What TV series do you like?

[Jade]

I just finished US series  tell me lies on iPlayer in the UK, and thought it was a very good portrayal of a toxic relationship.

[brandon1827]

Somehow I had never seen the show Justified, and I've never been much of a Timothy Olyphant fan, and I assumed it would be hokey as hell.

I can't believe how wrong I was, this show has some of the sharpest dialogue I've ever seen, and truly frickin' delightful characters. His boss is probably one of my favourite characters ever on TV, his lines and delivery are absolutely fantastic.

I feel like they really invested a lot in high quality actors for all of the minor roles too, which helps with the overall quality of the series because there's just so much resting on the interactions between all of the characters that if even minor characters were weakly played, it would tumble the whole dynamic deck of cards.

I also appreciate how many minor characters they bring back, sometimes even after they're presumed dead, just because they would be entertaining in a given dynamic. I think the writers each season are extremely responsive to which characters worked and how they worked in the previous season. They also seem to readily dispose of anyone who isn't working, which I appreciate as well.

The show never takes itself too seriously, but has enough earnestness that the plots have good moments of emotional heft to them.

It's a very fun, and extremely watchable show. I haven't had a show where I genuinely really like the majority of the characters in a very, very long time.

I loved Justified...for all the reasons you listed. Olyphant does a great job of understanding who Raylan is and gives an excellent performance. I also discovered Walton Goggins from this show and I think he's brilliant as Boyd Crowder. I love the history and dynamics between Raylan and Boyd throughout the show. I haven't checked out the new Justified series yet, but I'm working towards it for sure.

[Metalcat]

Somehow I had never seen the show Justified, and I've never been much of a Timothy Olyphant fan, and I assumed it would be hokey as hell.

I can't believe how wrong I was, this show has some of the sharpest dialogue I've ever seen, and truly frickin' delightful characters. His boss is probably one of my favourite characters ever on TV, his lines and delivery are absolutely fantastic.

I feel like they really invested a lot in high quality actors for all of the minor roles too, which helps with the overall quality of the series because there's just so much resting on the interactions between all of the characters that if even minor characters were weakly played, it would tumble the whole dynamic deck of cards.

I also appreciate how many minor characters they bring back, sometimes even after they're presumed dead, just because they would be entertaining in a given dynamic. I think the writers each season are extremely responsive to which characters worked and how they worked in the previous season. They also seem to readily dispose of anyone who isn't working, which I appreciate as well.

The show never takes itself too seriously, but has enough earnestness that the plots have good moments of emotional heft to them.

It's a very fun, and extremely watchable show. I haven't had a show where I genuinely really like the majority of the characters in a very, very long time.

I loved Justified...for all the reasons you listed. Olyphant does a great job of understanding who Raylan is and gives an excellent performance. I also discovered Walton Goggins from this show and I think he's brilliant as Boyd Crowder. I love the history and dynamics between Raylan and Boyd throughout the show. I haven't checked out the new Justified series yet, but I'm working towards it for sure.

Goggins is fantastic, it's really a shame he hasn't been more successful, his talent is insane.

He is absolutely the BEST part of The Righteous Gemstones. That's a huge part of my enjoyment of Justified, because Goggins typically plays minor, but scene stealing characters, and it's been a pleasure to see him as a main character. I'm frequently far more invested in Boyd than Raylan, because Raylan's character has minimal actual character development, he's almost more of a foil for other character's plots and development because he's always consistent. Boyd's story is dynamic and he changes and evolves radically throughout each season.

I profoundly enjoy Raylan, but I don't really care about his personal story because he's always essentially just Raylan, his being unchanging has been a key element through all of the seasons I've seen so far. Maybe that changes, but so far he has not been the driver of emotional investment. But I'm deeply invested in Boyd's story and his development, his changing ambitions and relationships.

Spoiler: show

I feel like this is why Raylan's relationship with Wynona fell so incredibly flat and needed to be written out, while Boyd's relationship with Ava is so layered and involves so much dynamic change with both of them, and has become a cornerstone plot point so far

[bill1827]

Goggins had a pretty major role as a corrupt policeman in The Shield.

[iris lily]

Somehow I had never seen the show Justified, and I've never been much of a Timothy Olyphant fan, and I assumed it would be hokey as hell.

I can't believe how wrong I was, this show has some of the sharpest dialogue I've ever seen, and truly frickin' delightful characters. His boss is probably one of my favourite characters ever on TV, his lines and delivery are absolutely fantastic.

I feel like they really invested a lot in high quality actors for all of the minor roles too, which helps with the overall quality of the series because there's just so much resting on the interactions between all of the characters that if even minor characters were weakly played, it would tumble the whole dynamic deck of cards.

I also appreciate how many minor characters they bring back, sometimes even after they're presumed dead, just because they would be entertaining in a given dynamic. I think the writers each season are extremely responsive to which characters worked and how they worked in the previous season. They also seem to readily dispose of anyone who isn't working, which I appreciate as well.

The show never takes itself too seriously, but has enough earnestness that the plots have good moments of emotional heft to them.

It's a very fun, and extremely watchable show. I haven't had a show where I genuinely really like the majority of the characters in a very, very long time.

I love Justified so much that I drove an hour out of my way to visit Harlan, Kentucky some years ago when I was in the area.

It is a rather sad little town in an economically challenged area.

I visited the public library there where I saw dvdsof the tv show Justified and that seemed sort of  meta.

Isn’t Mags the best villian ever!!???

[iris lily]

Goggins had a pretty major role as a corrupt policeman in The Shield.

That was his incredible breakout role. Stunning it was.

I love The Shield, it is in my top 5 tv shows of all time.The first episode sets the stage for the entire series arc. We are watching a dirty cop and his team. There’s no mystery about if he is bad, or not…he is dirty, very much so.

But that said, he lives a life that is worth watching. The characterizations in this show are wonderful and the plotting is really good, even though I did tire of (and tuned out) much of the drug gang stuff near the end.

[Metalcat]

Somehow I had never seen the show Justified, and I've never been much of a Timothy Olyphant fan, and I assumed it would be hokey as hell.

I can't believe how wrong I was, this show has some of the sharpest dialogue I've ever seen, and truly frickin' delightful characters. His boss is probably one of my favourite characters ever on TV, his lines and delivery are absolutely fantastic.

I feel like they really invested a lot in high quality actors for all of the minor roles too, which helps with the overall quality of the series because there's just so much resting on the interactions between all of the characters that if even minor characters were weakly played, it would tumble the whole dynamic deck of cards.

I also appreciate how many minor characters they bring back, sometimes even after they're presumed dead, just because they would be entertaining in a given dynamic. I think the writers each season are extremely responsive to which characters worked and how they worked in the previous season. They also seem to readily dispose of anyone who isn't working, which I appreciate as well.

The show never takes itself too seriously, but has enough earnestness that the plots have good moments of emotional heft to them.

It's a very fun, and extremely watchable show. I haven't had a show where I genuinely really like the majority of the characters in a very, very long time.

I love Justified so much that I drove an hour out of my way to visit Harlan, Kentucky some years ago when I was in the area.

It is a rather sad little town in an economically challenged area.

I visited the public library there where I saw dvdsof the tv show Justified and that seemed sort of  meta.

Isn’t Mags the best villian ever!!???

She's pretty good, but the best villain ever still goes to Ferguson on Wentworth. I think she was supposed to be a single season villain, but they ended up revolving the entire show around her.

[iris lily]

Somehow I had never seen the show Justified, and I've never been much of a Timothy Olyphant fan, and I assumed it would be hokey as hell.

I can't believe how wrong I was, this show has some of the sharpest dialogue I've ever seen, and truly frickin' delightful characters. His boss is probably one of my favourite characters ever on TV, his lines and delivery are absolutely fantastic.

I feel like they really invested a lot in high quality actors for all of the minor roles too, which helps with the overall quality of the series because there's just so much resting on the interactions between all of the characters that if even minor characters were weakly played, it would tumble the whole dynamic deck of cards.

I also appreciate how many minor characters they bring back, sometimes even after they're presumed dead, just because they would be entertaining in a given dynamic. I think the writers each season are extremely responsive to which characters worked and how they worked in the previous season. They also seem to readily dispose of anyone who isn't working, which I appreciate as well.

The show never takes itself too seriously, but has enough earnestness that the plots have good moments of emotional heft to them.

It's a very fun, and extremely watchable show. I haven't had a show where I genuinely really like the majority of the characters in a very, very long time.

I love Justified so much that I drove an hour out of my way to visit Harlan, Kentucky some years ago when I was in the area.

It is a rather sad little town in an economically challenged area.

I visited the public library there where I saw dvdsof the tv show Justified and that seemed sort of  meta.

Isn’t Mags the best villian ever!!???

She's pretty good, but the best villain ever still goes to Ferguson on Wentworth. I think she was supposed to be a single season villain, but they ended up revolving the entire show around her.

You know, I started Wentworth, but never got around to watching much more beyond some of the first episode. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just mainly forgot about it. Maybe I need to circle back to it.

[Metalcat]

You know, I started Wentworth, but never got around to watching much more beyond some of the first episode. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just mainly forgot about it. Maybe I need to circle back to it.

It takes some time to build up, but it's one of the best shows out there, IMO. Aussies are just great at TV.

[brandon1827]

Goggins is fantastic, it's really a shame he hasn't been more successful, his talent is insane.

He is absolutely the BEST part of The Righteous Gemstones. That's a huge part of my enjoyment of Justified, because Goggins typically plays minor, but scene stealing characters, and it's been a pleasure to see him as a main character. I'm frequently far more invested in Boyd than Raylan, because Raylan's character has minimal actual character development, he's almost more of a foil for other character's plots and development because he's always consistent. Boyd's story is dynamic and he changes and evolves radically throughout each season.

I profoundly enjoy Raylan, but I don't really care about his personal story because he's always essentially just Raylan, his being unchanging has been a key element through all of the seasons I've seen so far. Maybe that changes, but so far he has not been the driver of emotional investment. But I'm deeply invested in Boyd's story and his development, his changing ambitions and relationships.

After this conversation, I got my wife and son to watch the first episode just to see if they liked it. They are both hooked! My son is only 14, so he hasn't really gotten into many shows yet. He likes Reacher and will watch that with us, but that's about it until now. He absolutely loves the Boyd Crowder character. We watched the first 7 episodes of season 1 this weekend.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

This second season of Reacher was bad bad bad...  I slogged my way through it, but can't say the 'payoff' was worth it.
 

Spoiler: show

I mean, the whole point of Reacher's character was his superhuman fidelity to principle and keeping his 'Special Investigator family' morally superior even in a corrupt system, then he walks off with ill gotten gains and blows it on everyone?  $65M disappears with barely a shrug from anyone, but also these same millions of dollars are showing up on everyone's accounts?  Other than the MacGuffin giving me nostalgic vibes of 1984's 'Runaway', there were few redeeming qualities...  Quite a departure from a strong first season...

[brandon1827]

I can see that I guess...but I viewed it more as a "take something meant for evil and do good with it" type of scenario.

Spoiler: show

He didn't keep any for himself, outside of the bus pass, lol

[EscapeVelocity2020]

I can see that I guess...but I viewed it more as a "take something meant for evil and do good with it" type of scenario.

Spoiler: show

He didn't keep any for himself, outside of the bus pass, lol

I really tried hard not to nitpick as I was watching each episode, but the nits were eating me alive LOL

[Just Joe]

I loooooooved Airwolf as a kid! I always thought it was so awesome seeing the helicopter rise up out of the cave/canyon place where they kept it

That's one of several chessy 80s TV shows that I liked as a kid. Might give that one another chance when I finish GOT.

I also liked alot of the 80s detective shows. Never intellectually challenging but fun to gawk at the scenery and what was on the streets when I was kid. We lived in a much quieter part of the country from where all these shows supposedly happened.

[Fresh Bread]

American Nightmare - this is new on AU Netflix but maybe it's been out already in the US. And if you are in the US you might already know the story of Denise Huskin's home invasion/abduction.

But if you don't, and you want to go on an extreme emotional rollercoaster through every emotion you can think of, I recommend it! Cheese & rice. I can't really say any more without spoiling it and I can't get the spoiler function to work.

[Tyson]

American Nightmare - this is new on AU Netflix but maybe it's been out already in the US. And if you are in the US you might already know the story of Denise Huskin's home invasion/abduction.

But if you don't, and you want to go on an extreme emotional rollercoaster through every emotion you can think of, I recommend it! Cheese & rice. I can't really say any more without spoiling it and I can't get the spoiler function to work.

That's how I felt watching "The Patient" on Hulu.

[Luke Warm]

The Diplomat is pretty good so far.
I listened to the podcast on "Criminal' that is about 'American Nightmare'. I stayed late at work so I could finish listening to it.

[BlueHouse]

You know, I started Wentworth, but never got around to watching much more beyond some of the first episode. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just mainly forgot about it. Maybe I need to circle back to it.

It takes some time to build up, but it's one of the best shows out there, IMO. Aussies are just great at TV.

I watched "Prisoner in Cellblock H" when I was in high school.  It was an austrialian soap opera.   It's wentworth.  all the same characters, etc but different story lines.  So of course I had to watch Wentworth. 

[BlueHouse]

Snowfall. 

How did I not know about this F/X series (now on Hulu) that portrays the start of the crack cocaine scourge in LA in the 80s?  It feels like a cross between Narcos and The Wire. 

[SaucyAussie]

Finally made it through The Americans, great show, Keri Russell is excellent.  Dropped off a little in the later seasons and the ending was "just ok", but still worthwhile.  A few times I found myself thinking, wow they totally stole that from Breaking Bad.

Another vote for Slow Horses, makes me realize how average Jack Ryan and Reacher really are.  Although not really a fair fight - Gary Oldman v. John Krasinski v. ???.

Fans of Australian TV might like Boy Swallows Universe, a little weird, but the supporting cast including Bryan Brown, Simon Baker and Anthony LaPaglia is worth a look.

[evme]

Snowfall. 

How did I not know about this F/X series (now on Hulu) that portrays the start of the crack cocaine scourge in LA in the 80s?  It feels like a cross between Narcos and The Wire.

I'm watching this now. I thought the first season was a bit of a slog but it improves a lot starting in season 2. Good show, really like the actor playing the lead role of Franklin Saint.

[iris lily]

Finally made it through The Americans, great show, Keri Russell is excellent.  Dropped off a little in the later seasons and the ending was "just ok", but still worthwhile.  A few times I found myself thinking, wow they totally stole that from Breaking Bad.

Another vote for Slow Horses, makes me realize how average Jack Ryan and Reacher really are.  Although not really a fair fight - Gary Oldman v. John Krasinski v. ???.

Fans of Australian TV might like Boy Swallows Universe, a little weird, but the supporting cast including Bryan Brown, Simon Baker and Anthony LaPaglia is worth a look.

Oy vey! I found the last episode of the Americans to be gripping. Poetic. Greatly moving. I loved it and I still watch it now and then.

[Fresh Bread]

I am only one episode into Boy Swallows Universe but looking fwd to the rest.

[iris lily]

American Nightmare - this is new on AU Netflix but maybe it's been out already in the US. And if you are in the US you might already know the story of Denise Huskin's home invasion/abduction.

But if you don't, and you want to go on an extreme emotional rollercoaster through every emotion you can think of, I recommend it! Cheese & rice. I can't really say any more without spoiling it and I can't get the spoiler function to work.

I read the account of Denise’s ordeal several years ago, and it was shocking and maddening.

[Tyson]

Loudermilk on Netflix was not great.  It tried hard but ultimately was pretty mediocre. 

Rewatching season 1 of Our Flag Means Death with my son and that is a great series.  Very funny.

[mspym]

I am only one episode into Boy Swallows Universe but looking fwd to the rest.

It is so good and also I am pre-emptively sad.

[iris lily]

Loudermilk on Netflix was not great.  It tried hard but ultimately was pretty mediocre. 

Rewatching season 1 of Our Flag Means Death with my son and that is a great series.  Very funny.

I agree with you that Loudermilk

was mediocre but nonetheless, I watched most of the series. It had some interesting bits.

Edited to make sense

[Luke Warm]

Watched the Netflix story American Nightmare. A little slow but good.

[evme]

Finally made it through The Americans, great show, Keri Russell is excellent.  Dropped off a little in the later seasons and the ending was "just ok", but still worthwhile.  A few times I found myself thinking, wow they totally stole that from Breaking Bad.

Another vote for Slow Horses, makes me realize how average Jack Ryan and Reacher really are.  Although not really a fair fight - Gary Oldman v. John Krasinski v. ???.

Fans of Australian TV might like Boy Swallows Universe, a little weird, but the supporting cast including Bryan Brown, Simon Baker and Anthony LaPaglia is worth a look.

Oy vey! I found the last episode of the Americans to be gripping. Poetic. Greatly moving. I loved it and I still watch it now and then.

Same. Loved the finale. Loved how they suverted expectations of major violence.

[mspym]

We just finished up The Brothers Sun on Netflix and it was a heap of fun. Some real logic issues but just enjoy Michelle Yeoh leading a stellar cast in a beautiful piece of mayhem

[SaucyAussie]

The Offer on Paramount is pretty good, a must for fans of The Godfather.  Seems like Juno Temple is everywhere, and she is fantastic in this!

[Luke Warm]

Bodies on Netflix wasn't too bad. Time travel murder mystery in four different timelines.

[fuzzy math]

Just finished Criminal Minds (teenage DD's show) after over a year of watching. Needing a new show that will get DD to sit with us and watch.

DH and I are watching The Bear. Super captivating characters. I hardly make time for tv so it takes forever to get through a series.

[getsorted]

I started in on "Death and Other Details" on Hulu this weekend. It was quite a bit better than I expected, although I expected bad. There are never enough whodunits with beautiful costuming for me, so... this was one of those, and I enjoyed it as that.

[wenchsenior]

Finally made it through The Americans, great show, Keri Russell is excellent.  Dropped off a little in the later seasons and the ending was "just ok", but still worthwhile.  A few times I found myself thinking, wow they totally stole that from Breaking Bad.

Another vote for Slow Horses, makes me realize how average Jack Ryan and Reacher really are.  Although not really a fair fight - Gary Oldman v. John Krasinski v. ???.

Fans of Australian TV might like Boy Swallows Universe, a little weird, but the supporting cast including Bryan Brown, Simon Baker and Anthony LaPaglia is worth a look.

Oy vey! I found the last episode of the Americans to be gripping. Poetic. Greatly moving. I loved it and I still watch it now and then.

Same. Loved the finale. Loved how they suverted expectations of major violence.

Same.

[Jade]

Just started "our flag means death" series 2 on iPlayer.

[Metalcat]

Cold Water Cowboys about Newfoundland fishing boats.

It's so good, very intense, but it's also very Canadian, so produced very differently than Deadliest Catch, plus the cast are all Newfies, so that's a huge difference as well.

[EscapeVelocity2020]

Max's 'True Detective - Night Country' is haunting and lingering with me each week, in a good way!  The music is good, Alaska setting is great, character and acting way above average, and latest episodes 4 & 5 just keep ramping up...  I hadn't seen any of the previous seasons so I wasn't sure what 'true detective' was supposed to mean, still unsure if it allows for supernatural, but impressively walking the line without showing its hand.  A bit sad that there's only one more episode ... unlike so many series that desperately drag out their run time (lookin at you 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith')...

[Luke Warm]

Started watching 'Call the Midwife' this week. It's pretty good but I don't know how much more I can take.

[mspym]

Started watching 'Call the Midwife' this week. It's pretty good but I don't know how much more I can take.

The books make an even stronger case for the NHS and the importance of a social safety net and bodily autonomy.

[Metalcat]

Started watching 'Call the Midwife' this week. It's pretty good but I don't know how much more I can take.

Depends on what you can't take about it.

[uniwelder]

We started watching Three Body on Prime.  Its supposed to be very true to the award winning Sci-Fi book "Three Body Problem" that my wife really enjoyed.  We've only seen the first episode, but liked it and excited to continue.

Edited to add- it’s in Chinese with English subtitles.

edited to add again-- We're now 5 episodes in.  Excellent show in our opinions, particularly for science geeks.  It's thoughtful with attention paid to detail, and the scientists are portrayed excellently. 

[MaybeBabyMustache]

DH & I just started watching Tokyo Vice, mostly because I enjoy seeing the city (and, explaining what i know about the areas) & picking up my very limited words I understand in Japanese. The acting quality is also pretty good.

[Just Joe]

Finished "Game of Thrones". Started the "House of Dragon". Mostly watching it during my lunch breaks. Most of the way through season 1.

I think once I've finished this series I'll do something different as the weather moderates. I like my lunchtime break from coworkers.

Prob need to wrap up this series and start going for lunch time bike rides again as the weather moderates.

Liked the one season of "Call the Midwife". Very opening for me, a man. Topics I never gave much thought to.

Hoping our country regains its senses concerning women's issues like abortion. Put it to a national referendum. Let all the people decide and not just the conservatives.

[evme]

DH & I just started watching Tokyo Vice, mostly because I enjoy seeing the city (and, explaining what i know about the areas) & picking up my very limited words I understand in Japanese. The acting quality is also pretty good.

Ohhh, I loved the first season of Tokyo Vice and as I recall it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. It's been a couple years for the second season to come out but I just checked and it's airing currently on Max. Really good show, excellent setting that feels authentic.

[Jade]

Really enjoying "Alice and Jack" on channel 4 in the uk, with Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson. We initially gave up after five mins as her character is quite intense but glad we tried again as it's worth it.

[SaucyAussie]

Max's 'True Detective - Night Country' is haunting and lingering with me each week, in a good way!  The music is good, Alaska setting is great, character and acting way above average, and latest episodes 4 & 5 just keep ramping up...  I hadn't seen any of the previous seasons so I wasn't sure what 'true detective' was supposed to mean, still unsure if it allows for supernatural, but impressively walking the line without showing its hand.  A bit sad that there's only one more episode ... unlike so many series that desperately drag out their run time (lookin at you 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith')...

Really looking forward to this, just went back and watched season 1 to get myself primed.

[Luke Warm]

Started watching 'Call the Midwife' this week. It's pretty good but I don't know how much more I can take.

Depends on what you can't take about it.

Complicated births are only entertaining for so long. Granted there are other personal dramas going on but still. I'm finishing season 2 and there are 12 seasons.

[BNgarden]

I once binge watched several seasons of Call the Midwife several years ago when I had flu.  The ongoing screaming / sounds of pain became distressing enough to have to fast forward multiple birth scenes each episode.  DH noticed it first (not watching, but hearing in the house).  Eventually wore on me as well.

[Metalcat]

Started watching 'Call the Midwife' this week. It's pretty good but I don't know how much more I can take.

Depends on what you can't take about it.

Complicated births are only entertaining for so long. Granted there are other personal dramas going on but still. I'm finishing season 2 and there are 12 seasons.

Okay, that's what I thought. Yeah, it takes time to build up, but it does get much more character driven. I wasn't terribly into it for the first few seasons, and that's with me being a medical person who enjoys medical content in shows. But it does get a lot more engrossing later on with a lot of focus on the interpersonal dynamics between characters living under these really fascinating circumstances.