Help me choose a new TV show or two to watch (both good and culturally relevant)

Cafe Society
1

I don’t watch much TV nowadays and I often find myself out of the loop in water cooler/cocktail party type discussions, and am missing a lot of offhand references by friends and acquaintances as well. For reference, I live in the northwest USA.
Shows that I’ve greatly enjoyed include:

The Wire (the best by a mile)
Buffy/Angel/Firefly
Battlestar Galactica
Game of Thrones (this is the only current show I really follow)
Seinfeld
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Arrested Development
Futurama
South Park (hit or miss)
So, if I had to choose 1-2 currently-running shows that would give me both entertainment value + cultural value, which ones would give me the most bang for my buck (or hour, as it were)?

2

Breaking Bad jumps shriekingly to the top of the mind.

3

Breaking Bad by a mile if you’re looking for something with cultural relevance. Everyone has their own thoughts to share on it.

I don’t know if it was super popular, but Fargo was quite good. Don’t know if it’s going to keep running or if it was just a single season and done.

Judging from the humor on your list, you’d probably enjoy Archer.

4

You might like Veep.

5

The HBO series True Detective was extremely good, season one ended this past spring, but you can still get it on demand.

They are doing something different with that series; each season is a single season story arch with new characters. I like the idea because you get a tighter story and you don’t have to worry about it meandering, or the good writers going off to new projects and having the series fall apart.

They negotiate separate contracts each season with a whole new cast and crew, smart idea if you ask me.
FX did a pretty good job with the adaptation of the 1990s movie, Fargo, into a 10 episode mini-series. Billy Bob Thornton was excellent and they had a lot of good characters, excellent writing, phenomenal directing. It ended a couple of months ago, but I’m sure they will rerun it soon.

I’ve read that more miniseries are coming out, and I think that is usually much better story telling. I hate it when a series sprawls, loses direction, and the crew behind the production moves on to other projects, leaving a hollow show.

FX just started another series, Tyrant, I’ve caught the first two episodes, and it has my interest, but it is not on the same level of what they did with Fargo.

6

I’ve been enjoying Copper immensely. Both seasons are on Netflix.

7

If you’re talking about TV series now in production, I’d recommend Sleepy Hollow. It’s on Fox & was renewed about the time the 3rd episode of its 13 episode first season aired. The DVD’s/BluRays will be released September 16th & Season 2 premieres September 22nd. Last I heard, they plan 18 episodes.

It’s a bonkers fantasy with witty writing & great characters. Relevant? Well, the OP liked Buffy & Angel–which were/are far more than TV for Teenyboppers…

8

Deadwood is worth a watch.

9

Vikings would probably be pretty entertaining if you like Game of Thrones. Plus, there’s some serious eye candy on there- male and female.

10

Sherlock
Doctor Who

Both on Netflix, you might need to supplement Doctor Who a little for some of the Christmas Specials.

I know they’re British, but they’re damn good and damn popular in my office.

Also, I second Archer.

I’ve also been enjoying @Midnight on Comedy Central lately - very nerdy, and it will keep you up to date with internet memes, news stories, etc.

11

One of my favorites that satisfies both your requirements is The Good Wife.

It would mean a Netflix subscription if you don’t have one yet, but House of Cards is a jewel. Both seasons.

Showtime is needed for Homeland but it’s worth it for the bonus shows of Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex.

And the dark horse network FX has Sons of Anarchy, Justified and The Bridge which just started its second season this week.

A dead show still available on Netflix is the wonderful Terriers which is near the top of my all-time list.

12

oh, good, I am just in the mood for this kind of thread.

::makes popcorn::

13

You should totally watch Orphan Black. I mean, *everyone *should, but given some of your other favorites, I think you’d especially enjoy it. It’s on BBC America, but you can also watch it on Amazon and elsewhere. It’s a fantastic show, though it still has a relatively small viewership (But devoted! And feisty! And rapidly growing!), largely due to the fact that it’s on BBC America. Although if you haven’t heard of it before, you might in the next few days, because 1) it just got the go-ahead for Season 3, and 2) the Emmy nominations just came out, and neither the show nor the absolutely incredible lead actress were nominated, which has caused a small-but-vocal group of fans and TV critics to flip their lids. Meanwhile, almost everyone else is like, “What do you mean? It got 12 nominations! Oh… not Orange is the New Black? What the hell is Orphan Black?”

So this is your chance to be hipper and cooler than all your friends! And if you get them hooked, too, they’ll be grateful forever. You can binge-watch the whole thing this weekend, and then spend from now until next spring jonesing for more.

14

Downton Abbey is a pretty good show.

15

But based on your list, you should really watch Sherlock. It’s not a huge time sink either, only 9 episodes.

16

One more: how could I forget Veronica Mars? It first aired in 2004, for three seasons, with (again) a small-but-rabid fanbase. The creators released a Veronica Mars movie in March of this year, and to drum up interest, they made all of the episodes available for free on Amazon Instant Video. If you don’t have Prime, you can get a 30-day free trial. I think it would really appeal to the Buffy/Angel/Firefly side of you.

Oh, and even though it’s not a recent show, the movie was funded by what was (and maybe still is) one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever. So that helps bump up the water cooler chat factor.