6. Community (2009- )
The show stars the comedian/actor from The Soup, Joel McHale. At the first episodes, the show focuses on him, but the spotlight eventually spreads out to the other members of the study group, which is for the best.
I am not a fan of single-camera sitcoms, but this show is the exception. I'd go as far as to say this is the sitcom of the 2010's... if it wasn't on the brink of cancellation. Ratings for each consecutive season premieres have been dropping, but thank the FOX gods who renewed the show for another one.
Although it shines in its 'normal' episodes, the best parts of the show are when things get so out of this world like the paintball episodes, puppet episodes (where everyone looks like they live in Sesame Street), timeline episode and even an 8-bit episode at the end of season 3!
The first couple of episodes aren't that funny, as the show was still trying to look for a comfort zone. However, the charm of the show sticks on you and you'll find yourself sucked into the world of Greendale Community College! #sixseasonsandamovie
5. Being Human (US) (2010- )
Based on the UK TV series of the same name, Syfy's take on Being Human is a success. After the murder of the States on UK shows such as Freaks and Geeks (MTV), Shameless & the inevitable future US remake of Downton Abbey, it's a relief that Being Human beat the odds.
The show is about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who live in a house together and try to deal with supernatural problems. Although the three main characters have their own individual problems, the show excels when they interact with each other. Aidan, the vampire, has probably the least number of good plots compared to Sally's, the ghost. In fact, in the second season, the attention is directed to Aidan and vampire politics, and those are the most boring parts of the show by far.
All in all, the first season is must-watch TV excelled by Sally's storylines.
4. Awkward. (2011- )
MTV isn't really the Holy Grail for good TV, but the network, who has been playing less and less music by the year, is responsible for 2 of the 6 shows in this list. One of them is Awkward.
A totally average high-school girl, Jenna Hamilton, goes through teenage drama. Sounds boring? Not really. The show has wit, familiar coming-of-age storylines and a good ol' love triangle.
The first season focuses on a letter Jenna receives at the pilot episode that drives her to suicide... only she didn't really try to commit suicide. Because of the letter, she becomes injured and the laughing stock in school. To top it all off, popular football guy, Matty, gives Jenna mixed signals and they just have to define. Define. Their. Relatonship.
The second season, way better than the first, focuses on the love triangle between Matty and best friend, Jake. Although the season finale was very disappointing, the rest of the episodes are the highlights of the series. The third season is good stuff, but hasn't topped the Season 2 days.
This show is the definition of guilty pleasure, but it has rightfully earned its' title.
3. Big Brother (US/Canada) (2000- )
You know, I'd understand if you hated Big Brother. For every person who likes reality TV, there are two people who hates every show in the genre. Reality TV has constantly given us trainwrecks (Honey Boo Boo, Keeping Up With The Kardashians...) and blamed for the downfall of some great axed shows. However, there is a reason why reality shows hasn't died yet. One reason: Big Brother.
Big Brother is a CBS gem that gives us what a great TV show provides: drama, laughs and even love. What differentiates this from the others is the mind games. In the show, contestants usually compare it to chess, because of its' logic-based gameplay.
Contestants, known as HouseGuests, are locked inside the house for 60+ days to gain power and evict each other. It's complicated to explain with all the mechanics, but after a week into the game, it's very simple to follow.
The best and worst parts of the game come from the twists. On the first episode, a twist is placed onto the game, the best ones being BB14's Coach Twist, BB12's Saboteur Twist (although it was executed poorly and ended badly) & BB6's Duo Twist. Also, there are gamechangers placed in the middle of the game that are on the brink of producer manipulation. The Canadian version is notorious for this. In the end, however, the contestant who wins it all deserves the $500,000 prize given to them.
So you want to watch Big Brother, but don't know which season you should watch? The best one is 6. I'd suggest 14 too, but it has major spoilers from previous seasons.
2. Teen Wolf (2011- )
Teen Wolf is aimed for girls, let's face it. The cast is beautiful physically, and a lot of shirtless scenes from the guys. That's to be expected from a werewolf series though.
Based on the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie, the teen supernatural drama focuses on Scott McCall, played by Tyler Posey, who becomes a werewolf at the start of the pilot. The first few episodes focuses on Scott adapting to changes, hiding his secret from others and his complicated love life with newbie in town, Allison. See, Allison's father is a werewolf hunter! Dun dun dun...
The plot becomes quite complex in the middle, when the Alpha is introduced. Season 1 is good, but Season 2 is great. With the show being aimed at girls, you'd expect more sappy love plots. Teen Wolf in its' first season is filled with them, with the Scott-Allison-Jackson triangle and the Stiles-Lydia-Jackson triangle, but in the second season, it focuses less on the romances but more on the Big Bad. Its' most popular couple isn't from those triangles, but instead from the non-canon gay pairing of Stiles-Derek.
The best parts of the show are the star-crossed storyline between Scott and Allison, the jokes that pop up from time to time and when things get, for a lack of a better term, wolfy. The show's weaknesses are the boring fight scenes which are thankfully short and slow start, but it becomes more fast-paced as it goes on.
1. The Lying Game (2010- )
Season 2 ended three months ago, and I'm still getting goosebumps from the finale. Sadly, ABC Family, the worst TV network to air your show in (if you want to air a TV show aimed at girls, air it on CW or MTV, just not ABC Family), is still deciding whether or not to continue the show.
The Lying Game, I've been told, is a better-executed Ringer. The show is based on the Sara Shepard books, but it doesn't really follow them, for the better. In the first season, twin sisters, Emma and Sutton, were separated at birth and discover each other online. Emma takes Sutton's place while the latter searches for their birth mother. Because of the switch, things get complicated when Sutton's boyfriend, Ethan, falls in love with Emma! However, I'd say the love triangle among the three is one of the weaker points of the show.
Just like Pretty Little Liars, one of its' biggest strength is when the show focuses on trying to solve the central mystery. The first 10 episodes are just OK when the love story dominates, but after those episodes, the show becomes much, much better.
Then, season 2 is in another league. The show knows it's sooo soapy, and the plot excels because of that. The mere 10 episodes of season 2 are the best TV in a while.
The Lying Game's fate is probably sealed, but my fingers are still crossed that it will get renewed by the network. It ended on a huge cliffhanger with lots of unanswered questions that I want answered now! If you want a soap opera-esque show with mysteries on top, this is the show for you.
All images grabbed from Google Images. I don't own them.
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