# The 5 best current TV dramas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888 "2013-11-01T23:43:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/1 "2013-11-01T23:43:42Z")
It’s rare that I will agree with all five of anybody’s list of anything, but I found myself saying an excited “yes” to every item on [The 5 Best Dramas Currently Airing on Television](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/?ref=YF) so I thought I’d see how many additional shows would come out of your own Top 5 dramas currently being presented. Though I can’t honestly move them into that same group to replace anything there, I would accept mention of these: Justified (not quite current, but back soon) The Mentalist Sons of Anarchy Blue Bloods Which shows would you replace one or more on that list with? Which shows would you add as runners-up? ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/2 "2013-11-02T01:36:26Z")
I’ll throw in for discussion: The Walking Dead Mad Men Game of Thrones Of course, the last two aren’t airing _at the moment_, but will be back “soon”, so I think they qualify as ‘current TV dramas’ ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/3 "2013-11-02T02:08:41Z")
I’m a big fan of _The Blacklist_, _Sleepy Hollow_, _Agents of Shield_, and, of course, _Game of Thrones_. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/4 "2013-11-04T10:00:16Z")
Game of Thrones Mad Men The Americans Homeland (though this season is sucking, and I may stop watching soon) Walking Dead (same as above, though it’s consistently been pretty bad) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/5 "2013-11-04T13:44:12Z")
_The Americans_ _Blacklist_ British shows _Silk_ _Broadchurch_ _Sherlock_ There are local Urdu shows which I watch at home. Quite a few. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/6 "2013-11-04T13:51:44Z")
I think _Elementary_, the Johnny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu variation on Sherlock Holmes, doesn’t get nearly as much respect as it deserves. It’s an excellent show, and a worthy counterpart to _Sherlock_. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/7 "2013-11-04T14:21:47Z")
An aside: > [@AK84](#): > > _The Americans_ > _Blacklist_ > > British shows > > _Silk_ > _Broadchurch_ > _Sherlock_ > > There are local Urdu shows which I watch at home. Quite a few. Any recommendations for which Urdu shows to watch? Know any Hindi shows at all that well-educated Hindis might watch? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/8 "2013-11-04T14:47:42Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > An aside: > > Any recommendations for which Urdu shows to watch? Know any Hindi shows at all that well-educated Hindis might watch? Not a current show, but a show from last yea which really made waves,[Humsafar](http://www.dailymotion.com/us/relevance/search/Humsafar/1). Available online. A new good one is[Sannata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannata). No idea about Hindi shows. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/9 "2013-11-04T14:51:57Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think _Elementary_, the Johnny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu variation on Sherlock Holmes, doesn’t get nearly as much respect as it deserves. It’s an excellent show, and a worthy counterpart to _Sherlock_. Report for execution.:mad:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/10 "2013-11-04T15:21:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think _Elementary_, the Johnny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu variation on Sherlock Holmes, doesn’t get nearly as much respect as it deserves. It’s an excellent show, and a worthy counterpart to _Sherlock_. I agree with your first sentence. The second sentence, however, no. As for the list of five shows from the original posting, I would put almost any show in place of The Mentalist. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/11 "2013-11-04T19:01:26Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > As for the list of five shows from the original posting, I would put almost any show in place of The Mentalist. Just to be sure we’re talking about the Thread Title’s shows, they are: [http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/2/](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/2/) Homeland (Showtime) - Season 3 [http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/3/](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/3/) Boardwalk Empire (HBO) - Season 4 [http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/4/](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/4/) Downton Abbey (NYSE:PBS) - Season 4 [http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/5/](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/5/) The Good Wife (NYSE:CBS) - Season 5 [http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/6/](http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/the-5-best-dramas-currently-airing-on-television.html/6/) Masters of Sex (Showtime) - Season 1 It should also be noted that (at least in the market I watch from) they’re all Sunday night shows. ==================== The other shows in the OP are my own contenders for additional consideration, and I did say: > [@](#): > > Though I can’t honestly move them into that same group to replace anything there, I would accept mention of these: > > Justified (not quite current, but back soon) > The Mentalist > Sons of Anarchy > Blue Bloods ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/12 "2013-11-04T19:18:55Z")
For me it’s: Game of Thrones large gap The Americans Homeland Orphan Black gap Hannibal I really really want to like Boardwalk Empire, but it’s just always been somehow less than the sum of its parts to me, and I finally stopped watching after two or so episodes this season. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/13 "2013-11-05T16:27:48Z")
I definitely put Justified first and Sons of Anarchy second. After those two, The Americans, The Blacklist, Nashville and Elementary are in the next tier. Granted, Nashville is a soap opera, but I like the music industry story lines. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/14 "2013-11-05T20:00:51Z")
Game of Thrones - this is the tops by a mile Supernatural - Great show…a bit past its prime. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/15 "2013-11-05T20:24:55Z")
I’ve really been liking Orphan Black and Elementary. The former might have problems next season, since I got the feeling the writers were running out of plot ideas by the end of the first season, but I remain optimistic. Homeland was pretty good, but had the same problem I fear Orphan will run into. They ran out of plot at the end of last season and haven’t really replaced it with anything. They also, like so many shows, are extremely reluctant to drop actors off the show when their plots have ended, and so end up with a bunch of cast members whose usefulness to the narrative is long since passed, and who have to be provided with their own meandering side-stories. Boardwalk Empire is alright, but should’ve been a better show. It started as a show about a mildly corrupt political operator dealing with the increasing violence and instability brought about by prohibition, but they kind of gave up on that and now its just characters stumbling around engaging in random acts of violence and kinky sex. Which is cool, I like kinky sex and violence, but its more of a guilty pleasure show then the more interesting drama it should’ve been. I think that covers it for currently running dramas I’ve been watching. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/16 "2013-11-05T20:39:45Z")
I’m enjoying _ **The Blacklist** _ quite a bit, but honestly, I’m just enjoying James Spader. Sign me up for anything that man does. Now, _ **The Americans** _… that’s a show I’m eagerly awaiting the return of. Of the ones in the article, I only watch (and only have any interest in watching) _ **Boardwalk Empire** _. No, it’s not _ **Game of Thrones** _ or _ **Breaking Bad** _, but but it’s consistently engaging. I won’t begrudge it its spot on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/17 "2013-11-05T20:53:47Z")
I’m not an admirer of _Downton Abbey_, and though Michael Sheen is always worth watching, I’m not impressed with _Masters of Sex_ as a drama. So I’d substitute _Justified_ and _The Americans_ for those two. I watched _Orphan Black_ with great interest and have the highest opinion of its star’s talent. But for me, the reveal in the finale landed with a big thud. I’ve never seen _The Good Wife_; perhaps I should give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/18 "2013-11-06T04:40:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think _Elementary_, the Johnny Lee Miller/Lucy Liu variation on Sherlock Holmes, doesn’t get nearly as much respect as it deserves. It’s an excellent show, and a worthy counterpart to _Sherlock_. _Elementary_ is really enjoyable. It’s much more than just a standard detective procedural. There’s fantastic character development and a very interesting multi-episode plot arc at the end of the first season. I’ve said this before, I like _Sherlock,_ I think it is stylistically stronger than _Elementary,_ but _Elementary_ is much more tightly plotted than _Sherlock._ The mysteries always start out strong on _Sherlock_ but then they go off on pointless convoluted tangents that fail to wrap up in a satisfying manner. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/19 "2013-11-06T04:55:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Boardwalk Empire is alright, but should’ve been a better show. It started as a show about a mildly corrupt political operator dealing with the increasing violence and instability brought about by prohibition, but they kind of gave up on that and now its just characters stumbling around engaging in random acts of violence and kinky sex. Which is cool, I like kinky sex and violence, but its more of a guilty pleasure show then the more interesting drama it should’ve been. I agree, _Boardwalk Empire_ is so close to being a great show. They’ve got all of the ingredients for greatness: great acting, great sets, great costumes, interesting characters, an interesting setting and premise. But somehow they just can’t bring all that together for a polished finished product. Plot points often seem cartoonishly over the top or lazily thrown together. Most television dramas suffer from a lack of tension\* due to an unwillingness to kill off main characters. Boardwalk Empire is probably the only drama in television history that would benefit from less people being killed. \*Which is the exact problem I have with _The Americans._ It’s a good show but it’s getting a little dull and straining credulity because the two leads can’t get caught, because then there’d be no show. The concept probably would have worked better as a movie or a miniseries. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888/20 "2013-11-06T05:54:22Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > _Elementary_ is really enjoyable. It’s much more than just a standard detective procedural. There’s fantastic character development and a very interesting multi-episode plot arc at the end of the first season. I’ve said this before, I like _Sherlock,_ I think it is stylistically stronger than _Elementary,_ but _Elementary_ is much more tightly plotted than _Sherlock._ The mysteries always start out strong on _Sherlock_ but then they go off on pointless convoluted tangents that fail to wrap up in a satisfying manner. I like Elementary, but I’m kinda meh on most of the actual mysteries. They’re way too dependent on having an incredibly unlikely coincidence leading to a red herring that the characters follow up for the first two thirds of the show, in order to pad out the episode. Its an alright device to use occasionally, but almost every episode of Elementary relies on it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-5-best-current-tv-dramas/672888.md?page=2)