Help me choose a new "reward" show!

October 24, 2017 5:29 PM

I have been enjoying great success bribing myself to exercise and practice keyboard with episodes of Game of Thrones. But I'm finally caught up and it will be years before there is more! I'm looking for a new show that is sufficiently gripping and suspenseful to be anticipated as a luxurious treat for doing hard/boring stuff.

My criteria is roughly thus:

1. Some sympathetic characters to root for. Hero-is-the-villain or hero-is-rough-around-the-edges setups are okay but I'm really not into Mad Men type shows where everyone is a mundane jerk cheating on their spouse.
2. Really high stakes!! Possibly characters die a lot, or they just have really dramatic lives.
3. Some comedy is okay, but definitely more as a spice to drama as opposed to a funny show that occasionally gets dramatic.
4. Some sort of fantasy or supernatural element is preferable. Or it could be set in the past! The less 'mundane' the better I guess.
5. I would prefer a definitive plot with an ending that wrapped in a reasonable number of seasons, but an ongoing or ridiculously long-running show is okay if it meets the other criteria.
6. In order for me to be able to watch it, it needs to be available on Netflix or purchasable streaming on Amazon. No Hulu shows or anything requiring cable, piracy, or a non-Netflix subscription.
7. I'm not looking for movies or classic (pre-90s) TV -- movies are too long to use as a daily reward, and classic TV rarely grabs me for whatever reason.

Shows that might fit the bill, but that I've already seen: Breaking Bad, Jessica Jones, Buffy, Sense8, enough of The Walking Dead that I'm no longer excited about new episodes.

If you are making a suggestion, please explain the premise of the show and what made you eagerly anticipate new episodes of it!

posted by space snail to Media & Arts (49 answers total)

Supernatural? It's a bit funny, but it's not a comedy that gets serious. The humour is more about the show's self-awareness than about it being jokey.

Basically, Sam and Dean hunt demons. With various friends. Everyone I've mentioned dies. Sometimes repeatedly, sometimes permanently. Also, their best friend is an archangel. Who also dies periodically, iirc.
It is ongoing for many seasons, but it has significant plot arcs that do get resolved along the way so there are opportunities to feel closure and walk away if you get tired of it. And now I'm remembering that there's a season of Supernatural on Netflix that I haven't seen yet and should watch. Mostly, I want to see what Sam's hair looks like now.

This is not prestige TV in case that wasn't already clear -- more B-movie grade TV. But it knows what it is.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:38 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I loved Person of Interest. It starts off kind of slow, as a police-esque procedural, but quickly turns into an awesome show about technology and privacy rights and 1984-style surveillance, but there's still a bunch of ass-kicking and action. I loved it. (I actually haven't watched the very last episode, and I keep holding off, because then I'll be done with them.)

I also liked shows like Leverage, Burn Notice, and Nikita on Netflix, but for me, they're lighter entertainment fair, not MUST WATCH immediately shows. (Although Nikita comes close....)
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:44 PM on October 24, 2017 [4 favorites]

Legion. There are only 8 episodes, but it's really good. Psychological thriller slash superhero story, with really well done suspenseful stuff that lets you piece the plot together. Tough to say a lot more without spoilers but if you watch the first episode you'll know whether it's for you.
posted by nickmark at 5:44 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

The Borgias
The Tudors
posted by delight at 5:44 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh, and it's not currently available on Netflix, but if you can find a way to stream/rent Alias, it was pretty great, in the same kind of way that Buffy was (she's a spy, not a slayer, but she's an awesome bad ass woman who gets shit done. And there is some supernatural stuff in there, too). They almost always end on cliffhangers, so that would be pretty motivational.
posted by Weeping_angel at 5:47 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

Orphan Black
posted by eeek at 5:50 PM on October 24, 2017 [10 favorites]

Best answer: Doesn’t tick all your boxes, but Call the Midwife may work
posted by Drosera at 5:51 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Hannibal, it's on Amazon Prime. I'd do back flips for more episodes but its three seasons are satisfying.
posted by onebyone at 6:00 PM on October 24, 2017

How do you feel about science fiction? The Expanse is pretty fantastic. Season 1 is available on Amazon Prime Video.
posted by jazzbaby at 6:05 PM on October 24, 2017 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Doesn’t tick all your boxes, but Call the Midwife may work <--- Agree!
posted by jgirl at 6:06 PM on October 24, 2017

Also came to suggest Orphan Black. The unfortunate part of the suggestion is it's really hard to explain what made it interesting for me without spoiling one of the early twists. Does seem to tick all your boxes, though, except it's science-y rather than fantasy.
posted by sailoreagle at 6:09 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Being Human, there's a US and UK series, both available on Netflix. They have the same main characters but they kind of veer away from each other plot-wise, especially as the series progresses. They are both good, although I think I never ended up watching the last 2 seasons of the UK one. Definitely supernatural elements and it kind of does the whole "found family" thing that I tend to find addicting. I don't remember it being super fast-paced but there's definitely an ongoing plot and suspenseful moments.
posted by eeek at 6:16 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

So, this is a bizarre recommendation I know... but Grey’s Anatony. Hear me out.

1) Full of characters you end up rooting for. Maybe too many.
2) High stakes. Characters die all the time. Pretty much everyone does eventually. I saw a comment from someone who had never seen the show on a Buzzfeed (sigh...) post talking about the Grey’s episodes that break your heart... “what is this, game of thrones in a hospital?” Yup, pretty much...
3) Mostly dramatic — check!
4) This ones a stretch because it’s supposed to be “real life” but all my friends who are doctors just laugh at that absurdity.
5) Still running, sorry. i think this is the 13th season? It’s been on forever... Many many completed story arcs over that time though. You will not run out of show to watch for a very long time.
6) On netflix. Probably everything except the current season.
7) Based in this century.
posted by cgg at 6:17 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Jericho (the 2006 - 2008 series), on netflix.
Westworld, the series
posted by gudrun at 6:26 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Rome?
posted by beccaj at 6:28 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I like a lot of the same shows as you and a lot of the ones listed here, so you might dig The Americans. It's about a pair of KGB agents posing as an American married couple in DC in the early 80s. There's a lot of Cold War/spy stuff, but also a lot of marriage-and-kids-are-really-hard-even-when-you-love-each-other stuff, plus a dense, slow-burn plot and really great performances. The first five seasons are on Amazon Prime, and the sixth and last will air in early 2018. Caveat that there are eventually some ongoing subplots featuring Russians who (reasonably enough) only speak Russian with each other, so you have to have some tolerance for subtitles.

I also recently saw the first couple episodes of Better Call Saul, and was shocked by how much I liked it, so that's definitely up next in my Netflix. Of the many good suggestions above, I'd especially second the UK version of Being Human for what you're specifically looking for.
posted by jameaterblues at 6:29 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

What about Deadwood? It's a western HBO series where Ian McShane absolutely steals every scene he's in as the bartender/tavern owner, and most characters fall into the good guys with flaws category. It's available on Amazon, last I saw, and has a handful of seasons as a complete show.

I'd also echo the Expanse and Rome recommendations.
posted by tautological at 6:31 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I can't believe no one mentioned "Six Feet Under"!

All 5 complete seasons are now on Amazon Prime. I just finished it as my exercise treat show, and now I understand the rave reviews saying stuff like this show has the best characters of any show, and the ending is the most satisfying finale of any show ever...the same things said now in 2017 as when it came out in early 2000's. High stakes in about everything: death, love, family, crime, dreams, mistakes, change, discovery...just as you start to cry they make you laugh, then cry again.
I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, since I'm not into "family dramas", but this was so much more than that.
Here's a link to the preview: https://youtu.be/E3gYi-KvKug
I hope you give it a chance!

Happy entertaining exercising!
posted by Arachnophile at 6:32 PM on October 24, 2017 [9 favorites]

Outlander! I get it streaming on Starz through Amazon. It's fabulous! Supernatural elements (time-traveling, gorgeous settings, lots of drama with high stakes, Now in its 4 seasonm wonderful main characters. I love it!
posted by primate moon at 6:33 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Another thought prompted by someone's mention of Deadwood. I am not certain if you can stream this in the US, and I have no easy way to check, but it is available for free streaming on CBC.ca, so I'm hopeful you can, but Strange Empire. It's only one season long, it's basically Deadwood but if Deadwood were actually about the female characters. High stakes, set in the past, lots of drama, any comedy is incidental. I'm really sad that they only made the one season.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:38 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Grey's Anatomy definitely has comedy "as a spice to drama." They do it very well.
posted by jgirl at 6:39 PM on October 24, 2017

Agree with Six Feet Under. Have watched many of those mentioned above and SFU ranks high above the rest, though Ian McShane/Deadwood is also up there.
posted by mulcahy at 6:52 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

No one’s mentioned The Wire? Complex, interesting characters that blur the lines between hero and villain and relatively self contained seasons that focus on different communities and stories (with many of the same characters.) You can skip the last season.
posted by We'll all float on okay at 6:59 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Penny Dreadful? To paraphrase a review I read somewhere, it's basically The League of Extraordinary Gentleman except more fun. Except it's definitely not comedy, more horror and high/melodrama. Set in the past AND dripping with the supernatural. Reasonably high gore factor (granted, YMMV) but it also feels highly dramatic and almost goofy in its excess. Decent acting, fabulous costumes, gallons of blood, vampires, demon possession, witches, old maps, seances, one very annoying Dorian Grey, and i think it ends after 3 seasons. It's on Netflix.

(I bet you'll either love it or you've already watched it.)
posted by pepper bird at 7:05 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

Firefly left Netflix, but keep an eye out for it if it returns.
posted by manduca at 7:07 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I think The Newsroom ticks your boxes except for fantasy.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:07 PM on October 24, 2017

“Grimm”. Fun show, good character development, lots of supernatural drama, and all but the most recent season is free with Amazon Prime.

I’d also recommend “Six Feet Under”, which has all of the above elements, is 5 seasons, and has the best show finale ever put on film and which will make you bawl your head off. (In a good way.)
posted by Autumnheart at 7:51 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'd say Farscape if you can swap out sci-fi for fantasy (and forgive the rushed "mini-series" ending). It's definitely on the opposite end of the scale from mundane.

Out of the suggestions above I like the Americans, the British version of Being Human and Orphan Black. I was a Burn Notice fan and watched Leverage, but I don't think they're dense or complex enough for what you're looking for. Alias fizzles out by the end.
posted by sardonyx at 8:07 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Breaking Bad, as I don't see it listed above.
Seconding : The Wire
posted by SLC Mom at 8:08 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Popping in for two notes of clarification:

1 - Sci fi suggestions are welcome!
2 - Please give at least a 1-sentence description of the show rather than just providing the title. I'm aware of most of the big shows that have come and gone but not necessarily what their "hook" was and what people liked about them!
posted by space snail at 8:23 PM on October 24, 2017

And you've already seen Breaking Bad, I see. My bad.
The Wire is engrossing because it has great characters, acting and writing. Plenty of people die. The good guys are apparent, but there are bad guys that you root for, too. Plus, Idris Elba.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:38 PM on October 24, 2017

I really enjoyed the first season of Daredevil. I had issues with the second season that were mostly tied up in my dislike for a particular trope, but the first half of season 2 was pretty great.

If you enjoyed BrBa, then Better Call Saul is well worth watching. In some respects I would say that BCS surpasses BrBa, but that's mostly down to the writers' ability to handle an important female character with more grace than they managed with Skylar. Plus Mike is just so, so good and there's a lot of Mike.

Black Mirror is great and about as self-contained as you can get--each episode is a full story.

If you enjoyed Buffy and Veronica Mars, iZombie is really good. It's not a perfect show, but the emotions are real and it's actually a zombie show that goes back to the roots of zombie shit--commentary on actual things happening in the real world. A diverse cast, too.

If you liked Buffy, Being Human (UK) might flip your wicket. Really emotional sometimes, with high stakes. Basically, a ghost, a werewolf, and a vampire are roomies in London and try to support each other through all the crazy supernatural shit that goes on. The US version was only ok.
posted by xyzzy at 8:44 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I just watched a Korean period drama called "Secret Healer" on Netflix that I was just crazy about. It hit all of your criteria and is very GOT-like while also not being a cheap or lazy rip-off. It all wraps up in 20 episodes.
posted by bleep at 9:04 PM on October 24, 2017 [3 favorites]

Oh I forgot the premise - it's about a cursed princess and her friends and family's desperate attempts to dispel the curse.
posted by bleep at 9:07 PM on October 24, 2017

You would also like "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell". It's about two amateur magicians who unleash magical forces they can't control into 18th century London. Very high quality and meets all your criteria. Unsure if it's on Netflix.
posted by bleep at 9:11 PM on October 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

You might also like "Life on Mars" - original UK version only. It's about a modern day detective who goes into a coma and wakes up in the same place except 30 years back in time.
posted by bleep at 9:14 PM on October 24, 2017 [8 favorites]

Another vote for The Americans. The plot description was posted above, so I'll just add that what I liked about it was that the early seasons are fairly light (they do contain a lot of murder and death, but also scenes like "what are the logistics of keeping a ten-year-old from finding out that there's an assassination victim in the trunk of the car?"), and have lots of great eighties costumes and wigs. But over time it gets much darker and more complex, and is grappling with some big questions, via a set of characters that you've grown to know. It crept up on me and I'm glad it did. It's also very good at end-of-episode cliffhangers, so I suspect would work well for your motivational purposes.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 10:50 PM on October 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I just finished Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and I’m obsessed and gutted it’s over (3 seasons only, 13 episodes, 13 and 8) (I want to warn you the last season is only 8. I didn’t realise and I was so bummed I wasn’t mentally prepared for that!)
Woman Sherlock Holmes set in the 20s in Melbourne Australia. If that’s not enough to get you going:
- It is so openly and unapologetically feminist I was hooked at the first episode (abortions! Birth control! Sex positive!)
- One Murder mystery per 1 hour episode, all loose ends tied up neatly but not in an overly obvious way
- Lovely supporting characters, I fell in love with a few of them. The Hugh/Dot storyline is especially sweet (working class folk from different religious backgrounds)
- The costumes and set design OMG

You may actually recognise the lead actress who plays Phryne Fisher, she was in a few episodes of GoT after she wrapped up this show.
posted by like_neon at 3:30 AM on October 25, 2017 [9 favorites]

Person of Interest is GREAT. I think you will really like it.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:12 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

"The Leftovers" is a three season show that deals with what happens when 2% of the world's population just disappears. The show focuses on a cop, his family, a woman whose husband and children departed and who works as an assessor of people who claim to have lost people who have departed, her brother and a fascinating but grim cult called 'The Guilty Remnant'. It's just an incredible show and well worth seeking out.
posted by h00py at 4:26 AM on October 25, 2017 [5 favorites]

Sleepy Hollow ? It fulfills 1 (the leads are fantastic), 2 (saving the world), 3 (most comedy is neatly tucked in the bits where Ichabod deals with modern technology, stuff like this), 4 (on both parts), 6 (I think it's on Amazon) and 7 (ran 2013-2017).

Unfortunately, it misses out on 5) because it's the worst managed show I ever recall watching. First season is great, in the second they started fucking up with new characters that brought little to the story and with the lead actress, the third is a slog and the fourth is a competent retool of the show without most of what made it tick.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:08 AM on October 25, 2017

Lost! Such a good show. I recently watched it all over again with my two daughters. The loved it.

Also, another vote for Six Feet Under. Best finale EVER.
posted by dancinglamb at 7:22 AM on October 25, 2017

I was coming in to say Supernatural, but see I was beaten to it. It's my gym/chores show and I don't think I could sell it better than jacquilynne did.

Will also second Outlander. I love Call the Midwife and think everyone should watch it, but am not sure it's what you're looking for here.

Some other recommendations:

The Walking Dead - so much dying, super high stakes machinations between people and rival groups. It is ridiculously long-running, but if you get into it, you'll be glad for that! This is the closest analogue I can think of to GoT, just with much less glamorous costuming/sets.

Doll House - what if you could reprogram people with the personalities of your lost loved ones? What could possibly go wrong? (only 2 seasons, wrap up is weird because they were clearly expecting a third; should be on netflix, definitely available to buy on amazon).

Crazy Head (only 6 episodes, on netflix) - young women finding themselves and the supernatural. It's a comedy but is also pretty dramatic a la Buffy. I really liked the main two characters.

Dark Matter - on SyFy and the earlier seasons are on netflix. Very dramatic, lots of near-death/dying. The basic premise is that a spaceship crew wakes up without their memories one day. Also lots of corporate control of the universe dystopia if you like that sort of thing. There are a couple of clear good-guy characters to root for and many of the "bad" characters are bad in interesting ways or for interesting reasons and become much more sympathetic over time. Good mix of ongoing story arc and standalone episodes. Definitely b-tv, but fun and entertaining.

You're All Surrounded (on netflix). So, this is modern-day but is a Korean police procedural that somehow combines incredibly over-the-top high-stakes emotions/death and light comedy. If you can deal with subtitles while you're exercising, I'd highly recommend it. It's pretty short (I think about 20 episodes) and really does a good job keeping you hooked on the plot and what's coming next. The first episode is a little hard to get it into and not super representative of the whole series, so give it at least two before deciding you're not into it.
posted by snaw at 7:29 AM on October 25, 2017

Another vote for Orphan Black...you will be blown away by the sheer amount of talent from the lead, Tatiana Maslany. Srsly, it's like watching the Olympics of acting. And the sci-fi is extreme/weird enough it might as well be fantasy. Bonus: Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) and a really solid supporting cast.

Also if you liked Buffy, then you should definitely check out both Dollhouse (2 seasons, very solid ending/resolution) and Firefly (unfortunately only one season, but there is also a movie, Serenity, that wraps it all up very well)
posted by sexyrobot at 8:47 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Person of Interest is great - way smarter than you'd expect from a show that was marketed as a network procedural. It's got a William Gibson-esque vibe and great character and plot work, and even the episodes that seem like "case of the week" end up building into the mytharc.

Legion is amazing, though short. Aubrey Plaza should have won an Emmy for it, she is phenomenal. The premise: David is a young man who is institutionalized for a serious mental illness... or possibly he is a powerful mutant whose powers shadowy forces are struggling to control. Either way, everything's about to change.

Stranger Things may not be quite as dark as some but is creepy and intense and the second season is coming out soon, plus fun 80s nostalgia. Premise: a group of young kids is rocked when one of their number goes mysteriously missing, but then they find a strange girl with telekinetic powers who may know the secret to the creepy things that have started happening around the town.

Orphan Black is another great "near future" sci-fi. Sarah's life isn't going so great, but when she sees a woman who looks like her identical twin throw herself in front of a train, she thinks it may be a chance to make a new start. Little does she know that she's just involved herself in a far-reaching conspiracy with potentially devastating consequences for her and everyone she loves.

Leverage is a bit funnier than you might be wanting but the overall plot arcs are great and the character development is fantastic. Premise: a group of con artists and thieves band together under the leadership of a former insurance investigator to pull Robin-Hood style cons on evil but untouchable people to help out people that the system has failed.

Black Mirror has some standout episodes but it's an anthology show so you won't get the continuous story that you seem to want. It's more like a Twilight Zone for the social media age. My favorite eps are Hated In The Nation, San Junipero, and Be Right Back.
posted by oblique red at 8:48 AM on October 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

Spartacus. If you're okay with the sexnviolence of GoT, you should be fine with Spartacus. It's on Netflix.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:46 AM on October 25, 2017

I used Battlestar Galactica for this. It's old now, so you may have seen it, and you probably know what it it's a about, but basically: last humans in space battling robots and trying to figure out where to go and how to restart life. I liked it for working out because it is addictive and people work out on the show a lot. Somehow that helped me.
posted by dame at 5:30 PM on October 25, 2017 [2 favorites]

Just came in to recommend Battlestar Galactica, but the poster right above beat me to it! So I will second it.

Also seconding Being Human (the UK version), Firefly, and Farscape.
posted by merejane at 7:54 PM on October 25, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks (belatedly) everyone! This should be plenty to keep me in shows for a good long while. I'm working my way through first episodes of the recs (there are so many!) and marking the ones I've especially enjoyed so far.

I've already seen Better Call Saul, Dollhouse, Walking Dead, and Supernatural, but did enjoy them.

So far the frontronner is Jericho -- I enjoy a good apocalypse!
posted by space snail at 7:44 PM on November 19, 2017