Most Underrated Shows on TV

Certain shows on TV are sometimes overlooked, missed or just forgotten before people have the chance to even experience it. Some shows might be new and struggling to get off the ground or a few seasons in that still lie under the radar.

Well I say it’s always worth to double-check that radar and find yourself a new show that’s so unique and brilliant that you’ll want to tell everyone else about it!

So here’s a list of my top 5 most underrated shows currently on our TV screens in no particular order:

Sleepy Hollow

The Headless horsemen gets a modern day take in this show

The American supernatural-police drama TV series that’s on FOX (urgh… FOX…) is a “modern-day retelling” of the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. 

The show follows Ichabod Crane, a soldier in the Colonial Army of 1781, who was risen from his grave over 230 years later into the modern world to fight (for use of a better word) the four horsemen of the apocalypse (including of course, the infamous headless horseman) from rising up and taking over the world. Ichabod is aided by police officer Abbie Mills and other companions throughout the first season.

Coming back for an extended second season of 18 episodes in the fall, Sleepy Hollow is an incredibly well-crafted show that grounds supernatural events well into the real world. Aided with brilliant chemistry between its leads and supporting cast, Sleepy Hollow enhances its story with an emotive understanding of these characters in an overlying story arc that now spells trouble leading into the second season.

You’ll have to wait until this fall to find out about those cliff-hangers that the first season left us with, sleepyheads!

Once Upon a Time

Who doesn't like fairy tales?!

Once Upon a Time is an American fairy tale drama series that takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, whose residents are actually characters from various fairy tales transported to the “real world” town and robbed of their real memories by a powerful curse. Episodes typically feature a primary storyline in Storybrooke, as well as a secondary storyline usually from another point in a character’s life before the curse was enacted.

A show that really brings your childhood into a modern setting with an adult feel to the show is a rather winning combination itself but aided with brilliant casting and interesting story arcs, it makes this a show worth looking into. 

With its fourth season coming this fall, there’s plenty to tie you over and delve into if you’re a fan of fairy tales.

The Americans

You never know what people are hiding...

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. with their unsuspecting children and their neighbour, Stan Beeman, an FBI counterintelligence agent.

The series focuses on the personal and professional lives of the Jenningses, sometimes incorporating real-life events into the narrative. The show’s creator has described the series as being ultimately about a marriage. The show is packed with great characters and story arcs that are balanced with action and emotion throughout. 

Recently wrapping up its second season, The Americans is a show on FX that’s defining the period drama series and setting the bar high. Definitely worth checking out, with plenty of time before its third season hits at the start of 2015.

The 100

Earth does not look the same in the future

The post-apocalyptic drama series is set 97 years after a devastating nuclear war wiped out almost all life on Earth. The only survivors are the residents of twelve space stations in Earth’s orbit prior to the war, and the descendants of the people on earth who survived the war, called “grounders” by the 100.

The space stations banded together to form a single massive station named “The Ark”, where about 2,400 people live. Resources are scarce and all crimes no matter their nature or severity are punishable by death unless the perpetrator is under 18 years of age. After the Ark’s life support systems are found to be critically failing, one hundred juvenile prisoners are declared “expendable” and sent to the surface in a last ditch attempt to determine if Earth is habitable again.

Airing on The CW – a network that is really starting to bring some great programmes to our screens – this show delves deep into a survivalist instinct in a similar way that Lost did all those years ago.

The 100 is definitely a show to look into if you’re a fan of under the radar shows with its first season coming to an end in less than two weeks. 

Good job it’s been renewed is all I can say!

24: Live Another Day

Jack is Back....

A show that is arguably not unknown or too much under the radar, but still a show that a lot of people seem to pass up on… And they shouldn’t.

Set four years after the events of season 8, it loosely adheres to the real time concept that 24 is renowned for; it still covers the events of a 24 hour period, with each episode corresponding to an hour. Jack Bauer remains a federal fugitive, and has evaded capture with the aid of Chloe O’Brian. Meanwhile, amid growing concerns over the use of US military unmanned aerial drones in combat, President James Heller pays a historic visit to London to negotiate a treaty to continue their basing on British soil. 

Having heard rumours of an imminent attack against Heller, Bauer resurfaces in the city and realises that the complexity of the plot extends beyond a presidential assassination, and that the consequences of a successful attack will alter the course of history. With the help of a disgraced CIA agent and a hacker, he must confront an unseen enemy whose personal vendetta threatens to push the world to the brink of war.

Season 9 of 24 is possibly one of the better –definitely refreshed – seasons of the show to date with another outstanding performance by Kiefer Sutherland as the thrilling Jack Bauer, this is definitely a season worth looking into if you’re a fan of action, drama, espionage and loyalty in your TV shows…

 Honorable mentions of other underrated shows past and present include:

- Community

- Freaks & Geeks

- Intelligence

- Helix

- Episodes

That's it for me today. Let me know if you have any shows that you think are underrated and should be watched. Find me on Twitter @Miarls or on Google+ +Alex Miarli for me happenings and shinanigans.