Well, you all already know that I’m a fan of reality TV from my True Confessions of a Reality TV Show Junkie post. This post is about something entirely different. This one is about the shows I watch with my husband (he wouldn’t be caught dead watching the Bachelor or Teen Mom with me ~ although he will watch Survivor and the Amazing Race). This post is about the TV series that suck us in and keep us wanting to watch the next episode week after week! We actually subscribed to Showtime two years ago just to be able to watch Dexter. Our goal was to find great series and watch them fully. We would order the disks off of Netflix to catch up and watch them episode after episode into the wee hours of the night. After renting the first few seasons of Dexter we knew we had to order Showtime! We could not wait. Here our some of what we think are must watch shows on TV:
1. Homeland – We started watching Homeland on the first night, first episode. It came on right after Dexter, and after seeing the previews for it I knew I had to watch it. I am so glad that I did! It sucked me in from the very first episode. The characters are very dynamic. Claire Danes plays the perfect insane woman. All the characters play such an important role in the storyline, and oh boy the storyline! You never know what is really happening. This show completely has you thinking, and just when you think you’ve figured things out something happens and you’re not sure all over again. I love it! I kept telling people to watch it!!! I finally felt vindicated that my opinion about the show was correct when they won awards for the past two years. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should get it! You’re only two seasons behind. I can’t wait to see what happens with season three! There are so many different ways this story can go, and of course they leave you thinking…….again!
2. Dexter – This show is just crazy! I love it. Talk about loving a character that is a serial killer. Who knew? This show always keeps us wanting to watch the next episode. The first few seasons we got off of Netflix, so we would stay up and watch episodes back-to-back. We actually like watching it this way. When we caught up and then ordered Showtime, we had to wait a week in between episodes and hated that! Although, we say we live for Sunday nights with Dexter and Homeland (at least this past fall we did)! We are ready for the next season to start! This past season finale was pretty insane, so we want to see where they are going to take this with Dexter and Deb.
3. Breaking Bad – We got the first couple seasons of this show from Netflix too. The first couple of episodes we weren’t sure about, but once we really got into the characters we couldn’t stop watching. Who thought a high school science teacher turning meth drug dealer would be so interesting? Walt and Jesse have such an interesting relationship. It’s fun to watch it change and mature with time. And I think I have a little bit of a crush on Jesse! Sometimes (especially in later seasons), we get annoyed with Skylar (Walt’s wife). She’s just a weak character. Our favorite storyline was with Gus Fring. If you watch it you’ll know why. He’s just such an awesome character.
4. The Tudors – Okay, so I am a history buff. Especially during this time period. I love the story of Henry the 8th and his six wives. This series follows Henry from his first marriage all the way until his death. It is so interesting and the constant romances and ups-and-downs with Henry and his reign make you keep wanting to watch. The first few seasons were our favorites, especially the episodes with Anne Boleyn.
5. True Blood – This is just a silly and fun show to watch. I would not say it’s quality TV, but definitely entertaining. It’s about vampires and other supernatural beings that all live in a town in the south. Crazy things (and I mean crazy) happen all the time. Just when you think the story can’t get any stranger it does. We keep watching this and we’re not sure why. I guess the love story with Sookie and Bill and the insanity of the town keeps us watching. This is not a high quality drama like Homeland, it’s just fun to watch and entertaining. We were Sookie and Bill for Halloween this past year (see below):
Sookie and Bill in True Blood ~ Halloween 2012
6. Game of Thrones – This fantasy/sci-fi show we like, but for some reason don’t love. We will definitely watch the new season (we want to know what’s going to happen). I’m not sure why we don’t love it. I think sometimes we just feel the show is a little slow for us and sometimes a little strange. With the high intensity and fast-paced shows like Homeland, Dexter, and Breaking Bad, this one definitely seems slower. There are a few people that were killed in this series that we are not happy about (I won’t say names if you haven’t watched it), so that was a bit of a bummer too. Like I said though, we’ll keep watching.
7. The Wire – We LOVE this fast-paced and intense show. It takes place in Baltimore, MD and starts with the police dealing with the drug scene around the city. The characters are very dynamic, and even though there are many that are introduced it’s not too confusing. As the seasons progress there are other storylines that appear with corruption, politics, and the media. There are many twists and turns throughout the seasons. Great show! We are sad that it’s over. A must see if you haven’t yet.
8. Sons of Anarchy – Oh SAMCRO, how I am loving thee! This show is the one we are streaming right now through Netflix. We can stream through our Wii! It’s awesome. We’ve been watching about four episodes a night. I just want to keep watching it! There are five seasons and we are halfway through with season three. It is so good! Every time we finish an episode we look at each other and say. “Okay, just one more!” I thought at first this show was about bikers getting tattoos (like reality TV); I didn’t know it was a drama with a storyline. I can’t wait to watch tonight! Four more episodes!!! It’s a story about a Motor Club in a town of CA that runs the town. Yes, they are bikers, but there is so much more to the story and to each character! Watch it!
9. Parenthood – I need to throw this one in here. Yes, it’s not a show on FX, AMC, Showtime, or HBO. It’s on “regular TV” and a show that hubby does watch with me! This show hits all current topics and the characters are all so diverse. I love the large family and how they support each other through everything, even with all their ups-and-downs. This season has been very emotional (as you may know if you watch it already). The characters are real, there is humor, there is pain, there are so many wonderful things about this show! Tune in on Tuesday nights to watch it!
Here’s our list of shows to watch once we finish Sons of Anarchy:
- Downton Abbey
- Boardwalk Empire
- The Walking Dead
What else are we missing on our list? What are your favorite shows to watch?
Out of all of those I have only heard of Parenthood and watch it every week. I love that it is such a clean and normal family show. I never get control of the tv in our house, even though we have enough to go around, my little one controls the one in my room when he gets tv time. It makes it hard to keep up on current events and I miss the great shows, but he is 3 so I will see plenty when he no longer has time for mom. I will record some of those that sound interesting to check out.
we love the walking dead! cant wait for it to come back on in feb – thanks for new shows to check out
American Horror Story … you can watch the first season on netflix.com
American Horror Story Asylum …. you can watch all of season 2 except for the season finale which comes on FX on Wednesday night … http://www.thedarewall.com/tv/american-horror-story/season/2/episode/1
of course I am also a great big fan of Grey’s Anatomy which comes on Thursdays at 8pm on ABC
Waiting for new season of Survivor which starts Feb. 13th
There is also two more that my husband and I watch that I forgot to add to my list
Being Human … Mondays on Syfy
Spartacus … Friday’s on Starz …. waiting for the final season to start this month.
I have not seen one of these! A good friend told me about Downtown Abbey, and I want to check it out. Just too busy to take the time 🙁
Hubby and I love Parenthood. And I highly recommend The Walking Dead. It’s one of my favorites! I found season 1 to be the best so far, went down hill just a little, and is now getting good again.
LOVE your list!! I need to get into Downtown Abbey!!
My faves right now:
ALL the Housewives
NCIS
Castle
Modern Family
Walking dead is way awesome! & always ends on total cliff hangers.
Another good one started this year is revolution. That one rocks!
We’re hooked on game of thrones, walking dead & breaking bad. 🙂
I have been watching Parenthood since the first episode… it is an amazing show and so real. It seems to me like the season is shorter than most or there are not as many episodes. Bummer!!! I also am hooked on Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime. I too like reality shows and was very sad when the original Teen Mom ended. And I am a closet ID Discovery junkie 🙂
Great list Kristen! You are forgetting the BEST show on TV: REVENGE!! YOu should try it. It is simply amazing. Great list. I am going to pin it!
Walking Dead, AWESOME! Boardwalk Empire, GREAT! I also think you would like that new series on HBO called Girls. I just watched it On Demand after it won all those awards. Pretty good! Shameless is another one I love. I am such a TV junkie like yourself. lol
I actually have not watched any of these although I have a friend who raves about Walking Dead . I have been wanting to get netflix so I can watch the series all at once though.
Cool! b Thanks for all the shows and info on them! We finally got access to cable again (YAY) and cannot wait to find some good shows to watch!
These sound cool. And Downton Abbey? I think you might like it. Personally I love it.
I’m not a big tv person but I’m addicted to TrueBlood and Games of Throne!! I occasionally watch Parenthood as well. Can’t wait for GOT & Trueblood to start up again!!
We love a lot of these same shows too, we just don’t have time to watch them anymore. We love to catch up though on Redbox! That’s how we got caught up on Breaking Bad 🙂
We like most of these, but my husband and I couldn’t get into Breaking Bad. We just didn’t like any of the characters, and found the show depressing to watch. If you haven’t watched The Shield yet you’d probably like it, it end a few years ago but it is high intensity and fast paced.
The only show I’ve watched that’s on your list is the Tudors. I loved it!! It inspired me to start reading books about that era. We did watch a couple of episodes of Dexter but it was too gory for me.
Love love love The Wire! So sad to see it end 🙁 Love Breaking Bad and SAMCRO. Just got into Homeland (Still can’t believe Michael is Shane Omen from Mean Girls???). Haven’t seen the others, but have seen good reviews of Parenthood.
I love you did a list about TV shows! All of these are great! (except Downtown Abby) 😉
Great list! I’m obsessed with Nashville!
I just wasn’t into the new season of Dexter. People are keeping ti on their lists so maybe I need to watch more episodes to love it as much as I did other seasons.
Love Parenthood! Haven’t missed an episode and always keep the tissues handy!
I haven’t heard of a lot of these shows…probably because they are on those “newfangled” cable channels I keep hearing about 😉
Right now, my husband and I really like Vegas, Person of Interest and Elementary.
I have not watched any of these shows that I can recall, though our daughter loves True Blood. Of currently running shows, we love Castle, Hot In Cleveland, The Office {ending this season *sniff*} I also like the new show Nashville and my husband and I love to watch various shows on NatGeo, History, History 2. Right now we are watching How The Universe Works {a marathon} on SCI.
Dawn
Big True Blood fan here! We don’t have cable anymore (just Netflix) so I am a little behind on what the best shows are right now. I am going to check out some of your suggestions though…Pretty sure I’ve seen some of these on Netflix!
Parenthood is a good show, but it took a while for me to get into it. The Wire is AMAZING! I’m over Homeland, and never got into the rest of these shows.
I haven’t watched many of these. Grimm is my favorite show right now. Once Upon A Time is the show I need to rent on Netflix, I am so far behind!
I love, love, love, LOVE Sons of Anarchy!! <3 SAMCRO has my heart 🙂
My husband and I used to watch Dexter and loved it, but we.don’t get the channel anymore. I miss it!
I’m with you on the Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad! I end up watching a lot of tv shows while I’m blogging.