black, they're very good too. I'm currently digging Steven Universe (hence my avatar) because it has a chilled-out, easygoing tone without being dull or meaningless. It has superb characterisation and a mysterious universe in which it is set, but it's not Lost or anything like that.

Then there's Trailer Park Boys, which is completely sophomoric and strangely compelling at the same time. It has an excellent cast and just feels so natural even if the characters are completely nuts. Also it's essentially Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy with cannabis instead of jawbreakers.

 

[DementedSheep]

Cheers for the recommendations. I'll probably check out daredevil first.

 

[deleted+75193]

DELETED

 

[shteev]

The Sandbaggers. Politics driven spy drama from the 70's, and inspiration for Greg Rucka's 'Queen and Country' comics. There's not a lot of television from that decade that has dated as well as this.

 

[happyninja42]

Babylon 5. Probably the first tv show in history to actually be designed with a limited story arc in mind. With a specific beginning, middle, and end planned out, instead of just episodic shows. It's got some dated CGI, but the stories are great, and the series really builds up into something awesome over time. It's one of my favorite shows of all time, and I highly recommend it for any scifi fan.

Sense8. From the few forum discussions on this site that I saw, apparently people didn't like this show. I loved it. It might be because I can easily see J. Michael Stracynski's hand in it (he did Babylon 5 above), but I really found this show very enjoyable. A lot of people seemed to hate how the story got told slowly, but it felt natural to me, having the characters introduced to us bit by bit, as they each were introduced to each other through their bond. It had some genuinely hilarious parts, and some really dramatically awesome moments as well. It does have some openly gay and transgender characters in very prominent roles, so if that kind of thing upsets you, you might not like the show. I don't care about that at all, and I loved it.

Mystery Science Theater 3000. Do you like bad movies? Do you like making fun of bad movies? Do you like watching people make fun of bad movies? Then you will love MST 3K. Better to go to the mystery science theater 3000 fan club site, as they have a way more comprehensive list of the episodes than Netflix does, and they're free to watch through youtube. Push the button Frank.

Battlestar Galactica the remake from the 2000's. Terrific show, though it ended kind of lamely. But, they kind of wrote themselves into a corner, so I can kind of forgive it. Leading up to the end though, it's great. It and Babylon 5 are 2 of a very short list of shows that I bothered to buy on DVD.