10 BEST TV SHOWS
Chris Noth and Julianna Margulies of “The Good Wife,” which tops Joanne Ostrow’s list for 2014.
So much good TV, so little time. The past year has been a good one for what we used to call television. Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon gave the traditional broadcast and cable networks a run, smaller networks joined in the production of serious dramas and offbeat comedies, and the options for time-shifting multiplied as the shows got better.
Here’s my personal 2014 top 10:
1. “The Good Wife” (CBS) Smart, consistently well-plotted and paced, this engaging drama has never gotten its due. Maybe it’s the confining title. Great to see David Hyde Pierce in a key role opposite Julianna Margulies this season. We wor- ried when Will Gardner (Josh Charles) was written out, but the series has reinvented itself beautifully. E
2. “Game of Thrones” (HBO) Visually dazzling, epic in scale with a phenomenal cast, the ever-shifting storylines about epochal, political and generational change in a mythic land keep ratcheting up the tension. Fire, ice, blood, mud, grit and glory.... Whether you’re in it for the romance or the gore, the mythology or the cinematography, the hours are suspenseful and rewarding.
3. “Homeland” (Showtime) Welcome back! The show that stumbled badly last season re---
gained its power, thankfully venturing into topical conundrums like drone warfare and Middle Eastern diplomacy and steering away from the home lives of its characters.
4. “Transparent” (Amazon) Jeffrey Tambor delivers an Emmy-worthy performance as the patriarch of a modern L.A. family who is transitioning from male to female. Poignant, funny and surprisingly relatable, touching on universal themes of family dysfunction, the 10 binge-worthy episodes were perhaps the boldest surprise of the year.
5. “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix) The tragic, hilarious, moving ensemble dramedy about a woman’s prison continued to hit a high mark in its second season, going even deeper into certain characters’ backstories. (Lorraine Toussaint, amazing.) Creator Jenji Kohan proved quality television could turn up far from actual television, bringing a unique voice to the prison stories.
6. Olive Kitteridge (HBO) Frances McDormand in the title role is a wonder. The pace of this adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s novel is remarkable for TV. The portrait of a long marriage is by turns tragic and funny. All in all, an achingly beautiful study of fragile human relationships directed by Lisa Cholodenko (“The Kids Are All Right”).
7. “True Detective” (HBO) Pushing the boundaries of TV’s narrative style, with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson bringing their “A” games to the lead roles, this eight-hour serial jumped around in time exploring an old Louisiana murder case involving occult human sacrifice. Bizarre, yet with a surprisingly simple, uplifting conclusion.
8. “The Affair” (Showtime) Moody, complex, a murder mys- tery inside a romance, this medley of shifting male/female viewpoints tried our patience at times but proved worthy of close attention. Dominic West and Ruth Wilson exquisitely convey the problems of unreliable memories.
9. “The Americans” (FX) A period espionage story about KGB agents in Washington, D.C., in the early 1980s, is a triumph of taut storytelling. The multifacet- ed characters kept us guessing; clever casting including Margo Martindale as a KGB operative kept us enchanted. Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys and an array of wigs keep us wanting more.
10. “The Roosevelts” (PBS) A treasure trove of never-before-seen archival photographs capped this terrific Ken Burns documentary, offering personal insights into the family and the personalities of FDR, Eleanor and Teddy.
Now, then, regarding the absence of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” on this list: A repetitive though wildly popular commentary on the human condition told through zombies, it’s simply not a personal favorite.
“But 15 million people watched the midseason finale!”
I know. I know. That’s why people love/ hate year-end lists.
Ten more series I wish I could have included here: FX’s “Louie,” HBO’s “Getting On” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” WGN’s “Manhattan,” Showtime’s “Masters of Sex,” Fox’s “Gotham,” FX’s “You’re the Worst” and “Fargo,” CW’s “Jane the Virgin,” Sundance TV’s “The Honorable Woman.”