Today's best of 2011 Top 5 is going to be new television shows. I included any show that debuted in 2011, whether that debut was part of the 2010-2011 winter season or the 2011-2012 fall season. The caveat to this list is I only considered shows that I got to watch. I don't have any premium channels so anything on HBO, Showtime or Stars is automatically off the list, so don't get all mad because I didn't list Game Of Thrones or Homeland. Chances are, from everything I've heard, both of these would have made the cut, but I won't get to watch them until they show up on DVD or Netflix. If anyone would like to pay for me to have these channels or if any of the channels would like to send me screener copies, just let me know, I would happily except either and include the shows next year. But until that happens, here's this year's non-premium channel Top 5 New TV Shows...
5) Chicago Code
In all honesty, this wasn't a great year for new television. So much so that I included a show that only lasted 13 episodes before being cancelled. Chicago Code was a Shawn Ryan creation (The Shield, Terriers) that dealt with corruption in Chicago politics and crime fighting. It was a gritty cop show that went beyond the typical cop procedural, which I am not usually a fan of. The show was fantastically acted by Jennifer Beals, Jason Clarke, Matt Lauria and Delroy Lindo, amongst others. It's too bad it wasn't given a chance to further it's complex storylines. Much like Terriers, another Shawn Ryan show, it was killed before its time.
4) Once Upon A Time
I wasn't expecting much from this show from a couple of Lost writers. For one, I wasn't happy with how Lost ended and had a bitter taste in my mouth for anything Lost related. For another, I really didn't know how interesting someone could make the concept of Fairy Tales set in a modern world. But, as what happens a lot of times when expectations are low, I have really enjoyed the show so far. The shows style, moving back and forth from the Fairy Tale World past and the Real World present, harkens back to Lost flashbacks and works to get the viewer wrapped up in both the present characters and the Fairy Tale World history. My only question is, where is the show going? Everything is working for now, but how many seasons can they delay breaking the curse and returning the people of Storybrook back to the Fairy Tale World? And is there any story to tell once that occurs? We'll have to wait and see, I guess, but for now it's certainly one of the best new shows on TV.
3) How The States Got Their Shapes
I can't put into worlds how enthralling I find this History Channel show. The little bits of local history, the events that molded state borders and regional traditions, the funny responses people have to Brian Unger's questions. Everybody should be watching this show. There's a lot to learn from it and a ton of entertainment to be had. I'm not sure if there is going to be a season two or not, they may have fit everything they had to teach us in 10 episodes, but I have my fingers crossed because I can't get enough!
2) Suburgatory
Another show that kind of crept up on me. There wasn't a lot of buzz or publicity behind this show about a single parent father who decides to move his teenage daughter out of the corrupting city to the suburbs, so it kind of flew under my radar. But it only took one viewing to know that this was going to be on my Top 5 new show list. The suburbs that the show depicts is far from reality, but the satire still works in bringing out big laughs. Jeremy Sisto, Jane Levy, Cheryl Hines, Allie Grant, Ana Gasteyer are just a few of the names from this great comedic cast. The show is able to be extremely silly yet deeply heartfelt at the same time, the best recipe for a great show.
1) New Girl
There should be no surprise that this is the number one new show on my list. I had very high hopes for this show based solely on the fact that it's star was Zooey Deschanel and boy did it deliver. Little did I know that the rest of the cast would end up being just as funny and appealing. I got a little scared after the third or fourth episode that they show was going to get stuck in a rut of telling the same story over and over, but they've come out of that strong with a bunch of laugh out loud funny episodes. The quirky off beat comedy might not be for everybody, but it's right up my alley.
Honorable Mentions: Lights Out (canceled), Pan Am, 2 Broke Girls
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