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So instead of considering this a definitive list of the\u00a0Best TV Shows of 2014<\/strong><\/a>, let\u2019s just call it\u00a0my favorite shows of the year. Your mileage will almost certainly\u00a0vary\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n FARGO<\/strong><\/a>– Like many Coen Brothers fans, I was skeptical about this adaptation of their black comedy classic from the get-go. But by matching the film\u2019s style, aesthetic and location with equally quirky characters and a new storyline filled with dark twists and turns, creator Noah Hawley crafted something uniquely brilliant in its own right. Stellar performances from Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Bob Odenkirk, Colin Hanks, Kate Walsh, Oliver Platt and especially relative newcomer Allison Tolman anchored one of TV\u2019s most solid acting ensembles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TRUE DETECTIVE<\/strong><\/a>– Playing out more like an 8-hour film than episodic television, Nic Pizzolatto\u2019s pulpy potboiler incorporated influences such as Poe, Lovecraft and William S. Burroughs into TV\u2019s most compelling murder mystery. The swampy\u00a0Louisiana setting served to enhance the serial killer story\u2019s Southern Gothic sense of noir, with religion, philosophy and the supernatural ratcheting the tension up to 11. Landing Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson for the leads was a stroke of genius. It’ll be curious to see if\/how Pizzolatto tops himself with season two.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n GAME OF THRONES<\/strong><\/a>– \u00a0The series\u2019 best year in terms of critical acclaim (see: 94% rating on Metacritic) and viewership (around 7 million), season four saw the deaths of two arch villains\u2013 cruel King Joffrey and his scheming grandpa Tywin Lannister\u2013 not to mention the emasculation of heel Theon Greyjoy. Those stunning episodes bookended a season in which all hell broke loose, with marauding wildlings, an epic attack on Castle Black, the advance of Stannis Baratheon\u2019s army, out-of-control dragons, and the impending threat of White Walkers beyond the wall. Winter may be coming, but \u2028\u2028spring can’t come soon enough!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n MAD MEN<\/strong><\/a>– After several uneven seasons, Matthew Weiner\u2019s period drama focused on the advertising industry in the 1960s finally regained its footing. Though the first seven episodes were called \u201cThe Beginning,\u201d it\u2019s really the beginning of the end, both for the show and the era that provides its socio-political backdrop. The dissolution\u00a0of Don Draper\u2019s marriage to Megan surprised no one, but Don\u2019s firing from Sterling Cooper & Pryce, the unexpected death of Bert Cooper and the 1969 moon landing left fans\u00a0with\u00a0one helluva cliffhanger. Can\u2019t wait to see how the show will end.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER<\/strong><\/a>– \u00a0As Stephen Colbert left\u00a0Comedy Central for Letterman\u2019s chair and Jon Stewart became as familiar as a cozy sweater, John Oliver proved he\u2019s the next great talent to emerge from The Daily Show<\/em> with this sharp, satirical look at current events. Free from the restraints of basic cable (and its advertisers), Oliver\u2019s scathing wit brought incisive, intelligent skewering of stories on immigration reform, the shooting of Michael Brown, global warming and more. It’s arguably TV\u2019s best news show, comedic or otherwise.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n HANNIBAL<\/strong><\/a>– The creative visionary behind Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls<\/em> and Pushing Daisies<\/em>, Bryan Fuller has a history of crafting inventive shows that are cancelled before they find an audience. Let’s hope\u00a0that doesn’t happen to Hannibal<\/em>, his take on Thomas Harris\u2019 novels about FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lechter (Mads Mikkelson). It\u2019s arguably among the best casts on network TV, and the most gorgeously shot psychological horror you\u2019ve ever seen. Thankfully NBC has picked up the under-appreciated show for a third season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE WALKING DEAD<\/strong><\/a>– \u00a0It\u2019s become fashionable to dismiss AMC\u2019s zombie drama as \u201ctoo slow.\u201d But Season 5 started out with a bang (the showdown with the cannibals at Terminus) and never really let up, from the return of Carol and Morgan Jones (the guy who saved Rick way back in Season 1) and the death of fan favorite Bob to the revelation that Eugene is a fraud and the climactic death of Beth in the mid-season finale. The truth is that this show was never about zombies, but the horror of a post-apocalyptic world and the evil that men will do to survive it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n JANE THE VIRGIN<\/strong><\/a>– I didn\u2019t want to like this loose adaptation of Perla Far\u00edas\u2019 Venezuelan telenovela, but the comedic soap immediately won me over with its charm, wit and visual flights of fancy that recalled quirky comedies such as Ally McBeal<\/em> and Eli Stone<\/em>. As Jane Gloriana Villanueva, Gina Rodriguez is a revelation of girl-next-door sweetness, but her supporting cast (particularly Jaime Camil as her telenovela star father and Anthony Mendez as the unseen narrator) are all equally charming. Easily among 2014\u2019s best new shows.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>GOLDBERGS<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/a>– \u00a0Arguably TV\u2019s most underrated sitcom, The Goldbergs<\/em> is an \u201880s flashback filled with warm heart and a twisted soul. The characters\u2013 aspiring filmmaker Adam, his adoring smother Beverly, curmudgeonly father Murray, Don Juan of a grandpa and bickering older siblings Barry and Erica\u2013 are as crazy and colorful as anything this side of Seinfeld<\/em>. But, as the homemade video tapes creator\/writer Adam Goldberg shows at the end of each episode reveal, virtually every childhood memory he shares about them is 100% based in truth. It truly is stranger than fiction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n HISTORICAL DRAMAS<\/strong>– Yes, I\u2019m cheating here. No, I don\u2019t care. The blood-drenched final season of HBO\u2019s Boardwalk Empire<\/em><\/a> (based on true stories of organized crime during Prohibition), the even more blood-drenched hand-to-hand combat of History Channel\u2019s Vikings<\/em><\/a> (based on Old Norse sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok), the rollicking pirate mayhem of Starz\u2019 Black Sails<\/em><\/a> (set during 18th century\u2019s Golden Age of piracy) and FX\u2019s The Americans<\/em><\/a> (a Cold War spy thriller) each brought epic periods of history to life in creative, invigorating ways that made them relatable to 21st century audiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n HONORABLE MENTIONS-<\/strong>\u00a0Black-ish, Broad City, Gotham, Louie, Silicon Valley, Sons of Anarchy \u00a0 \u2013by Bret Love<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you enjoyed our Top 10 TV shows of 2014, you might also like:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Game of Thrones Season 4 DVD\/Blu-Ray Review<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Better Call Saul: An Interview with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n![\"Fargo](\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/fargo.jpg\")
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