Over two years ago, my first feature for Warming Glow was to look at the 15 best television series streaming on Netflix Instant at the time (2011). A lot in the television landscape has changed and much of that is due to Netflix itself, which is now in the business of not just streaming great television, but creating (and resurrecting) its own great television. Over the course of two years, the service has also added a lot of titles, and lost quite a few (Justified for instance, which is now exclusively streamed on Amazon).
Because of the changes, I thought it’d be beneficial to go back through Netflix’s television catalog and single out the 25 best series currently available in 2014. Some, which you might find worthy, didn’t make the cut, but I had to draw the line somewhere. The hardest to leave out were Alias and Lost, which were dropped ultimately because the conclusions of those series may ruin some of the satisfaction of the binge watch. The other was Adventure Time, a brilliant animated show I left off simply because, as good as it is, it’s kind of a kid’s show. Anything else that I left off, well, I promise you that whatever it was, it was definitely number 26.
25. Life (Two seasons) — Brilliant procedural starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi that was unfortunately canceled before it’s time: It was one of the first network procedurals to layer an ongoing series arc into its episodes. Unfortunately, audiences weren’t quite ready for it, but I still maintain that it’s the show that every cop show showrunner should watch before they embark on another cop series.
24. The League (4 of 5 seasons) — A combination of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm and fantasy football, it’s not as funny as Sunny, but it’s also not as misanthropic as Curb. It’s awkward humor that never feels uncomfortable, and features in a recurring role the best comedy character on television right now that’s not Ron Swanson: Jason Mantzoukas’ Rafi.
23. Parenthood (4 of 5 seasons)– It helps if you’re a parent to relate to some of the plotlines, but even if you’re not, Friday Night Light’s showrunner Jason Katims brings the same brand of naturalistic, heartfelt drama he displayed in Friday Night Lights to the tender and frequently emotional Parenthood. Great ensemble, although the show is often given to sentiment, which is good or bad, depending on who you are.
22. Raising Hope (3 of 4 seasons) — Greg Garcia’s sitcom began as a hilarious, and often spot-on comedic exploration of a lower, lower middle class family raising a child together, but over the course of the series, as it has improved, it’s focused more on the show’s two best assets, Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt, the latter of whom is the most unexpectedly hilarious guy on TV. Clever, heartfelt, and creative in incredibly surprising ways.
21. New Girl (2 of 3 seasons) — After a shaky start that focused too much on Zooey Deschanel and her quirks, the series found its stride in the middle of the first season, as it turned into an ensemble comedy and, by the second season, blossomed into one of the best sitcoms on television. It’s faltered some in its current third season, but that second season is one of the best ever years of comedy. Thanks to Schmidt and Nick, it’s also one of the most GIFable shows around.
20. Terriers (1 of 1 seasons) — Not that it doesn’t already get mentioned enough around here, it always bears repeating: Terriers is terrific, a funny, engrossing, and entertaining private eye drama starring Donal Logue that never should’ve been cancelled. In a just world, Terriers is now entering its fourth season. But even in this unjust world, season one should not be missed.
19. Better Off Ted (2 of 2 seasons) — Probably the sitcom closest in spirit to Arrested Development (it also stars Portia de Rossi), Ted is a brilliant, offbeat, and irreverent, skewering corporate culture and subverting the office comedies. There’s only one and a half seasons of the show, but given how subversive and different it was for network television, the miracle is that we have those two seasons at all.
18. Sons of Anarchy (5 of 6 seasons) — Seasons three to five were wildly inconsistent, but the first two seasons was some of the most intense and violent television you’ll ever watch (as was its most recent sixth season, which has not yet been added to Netflix). Described early on as The Sopranos with motorcycles, Sons is a good show to jump on now, ahead of next year’s final seasons, since it could become one of the most talked about series in 2014, with all the Hamlet-inspired deaths coming to fruition.
17. Bob’s Burgers (2 of 4) — Not quite as funny as H. Jon Benjamin’s other animated sitcom, Archer, Bob’s Burgers does have something Archer does not: A huge heart. Combine that with great musical numbers, and a madly addictive quality, and Bob’s Burgers is one of the most fun shows on Netflix with which to binge.
16. House of Cards (1 of 1 seasons) — Netflix’s first major foray into original programming was worth every cent of its $100 million production budget, featuring searing performances, a droll sense of humor, slick writing, engrossing plotlines, and Kevin Spacey chewing the face off the scenery.
15. Parks and Recreation (5 of 6 seasons) — Witty, heartfelt, and funny, you’re not likely to find a more likable sitcom than Parks and Recreation. The first six episodes aren’t very good, but once they figured out what to do with Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope, the sitcom began to thrive, thanks in huge part to its endearing supporting cast. Parks and Rec is blissful television.
14. The Office (US and UK, Complete Series of Both) — The original UK The Office mainstreamed Ricky Gervais’ awkward, uncomfortable humor, while The Office diluted it (some), layered in one of sitcom’s greatest romances (for four seasons, anyway), and surrounded Steve Carell with a remarkable, quirky supporting cast. The first four seasons still stand as the best workplace comedy in American sitcom history, even if the final four seasons were increasingly bad, though the series did redeem itself near the end.
13. Luther (2 of 3 seasons) — Maybe the bleakest, grittiest cop show you’ll ever see, Luther is so intense it may at times rattle your brain stem. But it is also pummelling great drama, and Idris Elba is a goddamn tour de force (Ruth Wilson is fantastic, too).
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