TTT - Top Ten Favourite TV Shows

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week a new topic is given and weeks topic is:

Top Ten Favourite TV Shows

As you probably know, I watch a lot of TV. I was so excited to see that last week's Top Ten Tuesday was all about stories in other formats, allowing me to showcase some of my favourite TV programs. I wrote out my list last Monday, but fell asleep before finishing the post and simply didn't have time to get it up on Tuesday. So, I decided to simply shift it back a week, and post two lists on the same day.

I briefly pondered making a list of movies, but the truth is that I just don't watch very many movies. I certainly don't find them nearly as memorable as TV shows. So despite the fact that I'm a week late with this list, I needed to post this nonetheless.

 

Shameless

I featured Shameless on my last TV Spotlight Thursday, so it's no surprise that it's showing up on this list. It's probably my absolute favourite TV show. There's honestly something for everyone on this show. Any description I could provide couldn't possibly do it justice. Just go watch it. Don't even bother reading the rest of this list, just go watch Shameless. Now.

Black Sails

Truly horrible promo photo aside, this is an awesome show. It's so much fun. I mean, it's about PIRATES! And one of the main characters, the dude with long hair in the middle there, was actually on Shameless for a while funnily enough. Anyway, Black Sails is a prequel to Treasure Island, though I'll admit that the only thing I knew about it when I started watching was that the two gorgeous ladies are in love with one another and it gets messy. Very messy. 

Faking It

Have you noticed a theme yet? I was really hesitant to watch this show because of the shock-value premise, but it's actually really good. I'll admit to crying during the season one finale. Poor baby Amy. ILU Amy Raudenfeld!

Orphan Black

This show has become huge, and for good reason. I was actually turned on to it when I happened to catch a commercial last summer, halfway through season one. I planned to watch the pilot before bed to see what it was about, as I had no idea. I ended up binging the five episodes that had yet been released. I was hooked. I never know what's going to happen next on this show. Every time I think I know where it's headed, it completely changes direction. It's incredible. Also, Tatiana Maslany plays like twelve characters. And she does is so freaking well that you forget that they're all the same actress. It's seamless.

Orange is the New Black
This show has been such a hit, especially season two. It seems like everybody is watching it (as they should be). It's a very special show about a woman, Piper Chapman, who is sentenced to fifteen months in prison for assisting the drug smuggling ring her ex-girlfriend was a part of. Piper is uprooted from her cushy life (the woman makes soap for a living. SOAP) and reunited with bad influence (also, super hot) Alex Vause. The big draw of Orange is the New Black isn't Piper, or even Alex. It's the way that it showcases the lives of so many incredible women who have made bad life choices to land them in prison. You feel for every single person on this show. Except Larry. Fuck Larry. And Vee, for that matter.

Parks & Recreation
Everyone should aspire to be like Leslie Knope. She's a little off beat, but she's hands down the best role model on TV. The first season is a little shaky, but it hits its stride in season two. My favourite thing about Parks & Rec is that, unlike most TV comedies, it doesn't get laughs by making fun of people for being passionate about something. Also, April/Andy & Leslie/Ben are the cutest couples ever.

Lost Girl
Okay, this show isn't for everyone. It's kind of (read: a lot) cheesy. It follows Bo, a bisexual succubus who discovers at the beginning of the series that she belongs to a world of Fae that most people don't know exists. She's extra special because, in a strict system of light fae and dark fae, Bo is unaligned. I'll admit, I don't watch Lost Girl for the plot... It gets kind of messy and hard to follow at times, but what always draws me back are Bo's relationships with Lauren, and later, Tamsin. Ugghhhhh Valkubus kills me. Also, Kenzi is the shit.

My Mad Fat Diary

As difficult as this show can be to watch at times, it's still one of my favourites. This is mostly because of how easily I relate to main character Rae Earl. She's something of a misfit, an overweight, depressed teenager who doesn't quite know where she fits into things. I was a lot like Rae when I was young, though I honestly think she's a bit more well-adjusted than I was. Now, I never went to some of the drastic measures that Rae did, but I was (and still sometimes am) the queen of self-sabotage. I certainly didn't have anyone like The Gang to help me through my teenage rough patch. I was as alone as Rae feels.

The Walking Dead
Okay, this show is a total clusterfuck and I don't give a shit about anything that happens because they keep killing off my favourite characters and letting fucking CARL live, but it started out pretty good. It keeps my interest and I end up watching every episode as it airs, so it must be doing something right. I just really really hate Rick Grimes. He's a hypocrite.

Broad City

This show is brilliant. Created by, written by, and starring in Broad City are real life close friends Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. The show follows the (fictionalized) lives of best friends Ilana and Abbi, and even the most mundane events become absolutely hilarious. Set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, Broad City has drawn a lot of comparisons to Girls. This makes sense, but the two shows are wildly different in tone (Broad City is way better, btw). The third episode is titled "Pussy Weed". Does that tell you enough? Also, Amy Poehler is one of the executive producers (and guest stars in an episode!). This show has made a humongous impression on me with only one short season and I'm sooooo ready for more. My one complaint is that I don't have a friend like Ilana in my own life (because let's be real, I'm totally an Abbi. I'm not cut out for the Ilana lifestyle!).This show is brilliant. Created by, written by, and starring in Broad City are real life close friends Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. The show follows the (fictionalized) lives of best friends Ilana and Abbi, and even the most mundane events become absolutely hilarious. Set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, Broad City has drawn a lot of comparisons to Girls. This makes sense, but the two shows are wildly different in tone (Broad City is way better, btw). The third episode is titled "Pussy Weed". Does that tell you enough? Also, Amy Poehler is one of the executive producers (and guest stars in an episode!). This show has made a humongous impression on me with only one short season and I'm sooooo ready for more. My one complaint is that I don't have a friend like Ilana in my own life (because let's be real, I'm totally an Abbi. I'm not cut out for the Ilana lifestyle!).


There are a couple of other shows that almost made this list, but that I just couldn't comfortably call my favourites. Two that first come to mind are Doctor Who and Game of Thrones. Theoretically, I love these shows. In principle, they're great. The execution, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. I really liked Doctor Who until Steven Moffat took the helm as showrunner, and I think he's been quickly running the show right into the ground. I can barely watch it anymore because it's just drowning in misogyny and unnecessary explosions. No thank you. I have some of the same problems with Game of Thrones - I love the source material (the books), but I think that the show has gone in the complete wrong direction. Not to mention some of the poor casting decisions (Daario Naharis, HELLO), I'm getting really sick of the choices the showrunners are making. Do we really need to see naked breasts in every single episode? Are they adding anything to the plot? Do we need attempted rape at every turn? I'm also really pissed off with some of the changes they've made to the narratives, particularly when it comes to Tyrion (whom I honestly don't really like, don't hurt me), Robb, and Catelyn. The main reason I continue watching is because Sophie Turner is an absolute star as Sansa, and Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell is a dream come true. They're everything I could have asked for and more, but they don't come close to cancelling out all of the horrors that I'm subjected to when they're off screen.

Sorry for my rant! Do you watch any of the shows I listed? Have I convinced you to give some of them a go? Are you a passionate TV junkie like me?