NOTE (on 9/27/2014): So I did draft these out, but it was overwhelming at the time and just never came back to these. I’ll come back to these and re-release this article at some point in the future when the fall season calms down.

So you think that you’re a pretty diverse person now, huh?

Some person says, “You should watch House of Cards? So what if it’s on Netflix, it’s really good”. And you do, and then you realize, oh, this show is great. I should give their next show a chance. Then you watch Arrested Development‘s 4th season and Orange is the New Black. All of the sudden, you think that you’ve cracked the code: Netflix is the next big superior television content provider. They not only bring in Emmy nominated series, but they populate other shows. They helped Breaking Bad increase in viewership near its end, and help series come to an end as well. The Killing will return for its final season exclusively on Netflix.

Well, for one, it’s not Netflix that started this, it was plainly us fans. People who were fans of Doctor Who, Mad Men, or even Arrow now have a medium they can refer to, saying, “Hey, give it a watch. If you don’t like it, fine. But give it a chance”. And now, with this huge movement of people watching content online, there’s this huge buzz about Netflix being amazing.

So Amazon’s shows now suck? And Hulu? And other international shows that no one even gives a chance because of subtitles or their English is too thick?

Completely and uttery lame.

I don’t think you all understand exactly how much content is out there. In the history of television, there have been 2.5 million televisions shows. And now with 15,000 channels across the world, that number just keeps expanding. So how can we all just cast Breaking Bad the best show ever when most viewers limit their eyes to Modern Family and Scandal. I’ll give some of you some credit, but most haven’t gone outside their comfort zone, either because you have too many shows or not enough time.

Thus, I come in. 

I’ll be making a series of articles which will pinpoint some overlooked TV shows that I believe you should give a shot. One shot. If you don’t like them, sure. But you’ll never know what’s out there until you do.

Part 1: Old, Yet Relevant

Part 2: Streamed Shows

Part 3: It Went Global

Old, Yet Relevant refers to all the older shows that we won’t watch because it’s not available in Standard Definition, none-the-less High Definition. But they still are, on its own merits, great shows to watch today. I’ll try my best to stir clear of popular series everyone watches or are readily available in syndication (Friends, Seinfeld, etc.).

Streamed Shows are shows that have been released by Hulu, Netflix, or Prime (among others) that haven’t been given the recognition other shows have (*cough*House of Cards*cough). These series should be given a two-episode trial watch.

It Went Global are shows across the pond. Yep, I’m going British, but I’m also going to other countries, including Denmark, Australia, and yes…even Korea. The fact that you don’t like subtitles is, frankly, incredibly silly and you should get over it so you can watch some fantastic TV, along with seeing a different culture do our everyday activities a little different. You might learn something. A new favorite actress, director, or even perhaps new way of writing.

Some shows won’t be for everyone, and I try to be as diverse with genres. But you should give at least one show a chance. An open-minded shot. Because, truly, television is a fascinating thing.

Also coming soon, my analysis of which freshmen TV series is worth a binge watch over the holiday season. So expect that somewhere in the middle of these series.