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Its come to my attention that many of you have been missing out on some of the best television that's ever been produced. No longer simply a home for classic movies, the AMC network has taken a cue from FX and opted to produce gritty shows focused around characters and story. "Story matters here." is the current tagline and after watching any one of their original dramas you'll see that they mean it.

AMC is determined to only put out quality shows that are unique and interesting. They take chances and get creative and make no apologies. Where most network TV fails, these guys soar and you'd swear that you were watching a top HBO drama as all four of these shows can go toe to toe with The Sopranos or The Wire. If you've ever seen the Wire you know how bold of a statement that is, and if you haven't then here's a not-so-subtle nudge to add that to your Netflix queue. Now, onto the shows!




Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher is diagnosed with cancer and decides to start producing methamphetamine in order to leave his wife and son enough money to live on before he dies. Bryon Cranston is amazing as Walter, struggling to break into the drug world and keep his family together. Breaking Bad returns with its 4th season in July 2011 and I for one can't wait as season 3 ended with quite a bang.


Will Travers, an intelligence analyst working for a secret government think tank stumbles into a conspiracy that he can only begin to understand the shape of. Don't look here expecting explosions and torture every episode because Rubicon uses a lack of action to its advantage. The show's slow pacing highlights the compelling story and really makes the moments of revelation stand out. Season one recently ended and sadly the serious was not renewed for a second. :sadface:


A period piece set in the 1960's marketing world; Mad Men follows Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce's creative director, Don Draper, through a murk of social mores and personal hangups. At its most basic this show is about vices: both how the characters struggle with them, and how they fit into the world during that time in America. Period-shows are notoriously difficult to pull off, but Mad Men's larger than life characters flourish in a world where people fought to be larger than life. Season 4 just ended and you can expect it to start back up next fall.


Rick Grimes, a deputy sheriff rural Georgia, wakes from a coma to find the world overrun by the undead. The premise might sound clichéd but there is really no new ground to break in the zombie franchise. The Walking Dead takes these tired settings and does them the justice that a sea of B-movies never could. The 90-minute pilot that aired this past Sunday was easily the most gripping zombie story in a decade and even people who hate the genre can't deny its quality. The pilot was so good in fact, that a second season has already been confirmed.

Agreed on Mad Men and the Walking Dead. I've been meaning to catch on Rubicon too.

I wish they'd put some pants on the Breaking Bad dude in the promo shots though. The ubiquitous shots of a weird dude in his underwear never really prompted me to give it a shot. I'll give it a try one of these days though since everyone seems to love it. :)

There's promo shots of them in their yellow suits, behind the wheel of the RV, and there was one of him in Heisenberg attire I think as well. The promo shot that I saw and got me to start watching was actually this billboard:

Edit: Heisenberg is the alter-ego he adopts for his drug dealing. When he's out pretending he's Heisenberg he's calm but mean, when he's at home as Walter White he's this bumbling family man. The dichotomy and his struggle between his two lives is just great.



Also, Saul Goodman is the shady lawyer that he eventually hires and is awesome. "Better call, Saul!"

Breaking Bad and Mad Men are my two favorite current TV shows. Breaking Bad reminds me Sopranos when it was on top of it's game.

Wow, that's a bold statement. I get the same feeling from Mad Men, probably due to the shared heritage. Guess I really should check Breaking Bad out after all.

Breaking Bad is pretty good. I've been liking the trend of shows lately that have the whole "two masters" conflict going on. Rescue Me is another one, but not on this network.

Rubicon cancelled :(

Lame. Guess I won't bother.

The best shows are always canceled. I honestly can't think of one, besides house, that has a long enough run to give me any sense of fulfillment from the series.

I saw the pilot of Rubicon and have to say I hated it. I was really looking forward to watching it, but once I did, it seemed totally contrived. Even AMC isn't perfect - but their batting average on original programming puts everyone else to shame.

But generally I agree with Kifle about good shows usually getting cancelled too soon. Arrested Development being a prime example. I would also submit "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" into that discussion. It wasn't really in the same league as the AMC shows, but as far as good mindless entertainment goes, it was fun to watch.

FOX is the worst about cancelling good shows or just sticking new shows in doomed time slots. Why networks insist on trying to compete with incumbent powerhouses like House or Lost makes no sense to me.

Arrested Development is probably my best example as well. Didn't that show even win an emmy or two? I thought Better Off Ted was also a great show that got the axe for no reason. And, I know I'll get a few snickers, but Veronica Mars was a great show.

While these shows get canceled, somehow shows like "Bones" are still on the air. I tried watching a few episodes because it was on Netflix, but the acting was so horrible, and the "discoveries" were so forced, I had to shut it off halfway through the second episode.

People actually prefer those kinds of mindless shows more than well-written ones that make you use your brain. Its sad really.

Better off Ted was a great show. So was Firefly, so was Studio 60. Sad to see good entertainment go, and the Biggest Loser is still on.

BTW, thanks Jake for that original post. I started watching Walking Dead after I saw your post, what a good show...if you like zombies.

Who doesn't like zombies?!

Only one more episode of TWD to go! Tonight's episode was pretty awesome and I'm curious where the CDC set they used is actually at because its pretty huge for being used in only 2 episodes.

AMC's new show The Killing is pretty good so far. You can stream the first 2 episodes at amctv.com and catch up this week before the 4th episode airs. Its a mystery show, not a procedural.


Also, this is funny:

What they did with TWD is retarded btw. The long interval I mean. The show is fucking great.

Adriorn Darkcloak wrote:What they did with TWD is retarded btw. The long interval I mean. The show is fucking great.

I completely agree. I hope they decide to turn it into a 20+ episode format rather than the faux British episode format. I'm waiting patiently for its return. I'll have to check out that new show. AMC is amazing.

Check out the IT Crowd, a British show. I know you can see all the previous episodes online on Netflix. Funny little show. And yes, AMC shows are great. No show had my attention after Lost ended like TWD. And this bullshit now is just unacceptable.

Adriorn Darkcloak wrote:Check out the IT Crowd, a British show. I know you can see all the previous episodes online on Netflix. Funny little show. And yes, AMC shows are great. No show had my attention after Lost ended like TWD. And this bullshit now is just unacceptable.

IT Crowd is one of my favorite shows, but, again, it's on the british series format, so not that many episodes :(

Ever seen the Father Brown series? I think it's from the same guy as IT Crowd. Pretty funny.