There is so much TV to choose from in the age of streaming. New shows are pumped out by Netflix, Disney, Amazon, HBO, and others at a rapid rate – with the social media discourse around each of them encouraging you to jump onto each as quickly as possible.
However, there’s no rush. Take a breath and instead consider TV hits from years gone by that you might not have gotten around to yet. Just because the discussion has moved on, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t worth your time, and the difference in tone and production brought with the era might make them even more interesting to you.
- The Wire
Whenever the topic of ‘best TV show’ comes up, you’re undoubtedly going to hear The Wire crop up alongside The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. What can put a lot of people off about The Wire is that it’s slow and dry – descriptors that won’t immediately make you want to binge episodes of it. That’s another thing to bear in mind, though. It can be a difficult show to binge because of its dense subject matter and novelistic storytelling. So, why watch it? The way in which The Wire depicts systemic issues in American culture while crafting a compelling narrative with layered characters is incredibly powerful, and leaves a lasting impact.
- Heroes
With the modern obsession of superheroes perhaps having some people craving more content of that ilk, looking back to the 2000s staple itself makes sense. While many people might tell you that the first season is the only one worth watching, that in itself gives you over 20 episodes of content – arguably equal to 3 seasons of many modern shows. There are twists, and turns, lovable characters, and a fast-paced storyline that keeps you hooked. Many of the streaming services used to watch older shows might have ad breaks, like ITV X, further increasing that sense of novelty and giving you a break to follow the actors other pursuits or just unwind with online blackjack.
- Lost
The winding twists and mysteries of Heroes might interest you, and if that’s the case, turning your attention to a show whose entire identity is based on unfolding questions might make sense. For better or for worse, Lost is a series that loves to pose questions about its world. At times, that can make for a gripping narrative and a surreal atmosphere, and at others, it can lead to answers that don’t necessarily satisfy. In either case, the journey is exciting and relentlessly intriguing.
- Seinfeld
It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia is a popular long-running sitcom that breaks a lot of the tropes that people have come to expect from sitcoms, but it’s not the only one to do so, nor is it the first. Seinfeld rejected the impulse to focus its narrative around anything in particular and instead highlighted the peculiarities of certain social norms in a comedic, absurd way with the help of its increasingly amoral cast.