The 2014 TV Season is winding down with the remainder of the fall finales ending this week. There’s another miniseries and a Netflix premiere coming up late this week and next, but I’m going to go ahead and make my list. This has been an exhaustive search for the very best of the best TV shows of 2014. I’m going to inundate you with a list of everything I watched and try to break it down in categories. I’ll give you my best of list along with a few honorable mentions. Here goes nothing.
#1 Hannibal
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You might be surprise to see a network TV show at the top of the list, I know I was even, especially given the slate of quality shows on Cable and Premium. This show is absolutely gruesome and brutal, yet (and please don’t call the police) intensely calming. I watched the Pilot episode four times back in 2013. The music and cinematography used are amazing and of film level quality. Mads Mikkelsen is a rock star as Hannibal. He is beyond frightening. The show even has a famous chef (Jose Andres) style the “food”. This is quite simply the best show there is. What makes me hesitant is that I’m sure NBC won’t let this go all the way. I can only imagine what Bryan Fuller could get away with on FX or HBO or somewhere else, but he gets away with more than any other network show ever. I am surprised this got a second season, let alone the third that is on the slate for 2015. I hope it keeps going as I know there are more stories to tell, but we should just be happy we got what we did so far. Everything else is just playing with house money at this point. Please watch this!
#2 The Leftovers
Okay I’m a little biased here, I’m a bit of a Damon Lindelof apologist. I think what he did on Lost was great. I liked his work on Prometheus. I just think he is one of the best writers out there. With The Leftovers he seemingly got to do what he wanted unshackled from network TV. Lost was groundbreaking but he also had help from Carlton Cuse (he now runs the great Bates Motel which unfortunately will fall just outside this list) and J.J. Abrams, so getting to see him work on HBO and on his own is great. The Leftovers deals with some of the hardest hitting subjects that there are. No show has dealt with religion better. I will give Gracepoint a nod here as well for dealing with religion on an adult level as well, but ultimately I was left disappointed by that show. I know The Leftovers is not the most popular show or even most liked, but I know the people who did watch it were rewarded with an intellectually honest show that offers great characters and mystery dealing with topics that aren’t easy to watch. The show had brutal moments, particularly in its hopelessness, but sometimes things are just too far gone to save. The Leftovers tries to find honesty in all that and largely succeeds. Can’t wait to see more of this.
#3 The Knick
Steven Soderbergh does amazing work here in long form TV format, the same quality that he gave us in cinemas. Soderbergh said he is done with movies, so let’s hope he keeps giving us this. The Knick is pretty damn gross at times with its 1900’s New York City surgery scenes not compromising one bit. Clive Own gives one of his very best performances here as a racist drug addicted surgeon, but all the supporting cast hits it out of the park as well. The setting is unique and lets us see things we never have before. The music here is what cements this as a top show. It is done by the composer from the great film Drive. It is so out of place and jarring in its modern minimalism and electronic noise that it unnerves you and makes you focus on the off putting narrative. Love this show.
#4 Outlander
Considering this only had eight episodes air this year, with the remainder of season one coming in April 2015, makes it all the more impressive it ends up this far up the list. I love what Ronald D. Moore has done with Battlestar Galactica, so again I’m probably a little biased. Outlander is a historical fiction romance where a nurse vacationing in Scotland with her husband in 1945 travels back in time to 1740’s where England and Scotland are having a bit of a tussle. Probably one of the best romances lately, which is a hard format to do on TV and one that has not been that successful on film lately either. Tobias Menzies gives a great dual performance as the husband in the 1940’s and a ruthless English solider in the 1740’s, but the lead actress, Caitriona Balfe, is absolutely amazing. The Irish actress is a total babe I’m not ashamed to admit and I hope to see her in more movies and shows, she should be a star.
#5 The Affair
Not much more to say about this than I already did in my original review. This show is still firing on all cylinders and ends its mystery in two weeks. I wonder where they take this in season 2, much less how they wrap things up this year.
See here: https://midwestmovieman.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/the-affair-best-new-tv-series-of-the-fall/
#6 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
This should be higher truthfully. I’ve seen it higher up a lot of lists, but I just have a hard time putting a news/chat/comedy show at the tippy top of my list. John Oliver did a great job filling in for The Daily Show while Jon Stewart made Rosewater. So it was very satisfying to see him get his own show. The satire and exposing little known but important news stories is unparalleled. I can see him and his show actually causing real change. I get furious watching his show when he uncovers some horrible things that are done by governments and corporations, but then he makes me laugh so damn hard at the same time. This is maybe not my number one, but it is the most important show this year. My only complaint is there is not enough, only airing once a week on Sundays and taking weeks off sometimes. It’s not back on until February and I hope once they get more in the groove they can turn this into an hour long or do it more than once a week.
#7 True Detective
When I first watched this I figured it would be my number one show of the year. That’s not to say this show isn’t absolutely amazing, it’s just that there was a lot of great stuff this year. True Detective is probably going to be the most re-watchable show of 2014. I’ve seen the series twice now and it’s just stunning. Matthew McConnaughey continues his renaissance and Rust Cohle is probably the best character of 2014. He is just so damn dour. Woody Harrelson plays off him amazingly well and delivers one of his best performances to date. This is even more brutal than Hannibal, yet they share similar themes, particularly antlers. It seems any show about serial killers lately has antlers or deer. I will figure out what this means eventually. Season two is widely talked about because it’s going to be completely new, with no returning characters and a different story. It is going to be very hard to live up to season one. Good luck.
#8 Fargo
I’ll just get right out with it, this show is actually better than the movie. Controversy! Scandal! But really, it is. It’s just more in depth and has more characters to get to know. It’s the perfect example of adapting the idea of a film, not the actual film itself, to TV. The music is mesmerizing and the performances engrossing. This is FX at its best. Martin Freeman is prolific lately and it’s sardonically funny with unbelievable things happening every episode. Probably should be higher on the list …. lists are hard.
#9 The Missing
This show is just so good. I already gave my review of it here: https://midwestmovieman.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/the-missing-on-starz-hits-the-mark/ So I won’t go in depth again, but suffice to say it is still very good and I can’t wait to see how the mystery is resolved.
#10 Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
I struggled with where to put this, if at all, since I heavily favor narrative dramas, but this was too good to ignore. Sure there are things I didn’t like, particularly I felt the animation was overused. But overall it was a great show. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a great ambassador for science. This is a great tribute to the original series by Carl Sagan. I will be watching this (and the original) over and over again.
Shows I love but didn’t have their strongest season:
Orange is the New Black and House of Cards proved that Netflix is a powerhouse in original programming. I loved their first seasons, and the seconds seasons were really, really good too. Just not good enough to make my top 10. I’d also put The Americans here, but I seem to be in the minority as it is getting towards the top of many top 10 lists.
I should also speak about Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. They are more cultural phenomenons than TV shows at this point. Their ratings are ridiculous. They would be top 10’s any other year most likely, but this year was just really, really strong. Though I have to say The Walking Dead is frustrating and has no end game in sight at all and has had some really shitty episodes, oftentimes in a row. It’s still a great show though despite the faults.
Sherlock. This is more like a movie than a TV series anyway with three 90 minute episodes. Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch are just so good. The mysteries are frustrating because I guess I’m not smart enough to see the twists coming or whatever, but still I love this show.
Departed or Departing Shows:
Shoutouts to great shows that are ending their run or did so already.
Sons of Anarchy. This show never got awards attention but it is insanely popular. It ends tonight. What an amazing run it had. Terrific actors in both large and small roles. Though not without faults it was one of my favorite shows of the past several years.
Boardwalk Empire. This show took chances constantly by killing off main characters and retold the story of prohibition and gangsters really well.
How I Met Your Mother. An awfully frustrating finale and final season, but still a pretty revolutionary comedy show. Legen …. wait for it …. dary! Legendary!
The Newsroom. I think HBO and Sorkin are giving up on this show too soon. Sure it is very, very Sorkin-y, but I still love it. It’s final episode airs this Sunday.
Justified will air its final season this January. Just as good, if not better, than Sons of Anarchy, and didn’t get awards attention either, an injustice if you ask me. While SOA and Justified are ending on their own terms The Bridge got unfairly cancelled, which pisses me off when The Strain gets a second season and I didn’t enjoy that after suffering through the entire season.
Parks and Recreation airs its final season next year as well. So funny and launched the career of Chris Pratt who is becoming a movie star now. Such a funny show.
The Colbert Report ending and Stephen Colbert starting up on The Late Show is a big deal. Sorry to see this go, but excited to see what’s next on late night. Same goes to Craig Ferguson’s show. Not so much Letterman, don’t really care about him.
Milestones:
Deadliest Catch reached its 10th season. I can’t believe that watching people catch crab for 10 years is this addicting, but it is. Congrats for all the boats involved in the show and Mike Rowe’s amazing narration.
24: Live Another Day. I love that this show got a half season order to continue to tell the stories of Jack Bauer after a few years hiatus. It aired it’s 200th episode in this season. Just so awesome. One of the first TV shows I watched voraciously to make me the TV show nerd I am now.
Hawaii Five-0 aired it’s 100th episode. I have no right liking this show as much as I do. I sort of hate episodic shows like this that don’t have overarching narratives but this is still really good, probably my guilty pleasure. The people involved just give a shit. Here’s hoping to at least 50 more episodes.
All the shows I have watched … I have no life …. I might’ve even missed something in this list.
NETWORK TV:
Arrow (CW) The Flash (CW) Nikita (CW) New Girl (FOX)
Person of Interest (CBS) Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) 24: Live Another Day (FOX)
Parks and Recreation (NBC) Saturday Night Live (NBC) Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX)
Gotham (FOX) Sleepy Hollow (FOX) Almost Human (FOX) Amazing Race (CBS)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) Community (NBC) The Mentalist (CBS)
The Roosevelts (PBS) How We Got to Now (PBS) NOVA (PBS) Hannibal (NBC)
Constantine (FOX) Gracepoint (FOX) Agents of SHIELD (ABC)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS) Shark Tank (ABC)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) The Mind of a Chef (PBS)
Around the Corner with John McGivern (PBS)
Great Estates Scotland (PBS) Running Wild with Bear Grylls (NBC)
Super Skyscrapers (PBS)
CABLE TV:
The Americans (FX) Fargo (FX) Hell on Wheels (AMC) Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Justified (FX) Mad Men (AMC) Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
The Walking Dead (AMC) The Strain (FX) The Bridge (FX)
Helix (SyFy) Ascension (SyFy) Vikings (Hist) Houdini (Hist) Wilfred (FXX)
Tyrant (FX) The Soup (E!) Pawn Stars (Hst) American Pickers (Hist)
Top Chef (Bravo) Star Wars: Rebels (DisneyXD) Halt and Catch Fire (AMC)
Turn (AMC) Bates Motel (A&E) South Park (CC) Mad Men (AMC)
Deadliest Catch (Discovery) The Colbert Report (CC) @midnight (CC)
The Daily Show (CC) Somebody’s Gotta Do It (CNN)
The Sixties (CNN) Chopped (Food) Counting Cars (Hist)
American Restoration (Hist) Chicagoland (CNN) Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern (Travel)
Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever (Lifetime) Aerial America (Smithsonian)
Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles (DisneyXD) Falling Skies (TNT)
Sharknado 2 (SyFy) Booze Traveler (Travel) Defiance (SyFy)
Iron Chef America (Food) High Moon (SyFy)
PREMIUM CABLE:
The Leftovers (HBO) True Detective (HBO) The Knick (Cinemax) Outlander (Starz)
The Newsroom (HBO) Girls (HBO) Episodes (SHO) Game of Thrones (HBO)
Shameless (SHO) House of Lies (SHO) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Homeland (SHO) The Affair (SHO) Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways (HBO)
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
BRITISH TV:
Top Gear Doctor Who Peaky Blinders Sherlock
Downton Abbey The Trip to Italy The Missing
STREAMING:
House of Cards Orange is the New Black The Killing
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Marco Polo
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