Top TV Series - The Best of the Golden Age
As we roll through the Golden Age of television, as it has been variously described by many, here's what I believe are the top TV series. They're mostly from 2000 onwards, with a few small exceptions. This list is entirely subjective based on my ideals of quality. It's in no chronological or hierarchical order. I think they're all worthwhile, and well written/acted/directed; dramas and comedies alike.
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- CreatorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoNew Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.The series that defined how TV could stand head and shoulders above the rest and compete with whatever was on the big screen during its long and well deserved run. James Gandolfini lives on as the legendary gangster Tony Soprano. Iconic.
- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.David Simon raised the bar in writing for TV and secured a place for himself in the pantheon of the Gods. The stories and characters and performances are unforgettable. Dominic West went on to many great things, but will not be soon forgotten as McNulty. Wendell Pierce and Lance Reddick were terrific. Dominick Lomardozzi, Michael Kenneth Williams and Andre Royo all created unforgettable characters. Iconic.
- CreatorAlan BallStarsPeter KrauseMichael C. HallFrances ConroyA chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.One of the originals. Alan Ball is one of the godfathers of modern TV, alongside David Simon and David Chase and Matthew Weiner. This was his calling card, and it was memorable and remains a much missed cornerstone of must-watch TV. Iconic.
- CreatorBeau WillimonStarsKevin SpaceyMichel GillRobin WrightA Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.One of the darkest series on TV, the most frightening thing was the idea in everyone's head after watching: how fictional is this?
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright give career defining performances. - CreatorMatthew WeinerStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserA drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.Matthew Wiener's iconic view of the 50s golden age of advertising. So many great characters. So many great performances. So many outstanding moments in direction and production design. And the writing is as good as it will ever get. Iconic.
- CreatorDavid BenioffD.B. WeissStarsEmilia ClarkePeter DinklageKit HaringtonNine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.The TV series of our times. Most watched. Most talked about. Most awarded. Impossible to ignore. Epic in every sense of the word.
The young leads delight - Nicolas Coster-Waldauj, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Peter Dinklage, Aiden Gillan, Kit Harrington, Emun Elliott, Pedro Pascal etc.
Some of the best turns are from the cast of seasoned players (Diana Rigg, Max Von Sydow, Jonathan Pryce, Iain Glenn, Ciaran Hinds, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Sean Bean, Ian McShane) - CreatorLiz BrixiusEvan DunskyLinda WallemStarsEdie FalcoMerritt WeverPaul SchulzeA drug-addicted nurse struggles to find a balance between the demands of her frenetic job at a New York City hospital and an array of personal dramas.Edie Falco followed her memorable run as Carmela Soprano with a tour de force performance as Jackie Peyton. She will be remembered as delivering one of the best performances of our time. She was justly rewarded during the run of this show about a drug-addicted NYC nurse and how her addiction unravels her life.
- CreatorSally WainwrightStarsSarah LancashireSiobhan FinneranJames NortonYorkshire-based crime drama centering on the personal and professional life of Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood.Sally Wainwrights best work yet. Sarah Lancashire elevates her character to memorable heights.
- CreatorAllan CubittStarsGillian AndersonJamie DornanJohn LynchA seemingly cold but very passionate policewoman goes head to head with a seemingly passionate father who is in fact a cold serial killer in this procedural out of Belfast. The only thing they share is their common complexity.Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan are mesmerizing.
- StarsMaggie GyllenhaalStephen ReaLubna AzabalCenters on Nessa Stein, a woman who inherits her father's arms business and finds herself in an international maelstrom as she continues to promote the reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a career defining performance. One of the highlights of 2015 on TV.
- CreatorJoey SolowayStarsJeffrey TamborAmy LandeckerGaby HoffmannAn L.A. family with serious boundary issues have their past and future unravel when a dramatic admission causes everyone's secrets to spill out.Groundbreaking TV. Telling stories never told before is a hard thing to do on TV. Jill Soloway does this in the most touching way and Jeffrey Tambor deserves every award he has won for his performance.
- CreatorNoah HawleyStarsBilly Bob ThorntonMartin FreemanAllison TolmanVarious chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.Noah Hawley recreates the magic originally found in the Coen brothers film, and takes it in a complex and compelling direction. The jump between seasons and timelines is half the fun. The A-list cast delivers in every episode. Priceless.
- CreatorChris ChibnallStarsDavid TennantOlivia ColmanJodie WhittakerThe murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.A nation was glued to the TV set to see David Tennant and Olivia Colman solve the "who killed Danny Latimer" mystery in this gripping English murder mystery.
- CreatorDavid FarrStarsTom HiddlestonHugh LaurieElizabeth DebickiThe night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle.This limited series has been the TV highlight of 2016 with no serious contenders. Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman and Tom Hiddleston create the perfect Bermuda triangle (albeit mostly in Mallorca Spain) of villain, spy handler and reluctant spy. Catapulted from the original setting in John Le Carre's novel from the Cold War to the Arab Spring, it's update serves it well. Gripping writing/directing/acting. A winner all around
- CreatorAnn BidermanStarsLiev SchreiberEddie MarsanDash MihokRay Donovan, a professional "fixer" for the rich and famous in Los Angeles, can make anyone's problems disappear except those created by his own family.Liev Schreiber has created one of the most memorable gangsters in modern TV. The supporting cast is uniformly strong, including Jon Voigt as the black sheep father.
- CreatorAbi MorganStarsRomola GaraiBen WhishawDominic WestA behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.On the big screen, Abi Morgan's writing speaks for itself (Shame, The Iron Lady, Suffragette). On TV this is her star turn with the perfect cast to carry forward her precision scripts. Dominic West, Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai, Peter Capaldi and Anna Chancellor are at the top of their game.
- CreatorJon Robin BaitzWalter F. ParkesStarsBrian CoxMelissa GeorgeLucas HedgesA once happy family suddenly begins to fall apart following a seemingly minor incident in which a man slaps another couple's misbehaving child.Admittedly I never saw the Australian original, but this American remake takes the raw story and gives it to a very talented cast who make more of it than was there on the page. This is an ensemble like we are not likely to see again for a while. A-List.
- DirectorArmando IannucciStarsTom HollanderPeter CapaldiJames GandolfiniA political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.Armando Iannucci's claim to fame, and Peter Capaldi's best role ever. As the foul mouthed Malcolm Tucker, Capaldi outshone and out-cussed everyone around him, to brilliant comedic effect. Epic.
- CreatorArmando IannucciStarsJulia Louis-DreyfusTony HaleAnna ChlumskyFormer Senator Selina Meyer finds that being Vice President of the United States is nothing like she hoped and everything that everyone ever warned her about.Armando Iannucci is the television comedy godfather of our time. First he gave us, In The Thick Of It. Then with a graceful leap across the pond, Julia Louis-Dreyfus' star turn as Selina Meyer in Veep. Television will never be the same.
- CreatorStephen FalkStarsChris GeereAya CashDesmin BorgesCenters on two toxic, self-destructive people who fall in love and attempt a relationship.In very broad strokes, the comedy shines through when two relationship-phobic people meet, fall in love, and try desperately not to give into it.
- CreatorZander LehmannStarsMichaela WatkinsTommy DeweyTara Lynne BarrA comedy series about a bachelor brother and his newly divorced sister living under one roof again. Together, they coach each other through the crazy world of dating while raising her teenage daughter.Jason Reitman and Zander Lehmann are the masterminds behind this sharply satirical look at dating relationships and family today. The modern love dilemma never seemed more complex and confusing - and rarely has it been told with such humour and grace.
- StarsFrances McDormandRichard JenkinsAnn DowdA middle-school math teacher Olive and her marriage with Henry which spans 25 years.Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins lead a formidable cast. Lisa Cholodenko proves once again she's at the top of the best director's list.
- StarsSharon HorganRob DelaneyMark BonnarAmerican man Rob gets Irish woman Sharon pregnant when they hook up for a week while he is on a business trip in London.Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney have magical comedy chemistry that doesn't come along very often. They have comic timing down pat in two unlikely but lovable characters.
- CreatorDaisy CoulamStarsRobson GreenTessa Peake-JonesAl WeaverA Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.The vicar and the copper solves crimes in Cambridge. What's not to like. James Norton balances cute, cool and clever in equal measure.
- DirectorMichael SucsyStarsDrew BarrymoreJessica LangeJeanne TripplehornThe lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith, aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.This limited series took inspiration from the Broadway play based on the Mayles brothers' iconic documentary. Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange are a revelation.