There are some people who think that binge-watching is about people who sit on a couch watching episode after episode until their eyes are bloodshot and they suddenly realize that they haven’t been to work for over a week.
Binge-watching a television show is an excellent way to destress or reorganize your life.
Here are the next group of shows that placed #20-15 on the list:
Willy Armitage was the muscle of the group and was used whenever physical strength was required. He was also skilled at unarmed combat. Rollin Hand was an actor, magician, and a master of disguises as well as voices.
Paris was sometimes used instead of Hand. Like Hand, he was also an actor, magician and master of disguises.
19. Cagney and Lacey
Fast facts:
Network: CBS
Seasons: 7
Cast: Tyne Daly as Detective Mary Beth Lacey (The Enforcer, Judging Amy, Grey’s Anatomy); Sharon Gless as Detective Sergeant. Christine Cagney (Burn Notice, The Trials of Rosie O'Neill, Queer as Folk, The Gifted); Al Waxman as Lieutenant Bert Samuels (Twice in a Lifetime, Due South); John Karlen as Harvey Lacey (Dark Shadows); Carl Lumbly as Mark Petrie (Escape from Alcatraz, Coming to America, South Central, Justice League, Alias, Zoo, Supergirl); Martin Kove as Victor Isbecki (Karate Kid I and II, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Cobra Kai); Sydney Clute as Paul LaGuardia (And Justice for All, Kojak); Robert Hegyes as Detective Manny Esposito (Welcome Back, Kotter); Harvey Atkin as Sergeant Ronald Coleman (Alf, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit).
Premise: Encouraged by the popularity of the feminist movement, Cagney and Lacey is about two female detectives who work for the NYPD.
Although they are good at what they do, the women have vastly different private lives. Lacey is married with children and Cagney is a single, career woman who has issues with her alcohol consumption.
The plots of every episode were compelling as it tackled issues of that time period (early to mid-1980s).
It also was one of the first shows to include social commentaries weaved into their stories long before there was a Law & Order franchise. This is what made this series unique.
How to watch: Cagney and Lacey is included in Amazon’s Prime membership, CBS: All Access, iTunes.
To get a taste of the show, please watch the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrgVpIeD1EU
18. Burn Notice
Fast facts:
Network: USA
Seasons: 7
Cast: Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen (Law & Order, American Bikers, Sleepers, Hitch, Sicario, LBJ); Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne (Hideaway, Press Gang, The Tudors, Once Upon a Time); Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe (The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Xena: Warrior Princess, Ash vs Evil Dead); Coby Bell as Jesse Porter (Third Watch, The Game, The Gifted); Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen (Marcus Welby M.D., Switch, Cagney & Lacey, The Trials of Rosie O'Neill, The Gifted).
Definition: A burn notice is a tool that intelligence agencies use to discredit or let others know that an agent has been dismissed. Being burned is like getting fired although with a different set of consequences.
Premise: Michael Westen has been a spy for several years with an unknown government agency. He is in the middle of an operation in Nigeria and in a meeting with the bad guys when he learns that he’s been burned.
Apparently it is not required to let the spy finish their job or to let them know why they’ve been burned.
Eventually, Michael finds himself beaten and broke back in Miami, Florida which is where he grew up and never wanted to come back to.
Along the way, it’s discovered that Mr. Westen is kindhearted and begins to help people while trying to figure out who burned him and why.
As tough as he is, Westen's Achilles heel is when someone cries. He's uncomfortable with a release of such emotions and brings out his vulnerability side.
Aside from meeting various bad guys who want to do him in, Michael also finds himself having to deal with the often complicated relationships that usually come with the people you care about such as family and exes.
Axe is a retired FBI agent and Glenanne is a former member of the IRA as well as being a gun runner.
The characters are endearing and the storylines compelling, but probably the most entertaining thing about Burn Notice is the narration done by Jeffrey Donovan (Michael Westen) explaining things about bad guys, tips on how to rig something to explode or how to make a hasty exit.
How to watch: You can watch the show on Hulu, as part of your Amazon Prime membership, pay for episodes/seasons on Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Here is an example of the show Burn Notice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L53jbil1Ri4
17. Covert Affairs
Fast facts:
Network: USA
Seasons: 5
Cast: Piper Perabo as Annie Walker (Coyote Ugly, Go On, Turn Up Charlie); Christopher Gorham as Auggie Anderson (A Life Less Ordinary, Party of Five, Popular, Medical Investigation, Ugly Betty, Insatiable); Kari Matchett as Joan Campbell (Ready or Not, ER, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Blue Murder, Heartland, Fortunate Son); Anne Dudek as Danielle Brooks (How I Met Your Mother, Mad Men, Big Love, House, The Magicians); Sendhil Ramamurthy as Jai Wilcox (New Amsterdam, Heroes); Oded Fehr as Eyal Lavine (The Blacklist, Sleeper Cell, UC: Undercover, Stitchers, Blood & Treasure); Peter Gallagher as Arthur Campbell (Long Day's Journey into Night, The O.C., Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Gifted, Grace & Frankie, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist).
Premise: Annie Walker is a CIA trainee who is assigned to the DPD unit (Domestic Protection Division) as a field agent due, in part, to her ability to speak several foreign languages fluently. Although it may also have something to do with the way she looks and her ability to be a distraction for male operatives from other countries who they may be targeting.
Auggie Anderson, a former member of the Army’s Special Forces division who lost his sight while serving in Afghanistan and is now a technology operative, is her handler.
Together the two work cases under the supervision of Joan Campbell, a former CIA operative.
Joan, along with her husband Arthur, keep close tabs on Annie as she is the ex-girlfriend of Ben Mercer who was once a spy for the agency, but went rogue and is now wanted by the CIA. They believe that Mercer won’t be able to stay away from Annie which will lead to his capture.
Along the way she befriends Mossad agent, Eyal Lavine, who always shows up in the nick of time to aid her in whatever hot water she got herself into.
Although there is an attraction between the two, nothing ever comes of it due to her feelings towards Auggie and the fact that Annie isn't Jewish which is a requirement for Eyal.
Notes about the show: Covert Affairs was part of a growing trend in television shows that were considered high tech and glossy; a far cry from grittier shows like the Law & Order franchise, The Wire and Cagney and Lacey.
Annie Walker’s physical appearance was more like that of a model than a CIA spy as she spent every episode in form fitting dresses and running around in stiletto heels, not an easy feat.
If you can get past this sexualization of women, the show has great storylines and is fun to watch.
Where to watch: You can purchase episodes/seasons on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
To get a good idea as to why you should binge-watch the show, please take a moment to view the show’s official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLkMN6K0as0
16. The Wire
Fast facts:
Network: HBO
Seasons: 5
Cast: Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty (Chicago, The Affair); Michael K. Williams as Omar Little (12 Years a Slave, Ghostbusters, Boardwalk Empire, Hap and Leonard, Bessie, Black Market with Michael K. Williams); Idris Elba as Stringer Bell (Daddy's Little Girls, Star Trek Beyond, Luther); Sonja Sohn as Kima Greggs (Shaft, The Good Wife, Burn notice, The Chi); Wood Harris as Avon Barskdale (Remember the Titans, Creed, Creed II, The New Edition Story, Empire); Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as D’Angelo Barksdale (Gangs of New York, The Walking Dead); Wendell Pierce as Bunk Moreland (Waiting to Exhale, Malcolm X, Bye Bye Love, The Gregory Hines Show, Treme, Suits, Jack Ryan); Lance Reddick as Cedric Daniels (Oz, Fringe, Bosch, Corporate); Andre Royo as Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins (Shaft, Hand of God, Empire); Domenick Lombardozzi as Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Entourage, Breakout Kings, Ray Donovan, Rosewood, Sneaky Pete); Seth Gilliam as Ellis Carver (The Cosby Show, Oz, Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead); Jamie Hector as Marlo Stanfield ( Bosch, All Eyez on Me, Queen of the South, Heroes); Frankie Faison as Ervin Burrell (Mississippi Burning, White Chicks, All My Children, True Colors, The Good Wife, Banshee); Clarke Peters as Lester Freamon (Play for Today, American Masters, Treme, Person of Interest, Chance, Love Is); Jim True-Frost as Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Benjamin Franklin, Treme and Manifest).
Premise: At first glance it appears that The Wire is a series about law enforcement, but it isn’t. It’s a story about the city of Baltimore, Maryland at a time where illicit drug sales ran rapid, addiction was high and the budget to combat the multiple urban woes was almost non-existent; a period of time where the city was broke.
Every season of the show covers a different aspect of various groups (drug gangs, law enforcement, politics, the public education system, the unions, and the media) and how these groups interact with their environment.
Season one introduces the viewers to the Baltimore Police Department and their action (or their inaction) of combatting with the drug problem especially with drug kingpins Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell.
After Detective Jimmy McNulty informs a judge about the Barksdale/Bell gang, the judge confronts the police administration. This forces the administration to assemble a unit (run by Lieutenant Cedric Daniels), but does everything in their power to undermine the unit.
It appears that the higher-ups are more concerned with looking good than doing good.
In season two, viewers get a glimpse of how Avon Barksdale, Wee-Bey Brice and D’Angelo Barksdale are coping in prison.
Although drugs are still a problem, the focus is now on a different type of poor; union workers at the port where work is hard to come by and some workers turn to selling drugs or becoming a part of a smuggling ring that uses the port for the base of its operation.
The head of the smuggling is someone only known as The
Greek who has his own henchmen.
Season three is a return to the Barksdale/Bell organization, but this time with the city’s politicians becoming impacted with the drug trade as it comes at a time when there is a hotly contested mayor’s race going on with a white politician trying to unseat the current black mayor who is somewhat slimy.
Certain members of the police department create an area (called Hamsterdam) where drug dealers, addicts and prostitutes are able to conduct their illicit practices without getting arrested as long as they stay in Hamsterdam’s boundaries.
This makes the police department look like they are successful at combating certain drug-related crimes.
In season four, the focus is on the public school
system and four boys who have grown up amongst the violent drug trade: Dukie,
Randy, Michael, and Namond.
Namond is the son of Wee-Bey Brice and his mother is
trying to force him into the drug trade in order to support her in the
lifestyle that Wee-Bey made her accustomed to.
His mother, De'Londa Brice, is a totally unsympathetic character who puts her own needs ahead of her son.
It also focus’ on the still ongoing mayor’s race.
Daniels is now a major, Greggs and Freamon are working in The Major Crimes Unit. Prez is now a mathematics teacher at the same school the four boys attend. McNulty has been demoted to a patrolman.
The drug dealers in this season are Proposition Joe, Marlo Stansfield, and the still-alive (from season one) Omar Little.
The final season, five, focuses on the media. Specifically, the journalists who work for The Baltimore Sun.
The ongoing drama between Marlo Stansfield, Proposition Joe and Omar Little continues.
In this season, the show tries to demonstrate how the media often manipulates situations by deciding what stories to tell and what stories don’t get told. They also attempt to show why, by these decisions, things don’t change.
McNulty is back as a detective and is up to his old ways of forcing things to happen by manipulating the system.
Due to the new white mayor seriously slashing the budget of the police department, he invents a serial killer which causes the department to get their funding back.
Notes about the show: The Wire was creating and mostly written by former police reporter David Simon.
It was filmed entirely on location in Baltimore, Maryland.
The show also has an ongoing theme that showed that no matter who you are or what position you hold, eventually you will be compromised, mostly due to the bureaucracy that swirls around you; that you can’t succeed without breaking the rules because the system is built to make you fail.
This is what sets The Wire apart from other crime/law and order shows; these other shows portray the bad guys as those who break the rules to get ahead. On this show, everyone breaks the rules to get what they want even if it costs people their lives.
Why should you watch it: Due to its storylines, the ability to cast unknowns into a majority of the parts, the character development, and the stark realism of urban life, it is considered to be one of the best television shows of all time.
It just goes to show you that hiring easily recognized actors or winning awards has nothing to do with good content.
Where to watch: You can watch the show on HBO, as part of your Amazon Prime membership, by purchasing episodes/seasons on Vudu, YouTube or iTunes.
For more on this show, please watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ig40uAabM
15. Justified
Fast facts:
Network: FX
Seasons: 6
Cast: Timothy Olyphant as Rayland Givens (The First Wives Club, Live Free or Die Hard, Deadwood, Damages, Santa Clarita Diet); Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder (The Hateful Eight, The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, Sex, Vice Principals, The Unicorn); Joelle Carter as Ava Crowder (Chicago Justice); Natalie Zea as Winona Hawkins (Passions, Dirty Sexy Money, The Following, The Detour); Nick Searcy as Art Mullen (Fried Green Tomatoes, American Gothis, Seven Days, Rodney, Hot in Cleveland, 11.22.63); Jacob Pitts as Tim Gutterson (21, Sneaky Pete, The Sinner); Erica Tazel as Rachel Brooks (Roots, The Good Fight, Queen Sugar); Jeremy Davies as Dickie Bennett (Saving Private Ryan, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Helter Skelter -2004, Sleepy Hollow); Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett (Ghosts of Mississippi, 28 days, 100 Centre Street, Dexter, The Riches, Mercy, A Gifted Man, The Millers, The Americans, The Good Wide, Sneaky Pete); Jere Burns as Wynn Duffy (Dear John, Something So Right, Good Morning Miami, Angie Tribeca); Raymond J. Barry as Arlo Givens (The Gifted, Cold Case, Gotham, 13 Reasons Why); Neal McDonough as Robert Quarles (Band of Brothers, Desperate Housewives, Suits, DC's Legends of Tomorrow); Michael Rapaport as Darryl Crowe Jr. (Kiss of Death, Copland, Deep Blue Sea, Boston Public, The War at Home, Atypical); Mykelti Williamson as Ellstin Limehouse (Forrest Gump, The White Shadow, Hill Street Blues, 24, Chicago P.D.).
Premise: Raylan Givens is a modern-day U.S. Marshal who kind of sees himself as an Old West type of law man much to the chagrin of his superiors.
During an investigation after a gun duel reminiscent of those in the Old West, with drug dealer Tommy Bucks, Givens’ only comment was that it was justified. He then finds himself transferred to the Eastern District of Kentucky Marshal's Office. Located in Lexington, it’s a place that he grew up in and never wanted to go back to.
It doesn’t take him long to come face-to-face with local one-man crime wave, Boyd Crowder, whom he used to work in the mines with when he was 18.
Although they appear to be foes, as the series continues it shows a friendship between the two men even when they’re at odds with one another.
He also encounters the fetching Ava who murdered her abusive husband (Boyd’s brother) and admits she always had a crush on Raylan.
The two end up having a sexual relationship which lands Givens in hot water with both his boss and the District Attorney’s Office.
After Raylan ends the relationship with Ava, she takes up with Boyd which causes conflict between the two men.
As hard as he tries to avoid it, Raylan eventually
also has to deal with his criminal father Arlo who he disdains and come
face-to-face with his family’s grave site which is conveniently located in the
front yard and notices that he already has a grave marker there with his name
already on it.
He figures that his grave marker was just wishful thinking on the part of Arlo.
Raylan also encountered his ex-wife Winona, whom he still has feelings for, even though she married the man she cheated on her husband with.
Oh. And he turned out to be a crook too.
Justified cast well-known actors to portray devious characters such as Robert Quarles who is a member of the Tonin Crime Family lieutenant from out of Detroit who comes to Kentucky with his henchman Wynn Duffy.
Then there was the deceptively mother-figure Mags
Bennett who poisons those who run afoul of her by getting them to drink some of
her Apple Pie Moonshine.
Mags and her family have history with Raylan as their families have been at war with one another for years.
Ellstin Limehouse was the self-appointed mayor of the African American community that lived in a remote area outside of Lexington and although he appeared to be a leader who really cared about his people, that wasn’t the case. He was as good of a bad guy as all the others that populated the eastern District.
In season five viewers were introduced to season-regular Dewey Crowe’s criminal family lead by Darryl Crowe Jr.
About the show: Like several shows on this list, Justified had a great theme song, Long Hard Times to Come by Gangstagrass.
Where to watch: You can purchase seasons/episodes through Amazon, Google Play, YouTube and Vudu.
To view the showdown between Raylan Givens and Tommy Bucks from season one that put the show on its track, please view the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RjVAWL64hk
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