Three time Golden Globe (Portugal) winner Joaquim de Almeida ("Desperado", "Fast Five").
Peter Gadiot ("Once Upon a Time in Wonderland", "Tut").
Ratings:
IMDB: 74% Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (based on 4.3/5 average rating as of August 2016)
Length:
season 1: 13 episodes.
Notes:
Fast-paced and interesting, this show is a well-made example of simple television. It doesn't try too hard or bore with long, drawn out plot set-up. You don't have to suffer through most of an episode to figure out what's going on, or decide if you even like it. Queen of the South hits the ground running, with likable characters and an entertaining story line. The general audience seems to enjoy it a lot more than professional critics. Maybe because it's not very artistic or gory and it's not cerebral. However the writing flows well and it's fun.
IMDB: 82% Rotten Tomatoes: 72% (based on score of 7.2/10 critics), 70% (based on score of 3.5/5 audience)
Length:
season 1: 10 episodes.
Notes:
There are a few painful cliches, but it's a fun show with an interesting opening. Reed Diamond seems to get cast as an asshole a lot. Most recently, he was the defense department rep that tried to exploit the psychics in "Minority Report". Here he plays a cruel plantation owner. Certain characters (notably the plantation owner's wife) could use a little more subtlety from the writers, but for the most part the others seem to have a lot of potential depth. The music in the first episode is stellar, overseen by exec producer John Legend. It helps make the show's goal seem geared to be entertainment, rather than politically correct social commentary.
Our world, centuries in the future, during which Mars and the asteroid belt have been colonized. Earth and Mars are independent powers, but rely on the asteroid belt for resources. The three regions are on the verge of war with each other.
Cast:
Three time Golden Globe niminee Thomas Jane ("Hung" 2009, "The Mist" 2007, "Face/Off" 1997).
Wes Chatham ("The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" 2014, "In the Valley of Elah" 2007).
Ratings:
IMDB: 76% (New series with > 200 reviews) Rotten Tomatoes: N/A (New Series)
Length:
season 1: 10 episodes.
Notes:
Syfy President, Dave Howe, claims "The Expanse is epic in scale and scope and promises to be Syfy's most ambitious series to date". We'll see if that holds true. Based on the first episode, which was released early, the show looks interesting. Production values are pretty good. Casting is unimpressive.
Rufus Sewell ("Dark City" 1998, "The Illusionist" 2006).
Ratings:
IMDB: 84% Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (based on 4.5/5 average rating as of nov 2015).
Length:
season 1: 10 episodes.
Notes:
No patience required here. Suspense builds quickly in this very engaging "what if", as events rush towards seeming disaster. Each episode is well done. Unfortunately, the very brief and simple ending feels like a cop-out after the the detail provided by previous episodes. Expect to be entertained. Don't expect a clever ending.
Two time Fangoria Chainsaw Award winner (!) Bruce Campbell ("Burn Notice", "The Evil Dead").
Ratings:
IMDB: 90% Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (based on 4.6/5 average rating as of Oct 2015). Note: The second season has a 100% "critics's consensus" on Rotten Tomatoes.
Length:
season 1: 10 episodes. season 2: (current) 10 episodes.
Notes:
A superlative entry in a golden age of TV, "Fargo" distinguishes itself with a unique blend of comedy, drama and weirdness. Perfectly timed bursts of intensity occur against the dull matter-of-fact backdrop of middle-american suburbia. Characters stand out. Most are flawed, well layered, interesting, likable, and all drawn from masterful writing. This one is a treat, first pointed out by Myk.
The disastrous personal and professional life of a famous news anchor, who is given a talk show.
Cast:
Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Patrick Stewart ("Star Trek", "X-Men").
Adrian Scarborough ("The King's Speech (2010)", "Les Misérables Les Misérables (2012)").
Richard Lewis ("Leaving Las Vegas", "Robin Hood: Men in Tights").
Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Ed Begley Jr. ("St. Elsewhere").
Ratings:
IMDB: 77% Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (based on average audience rating of 4.3/5 as of Oct 2015). However it's important to note that the "critics review" (53%) is much lower than the audience score.
Length:
season 1: 10 episodes.
Notes:
A formally trained British actor, long associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, Captain Picard is also science fiction royalty. This Star Trek icon and fixture in Marvel's "X-Men" movie franchise, who has also been knighted by the Queen of England, brings some Hollywood star power to Starz network. Unfortunately critics hate "Blunt Talk", considering it a poorly written "waste of Patrick Stewart's considerable gifts" (Rotten tomatoes' "critics consensus"). In my opinion, Stewart really shines in serious roles rather than comedy, but his effort to depart from the type of roles he traditionally plays, by taking on "Blunt Talk", is still something we should appreciate. At times, his regal voice (which advertisers love) makes him seem a little stiff for comedy, but a genuine, natural, fun-loving nature works it's way through, despite his rather proper manner of speaking. He has a magnetic screen presence and the end result is quite entertaining.
season 1: 6 episodes. season 2: 13 episodes. season 3: 16 episodes. season 4: 16 episodes. season 5: 16 episodes. season 6: (current) 16 episodes.
Notes:
This is the oldest surviving "zombie show" for a reason: It's the most watched cable series in history, with recent seasons eclipsing viewership of any broadcast television series as well as cable. Is it great? Certainly not, but many aspects of it are pretty good, resulting in broad appeal. The characters are generally likable and the story line is interesting. Early seasons of the show drag a little, with notably slower-paced plot lines and long periods of inactivity, but the pace picks up in the third season. Later seasons still have "throwaway episodes" (my opinion) where little or nothing happens, but for the most part they are more action-oriented than the early ones. Definitely worth watching, but it probably won't top your list.
