The BEST Shows of 2014
The top 50 shows of 2014
#1 - Sherlock
Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. John Watson solve crimes in 21st century London.
8.33 
#2 - Gravity Falls
Twin brother and sister Dipper and Mabel Pines are in for an unexpected adventure when they spend the summer helping their Great Uncle Stan run a tourist trap in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon.
8.29 
#3 - Fairy Tail
In the land of Fiore, magic is everywhere. Sorcerers are like skilled tradesmen who band together in "guilds" and take on paying assignments for non-magic wielders, like hunting monsters, retrieving lost items or running odd errands. Lucy is an aspiring wizard who wants to hook up with the coolest guild around, Fairy Tail. One day, she meets a red-headed boy who saves her from a unscrupulous wizard, and before she knows it, she's introduced to the wild and wacky band of wizards of Fairy Tail and begins the adventure of a lifetime.
8.25 
#4 - Cosmos (2014)
Hosted by renowned astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos continues from its 1980 predecessor, exploring how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time. It brings to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and transports viewers to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest scale. The most profound scientific concepts are presented with stunning clarity, uniting skepticism and wonder, weaving rigorous science with emotion and spirituality to form a single, united, transcendent experience.
8.17 
#5 - Game of Thrones
Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and the icy horrors beyond.
8.15 
#6 - Steven Universe
The Crystal Gems are a team of magical beings who are the self-appointed guardians of the universe. Half-human, half-Gem hero Steven is the "little brother" of the group. The goofball is learning to save the world using the magical powers that come from his bellybutton and he goes on magical adventures with the rest of the Crystal Gems, even though he's not as powerful -- or smart -- as fellow group members Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. Despite his shortcomings, Steven usually finds a surprising way to save the day.
8.15 
#7 - Rick and Morty
An animated series that follows the misadventures of an alcoholic scientist Rick and his overly nervous grandson Morty, who split their time between domestic family life and intergalactic travel. Often finding themselves in a heap of trouble that more often than not is created through their own actions.
8.10 
#8 - The Newsroom (2012)
The Newsroom is an American drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. The series chronicles the behind-the-scenes events at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) channel. It features an ensemble cast including Jeff Daniels as anchor Will McAvoy, who, together with his staff set out to put on a news show "in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal entanglements."
8.09 
#9 - Call the Midwife
Call the Midwife is a drama series adapted for television by Heidi Thomas from Jennifer Worth's best selling memoir of the same name. The series is a colourful look at the world of midwifery and family life in 1950s East End London. Jenny joins an eccentric community of nursing nuns having just qualified.
8.06 
#10 - Peaky Blinders
A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.
8.05 
#11 - Teen Wolf
The series revolves around social outcast Scott McCall, a high school student living in the town of Beacon Hills. Scott's life drastically changes when he is bitten by a werewolf, becoming one himself. He must henceforth learn to balance his problematic new identity with his day-to-day teenage life. The following characters are instrumental to his struggle: Stiles, his best friend; Allison, his love interest who comes from a family of werewolf hunters; and Derek, a mysterious werewolf with a dark past. Throughout the series, he strives to keep his loved ones safe while maintaining normal relationships with them.
8.05 
#12 - Rectify
Rectify follows the life of Daniel Holden upon his release from jail after serving nineteen years on Georgia's Death Row before DNA evidence disputed the State's original case. Holden, who was only eighteen years of age when convicted and sentenced to die for the brutal rape and murder of a sixteen year old girl, returns to his family and to his hometown where the murder occurred and where many still believe he is guilty. Daniel spent all of his adult life waiting to die. Now he must learn how to live again or decide if he even wants to while others choose whether or not he will have that chance.
8.04 
#13 - Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Remake of the 1999 TV series of Hunter x Hunter based on the manga by Togashi Yoshihiro. A Hunter is one who travels the world doing all sorts of dangerous tasks. From capturing criminals to searching deep within uncharted lands for any lost treasures. Gon is a young boy whose father disappeared long ago, being a Hunter. He believes if he could also follow his father’s path, he could one day reunite with him. After becoming 12, Gon leaves his home and takes on the task of entering the Hunter exam, notorious for its low success rate and high probability of death to become an official Hunter. He befriends the revenge-driven Kurapica, the doctor-to-be Leorio and the rebellious ex-assassin Killua in the exam, with their friendship prevailing throughout the many trials and threats they come upon taking on the dangerous career of a Hunter.
8.03 
#14 - Wentworth
Fans of the iconic Prisoner series which pushed boundaries over three decades ago and still today boasts a loyal following worldwide, will remember Bea Smith as gutsy and fearless, ruling Wentworth Correctional Center with an iron fist. But who was Bea Smith before prison? How did a wife and mother from the suburbs become a top dog without rival? Wentworth is a dynamic, often confronting, drama series that begins with Bea’s early days in prison. Set in the present day, it is a modern adaptation of Prisoner contemporising legendary characters and their stories for today’s audience. This ten-part series takes the viewer inside to an uncompromising environment exploring the politics of women in a world without men, and how such a threatening experience both challenges and often changes those confined and working behind the razor wire.
8.02 
#15 - Hannibal
Both a gift and a curse, Will Graham has the extraordinary ability to think like his prey—he sees what they see, feels what they feel. But while Graham is pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford teams him with a highly respected psychiatrist – a man with a taste for the criminal minded – Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
8.02 
#16 - Dragons
Taking place between How to Train Your Dragon and HTTYD 2, DreamWorks Dragons follows Hiccup as he tries to keep balance within the new cohabitation of Dragons and Vikings. Alongside keeping up with Berk's newest installment—A Dragon Training Academy—Hiccup, Toothless, and the rest of the Viking Teens are put to the test when they are faced with new worlds harsher than Berk, new dragons that can't all be trained, and new enemies who are looking for every reason to destroy the harmony between Vikings and Dragons altogether.
8.01 
#17 - Line of Duty
A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit.
8.01 
#18 - Almost Human
In the year 2048 the police have a new tool in their arsenal- Synthetics, robots who are tasked with assuring the safety of the humans who created them. Not everyone is pleased with the changes. Detective John Kennex, who has been wounded in action, returns to the force and learns that his new partner is a Synthetic named Dorian. Dorian's programming is very different than that of the normal Synthetic, with a capability to experience emotions making him seem almost human, but John still mistrusts the machine at his side. Can they work together as a team?
8.01 
#19 - Girl Meets World
Based on ABC's hugely popular 1993-2000 sitcom, this new comedy, set in New York City, will tell the wonderfully funny, heartfelt stories that "Boy Meets World" is renowned for – only this time from a tween girl's perspective – as the curious and bright 7th grader Riley Matthews and her quick-witted friend Maya Hart embark on an unforgettable middle school experience. But their plans for a carefree year will be adjusted slightly under the watchful eyes of Riley's parents – dad Cory, who's also a faculty member (and their new History teacher), and mom Topanga, who owns a trendy afterschool hangout that specializes in pudding.
8.00 
#20 - Power
James "Ghost" St. Patrick has it all: a beautiful wife, a gorgeous Manhattan penthouse, and the hottest, up-and-coming new nightclub in New York. His club, Truth, caters to the elite: the famous and infamous boldface names that run the city that never sleeps. As its success grows, so do Ghost’s plans to build an empire. However, Truth hides an ugly reality. It’s a front for Ghost’s criminal underworld; a lucrative drug network, serving only the wealthy and powerful. As Ghost is seduced by the prospect of a legitimate life, everything precious to him becomes unknowingly threatened. Once you’re in, can you ever get out?
8.00 
#21 - Fargo
An american black comedy–crime drama anthology television series created and primarily written by Noah Hawley. The show is inspired by the 1996 film of the same name written and directed by the Coen brothers, who serve as executive producers on the series. Each season follows an anthology format, being set in a different era along with a different story, cast and set of characters.
7.99 
#22 - Person of Interest
John Reese, a presumed dead former CIA agent, is approached by a mysterious billionaire named Harold Finch to prevent violent crimes before they happen by using an advanced surveillance system dubbed "The Machine". Their unique brand of vigilante justice attracts the attention of two NYPD officers, Joss Carter and Lionel Fusco, whom Reese uses to his advantage as he investigates persons of interest.
7.98 
#23 - BoJack Horseman
Meet the most beloved sitcom horse of the '90s, 20 years later. He’s a curmudgeon with a heart of...not quite gold...but something like gold. Copper?
7.98 
#24 - Louie (2010)
Louis C.K. stars as a fictionalized version of himself; a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two daughters in New York City.
7.97 
#25 - The Originals
A spin-off from The Vampire Diaries, The Originals centers on the Mikaelson siblings, otherwise known as the world's original vampires: Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah. Following a tip-off informing him there's a plot brewing against him, Klaus goes back to New Orleans only to find his former protégé, Marcel, ruling the city. Having originally built it but been forced to flee from their vengeful father, Klaus resolves that they must take down Marcel and get back the city that once belonged to them. While doing that, they must also protect their city from a war brewing between vampires, werewolves and witches.
7.97 
#26 - Duck Dynasty
Series introduces the Robertsons, a Louisiana bayou family living the American dream as they operate a thriving business while staying true to their family values and lifestyle. Ask anyone in Louisiana and they'll tell you that the bayou state's favorite first family doesn't live in the governor's mansion but in the backwoods, where the Robertsons' rags-to-riches story is still unfolding. A homegrown mom-and-pop operation, Duck Commander has become a sporting empire by fabricating top-of-the-line duck calls and decoys out of salvaged swamp wood. This newly minted multimillionaire family is kept in line by business-savvy Willie, who runs Duck Commander with the help of his brother Jase, their respective wives Korie and Missy, patriarch and founder of the company, Phil, and uncle Si. Together they run a booming business that employs half their neighborhood, but at the end of the day, you can find the whole family around matriarch Miss Kay's dinner table.
7.97 
#27 - Parks and Recreation
The series follows Leslie Knope, the deputy head of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Knope takes on a project with a nurse named Ann to turn a construction pit into a park, while trying to mentor a bored college-aged intern. However, Leslie must fight through the bureaucrats, problem neighbors, and developers in order to make her dream a reality, all while with a camera crew recording her every gaff and mishap.
7.97 
#28 - Key & Peele
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele present "Key & Peele," an original sketch-comedy show coming to Comedy Central in 2012. In this new series these fresh, relevant comedic actor-writers, used to being on the outside looking in, will examine life in a provocative and irreverent way, through a combination of filmed sketches and live stage segments. Whether it's satirizing the President, spoofing Nazis, or ordering up some soul food, "Key & Peele" will showcase their chemistry, camaraderie and unique point of view, born from their shared background and experiences growing up biracial in a not quite post-racial world.
7.96 
#29 - The Leftovers
Three years after the disappearance of 2% of the global population, a group of people from New York struggle to continue their lives, while they cope with the tragedy of the unexplained nature of the event.
7.96 
#30 - The Legend of Korra
Avatar Korra, a headstrong, rebellious, feisty young woman who continually challenges and breaks with tradition, is on her quest to become a fully realized Avatar. In this story, the Avatar struggles to find balance within herself.
7.96 
#31 - Halt and Catch Fire
In the early 1980s a visionary, an engineer and a prodigy combine to confront the corporate behemoths of the time. Their personal and professional lives will be challenged by greed and ego while charting the changing culture in Texas' Silicon Prairie.
7.95 
#32 - Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.
7.94 
#33 - Orphan Black
A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.
7.94 
#34 - Outlander
The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
7.93 
#35 - Kingdom (2014)
A retired MMA fighter turned trainer juggles keeping his mixed martial arts gym running and keeping his family united.
7.92 
#36 - Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadful is a frightening psychological thriller that weaves together the monsters of classic stories. The explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, American gunslinger Ethan Chandler, Miss Vanessa Ives and others unite to combat supernatural threats in Victorian London. They encounter some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, the Wolfman and iconic figures from the novel Dracula.
7.92 
#37 - The Seven Deadly Sins
The "Seven Deadly Sins," a group of evil knights who conspired to overthrow the kingdom of Britannia, were said to have been eradicated by the Holy Knights, although some claim that they still live. Ten years later, the Holy Knights have staged a coup d'état and assassinated the king, becoming the new, tyrannical rulers of the kingdom. Elizabeth, the king's third daughter, sets out on a journey to find the "Seven Deadly Sins," and to enlist their help in taking back the kingdom.
7.92 
#38 - Banshee
An unnamed ex-convict assumes the identity of Lucas Hood the sheriff of Banshee, Pennsylvania, where he, behind a badge, continues his criminal activities, even as he’s hunted by the shadowy gangsters he betrayed years earlier.
7.91 
#39 - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is an American late-night talk and news satire television program. L.W.T draws its comedy and satire from recent news stories, political figures, media organizations, pop culture and often aspects of the show itself.
7.91 
#40 - Chicago Fire
No job is more stressful, dangerous or exhilarating than those of the Firefighters, Rescue Squad and Paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. These are the courageous men and women who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way. But the enormous responsibilities of the job also take a personal toll. With big reputations and hefty egos, the pressure to perform and make split-second decisions is bound to put squad members at odds. When a tragedy claims one of their own, there's plenty of guilt and blame to go around. When it's "go-time" though, they put their differences aside and everything on the line for each other.
7.91 
#41 - White Collar
A white collar criminal agrees to help the FBI catch other white collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter, and conman.
7.91 
#42 - True Detective
An anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
7.91 
#43 - How to Get Away with Murder
A group of ambitious law students and their brilliant criminal defense professor become involved in a twisted murder plot that promises to change the course of their lives.
7.90 
#44 - The Missing
“The Missing” centers on the psychological fallout and ensuing years-long manhunt resulting from the sudden disappearance of five-year-old Oliver Hughes while on holiday with his parents in France in 2006. A gripping dramatic thriller that goes inside the mind of a father, Tony Hughes, desperate to locate his lost son. With help from local police detective, Julien Baptiste, Tony embarks on an obsessive quest to find his son and those responsible for his disappearance. A gripping puzzle with twists and turns at every stage, Tony’s exhaustive search fractures his relationship with his wife, Emily and threatens to destroy his life. Told through a delicate and complex narrative, “The Missing” unfolds over two time frames simultaneously.
7.90 
#45 - Forever (2014)
Dr. Henry Morgan is New York City's star medical examiner, but what no one knows is Henry studies the dead for a reason: He is immortal. With the help of detective Jo Martinez, the show peels back the layers of Henry's colorful and long life through their cases.
7.90 
#46 - The Knick
Set in downtown New York in 1900, 'The Knick' is a Cinemax drama series from Academy Award and Emmy-winning director Steven Soderbergh. It is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics.
7.90 
#47 - Heartland (2007) (CA)
Life is hard on the Flemings' ranch in the Alberta foothills where abused or neglected horses find refuge with a kind, hard-working family. Debts abound and the bank is about to foreclose. Can they keep the ranch running?
7.90 
#48 - Gomorrah
Mafia activity in Naples is at the center of this series, which focuses on internal struggles that follow after the head of a family is imprisoned.
7.89 
#49 - Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers, and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC’s familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegal arms business driven by the seduction of money, power, and blood.
7.89 
#50 - Sword Art Online
In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive unless they reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. Their struggle for survival starts now...
7.89