I guess I’m still capable of sitting down at the keyboard to carve out one new piece of writing a year because, well, here we are. I felt it was my duty to put one on the board in 2014 and additionally touch on the best in television this year so I’m really happy to put this one together. I wish I could produce more writing, be more active on this site, and I’ll strive to do just that in 2015. But back to television which seemingly each year puts out more quality programming than the previous year; 2014 continued that trend. There’s really too much good television available these days. This year was rough too in that I didn’t have as much free time (and didn’t make as much time) for television as 2013. I still watched over 400 episodes of television and most or all of 36 series. That’s not to brag (how could it possibly be), but to give context. Several sacrifices had to be made. The biggest one was “Rectify,” a top 10 show in 2013, which I simply couldn’t get to this year (it also hurts that I don’t get the Sundance channel in HD). A couple other shows I couldn’t get around to this year that I feel could have cracked the top 10 are “Transparent” and “Orange is the New Black.” I’ve only heard good things. There’s just no way to watch everything and I do have obligations in life, you know. That didn’t make narrowing the list down to 10 much easier. When putting this piece together I always try to throw in a new wrinkle. This year, with time constraints on the mind, I tried to factor in how easy or hard it was for me to sit down and consume an episode of a series. The shows I really wanted to make time for had an edge. Some shows are well put together, but difficult to sit through. Others are easy to put on, but don’t have the quality. That partly comes through in the annual explanation of exactly what “top” means. Instead of doing a “best” list which would take a more objective look at everything or a “favorite” list which would look at things more subjectively I attempt to combine the two and create one list that I refer to as “top.”

And now, my fourth annual top 10 television series of the year.

WARNING: SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT

Honorable Mention (in no particular order):

• “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO) – My number five series of 2013 drops out of the top 10 in 2014. Throughout its run Boardwalk was a show that benefited from its 12 episode seasons. The abbreviated eight episode final season was hurt by not having the opportunity to build as a normal season would (see the treatment of White, Chalky), but still featured its usual expert execution in the end.

• “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (FOX) – Towards the end of the first season it was trending towards being my favorite comedy on television and seemed certain to make the top 10 at mid-year. A bit of a lackluster start to season two dropped it out though it started to gain steam in the last couple episodes of the year. I’m big on this sitcom’s comedic sensibilities. Here’s hoping the nine-nine sticks around for years to come.

• “Silicon Valley” (HBO) – The thing I like best about this show is the way it sets up jokes and pays them off. There were several instances where a seemingly meaningless piece of dialogue sets up a big joke later on. And look at the joke that sets up the light bulb moment that gets Pied Piper its big victory. For all the jokes Silicon had high stakes (at least for a comedy) the viewer could really get invested in.

10.  “True Detective” (HBO) – This heavily anticipated series especially stood out in two areas. First, it unsurprisingly did well by its two leads Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. When stars of this caliber commit to a television series you’d expect their roles to be pretty meaty and they were. McConaughey and Harrelson worked well off each other and turned in outstanding performances while dominating screen time. Because the season devoted so much time to Rust and Marty pretty much all other characters were short-changed which is unfortunate. The second area the show really thrived was with its direction and visuals. “True Detective” in general was a gorgeous show to watch. As a viewer I felt a real sense of place. Director Cary Fukunaga deserves high praise and not just for that masterpiece six or so minute continuous shot. As season one of “True Detective” aired it seemed to develop into a show viewers wanted to come up with “Lost” style theories for. I never really got that. To me it was always a relatively standard issue cop investigation story that focused on the two central characters, nothing supernatural. The story turned out to be that, which is fine, but wasn’t as imaginative as some made it out to be. On the plus side the show spawned lots of interesting discussion and was about as close to appointment viewing as there is in this day and age. I eagerly await what season two has in store.

• “The Episode” – The Secret Fate of All Life
• MVP –  Matthew McConaughey (Rust Cohle) – McConaughey turned in perhaps the best performance on television in 2014. Matthew McConaughey, so hot right now. Matthew McConaughey.

9. “Hannibal” (NBC) – I really wish more people were watching “Hannibal.” As I noted last year when this series was a spot higher on this list I’m not close to the biggest fan of the Hannibal Lecter universe. I’m not too informed on it even. It doesn’t really matter though because this show is so damn good. After giving it some thought I can’t really think of a show that is as under-appreciated as this. The thing “Hannibal” has going for it more than anything is its distinct style. Visually, it is one of a kind. The use of music on the show fits perfectly. Some of the graphic stuff it gets away with for a television show let alone a network television show is remarkable. The second half of season two was somewhat uneven and cartoony for me. Will and Hannibal spent a little too much time together for two characters who were obviously at odds and had previously tried to do terrible things to each other. Michael Pitt was probably too hammy and there was the matter of a character dressing as an animal which was way out there. Still, this is a series I’m very thankful is allowed to exist on television. There really is nothing else like it, not only on network television, but really on television period right now.

• “The Episode” – Yakimono
• MVP – Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal Lecter) – Anthony Hopkins made this a classic cinematic character. It’s amazing how Mikkelsen has made it his own.

8. “Broad City” (Comedy Central) – Watching the struggles of Abbi and Ilana play out was among the funniest things on television in 2014. These two put and found themselves in numerous ridiculous and sad circumstances in the first season of this comedy yet never took their state with too much seriousness; most everything was light in that sense. The tone really works for the show, but commitment is needed to make it work as well as it does and speaking to that Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer seem game for just about anything as long as it’s funny. In some ways this show reminds me of one of my favorites, “Flight of the Conchords,” in that it features two central characters struggling to make it in the big city. Furthermore both shows had supporting characters that fit in well and in general had fun with the misfortunes of its characters. “Broad City” was a show that I didn’t really know much about before it premiered but gave a shot mostly because Comedy Central is doing a lot of good things at the moment. I’m really glad I set that first recording for this one.

• “The Episode” – The Lockout
• MVP – Ilana Glazer (Ilana Wexler) – I get the sense she’d do just about anything for a laugh. Gave one free-spirited performance here.
  

7. “Veep” (HBO) – In its third season “Veep” continued its trend of getting better. It produced more laughs and was more satirically on point than at any other point in the series’ run. “Veep” does an expert job of making American politics and American political coverage seem ridiculous (really borderline insane), but to me a reasonable amount of it is sadly believable. That says something for how well this show comes together. It also says something about the way politics and media coverage operate too. This season in particular felt like it took more real life political issues/stories and turned them slightly for the purposes of a sitcom. The results were effective. For instance, it makes the overuse of a word/phrase or a haircut a point of emphasis in a political campaign. It seems so unbelievable to a reasonable human being, but just look at the stories that get play on cable news networks these days. This show showed how the smallest seemingly unimportant perceptions can swing voters. Beyond all of that, the ensemble got deeper and had more cohesion than previous seasons. The jokes are quick and come in waves. “Veep” has developed into one of the essential shows on television.

• “The Episode” – Debate
• MVP – Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Selina Meyer) – For someone at the center of a series there’s a lot of subtlety in what she does. She’s not always the one delivering the big punchlines, but this show wouldn’t work without her giving this performance.
  

6. “Louie” (FX) – Goodness it was awesome to have “Louie” back on TV in 2014 after an absent 2013. You never quite know what you’re going to get from a story or structure sense with “Louie.” It can be just about anything Louis C.K. chooses it to be. That flexibility is of great benefit to the show. In past seasons several episodes featured multiple stories within the 30 minute timespan. Season four went in a different direction as it split its 14 episodes essentially into four different sections. The first was the most conventional, if “Louie” can ever be described that way, with three standalone episodes. The next six were the “elevator” episodes focused on Louie and his romance with his neighbor’s niece who was visiting from Hungary. There was a two episode look back at a story from Louie’s childhood and lastly a three episode arc centered on Louie and Pamela. Whether this show goes with the multi-story in a single episode structure or uses several episodes to tell a single story the one thing that remains constant is that “Louie” is interesting. The stories can be heartbreaking or hilarious or sometimes both, but they’re done well.

• “The Episode” – In the Woods
• MVP – Louis C.K. (Louie) – There’s nowhere else you’d consider going with this pick.

5. “Mad Men” (AMC) – It feels like “Mad Men” in general is losing some of the support and recognition it had for earlier seasons. Not that they mean a whole lot, but the awards aren’t being won like they once were. I still feel it is a top-tier series on television though. For me it starts with the characters and the investment in them. Watching any quality show that has gone six and a half seasons would probably engender investment in the characters, but “Mad Men” has always excelled in these areas more than most series. This was evidenced in the Don-Sally diner scene and a few of the scenes between Don and Peggy in the last couple episodes to single out a couple of examples. These characters have been through a lot together and you’re hoping they can make it out all right when all is said and done. Similar to “Boardwalk Empire” discussed earlier, “Mad Men” is a show that benefits from having a full season of story to payoff. Splitting the seventh and final season I feel hurt the flow the show normally has. It was rushed, uneven, and wasn’t afforded the usual build up in areas. Still, it was mostly the high quality show we’ve known for years and I cannot wait to see how it finishes.

• “The Episode” – Waterloo
• MVP – Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) – Could go in a number of directions with this one. She’s consistently solid and nails the big moments.

4. “Fargo” (FX) – The 1997 Oscar-winning film for Best Original Screenplay is something that should stand on its own. At least that’s how I felt when I heard FX would be developing a television series inspired by the film by the same name. Well, those feelings were not confirmed once “Fargo” started airing. It had some of the same sensibilities and tone you’d expect from the film and the Coen brothers, but it was certainly its own thing. The show was humorous when it wanted to be and delivered some of the best tension of the year. It also created a stable of memorable characters and told a full season story rather well that serviced the characters it developed. Simply put it was more than competent in virtually any area that would make for a quality television series. “Fargo” could have easily turned into a disastrous idea, but it proved to be a triumph in season one.

• “The Episode” – A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage
• MVP – Allison Tolman (Molly Solverson) – “Fargo” had some big time actors in big time roles. The lesser known Tolman stole the show as the heart of the season.

3. “The Leftovers” (HBO) – I’m confident that no show in my top 10 will be more controversial than this one. “The Leftovers” is a show that people seem to love or downright hate; put me in the former category. I found the first couple episodes of this series merely interesting while doing a solid job of introducing the characters, but the season grew on me a great deal as it went on and as I think back on it now. With the subject matter at hand it’s easy to see why people would be so turned off by the show. It’s not as if the show was about the subject of loss at all times, but almost any focus on the subject is tough to delve into. It may have wallowed, it may have gone out of its way to be depressing. Still, I felt the show dealt with the subject in effective ways. Another thing that I could see people not liking was how difficult it was to root for many of the characters on the show, especially the Garvey family, at certain points. The first season of “The Leftovers” spoke to me though. In the end I was completely immersed in what was going on. I cared what happened to the characters (OK, maybe not the Guilty Remnant) and I cared what happened to the town. And what I really wanted was for these characters to find some sort of happiness in what was a mostly miserable existence. The season was setup for that last scene in the finale on the porch, that little smile. With a myriad of memorable moments “The Leftovers” season one won’t soon be forgotten.

“The Leftovers”

• “The Episode” – Two Boats and a Helicopter
• MVP – Carrie Coon (Nora Durst) – What a revelation. She delivered one of the very best performances of the year. Totally the heart of the show.

2. “The Americans” (FX) – Of all the things “The Americans” excels at, and there are many, pacing is probably what it does best. Everything is measured and carefully parsed out. A typical spy show would have spent an inordinate amount of time teasing and potentially even played the grand reveal card. This show instead continues to build in impressive fashion. As evidenced in the season two premiere this show treats death extremely seriously, which is refreshing. So many television shows gloss over someone killing another person. There’s no way it’s that simple and this show takes the time to show the viewer that. It was welcome to see the stakes raised in the second season. It made everything more impactful. The finale was rather perfect in setting up future stakes and potentially placing a gigantic wedge between Philip and Elizabeth with regard to whether or not they’d ever allow Paige to have a life similar to theirs. The circumstances “The Americans” has set up over two seasons has the potential for devastating moments down the road. There are tons of possibilities not just for season three, but for the entire series. Finishing on this list in the top three in its first two seasons “The Americans” could be headed for all-time status.

• “The Episode” – Echo
• MVP – Matthew Rhys (Phillip Jennings) – It’s tough because both of the leads are unreal. I’m going with Rhys primarily for the way he nailed the smaller beats this season.

1. “Game of Thrones” (HBO) – Are you surprised? Here’s where “Game of Thrones” has finished on this list in its first four seasons: 2011 – 1st, 2012 – 4th, 2013 – 2nd, 2014 – 1st. I love this show. It touches on deeper subjects such as power when it wants to and produces some of the best action on television. It delivers better than any show in the all important category of entertainment. Its execution of the big moments is second to none. Case in point look back at pretty much any significant death on the show so far. Just from season four there’s Ygritte, Tywin (I’d be shocked if he was still around), “The Hound” (It’d be a surprise if he’s still around), Oberyn and Joffrey. Not only were those scenes executed well they continue to remind the viewer that no one is safe in this universe. Speaking of which that expansive universe that’s been built up over these four seasons is really an achievement (yes I realize the universe comes from the books first). The production values are masterful. One thing I’ve wavered on looking back on season four is the treatment of Oberyn. The character came in as the new hope. He seemed formidable and perhaps most importantly intelligent which is why I wasn’t too sure how I felt about his recklessness in the fight with “The Mountain.” I would have liked to have seen that side of the character a little bit more prior to that episode. At the same time that could just be me not wanting to see yet another character the viewer is supposed to root for being wiped off the show (this one in such brutal fashion). The scene itself played out well and memorably, but I just was 100% sold from a character standpoint. But that’s just one small issue. The season as a whole was another fantastic one. In this era of DVRs and streaming “Game of Thrones” stands as the closest thing there is to true appointment television.

• “The Episode” – The Lion and the Rose
• MVP – Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell) – As with any season of GoT there are many characters from the huge ensemble that could be the MVP. I’m going with Pascal who made an instant impact with his charismatic performance.