Comments on: What to watch after Breaking Bad?

Question: What to watch after Breaking Bad?

shivohum — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:37:35 -0800

Have loved Breaking Bad, but it's nearing its end. What are some other high production value TV thrillers should I watch? I like season-long story arcs, suspense, and excellent writing and acting. I love BBC's Sherlock, 24, Dexter, The Sopranos, and Game of Thrones.

By: deansfurniture5

deansfurniture5 — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:39:03 -0800

If you haven't already seen The Wire, that's a must.

I also really enjoyed the first season of Homeland, and the second season should be starting up soon.

By: griphus

griphus — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:39:40 -0800

Battlestar Galactica, if you've never seen it.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:40:12 -0800

The Danish (original) version of The Killing: Forbrydelsen.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:42:06 -0800

Terriers.

By: yellowbinder

yellowbinder — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:43:25 -0800

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Do I have to add "Seriously." at this point? If so: Seriously.

By: jph

jph — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:44:32 -0800

I really just enjoyed "Luther" and I'm a fan of most of the other things you've mentioned.

By: rocketpup

rocketpup — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:45:12 -0800

Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood, seconding Luther. Idris Elba is ... intense.

By: bensherman

bensherman — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:46:04 -0800

+ 1 the Wire and Boardwalk Empire.

By: Ruthless Bunny

Ruthless Bunny — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:48:05 -0800

+1 The Wire
Boardwalk Empire
Mad Men

By: scody

scody — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:49:51 -0800

Boardwalk Empire, definitely. The second season, in particular, was tremendous (a little less on-the-nose in terms of writing than the first).

By: MoonOrb

MoonOrb — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:50:45 -0800

The Shield. The Wire, obviously, is a must watch. You might also like Justified or Foyle's War.

By: zephyr_words

zephyr_words — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:53:53 -0800

Rome hasn't been mentioned and I was a big fan of that.

By: littlesq

littlesq — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:55:39 -0800

Lost

By: Sunburnt

Sunburnt — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:56:18 -0800

Sons of Anarchy, which is about to start its.. 4th? 5th? season?

It's the story of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club - Redwoods Chapter (aka SAMCRO, which is the originating chapter though there exist several other chapters of SOMC), and the families that make it up. You could call it Sopranos on wheels-- it has the same mix of violence and non-violent drama (and a pinch of porn). Excellent family drama, great acting by Katie Segal, Ron Perlman, and main guy, Australian actor Charlie Hunnam (otherwise best known as the blonde guy from Undeclared).

BBC: The Shadow Line, a 7-part drama featuring a cop returned to service after a shooting, the whole dimensions of which take a while to reveal, while various parties search for the killer of a gang-boss. Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Christopher Eccleston, and some other brilliant and familiar character actors.

Seconding:
Deadwood-- 2 seasons. The third was not so great.
Terriers-- absolutely terrific show that had no business being cancelled.
The Wire-- the language lacks superlatives good enough for this show. The 2nd dn 4th seasons drop the pace considerably, but hang in there-- rewards are coming!
Justified-- I can't get enough of this. The first episode is based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, but the show carries the characters to new depths.
Foyle's War-- BBC movie-series about a police department in Hastings, covering the years of WWII. (Hastings is the among the shore areas that faces France, and thus invasion fears run particularly deep in this.)

By: dgeiser13

dgeiser13 — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:56:34 -0800

I know it may sound hokey but the season-long story of Season One of Nikita (2010), the TV show with Maggie Q, was quite engrossing. The writing is not nearly up to par with the new wave of incredibly good TV dramas and thrillers but I quite enjoyed it.

By: Sunburnt

Sunburnt — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:56:59 -0800

SOAMC, durrr

By: crocomancer

crocomancer — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:58:30 -0800

I just came in to recommend The Shadow Line too.

By: kcm

kcm — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:58:45 -0800

The West Wing - caveat that Seasons 1-4 are spectacular (Sorkin), 5 loses the path, and 6-7 regain most of the original strength and quality.

By: godshomemovies

godshomemovies — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:59:32 -0800

Hell on Wheels! We started watching it last weekend and fell in love with it. Excellent production quality, gorgeous people and good acting. I will also highly recommend Boardwalk Empire for similar reasons.

By: k8t

k8t — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:00:50 -0800

Friday Night Lights

By: bearwife

bearwife — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:03:31 -0800

Nthing The Wire, but watch WITH subtitles. You miss a ton without them. After awhile you'll have your ear and won't need them.

By: lizabeth

lizabeth — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:09:10 -0800

I thought that the Swedish/Danish collaboration The Bridge was excellent.

The first two series of Heroes.

Doctor Who.

By: Sunburnt

Sunburnt — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:11:32 -0800

The Closer, and its new spinoff (roughly the same cast and formula, brand new lead character who was a recurring character before) called Major Crimes.

Both shows are police procedurals about the LAPD Major Crimes unit, which is both a powerful crime-solving unit, and an expensive political football. It's headed (in the The Closer's 7 seasons) by Brenda Lee Johnson, a disarming southerner who is in fact an ex-CIA interrogator; Mary McConnall (of Battlestar Galactica fame, most recently) takes over as the division head. The Closer ended, and Major Crimes began just last monday. The Closer, at least, had good season arcs as well as episodic crimes, and while there was no explicit comic relief, there often had some comedic elements in their show.

And while I'm at it, Southland is a very good show about LAPD cops, uniformed and plainclothes, in south central LA. Just as I had committed to never watching new shows set in LA or NY, this show came along-- it's outstanding.

Life on Mars (UK)-- skip the US version. I'm not a fan of the UK spinoff, Ashes to Ashes, but it had more seasons than LoM, so there you have it. Both shows are about a cop in the late 2000s who is injured and finds themselves transported back to the 1970s and 1980s, respectively-- both work with the same bizarre crew of Manchester Detectives who do things the old-fashioned way. Hilarious, dramatic, and disturbingly mysterious, all.

By: Harpocrates

Harpocrates — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:12:45 -0800

If you like science fiction at all, fringe is a good show to watch. The first is a bit slow at times but subsequent seasons are excellent.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:24:04 -0800

Just so you know, Breaking Bad won't be concluding until summer 2013.

By: Joh

Joh — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:24:15 -0800

The Wire.

By: Leezie

Leezie — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:32:12 -0800

Old school but still good: I Claudius

N'thing Battlestar Gallactica. Damn that was a good show.

By: kagredon

kagredon — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:37:48 -0800

You'd probably enjoy State of Play, which is an excellent political thriller miniseries from the BBC. (It later got adapted into a movie with Russell Crowe, which apparently is decent, but not quite up to the source material.)

By: eugenen

eugenen — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:46:52 -0800

Lots of great suggestions here. I'd just add the BBC's The Hour.

By: ChuraChura

ChuraChura — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:53:18 -0800

Along with The Wire, Treme.

By: a box and a stick and a string and a bear

a box and a stick and a string and a bear — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:01:58 -0800

Six Feet Under

By: Grangousier

Grangousier — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:05:43 -0800

And if you like State of Play, you could go back over twenty-five years to Edge of Darkness (yes, also source of a lousy Hollywood remake). An while you're there, actually, you could watch The Singing Detective, and catch GBH and Our Friends in the North on the way back.

We really don't make 'em like that any more. It's very sad.

By: jetlagaddict

jetlagaddict — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:32:06 -0800

Sadly there is only one season of it, but I really liked Kings.

By: she's not there

she's not there — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:58:28 -0800

So glad you posted this, I'm already mourning the upcoming loss of Breaking Bad.

Check out Boss - according to Wikipedia, the second season starts tomorrow. This, and Breaking Bad, are the only television shows I watch.

By: dortmunder

dortmunder — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:10:35 -0800

Try The Red Riding Trilogy

By: eugenen

eugenen — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:21:44 -0800

Try The Red Riding Trilogy

Oh my god yes. Seconding times infinity. It's a masterpiece. It didn't occur to me 'cause I don't think of it as a series, I guess.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:24:46 -0800

Misfits.

By: invisible ink

invisible ink — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:12:54 -0800

The Killing

By: roomwithaview

roomwithaview — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:13:26 -0800

Seconding Southland. Funny, interesting, and occasionally very intense.

By: Bron

Bron — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:27:05 -0800

+1 on Red Riding. (But it was tough parsing the accents...)

An oldie but goodie: Michael Mann's Crime Story. Only 2 seasons, but very high-quality TV.

By: Aquifer

Aquifer — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:47:25 -0800

You've watched The Wire, right? If not, do so as soon as possible. Please don't be put off by critics and viewers slobbering all over it. It's really THAT good. No, really. I didn't think it was possible but it really, really is. Sometimes I'll think about a line or a scene at random and be stunned all over again at how amazing it was.

I've also loved Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Justified. If you're feeling experimental, you might try to dig up an old show from the mid-90s called Profit. OMG. This show is so fucking crazy and was, sadly, about 10 years ahead of its time and got cancelled almost immediately. But it was BRILLIANT and really original. A lot of the tech stuff will be hilariously outdated, but the bulk of the show holds up. I got the DVDs as soon as they were released and my brother and I watched every episode in delighted horror.

I really like British tv shows. I feel like the shorter seasons lead to higher quality and less filler. The BBC series Cracker (not the abysmal U.S. remake) is pretty great. REALLY intense and amusing features a pre-Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston and a pre-Harry Potter Robbie Coltrane. BBC's Life on Mars is worth a whirl (again, don't watch the U.S. version). I ADORED MI:5 (it's called Spooks in the U.K.). It tapers off a bit after season 3 or 4 but until then I was basically breaking down the library door to get each disc. (My library has, like, every British television series and mini-series ever made and yours may too!)

By: jph

jph — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:29:13 -0800

Ooh: Dead Like Me! Only two seasons, but damned good while it lasted.

By: Ochre,Hugh

Ochre,Hugh — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:32:06 -0800

The Tudors.

By: girlpublisher

girlpublisher — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:39:31 -0800

House of Cards: BBC mini-series about a fictional quiet coup in the ranks of the conservative party that is full of intrigue and cold evil men in pinstripes.

By: cairnoflore

cairnoflore — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:41:38 -0800

Damages with Glenn Close and Rose Brynes and a rotating cast of evil male characters.

By: jyorraku

jyorraku — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:36:26 -0800

Nthing Justified and BSG. 2nd Damages and Nikita.

BBC's Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren. It was done a while ago, it didn't feel dated at all. I really enjoyed Mirren as the lead. Don't watch the American remake, just don't.

These are more popcorn thrillers, but I enjoyed them:

Revenge
American Horror Story

By: NailsTheCat

NailsTheCat — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:30:32 -0800

Prime Suspect was Granada, not the BBC. A common mistake. (As were Brideshead Revisited, Jewel in the Crown and Jeeves & Wooster, which the Beeb often gets credited with too.)

Seconding The Shield, The Wire and Deadwood. If you've never watched it how about The Soprano.

By: NailsTheCat

NailsTheCat — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:32:52 -0800

Hah. And Cracker is Granada too. But an excellent, excellent suggestion.

By: OHSnap

OHSnap — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 22:45:59 -0800

Homicide: Life on the Street. Basically the warm up for The Wire. Andre Braugher was amazing.

By: jbickers

jbickers — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:48:46 -0800

The first season of "Boomtown."

By: yellowbinder

yellowbinder — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:41:03 -0800

Ooh, no one's said Oz yet. It can be slightly cheesy but the writing and acting is usually pretty good, and once you get into its prison soap opera groove it's addicting as anything else.

By: Ghidorah

Ghidorah — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:27:46 -0800

If you like the Wire, you're probably going to like Homicide. Fantastic story arcs (one of the first dramas to have arcs lasting several episodes, overlapping and intertwining) and it really changed a lot of how tv is made. It might seem a little dated now, but so much of what we think of as normal really got started there. And as great as Andre Braugher was, the rest of the cast was outstanding too.

Bonus: if you pay attention, you'll see several actors popping up in both shows, usually in roles completely the opposite from the other show.

By: Ness

Ness — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:29:31 -0800

Rubicon.

Sadly only one series but stellar writing, acting and probably the best score I've ever heard on a TV series.

+1 to Justified, can't get me enough Raylan either.

By: cirgue

cirgue — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:14:56 -0800

I can't believe I'm the first one to say this, but you might like Twin Peaks. It's definitely excellent in a lot of ways, and it is exquisitely weird.

By: mysterpigg

mysterpigg — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:04:29 -0800

The only thing I can think of that hasn't been mentioned a few times already is Farscape. It's Sci-fi, and the first half of the first season is made up of bottle-episodes with not-quite-high production values, but the story and production quality pick up greatly from there.

I'll nth the following, though: Lost, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Six Feet Under, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, Twin Peaks (how did that get missed??)

People have mentioned The Killing, which I have watched all of so so far I can't say it is bad, per se. However, I will say the victim's parents in the US version were incredibly annoying to me - ok, you're sad, I get it. You have all these emotions, your daughter is dead, you are struggling to keep it together, etc, ok, really, I get it. But do you have to cry IN. EVERY. SINGLE. SCENE. ??? I really want to get around to watching The original some time, because I like to think the parents originally had much more depth, and they were simply rewritten badly in the US version. Also, fair-weather writers writing scenes set in Seattle mean it rains so more more than it should. Which, honestly, is only noticeable if you've ever actually been to Seattle.

And regarding The Wire: season 4 seems to be polarizing. Some people (in this thread even) seem to think it was a bit slow. Personally, I thought it was perhaps the most engrossing season, especially given the after-effects you see in season 4. Season 2 is a bit slow, however. Hang in there.

By: MoonOrb

MoonOrb — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:05:35 -0800

Here are a few other shows I enjoyed, more in a "guilty pleasure" kind of way, but that might meet your criteria (and I base this substantially on the fact that you mentioned "24," which I watched and enjoyed for quite a few seasons):

Prison Break, seasons 1 and 2
Jericho, season 1
The Walking Dead (I've only seen season 1)
Survivors

The latter three involve post-apocalyptic themes, and I left them off for that reason and because they don't quite rate as high for me as things like The Sopranos, Sherlock, etc.

By: Lutoslawski

Lutoslawski — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:53:49 -0800

Lots of good suggestions. I will add The Event, which I personally really liked.

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:29:51 -0800

I was surprised how much I liked The Walking Dead.

I've set my DVR to record Copper (previews and sneak peeks are under the VIDEOS tab) on BBC America, looks pretty good, I hope it lives up to my expectations. Series premiere is Sunday August 19th.

By: elphTeq

elphTeq — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:11:02 -0800

Nthing Boss, it's Breaking Bad and Sopranos cooked together in a dirty chicago pizza pie.

By: Dragonness

Dragonness — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 19:13:30 -0800

BBC's Bodies. Brilliant and real and hard to watch at times.

By: msleann

msleann — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:39:21 -0800

LIFE is great, as is FLASH POINT. Both riveting!

By: getawaysticks

getawaysticks — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:48:36 -0800

Nthing Homeland and Boardwalk Empire.

Not trying to start a war, but if you are ok with suspending your reality and having a lot of questions go unanswered, Lost is a good choice. If you're freakishly logical (like myself) and always wonder "Why?", don't bother with Lost.

By: ultraviolet catastrophe

ultraviolet catastrophe — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:22:04 -0800

Downton Abbey isn't exactly a thriller but it meets your criteria of long story arcs, suspense, and good writing/acting.

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 21:19:57 -0800

Although it is nothing like Breaking Bad, the lone season of Freaks and Geeks is wonderful and filled with emotional pain.

By: kanaan_minks

kanaan_minks — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 19:29:36 -0800

The Mentalist is great for suspense, story, and comedy. - Kanaan Minks

By: Metro Gnome

Metro Gnome — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:54:23 -0800

Firefly was only one season, but meets your requirements