Let’s be honest, British TV is a bit shit these days - it’s all tubby d-list celebrities flailing around in sparkly ballroom dancing outfits, or gobshite chefs waving their dicks around as if cooking was the new rock and roll. Fortunately the Americans have been churning out a truck-load of top-quality shows over recent years and, lucky for us, they speak the same language (more or less) so it’s almost like watching British made TV, except with funny accents and higher special effects budgets. And more guns.
Obviously a lot of the really good stuff (along with a lot of the utter crap) makes it onto primetime TV here in the UK, but there are some brilliant shows that either get buried in the middle of the night on obscure satelite channels, or never even make it to our shores. Fortunately, you can get hold of most of them as DVD box-sets:
The Wire
Quite simply, The Wire is one of the best TV crime dramas ever made and although it never managed to become as popular as shows like the Sopranos, it’s rapidly developing a cult following on both sides of the Atlantic. Written by a former police reporter, the first series of The Wire follows a police unit’s efforts to bring down a local drug-lord, but this isn’t just a battle between one dimensional good guy and bad guy stereotypes.
The show gives you a gritty and authentic insight into the daily struggles of people working on both sides of the law. Both the characters and dialogue are well scripted and completely believable, there are no over-the-top cowboy-cops or contrived plot devices - just real people doing their jobs. After a couple of episodes you’ll be hooked, and by the end of the first series you’ll want more. With five series (each exploring a different aspect of the city) and a total of 60 hour-long episodes, there’s plenty to get your teeth into.
(Bonus trivia - two of the main characters are played by British actors, see if you can guess which.)
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 1-5 [DVD] [2002]
Weeds
A slick comedy drama about a middle-class suburban yummy-mummy who turns to dope-dealing in order to maintain her family’s lifestyle after the death of her husband. The humour in Weeds is much edgier and darker than a lot of mainstream American TV; it’s a little like Desperate Housewives on, er… drugs. Also, lead actress Mary-Louise Parker is one of the hottest forty-somethings you’ll ever lay eyes on.
Weeds Seasons 1 - 4 (13 DVD’s region free)
Generation Kill
This seven part mini series is based on the experiences of Rolling Stone journalist, Evan Wright, as an embedded reporter with a US marine unit during the invasion of Iraq; it was adapted from his book by the writer who created The Wire.
The series gives us a close up view of life for the officers and grunts during the invasion. It’s capable of being both depressing and funny, as we’re shown the idiosyncracies of military life alongside the brutality and insanity of war. Plus, lots of cool explosions and big guns.
Generation Kill - Complete HBO Series [DVD] [2008]
Entourage
Imagine if they made Sex and the City for a male audience - a bunch of guys with cool lives, lots of money and plenty of hot women, just hanging out and having a scream. That’s Entourage. Loosely based on the experiences of actor, Mark Wahlberg, the show charts the rise (and occasional falls) of a young Hollywood movie star and his entourage of close friends.
It’s full of cameos from genuine Hollywood types, lots of knowing references to the movie industry and, above all, it’s very funny, primarily because of the relationships between the main characters which, like all good sitcoms, provide the real backbone of the show. There are 66 episodes so far, and a new series is due later this year.
Entourage: Complete HBO Seasons 1&2 Box Set [DVD]
The Office (USA)
Die-hard fans of The Office might find this a little hard to stomach, but the Americans have done a pretty good job of making the show their own. The history of America and Britain attempting local-market remakes of popular sitcoms is littered with disasters, but with The Office, America took one of the most loved British sitcoms of the past decade and did a great job of turning into something a US audience could love too. Some might even argue that the American version is better than the UK show… Either way, it’s definitely worth a watch and not just for curiosity value since there are plenty of new characters and gags.
The Office: An American Workplace Seasons 1-3 [DVD]
Flight of the Conchords
A top-notch sitcom about a struggling band in New York, written by, and starring, Kiwi musical comedy double act Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The pair were succesful in their native New Zealand, and won awards with their BBC radio comedy, but have finally made it big with a US TV show that, sadly, doesn’t seemed to have been picked up in the UK yet. Check out the plentiful YouTube clips…
Flight Of The Conchords: The Complete HBO First Season [DVD]
Arrested Development
One of the most inventive and original comedies to come out of America in recent years, Arrested Development has developed a strong cult following despite not achieving the kind of high ratings enjoyed by more mainstream shows. The story revolves around a quirky family of characters as they struggle to come to turns with a failing business and the loss of their long-standing wealth. So far three seasons have been made, and a movie is in the pipeline.
March 6th, 2009
4 Comments at "7 brilliant TV shows you’ve never seen"
I’ve seen the office and Arrested Development! Comedy Central <3
But then again, I’m from Holland..
..and I love british television shows (like 2 pints of lager and peepshow!)
The Wire is the best crime drama ever. Flight of the Concords is brilliant.
Actually you missed me completely. I’ve tried all of those, and the only ones I enjoyed was weeds and arrested development. In particular The office is a disaster for anyone who enjoyed the British version since the majority of those that likes the British version does it specifically because it is not americanized humour.
To be honest.. I don’t think it matters where you’re from.
I’m American and I enjoy both the original Ricky Gervais Office (UK) and the Steve Carell Office(US).
The Wire is the greatest television series of all time in any genre, in any country.
I love both Guy Ritchie movies and Martin Scorcese movies.
Good cinema is good cinema.. Good TV is good TV.
It doesn’t matter where it originated from.
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