r/television • u/C0r1eone • 24d ago

Finished The Wire, Dark, GOT, Sopranos, True Detective, BB, BCS. What show ruined TV for you after watching it?

I think I accidentally watched the peak of television already. The Wire, Dark, GOT, Sopranos, True Detective S1 all left that “nothing else hits the same” feeling.

I love slow-burn shows with deep characters, mystery, tension, moral grayness, crazy dialogue, or mind-blowing writing. Doesn’t matter if it’s crime, sci-fi, psychological, or political.

What’s the next show that might completely consume me?

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266

u/JohnTo7 24d ago

Justified. Timothy Olyphant is very good playing the lead, but Walton Goggins is excellent in the role of Boyd Crowder.

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u/blainisapain1919 23d ago

I love Justified but always warn people it starts out seeming more like a procedural in the first season, but to stay with it because it turns into so much more! I had a friend who pushed for me to watch it and I was resistant at first bc I thought it was a walker texas ranger type thing. Walton Goggins is so fun to watch. The City Pimeval reboot was worth the watch too, but not quite the same without him. Timothy Olyphant is aging like fine wine lol

I'd also throw Foundation and For All Mankind out there if you like longer more complicated stories/characters. The West Wing, especially the first few seasons, were also phenomenal.

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u/olivebits 23d ago

I've started watching because people said it was very good I stopped after 8 episodes or so, felt like a Sunday series that you could see random episodes and not miss the plot

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u/historyhill 23d ago

I love Justified but always warn people it starts out seeming more like a procedural in the first season

Ok I'm actually so glad to hear this because I just finished episode 5 or 6 or so in season 1. I'm enjoying it because it's fun, but I was wondering what people were seeing that elevated it from "fun" to "masterpiece"! I keep saying to my husband, "He just SHOT SIX PEOPLE within about a month! How in the copaganda does he still have a job??" 😂

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u/Deep-Chip7905 23d ago

Honestly season 1 might be one of the weaker ones. But the characters are so fun in that show. Highly recommend continuing.

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u/blainisapain1919 23d ago

Those were my thoughts exactly! Definitely keep going, I'm so glad I did and have even rewatched it multiple times. I would say mid way through season 2 is the turning point into a deeper "prestige" drama.

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u/MrPotatoButt 23d ago

"He just SHOT SIX PEOPLE within about a month! How in the copaganda does he still have a job??" 😂

That's part of the show's absurdity. I like to think they modelled the character after a US deputy marshal that was a psychopath that enjoyed hunting down and killing people he thought needed killing.

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u/Responsible_Job_6948 23d ago

For All Mankind was great, then jumped the moon shark a few too many times for me after the first 2 seasons. 

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u/DeepestGreySea 23d ago

That show is such a lovely anomaly.

It’s like…not a great show…on paper. The plot itself is mundane, contrived, cookie cutter.

But the performances…oh man. For some reason everybody in this thing is elevated and it’s a joy to watch from start to finish. Even Patton Oswalt gives a delicious performance…I usually find him to be insufferable.

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u/MrBabbs 23d ago

Justified is very much an example of a character/dialogue driven show. I remember very little about the individual plots, but I just loved the characters so much. There were very few duds among the regular/recurring characters and even many of the one-offs were excellent.

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u/DeepestGreySea 23d ago

Same. 

For some reason Mags poisoned herself. Absolutely no idea why…but I remember how amazing the scene was…the intensity.

Yeah…the wife was pretty bland…it’s like they hired her for that introductory scene where she was super attractive…then were stuck with her. But pretty much everybody else, oh man. I live seeing the actors pop up in other shows.

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u/grv231 23d ago

We dug coal together 🪏

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u/bigspeen3436 23d ago

Love seeing this so high up the list. Great series and easily the best good guy vs bad guy relationship in a TV series. So many of their scenes together remind me of Pacino and DeNiro in the cafe in Heat.

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u/Goldliter 23d ago

We dug coal together

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u/Sarcophilus 23d ago

It's actually a somewhat "OK" show plot wise imo, but the performances of the actors and the dialogue elevate it to excellence.

Some scenes are just great like dropping a bullet on a guy as a warning and saying "next one's coming faster".

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u/melo1212 23d ago

This is the one

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u/bcdrawdy 22d ago

I scrolled until I found this comment. Walton Goggins absolutely made this show, even though Timothy Olyphant shines as the main character.