What To Binge-Watch: Dramas
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What To Binge-Watch: Dramas

The answers to the ever-distressing question, "What show should I watch now?"

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What To Binge-Watch: Dramas
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Almost everyone loves TV, and in 2015, there are more amazing television shows — both critically better and more entertaining — than ever before. Watching TV is America's pastime (sorry, baseball), and whether you're watching as a family from the couch or on your laptop in your dorm room, TV has remained popular since its arrival into our living rooms. Now, all the TV I watch is, ironically, not on a television at all, but on a computer or laptop.

Sometimes, however, there are so many good shows on that you might not know what to watch. Or worse, you just finished watching "Game of Thrones" and don't know what to do with your life now. As someone who has fallen into both of these situations, I often resort to binge-watching my favorites over and over again, and though I love having "30 Rock" on repeat, there's nothing like starting a new show and being able to watch multiple episodes and seasons back-to-back.

This relatively new phenomenon, called binge-watching, is "the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession, usually by means of DVDs or digital streaming" (Wikipedia, emphasis mine). Binge-watching is the result of streaming media's accessibility and has been taken full advantage of by our generation. We now have HBOGo/HBONow, Netflix, Hulu, FXNOW and Showtime Anytime, along with the many streaming channels that Apple TV offers like Fox Now, USA Now and even a TED channel. With so many options, it's hard to narrow the choices down to start watching, but if you're in a TV rut, check out the following streaming shows in the Drama category to turn on before school starts, during a study break, or when you just need to watch some TV.

Dramas

1. "Friday Night Lights" (Netflix, all seasons)

The only people who haven't watched and fallen in love with it are people who have no idea what it is. Everyone I've suggested it to who's watched it has been unable to keep from finishing the show as quickly as possible, due to the good story lines, the perfect soundtracks and the lovable characters (you will wish that Tami and Coach Eric Taylor were your parents and that Tim Riggins were your boyfriend).

With five seasons to get through and 45-minute episodes, the show finally won two Emmy Awards in 2011 after the final season.

2. "Ray Donovan" (Showtime Anytime, all seasons)

Admittedly, I have not watched all of "Ray Donovan," but my hip parents told me about it and don't miss an episode. After sporadically watching some episodes with them, it's been added to my TV to-do list. Liev Schreiber and John Voight play son and father respectively in this drama that merges crime with a murky family past and familial problems.

Currently, there are only two complete seasons, and the third season just began airing, but once you finish watching them you can look forward for the many to come.

3. "Mad Men" (Netflx, seasons 1-7.1)

This year, "Mad Men" aired its last season and episodes, prompting sadness from some die-hard fans and excitement at the completion of another near-perfect drama series. Now is the best time to re-watch the whole series or binge-watch it for the first time. You'll be able to literally watch the years go by for the characters in the series. You'll simultaneously love and hate Donald Draper, feel annoyance toward Peter, and pride in Peggy and Joan. Before you get too busy, find time to watch one of the best television dramas of all time.

4. "True Detective" (HBO, season one)

When HBO premiered its new miniseries "True Detective," I immediately started watching, but had to wait every week for the episodes to come on. Now, I'm going to binge-watch the first season and will probably be finished by tomorrow night.

Like "AHS," "True Detective" is a miniseries that changes plots season-to-season. So far, there have only been two seaons of, but they've opted to change the cast as well each season. The first season, starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, garnered attention for its cast, cinematic qualities and McConaughey's performance. The second season, starring Rachel McAdams, Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins!) has infamously garnered attention for its failure to live up to expectations from the first season, and unless you want to slowly develop feelings for its characters and then watch a nihilistic finale, stick to the first season.

5. "Breaking Bad" (Netflix, all seasons)

"Breaking Bad" concluded two years ago this September and has since fallen off most people's radars, but I couldn't write a guide to binge-watching dramas without including the highest rated show of all time (Guinness World Records).

If you seriously still haven't watched "Breaking Bad," you really need to. At this point, the show is a part of our cultural history, and it almost feels like you can't be a part of American society if you haven't seen "Breaking Bad." Though not necessarily a feel-good show, it's philosophical and worth re-watching for its themes and motifs on morality.

6. "American Horror Story" (Netflix/FXNOW, four seasons)

This FX miniseries generally carries the same cast from season to season but changes characters and storylines. For those of you wary of a 'horror' show, it's really not that scary, but if you truly have doubts, watch it with your friends or in the daylight (my best friend was initially hesitant, and now she's obsessed).

There are currently four seasons out — "Murder House," "Asylum," "Coven" and "Freakshow" — with the fifth, "Hotel," premiering in October. Only the first three seasons are on Netflix, but the fourth is rumored to be appearing soon. Even though the plots change season-to-season, the creepy stories along with Evan Peters and Jessica Lange will keep you watching. There's also a slew of interesting conspiracy theories on the Internet regarding plot lines and intersecting seasons, so "AHS" may actually take over your life.

(Note: Lady Gaga, Darren Criss and Naomi Campbell are all in "Hotel," along with regulars Evan Peters, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates, so even though you can't binge-watch the new season, I highly suggest watching it with friends every Wednesday night starting Oct. 7.)

7. "Dexter" (Netflix/Showtime Anytime, all seasons)

I started watching Dexter as a sophomore in high school on Netflix when its streaming service had just begun. Back then, almost six years ago (eek), Netflix only had three seasons of Dexter on its streaming service, and now it has all eight seasons — just think of all that binge-watching potential!

This crime/mystery series starring Michael C. Hall (who also stars in another series on this list) follows the life of Dexter Morgan, who is a serial killer of serial killers. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the series takes a nosedive in its later seasons, but the show in its entirety is still one of my favorites and one of the first I ever binge-watched.

8. "Bloodline" (Netflix, one season)

I'm actually currently still in the process of watching "Bloodline," which I only started two days ago, but I only have five episodes to go! It is a recent Netflix original series that was released in March of this year but that only drew my attention recently when a friend couldn't stop talking about how I needed to watch it. She was right.

I started watching "Bloodline," one, because my friend told me it was good; two, because it stars Kyle Chandler a.k.a. Coach Eric Taylor from "Friday Night Lights"; and three, because the first season was released in its entirety so I could watch it start to finish without any waiting. The show takes place in the Florida Keys and revolves around a locally prominent family and their covered-up, traumatic past.

9. "Six Feet Under" (HBO, all seasons)

"Six Feet Under" is my favorite drama of all time, and I say that knowing "favorite show" is not a term to take lightly. This is the show I constantly try to get people to watch but that very few my age have heard of since it premiered in 2001 and ended in 2005 when I had barely finished elementary school. The show's finale aired 10 years ago this month, so I encourage you to dig it out of HBOGo or HBONow and press play.

This show isn't action-packed or about murders, but it does tell the story of a family that owns a mortuary in LA and how they come to terms with mortality. It has a great cast featuring Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") and Frances Conroy ("American Horror Story") and is a show whose greatness can't truly be understood until you watch it. Its series finale, considered one of the best of all time, made me cry, which only one other show has made me do. Please watch it.

10. "The Sopranos" (HBO, all seasons)

Because it aired from 1999-2007, "The Sopranos" just barely missed the window for 'viewportunity' for most people my age, and I'm only familiar with it because my parents watched it in its entirety on DVDs when I was in high school. Nevertheless, "The Soprano" — another series regarded as a "best of all time" — should be watched by anyone who likes well-written, well-acted dramas about organized crime (which is pretty much everyone).

The show's character development, like that in "Six Feet Under, is an important aspect to the series. Although it's a show about the Mafia, it also communicates the stories of people, which makes it easy to sympathize with the criminal characters.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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