The Iris’ 14 Best TV Series of 2014

14-best-shows-2014

We look back at the 14 TV shows that we couldn’t get enough of in 2014…

14. Banshee

This little known series produced by one the more low brow networks in the US (Cinemax), has a plenty of thrills and was one of the more underrated shows of the past couple of years. This series is absurd, there is just so much happening in this small country town between murderous Amish crime lords, the Native American casino, a neo-nazi community and combine that with the sheriff being an ex-con who committing a very big case of identity fraud you have yourself one complex town! – Morgan Cole

13.  Hannibal

 ….it’s gruesome and visually captivating at the same time. Mads mikkelsen makes a great Hannibal Lecter. – Nena Serafim

Mads Mikkelsen brings a terror to Hannibal that you really feel no one else is capable of, turning an already feared, iconic character into a whole new beast. The sometimes ‘case by case’ format benefits from the inventive writing, playing right alongside the overarching mythology that is getting richer with every episode. If you want stylish and engaging character-driven horror than there is nothing on TV quite like Hannibal. – Chris Singh

12. Masters of Sex

A series that manages to make the science of sex interesting while also showing the cultural shifts that occurred in 1950s America, during the time of the emerging sexual revolution. Greys Anatomy meets Mad Men. – Nena Serafim

11. The Feed

Delivering a daily show that is regularly entertaining, funny, topical and free from the meaningless fodder that we have to deal with on Australian Current Affairs programs is no easy task – but the team at the SBS 2 program The Feed continually do this on a daily basis and we can’t help but make sure they’re recognised in this list. There’s no equal in Australia. – Larry Heath

10. Sons of Anarchy

As a show, Sons of Anarchy grew past being fodder for a TV audience who liked their bikies roughed up, their onscreen sex and violence uncompromising and their storylines straightforward. In Hunnam’s Jax, audiences were given a new troubled protagonist to fall in love with and champion and, following this rather obvious Hamlet structure, it was a great hook from the first Harley rev. The cards were excellently dealt early on, with the action driven well by a great cast; in Ron Perlman’s Clay and Katey Sagal’s Gemma, we were shown early on that there was no clear black and white, just multiple shades of grey, when it come to villainy within the ranks. The resounding notion and importance of family that permeated through each season of Sons remained a cause of the main violent story arcs right up until the end but in Sutter’s and the writing team’s talented scripts, the audience still finds themselves trying to gain perspective on what twisted place of love and protectiveness these people and their actions come from. (Read Sosefina Fuamoli’s full article HERE)

9. VEEP

VEEP continued its stellar run with an excellent third season in 2014. Its talented cast led by the always amazing Julia Louis-Dreyfuss made the most out of the intelligent and biting script. A searingly brilliant behind the scenes look at politics, the show is fast-paced, witty and perhaps a little too true even when at its most ridiculous. – Kimberley Veart

8. Person of Interest

As the world of Person of Interest continues to become more complex, establishing one of the greatest mythologies since The X-Files, Season 4 brings in a whole heap of new challenges for the dynamic team of Finch, Reese, Shaw, and Root. With two godly AI’s now battling it out on a huge scale, the ever-evolving landscape of NYC feels like a far cry from the procedural case-by-case drama we thought this show would be when it first started out. There really is no question that POI is one of the most unique and exciting shows on TV. – Chris Singh

7. Parks and Recreation

 How I love Amy Poehler, let me count the ways. This year we’ll have to say a sad goodbye to the eccentric crew from Pawnee Indiana as Parks and Rec moves to its final season, but if its 2014 season is anything to go by its going to be a great send off. The best thing about this comedy is the warm heart at the centre of it all, as friends continue to supper each other, though often in strange and amusing ways. Also, Chris Pratt isn’t bad to look at. – Kimberley Veart

6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

This Andy Samberg sitcom was something of surprise packet delivering some really good laughs in its two seasons. The show isn’t ground breaking but it works, Samberg brings his usual manchild humour while while a supporting cast which includes Andre Bruagher, Terry Crewes and Joe Lo Trugilo adds to the hilarity. former SNL cast members have a great track record of making good with their series. Tina Fey with 30 Rock, Amy Poehler with Parks and Rec, this series has no exception to this trend and was one of the highlights of the year. – Morgan Cole

5. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

What did we do before John Oliver? Causing an internet sensation every time he went on the air, John Oliver ripped apart the week’s headlines with alarming precision and laugh out loud hilarity.  The main complaint people have had about his show is that it’s not on enough, so here’s hoping we see more screen time for Last Week Tonight in 2015. – Kimberley Veart

4. Fargo

Hands down one of the best new TV series to hit our screens. created and written by Noah Hawley (if you can also dig up his black comedy cop drama The Unusuals it’s also worth viewing) with the Coen Brothers serving as executive producers, this series was inspired by the film of the same name and definitely does the spirit of the film justice.
With breakout performances from Allison Tolman and Colin Hanks as well as Billy Bob Thornton in one of his most twisted evil roles to date and Martin Freeman cracking out a hilariously awkward Minnesota accent this was a riveting crime and thriller series that dipped into the blackest possible black comedy you could imagine. Occasionally violent, sporadically humorous but constantly intriguing. – Carina Nilma

3. Game of Thrones

 Season 4 was huge for Game of Thrones, breaking the formula of a big death in the penultimate episode and spreading significant events all throughout the season. First there was the culmination of all that fan-driven bloodlust in just the second episode, then there was the poisonous jab that broke our hearts in the epic battle between The Red Viper and The Mountain That Rides. That’s only two edge-of-your-seat moments; you had the very well shot battle at The Wall, Tyrion’s plight and escape, Arya and The Hound being the most on-screen duo ever, and so much more. – Chris Singh
It’s hard to go past the HBO fantasy series juggernaut as one of the top ranking shows of 2014. The show delivered its usual enthralling narratives combined with its high production values, the series didn’t miss a beat this year. The only disappointing aspect of the show is that it’s only comes around once a year for ten short episodes! – Morgan Cole

2. True Detective

Another of the long-player style series, completely self contained in this season that somehow managed to get two award winning actors to take the leads in Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. From the get-go this series felt more like cinema on the little screen, with its long scenery shots and intricate and complicated storyline that interweaves two separate time lines the present (well 2002) with the past to reveal what really happened on that particular case. This is an engrossing and emotional watch. – Carina Nilma

An all-star cast led by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson delivered a fantastic show with a complex plot and a compellingly dark atmosphere. Definitely one of the best new shows of 2014. – Kimberley Veart

This series could easily be higher on this list if not for its extremely disappointing conclusion. This dark tale of a series of slayings in the Deep South of the U.S. was nothing short of perfect in its first half of its inaugural season, with its bleak undertones and grim setting, series creator Nic Pizzolatto gave new meaning to addictive television. The series leads Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are perfectly cast into there roles, this series being one of the key pieces to the recent resurgence of McConaughey. The show builds so much tension over its 8 episodes with the story becoming more and more twisted as each episode goes by. Despite the growing tension by the final episode we are left somewhat unfulfilled with the story leaving so much unresolved. Even though the show has this underwhelming finish it was still a highlight of this years television schedule and in 2015. True detective will be returning with a new cast and a new story which we no doubt bring the same compelling viewing that season one brought! – Morgan Cole

1. The Walking Dead

 Despite stumbling a bit with an ill-advised cop arc, The Walking Dead remains one of the most atmospheric and engaging shows on TV. Season 4 did such an amazing job at breaking this group apart, so it can focus on character building, that we are now endeared to each one of these survivors and the two deaths so far have proved that all the slow-burning work has paid off. – Chris Singh
…because you can never guess who is going to be killed off or what kind of trouble Rick’s group are heading toward. – Nena Serafim
This ground breaking series just keeps finding ways to get better and thus earns the titles as the best show of 2014. The show does its utmost to shock its viewers and it does so with the first half of season 5 providing plenty of Sqiumish moments; From Terminus to the Atlanta PD kidnapping one of the key characters, the FX horror-Drama consistent its willingness to push the boundaries of TV. – Morgan Cole

Special Mentions

So many more shows that could have made this list – and perhaps should have! We’d like to take a brief moment though to acknowledge Archer and Bob’s Burgers – easily the two best animations on television.  We’d like to say goodbye to The Colbert Report and thank Stephen for his service. We’d like to mention Unplanned America as a really brilliant miniseries on SBS. The third season of Rake was another hit of the year on Australian television, and though Community isn’t the same without Chevy or Donald, it still had some great moments and was a massive improvement on the preceding season – which they’re referring to as “the gas leak” year.  We like that. House of Cards was thrilling and we can’t wait for season three. And anyone who didn’t see Silicon Valley definitely needs to check it out. It gave us some of the heartiest laughs we had this year. Good to see Mike Judge back in action… and though Gotham and The Flash aren’t the best shows in the world, it’s still been great to see some comic book series given the live action treatment.

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