The Sopranos.
Widely considered to be the show that kicked off the gritty drama series' like The Wire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, etc.
I think The Shield deserves a bit of credit for that, too.
this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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The Americans
Deep cover Soviet spies in the 80s, living like a normal American family, when an FBI Counter-Intelligence agent moves in across the street, and they become "friends."
Like Breaking Bad, you are placed in a position of rooting for the enemy.
The Leftovers
12 Monkeys (season 1 is basically the movie)
Black Sails
Don’t watch the new netflix show Zero Day it sucks.
Don't sleep on Orange is the new black.
Deadwood. Show starts with a bang and then the 1st season takes its time to introduce characters and what motivates them. Then the next two season takes a deep, detailed dive into those varied lives in that richly detailed setting. Stellar performances by many top tier actors as well.
This was one of my suggestions as well.
I always watched it with captions because the Shakespearian-ish language could be hard to follow sometimes. Not in a bad way, it was actually fun. I remember a scene where the dumb mayor is getting his orders from Swearingen, and finally whines in frustration (paraphrasing) "I don't understand what you are talking about!"
Truly great show in evey way - writing, directing, acting, production design, costumes, etc.
Yeah I’ve always thought about this and heard it’s pretty stellar but wanted something to binge a bit more than 2 seasons. They did make a follow up movie some years later right?
There are three season and a movie released a couple of years later that nicely ties up a lot of loose ends
Succession.
its almost unbearable in its ugliness, i love it.
I say this. Succession is truly the only show that comes any close to the realism and impact of The Wire.
Very few shows measure up. One I haven’t seen mentioned that I liked more than I expected was Treme. I think it was created by the same team as the wire.
Treme is superb.
Very much unknown and underrated.
The sopranos.Up there with how good as the acting is the wire.Plus i think it has more watchabillty.
I watched The Sorpranos twice but maybe it’s time for a 3rd viewing. Although I might rewatch GoT again before I explore that…
Crime shows: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Mind Hunter, Homicide: Life on the Streets
Sci-fi: Travelers, season 1 of Altered Carbon, The Expanse, Firefly, Stargate SG-1
Comedy: Limitless, Community, Better Off Ted, Archer, Arrested Development, King of the Hill
Limitless is a comedy? I read the book and saw the movie, and neither was a comedy.
There is only one season of Altered Carbon
Yes, and there is no last season of Game of Thrones or True Blood lol
I'd add Andor to the sci-fi section, it's exceptionally good.
Common Side Effects, too.
Nice to see a Star Wars series that wasn't about the Jedi, for a change.
And Scavengers Reign.
Le Bureau des Légendes. Or "The Bureau". Truly believable spies TV series. It's been adapted very poorly and soulless as The Agency, but the French original remains some of the very top notch TV. I'm not French but i couldn't stop watching this thing.
Also, Slow Horses is great too, but how they seem to need to up the ante each season is making it a bit hard to believe.
Hmmm hadn’t heard of this one. I will look into it. Thanks for the rec!
"Le bureau des légendes" spoiled every spy shows for me. It's soul wrenching.
And "Slow Horses" was gritty and enthralling.
We've got the same taste! Any other shows you'd advise?
I mean, we got a bit spoiled after The Bureau I'm afraid. But before I saw this, I would have recommended you many of the many John Le Carré novel adaptations, and there's quite a few: The Night Manager, and maybe also The Little Drummer Girl
(These are movies) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Constant Gardener
There's quite a bunch more, and many of them are really good. Of course, I also recommend reading his novels, too, as he's an ex-MI5/MI6 himself, before turning to writing.
And then I'd like to throw in another I consider really great... I've also enjoyed the sadly cancelled TV show, a mix between sci-fi and cold-war spying plots Counterpart. It's two seasons, and it's a pity that it ends prematurely because it was a really interesting world-building. A lot of very good actors on this one. I'd still recommend a watch even if it ends in a disappointing unfinished cliffhanger.
The Wire is a show like they don’t really make anymore, requiring you to pay attention and take it in. It can’t be binged and must be taken in slowly which is antithesis of most of modern TV, even the prestige shows don’t slow down for world building like that these days.
Mr. Robot
They lost me that season he was in prison, but they tried to trick you that he wasn't. They try too hard to mindfuck and be deep in that show
Yeah I remember watching the first season back when it came out. I need to pick it back up!
Contemporary with the Wire is the Sopranos. Rewatched it not too long ago and it really stands up (skipping over a spectacularly misjudged vfx shot in season 2). Apologies if this is an obvious one!
Now hear me out on this next one, but the original series of Babylon 5 was way way ahead of its time in terms of a recurring storyline. Again the effects are a product of the times but the writing is excellent, I think.
Deadwood
Slow Horses
The Wire is also my favorite. I think I know how you feel because no show ever seems to hold up to it.
That being said, The Sopranos had some incredible writing and character development.
Yeah I should’ve listed I’ve seen what most people consider the masterpieces like The Sorpranos. Certainly one of my favorites!
To me, peaky blinders, top boy, and although shorter snabba cash had a similar sprawling storyline following the different characters and how they interacted through the different layers of society as well as over time.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. They're close, but still not the same level.
I had seen breaking bad originally but recently rewatched it and then binged Better Call Saul. They were both super great!
It's been a while since I watched it so not sure how it has stood the test of time, but Oz made a big impression on me. Brutal, but great TV.
I’ve thought about giving it a go but I’ve also heard his hasn’t aged so well.