Ask Lemmy

More like a miniseries, but HBO’s Chernobyl. Some of the best television I’ve ever seen.

As a scifi buff: Battlestar Galactica, and The Expanse were excellent. Nightsky was also a really good watch even though it was slow moving, and was more about relationships than SciFi

Obligatory Firefly mention.

I am surprised that I'm the first to mention Bojack Horseman here.

This series is for you if you want to cry out your mental health problems

The Wire. It's the best piece of visual media ever created. Not only is it the best portrayal of the inner city drugs trade but also the decaying institutions and social structures that allow it to flourish, and the corrupting influence of dirty money.

It also is consistently the best written show on TV and is grounded in it's reality better than anything else. Half the cast were complete unknowns, in many cases plucked from the streets of Baltimore itself and there are standout performances all across it's vast and diverse cast.

It's a little slow to get going, the first few episodes have a lot of ground to cover to get the viewer up to speed, it also makes no effort to ease the viewer in, with a lot of jargon, slang and some very thick accents to content with, there's also no "previously on the wire" to go over key points from earlier episodes so it definitely requires more participation from the viewer than most TV but it's all the better for it.

arrested development

The Good Place. Funny, compelling, I cried through the final episode. It also doesn't waste your time, things will happen mid-season that any other show would have dragged out for the season finale.

• A&E's Nero Wolfe
• Agatha Christie's Poirot (with David Suchet)
• The Expanse
• Star Trek: TNG
• Fleabag (season 2 is a masterpiece, and I don't throw that word around)
• For All Mankind
• Archane (season 1 is another masterpiece)
• Penny Dreadful (it dips in quality in the later seasons, but worth it for the Frankenstein's monster story alone)

The Good Place

Penny Dreadful

Community

Fringe. Best Sci-Fi ending that wraps back around to an episode that broke the show open. The last season getting there is kind of rough. But the first 4 seasons are solid.

Andor is the best piece of Star Wars media and the best TV show I’ve ever seen. You don’t need to like Star Wars. I don’t know if seeing Star Wars would even increase your enjoyment. I think seeing Rogue One would probably be good but otherwise just jump in. No space wizards or laser swords or destiny or whatever. It’s so adult and grounded. I can’t believe Disney let them make this.

Mr Robot

As I didn't seen them mentioned

• Scrubs: 8 UND ONLY 8 seasons of funny comedy, heart wrenching tragedy. For such a funny show, they managed to still make me cry with "Where Do You Think We Are?"
• Better off Ted: very funny too, hardly ever hear anybody mentioning it
• Bluey: is you have small children and you are going to give them screen time, do both of you a favor and chose bluey.

I really enjoyed Babylon 5. Especially seasons 2-4. The interplay between the characters, especially Londo and G'kar was excellent. The stories were epic and political, it would be relevant today I think. It was so quotable and parts really moved you.

The effects were dated even then, and the transfer to widescreen after the digital models were lost was an absolute travesty. Instead of widescreen making the show better, they cropped the 4:3 for every effects shot, making them all blurry and poorly composed.

Even so, the story and characters are epic and timeless.

"Better Off Ted" is really funny and still holds up.

The Pitt. Not usually a medical show guy but the acting and realism were top notch. Kept me hooked the whole way. Deserved that Emmy for sure.

Quick pitch: Follow an ER team throughout a shift, with each season being one single shift. Every episode is an hour. ER is understaffed like they all are, you bounce from one crisis to the next to the next. There is absolutely no medical situation they will not show uncensored in full.

Farscape

Since it's not mentioned, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you liked Firefly, you'll like Buffy. Yes, it has baggage, but that doesn't prevent everyone else in the cast from having their work appreciated. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll dabble in witchcraft.

Avatar: the Last Airbender.

Two shows that weren't mentioned yet:

• Warehouse 13 - An endearing sci-fi show about a warehouse full of weird artifacts. Despite some intense episodes, it offered mainly a light, feel-good entertainment, and featured a really well-crafted send-off.
• Fringe - Starts out weird, then it goes totally off the rails, but in a good way. Also wrapped up nicely.

Old school Star Trek, but also Dark Matter.

The Expanse is also bloody amazing. Great book series too.

I still have a soft spot for "Dead like me", which I rarely see mentioned.

DARK. The plot, casting and soundtrack are all superb, and way ahead of most other shows. Although Season 3 will fuck you up, it also nails the ending.

Some I've hardly seen mentioned here

Season 1 True Detective is peak tv

Season 1 Westworld

FX's Legion- the story is a bit disjointed between the season but the effects are top notch

Holy I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet but Barry with Bill Hader might be one of my faves ever.

One I dont see mentioned often is Dark Matter which I think is pretty underrated.

Detectorists - when you want to completely relax.

Mr. Inbetween - I believe the less you know before watching it, the better. Just turn it on.

Reservation dogs - also very relaxed.

The Magicians what at first blush seems like it would be a CW type Harry Potter knock off is actually a fantastic show with smart writing, interesting characters, drama, humor, suspense, action, fantasy…. First season is a little uneven at times but once it finds its footing early in season 2 it just keeps getting better for its entire 5 season run.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend originally developed for Showtime, this show actually DID air on the CW but might be the best thing they ever aired (despite not getting good ratings). You’ll laugh, you’ll cringe, you’ll cry, and it’s a musical with over 120 songs in every style and genre imaginable and every single one is a banger.

Dirk Gently

Our flag means death. https://youtu.be/prQDst-tAJ8

Firefly.

The Sopranos - amazing cast of characters, drama, action, betrayals, comedy! Such a great show. But you need to get sucked in. I recommended it some of my friends or family members but they aren't into it but worth to try! One of my favorite series I enthusiastically rewatch.

Always and forever The Wire

One I haven't seen listed here:

Samurai Jack

It's a cartoon you need to sit down and pay attention to. There's often action, and it can be goofy, but it also has a lot of really quiet, contemplative scenes.

Fringe.

Not for everyone, but if it is for you, you'll adore it.

No love for Archer? Witty, profane, great animation/artwork, one writer/creator carrying the whole show, and eponymous lead voiced by H. Jon Benjamin. What am I missing?

Not nearly enough love for Andor? Season 2, episodes 7, 8, and 9 showcase some of the most compelling sequences on TV. Diego Luna, a man under enormous pressure ready to come apart at the seams, run by master manipulator Stella Skarsgård. Andy Serkis. Forrest Whittaker. Empire baddies Denise Gough and Ben Mendelssohn. Best Star Wars offerings outside the original trilogy screenplays hands down. Fight me.

Nor for my most embarrassing and guiltiest pleasure Downton Abbey? Plus two full length feature sequels? Come now.

Cosmos (the NDT series) - my overall favourite series. If you like Cosmos a lot, consider watching the archives of the Royal Institution's Christmas lectures

The Good Place - Existential Philosophy and Ontology 101, the TV Series. Hilarious, dramatic, and one of the most touching stories I've ever encountered

Person of Interest - Basically "What You'll Learn on Lemmy: The TV Series", about all of the wondrous horrors of the digital surveillance state in which we all live.

Since I've seen no mention of it, I have to say Leverage.

Leverage follows a five-person team: a thief, a grifter, a hacker, and a retrieval specialist or "hitter", led by former insurance investigator Nathan Ford, who use their skills to carry out heists to fight corporate and governmental injustices inflicted on ordinary citizens.

I freely admit the structure of the episodes becomes a little stale after a while (the team starts a con against the episode villain(s), things go south, and then either they improvise a solution or it's revealed they already anticipated the issue), but for me the chemistry between the cast keeps the show entertaining to the end.

It'd without a doubt my most rewatched TV series, a comfort show of sorts.

I can't say anything about the reboot (Redemption) as I've not got around to watch it yet.

The Owl House (Disney) a ridiculously wholesome magical animated show with some amazing well integrated LGBT/non-binary representation.

Battlestar Galactica. It's heavy weight politics, in space. Cast is rock solid. ~there's~ ^too^ ^much^ ~confusion~ ~here~ The follow on movies are also excellent.

Since someone else mentioned Arcane,
My choice would be Chernobyl. I watch it probably once a year and I'm just as hooked every single time. Damn fine work.

I also adore Haunting of Bly Manor. Haunting of Hill House ranks just below that one, I think. But both of those are very good.

And if weird and irreverent are your thing, Bee and Puppycat is so cozy and fun.

Babylon 5 and Farscape

Mr Robot. So many twists and turns, and had me absolutely fascinated from start to finish

Sherlock was excellent! Revived my interest in the lore.