Need an engrossing show to keep my mind off the current madness

ShineOn7 · 17-04-2020 5:01pm

mayo londoner wrote: »

The Bodyguard is well worth a watch. Friday Night Lights is unreal, can be a bit cringe at times but I've watched the whole series 3 times, don't even need to be into sport to like it

I thought the Bodyguard was a poor man's Line Of Duty and didn't get the hype. Decent time filler if you havent seen it though

I tried a couple of episodes of Friday Night Lights a few years ago and may revisit. It's strange watching some older shows and seeing 24 episodes per season when 10/12 is the norm now for most high standard shows

ShineOn7 · 17-04-2020 5:05pm

arcticmonkeys wrote: »

The shield at one point was up there as my all time favorite shows still ranks up there at top 3 of all time though. If your into high-octane type cop shows I'd thoroughly recommend, last season is on par with breaking Bad as all time favorite finale.

Mentioned it in my OP. It's amazing TV

I'd definitely watch it all again in the future if it re-appeared on Netflix. I've only watched it from start to finish once

saabsaab · 17-04-2020 5:16pm

Don't know if someone has mentioned it but 'Killing Eve' is very good unpredictable and keeps you on your toes.

Maybe some vintage stuff too 'The likely lads' or 'The Avengers, with Steed and Mrs Peel' might not be your style but very watchable.

freddie1970 · 17-04-2020 5:22pm

Gomorrah is a great show that hasn't been mentioned here

Feasty · 17-04-2020 5:27pm

Tiger King

weetiepie · 17-04-2020 5:35pm

Killing eve as already mentioned is a good show, definitely worth a watch. Also ashes to ashes and life on Mars are brilliant. Would really recommend them.

Sherlock is also worth watching, watching it again at the moment with my other half as he has never seen it.

deathbomber · 17-04-2020 5:38pm

Breaking bad
Narcos (colombia version (not newer mexico)
Ozark is alright

dastardly00 · 17-04-2020 6:21pm

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Thanks. I've never seen it and last I remember it's number one on IMDB TV, voted the best TV show of all time by its users

Forget about any other suggestions, just go watch it

Northern lassie · 17-04-2020 6:59pm

Watching Babylon Berlin at the moment. From a recommendation on boards. Subtitled ... really enjoying it and would recommend it

killbillvol2 · 17-04-2020 7:06pm

I don't think The Americans was mentioned which surprises me. Great show that holds its quality to the end.

And also another vote for Mad Men and Life on Mars.

As you liked the Shield you'll probably like Southland.

galvo_clare · 17-04-2020 7:17pm

Loved Lilyhammer on Netflix. Steven Van Zandt plays a gangster who goes into witness protection and chooses Lilyhammer because he once saw the Winter Okympics come from there.
Very quickly he’s back to his old ways and the interaction with the locals is hilarious.
The odd bit is in Norwegian and sometimes they don’t have subtitles but you somehow feel you can understand Norwegian perfectly.
Think Sopranos with snow.

barney shamrock · 17-04-2020 7:22pm

Mindhunter is a slow burner worth a watch on Netflix.
I think there are 3 seasons.....and it's got Anna Torv in it!

geecee · 17-04-2020 7:27pm

is_that_so wrote: »

Marcella, Collateral, Wallander are a few others I'd add.

Just finished bingeing Unforgotten last weekend and started both Marcella and Collateral this week.
I find the background music in Collateral quite jarring, its way too loud so not sure if I can get through the series

To add a similar UK police Drama I highly recommend River (from 2015 with Stellan Skanskard), similar to Unforgotten and Collateral it also stars Nicola Walker. In my head, I kinda treat it like an Unforgotten Sequel!

Raven_k42 · 17-04-2020 7:41pm

+1 for Succession

Stand out show for me over the last while

shivermetimber · 17-04-2020 8:08pm

freddie1970 wrote: »

Gomorrah is a great show that hasn't been mentioned here

Gomorrah is overall probably one of the best and most engrossing show I've ever watched.

Jurgen Klopp · 17-04-2020 8:17pm

You wouldn't be into sci fi? I got absolutely sucked into the first season of The Expanse

FFVII · 17-04-2020 8:18pm

Everyone is different.

Luther on pg1, like, it rode the wave of season 1 for 3 more seasons of utter sh1te.

The wire -its ok
Breaking bad- it's ok

Always mentioned them to.

Personally thought house was great and Stargate, only 2 series I ever rewatched. Others will say wtf to them shows soooo, yea, threads like this are pointless.

Lizardlegz · 17-04-2020 8:19pm

My husbands all time favourite is “breaking bad”. Not sure if this ones been mentioned as didn’t read the next 6 pages but His next. Is “better call Saul”. We’re currently watching Ozark. But himself would really recommend better call Saul.

FFVII · 17-04-2020 8:21pm

Raven_k42 wrote: »

+1 for Succession

Stand out show for me over the last while

I couldn't get to the end of the first episode of that.

Lizardlegz · 17-04-2020 8:27pm

Ok OP... I’ve just read the rest of the thread and see you’ve watched “better call Saul”. And it seems you have the exact same taste as my OH! Anyway, he says you should try “Marco Polo”.

lsjmhar · 17-04-2020 8:56pm

Just watching this atm. Great show!!

Sherlock is also a good reworking of Sherlock holmes. Cumberbatch and Freeman are very good in it.

Snow Garden · 17-04-2020 9:02pm

ShineOn7 wrote: »

Watchmen was suggested as it was made by a Lost/Leftovers writer, but is it Marvel/DC World typical stuff? They normally aren't my kinda thing. I find the whole Marvel/Avengers "universe" a bit tedious

Yeah that Marvel stuff bores me too. Comments on your ideas...

The Wire:

I watched the first season but it never gripped me. I keep meaning to go back and try again.

Homeland:

Lost interest but was good for a while.

Game Of Thrones:

I just finished the last season 2 weeks ago. I thought it was an excellent final season.

Chernobyl:

Excellent. Well made. A must see.

Peaky Blinders:

I watched the first couple of season ages ago. Lost interest. My kids love it.

Snow Garden · 17-04-2020 9:04pm

barney shamrock wrote: »

Mindhunter is a slow burner worth a watch on Netflix.

+1 for Mindhunter

Also liked Unbelievable.

galaxy12 · 17-04-2020 9:12pm

A Norwegian mini series on netflix called 'the nobel' .It's excellent .

ixoy · 17-04-2020 9:23pm

On some of the suggestions:

'The Wire' - Excellent show. Great scope and coverage in themes as well as attention to detail. I liked it straight away (was a fan of 'Homicide: Life on the Street'). Deserving of its cult status. Also worth a watch is 'The Deuce' about the sex trade in New York - same writer as 'The Wire'.

'Succession' - Really enjoyed this. It's a drama with dark comic elements. Most of the cast are horrible but so well written. Extremely sharp dialogue.

'Peaky Blinders' - First couple of seasons are good but then it falls off a cliff in quality. Better shows out there.

'Justified' - A very smart show about a US Marshall. The first season is a little "story of the week" but it really picks up after that. Some of the best dialogue I've heard, outside of 'Deadwood' (also staring Timothy Olyphant).

'Gomorrah' - Yes, a good recommendation. A modern take on crime in Naples. All too believable. If you like this, then try 'Top Boy: Summerhouse' and 'Top Boy' on Netflix.

geecee · 17-04-2020 9:27pm

The Night Manager is also worthy of a mention... Although still waiting on Season 2

17-04-2020 9:31pm

+1 on The Boys. It's on Amazon which is why I don't thinking it's getting the love it deserves, it's brilliant and there's a couple of great subversions that work on multiples levels.

kaji · 17-04-2020 10:23pm

Battlestar Gallactica- thought I wouldn't like it at all but was hooked after about 5 episodes.

artvanderlay · 17-04-2020 10:25pm

arcticmonkeys wrote: »

The shield at one point was up there as my all time favorite shows still ranks up there at top 3 of all time though. If your into high-octane type cop shows I'd thoroughly recommend, last season is on par with breaking Bad as all time favorite finale.

The Shield is on Channel 4 On Demand - free to watch, but video quality isn't the best.

17-04-2020 10:37pm

The Americans..

I don't know did it go under the radar or what, but it's the best thing I watched in ages.. Although you have to download it I think..

Babylon Berlin is brilliant too as someone was saying..

killbillvol2 · 17-04-2020 10:41pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The Americans..

I don't know did it go under the radar or what, but it's the best thing I watched in ages.. Although you have to download it I think..

Babylon Berlin is brilliant too as someone was saying..

The Americans is on Amazon Prime

17-04-2020 11:08pm

killbillvol2 wrote: »

The Americans is on Amazon Prime

It's absolutely brilliant..

ixoy · 17-04-2020 11:11pm

Deleted User wrote: »

It's absolutely brilliant..

It is. Not only that, it finishes *very* strongly and there's very few shows that I'd say that about.

gmisk · 17-04-2020 11:11pm

killbillvol2 wrote: »

I don't think The Americans was mentioned which surprises me. Great show that holds its quality to the end.

And also another vote for Mad Men and Life on Mars.

As you liked the Shield you'll probably like Southland.

I mentioned it

It is a cracking show, it had me hooked in the first episode especially with the music!

noodler · 17-04-2020 11:14pm

Battlestar

Longmire

Luther

17-04-2020 11:21pm

ixoy wrote: »

It is. Not only that, it finishes *very* strongly and there's very few shows that I'd say that about.

Haha.. yeah, what an ending.. but like, the whole thing from start to finish was absolute quality..

holly8 · 17-04-2020 11:23pm

No Offense... or is it No Offence....always recommending this. On Ch4 app. As is lots of other great stuff ...

jellybear · 17-04-2020 11:25pm

Boardwalk Empire would get my vote

Sam Hain · 17-04-2020 11:25pm

Snow Garden wrote: »

+1 for Mindhunter

Also liked Unbelievable.

Mindhunter is superb. Unbelievable is dirt.

urgelgru · 17-04-2020 11:37pm

Mostly ones that have been mentioned but:

Another vote for Succession. I dropped it after first episode but tried it again nearly a year later after reading some good reviews and was hooked

Damages - each season has quite a different storyline and lots of twists and turns. Glenn Close chews the scenery a bit

Bosch - thought the first episode was very clichéd (maverick cop who doesn't play by his own rules...) but I stuck with it and burned through four seasons very quickly. 5th is just about to drop I think.

The Boys - I don't normally care for comic book type things but this was a nice twist on it. Actually I ended up liking a couple of other comic book things - Umbrella Academy and Doom Patrol. Both quite weird but watchable. I have zero interest in Marvel or the "mainstream" DC shows. (Doom Patrol is DC I believe)

Also watched Hunters recently. Very watchable, but last ep a bit of a mindfup! More scenery chewing, this time from Al Pacino.

I quite enjoyed last season of GOT.

I literally only finished the Shield after years of "meaning to watch it". Excellent stuff.

I also watched Chernobyl this week but had to fast forward through a few scenes. Harrowing.

Can't remember if Mad Men mentioned. I'd love to go back and rewatch but hard to justify when there's so much damn tv out there!

Also Line of Duty - I think its getting a bit played out now at this stage but I'll stick with it to the end!

The Night of - based on a UK show called Criminal Justice, which was good in itself but I preferred the American version

burgershack · 18-04-2020 12:07am

+ 1 for Band of Brothers

Happy Valley,

Broken,

or if you really want a good laugh try Frasier. complete series is on RTE player

Klonker · 18-04-2020 12:38am

Some great shows mentioned here already OP. Of what I've seen of them I couldn't recommend Mindhunter and The Boys (not as serious as the shows you mentioned but it's great fun) enough.

Of what's not mentioned so far I'd have to recommend Rectify to anyone who hasn't seen it (which is almost everyone). It's a straight up drama dealing with a lot of heavy themes and has great performances. It has 4 seasons and 30 episodes but I rathered not binge it and took my time with it and let episodes sink in but that might be just me (I had similar experience with The Leftovers).

Brief synopsis - 'Daniel Holden is jailed as a teen for supposedly committing the rape and murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend Hanna. He spends 19 years on death row. But fresh DNA evidence invalidates his conviction.'

Arghus · 18-04-2020 1:43am

I'll add to what every second person is saying on here - Succession. Outstanding show.

Some people have mentioned The Americans. I can only agree. The first season is maybe a bit lower in quality than what comes after, but from there on it's pure quality. Extremely tense. Very well acted. Brutal and unforgiving at times.

Something completely different is the two seasons of American Vandal on Netflix. People who I know who have tried the show tend to fall into two camps. The first camp can't get past the silly humour. The other camp absolutely love it. It's probably my favourite show on Netflix. A lot of the knowingly juvenile and vulgar humour is front loaded in the first 2-3 episodes of Season One, but after that it becomes an increasingly engrossing mystery. And it's really smart, deceptively smart. I fcking love this show. It's far better then it has any right to be. It's a silly comedy on the surface, but it's really an exploration of the pressures of modern teenage life and differences in class and privilege. And the mystery they weave for season two is positively Hitchcockian in its suspense and its execution. It is a criminally overlooked show. Seriously, people should watch American Vandal.

urgelgru · 18-04-2020 8:37am

Klonker wrote: »

Of what's not mentioned so far I'd have to recommend Rectify to anyone who hasn't seen it (which is almost everyone). It's a straight up drama dealing with a lot of heavy themes and has great performances. It has 4 seasons and 30 episodes but I rathered not binge it and took my time with it and let episodes sink in but that might be just me (I had similar experience with The Leftovers).

Brief synopsis - 'Daniel Holden is jailed as a teen for supposedly committing the rape and murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend Hanna. He spends 19 years on death row. But fresh DNA evidence invalidates his conviction.'

Damn, I'm annoyed with myself that I forgot about Rectify! It's so absolutely perfect in every way.

Plumbthedepths · 18-04-2020 8:42am

Narcos and Narcos Mexico. Both are predominantly in Spanish but after a while you forget and just read the subtitles.

Alf Veedersane · 18-04-2020 8:52am

Most of my recommendations have been mentioned already but a couple of good ones that I'm a bit surprised haven't been mentioned are The Killing (the Danish one) and The Bridge. Really enjoyed both of those. Probably not on Netflix but surely possible to get them somewhere

Also think Fauda is very good...it's on Netflix.

All three have subtitles.

Bigbooty · 18-04-2020 9:42am

Years and years is pretty good. Been watching that.

The_Honeybadger · 18-04-2020 9:59am

shivermetimber wrote: »

Gomorrah is overall probably one of the best and most engrossing show I've ever watched.

My favourite show ever, it’s simply superb. Ciro is one of those characters that you can’t help but root for even though he is a horrible excuse for a human being

I think a lot of people avoid stuff with subtitles because they feel they’re too much work but they don’t bother me at all, in fact they force you to pay attention rather than be faffing around on the phone etc

zac8 · 18-04-2020 10:30am

artvanderlay wrote: »

The Shield is on Channel 4 On Demand - free to watch, but video quality isn't the best.

Just started watching it on Sky. Nothing wrong with the quality there if you have it.

Mantis Toboggan · 18-04-2020 10:35am

Mindhunter, Ozark and Fargo probably the best shows on Netflix.

Also quite enjoyed Stranger Things, haunting of Hill house and Sex Education. Always sunny in philadelphia or peep show if you're looking for a laugh.

Loads of excellent documentaries and true crime stuff also on Netflix to keep you going until 2021.