As another year winds down, it’s time to reflect. What New Year’s resolutions did we stick to? How did we better ourselves? What amazing memories did we make?
But most importantly, what television came into our lives and made a difference?
A few new shows solidified their standings in my heart and made it to my list of the most binge-worthy TV of 2014.
True Detective
Matthew McConaughey has never been better. As a grizzled, washed-out, retired detective, McConaughey becomes Rust Cohle. Gone are the days of romantic comedies – of losing guys in 10 days and finding buried treasure with Kate Hudson. This McConaughey is tortured and tormented – haunted by his past and by the 17-year-old serial killer that eludes capture. Woody Harrelson created a meaty tension as McConaughey’s partner, Martin Hart.
Each performance felt so real. The opening interrogation pulls the viewers in and the strong acting keeps them hanging onto every word.
The beautiful shots of Louisiana landscape and desolate decrepit barns and houses fit the feel of the show’s main characters – Cohle and Rust are barely holding their lives together and exist in a weird, self-inflicted isolation, so consumed with their own demons and this case.
The season consists of eight episodes. When in the mood for intrigue and grit, spend a weekend immersed in True Detective [32]. As an anthology, the second season will air with a different story and new cast, with Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn starring. And a note to all Friday Night Lights Riggins fans, according to imdb.com [33], Taylor Kitsch will also be making an appearance.
Log into a friend’s HBO GO [34] account now.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
The smooth Neil deGrasse Tyson guides viewers on a voyage through time, space, and our place in all of it. This 13-episode docu series picks up 34 years after the original, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage with Carl Sagan.
While Sagan was a professor at Cornell University, he hosted a 17-year-old deGrasse Tyson for a visit to try to woo him into attending. He instead ended up at Harvard University, but that connection is still pretty cool.
The show takes viewers on a journey with a comet, immortality, molecules, dark matter and so much more. With beautiful animation, images of the galaxy and solid story-telling, the show is informative without being dry.
Queue up Netflix [35] and get ready to have your mind blown into space with Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey [36].
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Reflect on the crazy year with John Oliver. Previously a correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Oliver brings his humor and satirical outlook each week to reflect on the crazy, horrible and often comical events that have happened.
Oliver tackles current events, news and politics with a similar humor to The Daily Show, but with a sexy British accent, because all British accents are appealing. All 24 episodes are available via HBO GO. Last Week Tonight [37] airs Sundays at 11 p.m.
How To Get Away With Murder
The newest show produced by Shonda Rhimes stars Viola Davis as a law professor named Annalise Keating who teaches a class called How To Get Away With Murder, and much like the professor from Legally Blonde, she grills her students on day one. She is strict and harsh, but offers five special students a chance to get to work at her own law firm…also kind of like Legally Blonde.
Unlike most law-related shows, or movies, Keating occasionally defends guilty clients. Davis is also strong and commanding, but has her own personal life troubles. The younger cast keeps the show from feeling stale.
I was hooked from the opening scene where four young people are running around discussing whether they should go back to get a body.
Intrigue, sex, murder . . . what more do you need for a good time?
Shonda Rhimes has a way of making overly dramatic television consumable and addicting. (Take a look at Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy as proof.) She succeeds again with How To Get Away With Murder. [38] Episodes 1-3, 8 and 9 are currently available for viewing on ABC’s website.
If those shows don’t quench the TV-binging thirst, catch up on the following shows through the power of Netflix [35]: Orange Is The New Black, House of Cards, Scandal...and oh yeah, Gilmore Girls. Lorelai, Rory, Dean, Jess, Luke, Logan, Stars Hollow…everything is good and everything is right.
