Asklemmy

Halt and Catch Fire: It's a really cool drama about a group of very different people, who come together because of one shared goal, and then everyone following their own desires - more or less burning bridges and rebuilding them over 4 seasons of the show.

Happy Endings

Dark

• This is the most intricate show ever. The Sistine Chapel of TV

The Wire

• The most real and relevant show. Much more than just a cop show. I would say this is the best bit of TV ever.

Colin From Accounts

• Hilarious. Kind of insane. First 5 minutes and I can't believe what just happened. Makes me want to visit Australia.

• The Wire
• Breaking Bad
• The Blacklist, although it got ridiculous.
• Sherlock BBC Benedict Bundersnatch
• Better Call Saul
• The Ozarks
• Succession
• Severance

My top 5 is :

Arcane
Mr. Robot
Breaking Bad
The Good Place
Stranger Things

Battlestar Galactica will always be my comfort apocalypse.

Didn’t see it mentioned yet so i’ll shout out:

Devs.

Super super good sci-fi mystery series relating to quantum theory that introduced some … moral quandaries that stick with you. I dont see it talked about much but I really enjoyed it. Nick Offerman plays the main “bad guy” and it was a jarring but refreshing role change, kinda like John Goodman in the second cloverfield movie. God Damn he killed it.

Over the Gardenwall

Futurama!

You want The Good Place

I've just caught up with Slow Horses. The main character is played by Gary Oldman in top form. He's a spy, so decrepit and filthy you can almost smell him. He runs an outpost of British intelligence from a filthy, decrepit office staffed by a bunch of fuck-ups. It's the best thing I've seen in ages. Lots of character development, back stories, car chases, bloodshed, even a tiny splash of romance. It's on its 4th series, so I'm very late to the game. Probably because I don't have Apple+.

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Horses

It’s not Sci-fi, but I’m shocked nobody has mentioned Six Feet Under, my vote for the best show ever made. With the best ending episode ever made. I never cry watching stuff but I ABSOLUTELY cried when I saw the ending. I tear up just thinking about it or listening to a certain song. I watched it a million years ago, then met someone who I’ve been with for over a decade who became a mortician. I then watched it all over again with them and they felt the same way I did about it. Best show ever.

If I had to pick just a couple, then Twin Peaks and The Prisoner. Both have interesting styles, both keep you asking questions rather than spoonfeeding answers, both were ahead of their time.

Futurama. I love how creative it is as well as how it can have its emotional moments, at least with the older seasons.

The X-Files because childhood and Gillian Anderson.

Star Trek TNG because childhood and Gates McFadden.

In no particular order, genre shows include:

• Babylon 5
• Firefly
• X-Files
• Fringe
• Buffy/Angel
• The League of Gentlemen
• Dr Who / Torchwood
• True Blood
• Utopia
• Supernatural
• Third Rock
• Ash vs Evil Dead
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
• Peacemaker
• The Nevers

Happy!. The perfect mix of black comedy, violence, and weird central alien stuff.

The Magicians. It's like a more mature and dark Harry Potter/Chronicles of Narnia crossover. It has really good character development and isn't afraid to have fun with things like musical numbers and self aware plotlines. The first season is the weakest of the bunch, but it's still pretty good. So give it a chance past then if you are still on the fence.

My favorite shows are the shows I can binge over and over and over and they’re still tons of fun, with enough complexity and depth to still reveal something new after dozens of viewings.

In no particular order:

The Orville
Psych
Community
Bob’s Burgers
Archer
Eureka
Rick & Morty
Home Movies
Warehouse 13
Joe Pera Talks With You
Also, my wife and I watch Friends together a lot.

Honorable mention:
Continuum
Gravity Falls
Roswell (yeah it was from my time)

It's Always Sunny and Bob's Burgers are standouts for me, along with a lot of this thread.

I guess I'd categorize them both as shows where every character, however minor, contributes perfectly to the hilarity and overall vibe of the show. Really, any show with great chemistry/cohesion and ownership of the characters, where you couldn't change a single thing to make it better. Psych and Futurama are a couple mentioned that fit the bill. Others are on the tip of my tongue but not coming to me. Oh, King of the Hill!

The best thing about IASIP and Bob's Burgers is there isn't a single off/bad episode in the first like 12 and 5 seasons, respectively. I stopped keeping up with both at some point when I was up to date and waiting. There's not really a bad episode in any of those shows.

What I really like about Bob's Burgers is how they record all together and have a lot of fast quipping and reactive energy.

Oh, and Archer! At least until things really switched up.

Scrubs! [0] [1] [2].

It had a great 8 season run (the 9th season doesn't exist, ignore those who incorrectly say it does). The show was funny, insightful, great dialogue, characters, serious moments and a great cast. Additionally the music choices in each episode were always top-notch. Note that "a handful of songs were replaced in the versions released to streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu due to licensing issues." [3].

Lastly, "IGN gave the first season a perfect score of 10. The seven following seasons were rated, respectively, 9, 9, 9, 8, 7.5, 8.3 and 7.5" [4].

[0] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/scrubs

[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285403/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubs_(TV_series)

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubs_(TV_series)#Music

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrubs_(TV_series)#Reception

American Dad. It's Family Guy made way better. The episodes are so original and creative. The first 7 seasons are all gold.

Just thinking of what I've seen recently, this is what I like and why:

• Gravity Falls: Weird/Fun show
• The Owl house: Same as above
• For All Mankind: Cool Sci-fi show about "what if America didn't win the space race and it never stopped"
• Final Space: Funny space show with some real emotion
• Hazbin Hotel: Quirky show about demons (adult themed)
• Inside Job: Another funny animated show, sadly cancelled before 3rd season
• The last of us: A great re-tale on the game I love

I like seeing a group evolve and form good friendships.

Reply, 1988

It is a Korean drama where each episode focuses on a different character, all living on the same street in Seoul in 1988. I recommend it to everyone as my favourite show but especially for your preference described above. You feel each character's struggles and successes. The way the show develops the characters through their relationships with their families and friends is outstanding.

Joe Pera Talks With You

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Pera_Talks_with_You

https://www.adultswim.com/videos/joe-pera-talks-with-you

https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Pera-Talks-With-You/dp/B0B75L86ZG/

I was pretty bummed when it got canceled because it really got me through some hard times. What's there holds up beautifully, however.

It starts off as a Mr. Rogers type vehicle that quickly veers off into strangeness. Joes propensity to talk to the camera like Mr. Rogers, and his propensity to explain human emotions by relating them to scientific ideas like the formation of rocks made this show weirdly comforting for me. It's also just plain goofy.

It also includes Conner O'Malley in the cast and as one of the writers. O'Malley is like if BBC documentarian Adam Curtis instead made David Lynch-esque experimental comedy. He was on a few episodes of Detroiters with Tim Robinson and is in a handful of I Think You Should Leave sketches (in my opinion, most notably in "Honk if you're horny"). For being such a strange guy, he wrote some of the most heartfelt stuff in Joe Pera.

Joes voice is extremely calming to me, and his timing and delivery genuinely kill me. I've had very few comedians that had me crying over something genuinely sweet and sad and then be able to make laugh a few moments later.

I hear people describe shows like Ted Lasso as "kind television" and I think Joe Pera Talks With You fits in that same niche. It's very loving and doesn't seem to really put anyone down and shows off a quiet, beautiful Michigan community. Despite not being from Marquette, originally, Joe has a lot of love for the area, it's clear.

iCarly

I need laugh tracks so I know when to laugh.

The Leftovers. If I were to ever put together a top 10 list of personal favorites, this would be at the top then in a distant second I could start ranking the rest. I love how fully realized its concepts were. I love how it stuck true to its convictions right up to the end. I love the mashup of science fiction and fantasy and grief and contemporary life. I love the beautiful Max Richter score. For a show that starts pretty bleak in the first few episodes you really feel the love and warmth by the end of the series and the discovery of inner piece.

I always like to add this caveat to anyone jumping in, the first half of season one can be tough. Episode 3 is a good taste of what the show is at its best and episode 6 is one of the best in the series and the point where most people are fully hooked.