12 TV Shows That Look Terrible But Are Actually Great

11. Better Call Saul

Admittedly, I don’t think anyone actually thought Better Call Saul would be a bad show. After all, it’s a prequel to one of the most critically-acclaimed series of the last decade, with the same showrunner and many of the same cast members. That being said, it was hard not to see the initial advertisements for Better Call Saul and think “Do we really need to know how the origin story of the crooked lawyer from Breaking Bad?” As it turns out, we absolutely did. Now in its third season, Better Call Saul has truly come into its own as a worthwhile story that just so happens to take place in the same universe as Breaking Bad, rather than a derivative spin off capitalizing on the success of its predecessor.

The dual story structure between Jimmy McGill, a.k.a. Saul Goodman’s struggle to be a by-the-book lawyer and Mike Ehrmentrout’s foray into the New Mexico criminal underworld makes Better Call Saul feel like two separate, equally fascinating shows (that do intersect quite frequently), and Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks are as good as ever in their respectiveroles. Add in a cast of supporting characters with their own deep story beats — particularly Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler, easily the show’s most impressive breakout star — and you have a series that stands right alongside Breaking Bad, rather than underneath it.

Photo by Robert Trachtenburg/AMC/Sony Pictures Television

10. Southland (2009-2013)

Southland is a show that we all are guilty of taking for granted, including its original network, which dropped it after the first season. Luckily, TNT stepped in and supported Southland for four more seasons, where it quietly became arguably the best police drama since The Wire and The Shield; no small feat considering how crowded this particular segment of television is at any given moment. The keys to Southland’s success lie with its brutally realistic presentation of police work in Los Angeles and its performances, which are uniformly excellent.

Benjamin McKenzie, then best known for playing Ryan Atwood on The O.C., proved himself to be much more than a rebellious California teen as Officer Ben Sherman, but it’s arguably Michael Cudlitz who steals the show as John Cooper, a police officer who struggles with hiding his homosexuality from his co-workers. If you’re looking for a show that absolutely doesn’t glamorize the lives of police officers, Southland is your beat.

http://lipmag.com/culture/revision-the-tv-pyramid-the-wire-vs-southland/ Source: Lip Magazine

9. Rectify

About four or five years ago, there seemed to be flurry of new shows with titles beginning with the letter “R” and Sundance’s Rectify kind of got lost somewhere between the ‘Revenge’ and ‘Revolutions’ of the world. That’s a shame because there truly isn’t anything else like Rectify out there. Focusing on the life of a former Death Row inmate who is exonerated for a crime he may or may not have committed, Rectify’s deliberately slow pace and contemplative storytelling certainly aren’t for everyone, so it’s a difficult recommendation for those who like quick resolutions and constant ebbs and flows of conflict in their TV dramas.

That being said, if you’re willing to put the time into a slow burn, Rectify is one of the most rewarding and satisfying crime dramas in recent memory, and pulls no punches with its depiction of a man who is unsure and ill-equipped to deal with life outside of prison.

http://www.amc.com/shows/rectify/video-extras/rectify-season-3-official-trailer Source: AMC

8. Justified

Anyone who seriously follows the prestige TV scene is well aware of just how good the FX series Justified is, but if you don’t fall into that category, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just another crime procedural, albeit one set in Kentucky. In reality, Justified is one of the greatest series of the last decade. Timothy Olyphant is simply sensational as U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens, who is more apt to shoot a criminal for looking at him cock-eyed then throw them the book, but it’s Walton Goggins who steals the show as loquacious criminal Boyd Crowder — a character who, believe it or not, was originally supposed to be killed off in the pilot.

Based on Elmore Leonard’s shorts story “Fire in the Hold,” Justified retains the author’s unique sense of dialogue construction, leading to some of the best quotes you’ll ever have the pleasure of hearing on TV  (““If you wanted me to shoot you in the front, you shoulda run toward me.”). When it comes to TV series that are equal parts style and substance, it’s hard to think of many that strike that balance better than Justified.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/review-justified-season-6-episode-11-fugitive-number-one-i-didnt-know-you-liked-classical-20150331 Source: Indiewire.com

7. Arrow

The CW’s “Arrowverse” is an ever-growing machine these days, but many comic book fans had their doubts when the network first launched Arrow in 2012. Centered around the DC Comics hero Green Arrow, Arrow had a lot to prove when it first hit the air and admittedly, it took quite some time for the show to find its footing. The early episodes established a really interesting flashback storyline, explaining how Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) survived five years on an island and learned the skills that would lead him to become a vigilante. Unfortunately, the present day material was a little melodramatic and really took some time to find its footing.

However, by the second season, Arrow was firing on all cylinders (not least because of a standout performance from Manu Bennett as the villain Deathstroke) and had found its identity as a serious-minded superhero show built around a great supporting cast, most of whom would end up joining Oliver’s crime-fighting team in one capacity or another. Arrow’s success has also spawned several interconnected shows, including The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, but Arrow is arguably still the best of the bunch and is nowhere as cheesy or lame as its marketing might lead you to believe.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminmoore/2015/09/04/arrow-season-4-trailer/#7a698cac7400 Source: Forbes

6. American Dad

American Dad may have started off as a derivative Family Guy knockoff — the fact that it was also created by Seth MacFarlane may have had something to do with that — but over the course of its 12-and-counting seasons, it’s arguably proven to be the better show. For starters, even though Peter Griffin and Stan Smith are in many ways the same person (MacFarlane again), Stan is arguably the more interesting character. Whereas Peter is just a buffoon, Stan’s ignorance comes from his intense patriotism and status as a conservative Republican, both of which the show mines for enormous comedy.

American Dad is also not afraid to explore some really dark subjects for its comedy, such as Stan’s crack addiction, and also doesn’t rely as heavily on cutaway gags, which have long since become a crutch for Family Guy to lean on when its short of ideas. Plus, Roger the alien is one of the best characters in any currently-running animated sitcom and American Dad is worth watching just to see his cross-dressing hi-jinks.

http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/american-dad/51601/20-best-american-dad-episodes Source: Den of Geek

5. Person of Interest

The fact that Person of Interest is a CBS show was enough for many people to write it off sight unseen, given the network’s penchant for mediocre crime procedurals and content that tends to skew to the boomer generation. It was a surprise then to find when this sci-fi drama premiered in 2011 and started getting rave reviews from critics, who praised its thought-provoking premise about nationwide surveillance.

In hindsight, it really should have been obvious that CBS had something special with Person of Interest, given that both Jonathan Nolan and J.J. Abrams were involved, to say nothing of the casting of esteemed actors like Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel. That being said, the key to the show’s critical success may have something to do with the fact that it managed to do something interesting with the case-of-the-week structure, morphing over time into a near-dystopian thriller involving AI and of course, plenty of beat downs from Caviezel’s burned CIA operative character John Reese.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/04/22/person-of-interest-the-episodes-that-will-catch-you-up Source: IGN

4. Chuck

Chuck may have ran for five seasons, but it’s honestly a miracle that it even got a third. This NBC slacker/spy comedy was a perennial candidate for the network’s chopping block, but a combination of fan support and odd advertising partnerships (who can forget the time Subway stepped in and actually made the show film scenes that were thinly-veiled plugs for foot long sandwiches?) helped Chuck live on far longer than anyone would have expected. Fortunately, this was a very good thing, as despite being rather uneven at times, Chuck is a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.

Centered around an underachieving retail drone who unwittingly downloads an important CIA database into his head, Chuck may lean too heavily on a “spy mission of the week” structure at times, but makes up for it with a cast of thoroughly likable characters and some surprisingly emotional storytelling. The will they, won’t they romance between Chuck (Zachary Levi) and his CIA handler Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski) is one of the better this side of The Office’s Jim and Pam, and the supporting cast is full of quirky characters who help the show strike a nice balance between action serial and hangout comedy.

http://geekdomhouse.com/remember-chuck/ Source: Geekdom House

3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

When it was revealed that Andy Samberg left Saturday Night Live to star in a police comedy series on Fox, no one really knew what to expect. Even if it was a comedy, cop shows set in New York City are a dime a dozen no matter what year it is, so what could Samberg’s new show offer that could possibly compete with other series in the genre, or other comedies for that matter? It may have taken a good half dozen episodes to find its footing, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine arguably blew away even the most optimistic expectations, delivering an upbeat hangout comedy that in some ways feels like a spiritual successor to Parks and Recreation.

Ironically, Samberg is probably the least interesting member of the ensemble. That isn’t a knock against him, but more a comment on how incredible a supporting cast Brooklyn Nine-Nine was able to string together, with Andre Braugher stealing pretty much every scene with his deadpan Captain Ray Holt. It can be difficult to find good, reliable comedy series in an era without The Office and the aforementioned Parks and Rec, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine is showing that the format is still alive and well.

https://www.themarysue.com/brooklyn-nine-nine-progressive/ Source: The Mary Sue

2. The Leftovers

HBO’s The Leftovers is kind of a hard show to sell people on. Sure, the initial pitch for it is all kinds of intriguing: one day, 2% of the Earth’s population disappears into thin air and we get to see how those “left behind” (not to be confused with that similar, though lesser post-apocalyptic franchise) cope with such a phenomenon. The Leftovers is so much more than just its plot setup though and even though it’s now in its third and final season, it’s become one of the most challenging, thought-provoking TV dramas of the 2010s.

Everything from the cinematography to the musical score is top notch and the performances are Emmy-worthy, particularly Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon, the latter of whom is quickly becoming one of the top female talents in television. Since the show is ending on its own terms, it really doesn’t matter if you’ve missed it up until this point (and three seasons isn’t much of a time investment anyway), so if you’re a fan of TV shows that constantly goes in directions you couldn’t possibly imagine, you owe it to yourself to give The Leftovers a shot.

http://gameranx.com/features/id/80745/article/11-burning-questions-for-the-leftovers-season-three/ Source: Gameranx

1. The 100

The series that inspired the creation of this list, The 100 was pretty close to hot garbage when it first premiered. Although the show’s central concept — a century after a nuclear war, 100 juvenile delinquits are sent down to Earth to see if it can be recolonized — has been compelling from the very beginning, to say things get off to a rocky start in the first few episodes is putting it mildly. I actually gave up on this show twice and only gave it another chance after a friend gave it a glowing recommendation and promised things got better before long. I’m glad I listened, as The 100 is arguably one of the best sci-fi shows on TV right now and in many ways feels like a spiritual successor to Battlestar Galactica, which is no small feat.

Why the turnaround? The 100 quickly went from a teen drama with questionable dialogue to a brutal depiction of what people will do to survive in desperate situations. The show also benefited greatly from doubling down on character development, turning even the most annoying characters into complex people with ever-shifting motivations and morals (well, except maybe Jasper. He’s always been the worst). Factor in some seriously impressive world-building and The 100 is show that should not be missed. Just make it past episode thee or four, and you’re good

http://www.sneakpeek.ca/2015/12/the-100-season-3-footage.html Source: Sneakpeek.com