As May draws to a close, another season of television is in the books -- even though the idea of a traditional season of television is fading fast as both broadcast and cable networks have begun to premiere shows in the fall, spring, and summer. For the purposes of this post, I'm including television shows with seasons that premiered between June 2013 and May 2014, although a series like Showtime's
Penny Dreadful, which premiered two weeks ago, is at a disadvantage due to the small sampling size. With that said, I've assembled here a list of the five shows from that period that I thought stood tall above the rest. These are the shows that left me wanting more each week, anxious to know what was going to happen next. My hope is that you'll find one or all of these shows interesting and that you'll give 'em a shot, if you haven't already.
One thing I'd like to mention: I couldn’t bring myself to watch the final season of
Dexter. I was so dismayed after a disastrous Season 6, I was gifted Season 7 on DVD, but never got around to watching it. I felt the urge to try and catch up as the final season premiere edged closer, but once the scathing reviews started rolling in, I sought greener pastures and haven’t looked back since. I’m sure I’ll sit down and watch the last two seasons at some point, but part of me wants to vanquish all traces of the series after Season 5, when the train started to go off the rails.
But enough about the bad.
Let's talk about the good!
5. The Americans (FX, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.) Philip and Elizabeth Jennings -- the deep cover Soviet spies whose covert exploits on American soil during the 80's Cold War era function as the central conceit of
The Americans -- understood the obvious risks of their mission when the KGB first sent them to America to assume the unassuming identities of a domesticated married couple. But what of the children oblivious to their parents' true identities? While the first season of
The Americans focused on the struggles of a marriage that had become more than the operational cover it was intended to be, the second season is as much about Philip and Elizabeth as it is about Paige, the daughter whose growing suspicions about her parents' late night excursions and all-too convenient explanations have only fueled her teenage need to rebel. When Philip and Elizabeth find another family of Soviet illegals murdered in a hotel room in the season premiere, it serves as haunting reminder of the real danger their work poses to their family, one that lingers throughout the season as the elder Jennings consider how the knowledge of their true allegiances would affect their children.
The Americans surprised with a strong debut season last year, but a stellar second season has solidified its status as one of the best and most thought-provoking shows on television.
4. Game of Thrones (HBO, Sundays, 8 p.m.) Few shows are as ambitious as
Game of Thrones in terms of the scope of their storytelling, and I'm not talking about the mere fact that the show services more than a handful of different storylines.
Game of Thrones is not the first nor the last show to adopt a sprawling narrative, but the series has become masterful in how it balances its various storylines, with this season's emphasis on quality over quantity. While the trial of Tyrion in King's Landing has provided the season's most compelling drama, I never grow impatient when the show shifts to Daenerys' rule over Mereen or Arya's trek across Westeros with the Hound or even poor Theon's miserable existence. For once, the show's writers seem to have a strong grasp of how to best utilize their characters, allowing the individual breadth of each storyline to dictate the division of screentime. Pedro Pascal, in the role of Prince Oberyn Martell, with all the swagger of a man who cares little what people think of him or his proclivities, has also proven to be one of the season's most indelible assets. Though he has been relegated to a supporting character for much of the season, Oberyn's deep-seated hatred for the Lannisters and his disregard for the politics and culture of King's Landing have helped build this season's themes of family, justice, and revenge.
3. True Detective (HBO, Sundays, 8 p.m.) I’ve heard this era of television referred to as the “golden age” of original scripted programming on more than one occasion, and with good reason. The level of quality storytelling has never been higher across the board, in my opinion, attracting top talent both in front and behind the camera and reversing the notion that television is a wasteland for declining film actors. But whenever upstart cable networks like FX, Showtime, and AMC begin to dominate the conversation, HBO is quick to remind everyone who started this revolution in the first place -- and I can’t imagine a more sobering wake-up call than
True Detective. The series follows a contained storyline that unfolds over the course of eight episodes, each one written by show creator Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Cary Fukunaga. In this first season, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey take center stage as Detectives Martin Hart and Rustin Cohle, respectively, who are tasked with investigating a ritualistic murder in South Louisiana. From that simple logline, it might sound like a straightforward whodunit, but I assure you it is not. While the traditional elements of a classic pulp crime novel are intact, the cinematic aesthetic, the intricate writing, and the riveting lead performances are what set this show apart from the rest.
2. Hannibal (NBC, Fridays, 9 p.m.) Had a certain other television show not produced one of the greatest single seasons of all time,
Hannibal would be sitting atop this list after an outstanding sophomore season, having avoided the dreaded second year slump that has plagued lesser shows. Opening the premiere with a shocking tease of the reckoning to come in the finale,
Hannibal promised its audience members that it knew where it was going, and those who strapped in for the roller coaster ride were treated to a tense cat-and-mouse game between a brilliant psychopath who hides in plain sight and the criminal profiler determined to expose him for the monster that he is. By reversing the dynamic of
Red Dragon, with Will Graham forced to outsmart and outmaneuver Dr. Hannibal Lecter from behind bars for much of the season,
Hannibal continued to be both wildly unpredictable and wickedly entertaining. While the remarkable performances of lead actors Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen remain the show's main course, Michael Pitt proved to be one of this season's most appetizing new additions (if you'll forgive the obvious dinner puns) in the role of Mason Verger. His turn as the cruel and sadistic brother to one of Hannibal's patients helped energize the latter half of the season as it hurtled towards the bloodbath glimpsed in the premiere.
1. Breaking Bad (AMC, Sundays, 8 p.m.) If you expected any other television series to be holding down the top spot on this list, then you must have been living under a rock while one of the most acclaimed television series of the last decade concluded with a final season run of eight spectacular episodes. From the moment that garage door closed behind Walter White as he prepared to go toe to toe with his brother-in-law Hank Schrader in the midseason premiere, it was clear that the writers had no intention of pulling their punches. The gloves were off, and what followed was one of the most thrilling seasons of television I have ever seen. Each episode packed the punch of a finale, pulling the pin on grenades that the show had been stockpiling for four and a half seasons. While the first half of the fifth and final season saw Walt attain the unequivocal success he had fought so hard to achieve, the back half of the season was all about forcing Walt to consider the true weight of his achievements as the sins of his past began to consume everything he held dear. The show's exceptional cast all delivered the best work of their respective careers, saving their best for last, but the highest praise belongs to creator Vince Gilligan and his writing staff for crafting and completing a series that will go down as one of the greatest of all time.
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For context, the shows I also watched this season that missed the cut: American Horror Story, The Bridge, Fargo, Justified, Penny Dreadful, Silicon Valley, Sleepy Hollow, and Sons of Anarchy.
