The Sopranos
Managed to make the Mafia look good, bad and ugly at the same time. And who could ever imagine that Steve Van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band was such a great actor? The show ended in 2007 and we still miss it.
The Walking Dead
Move over vampires – the zombies are here, and in style, in a snarling bid to take over the world. Pity that police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln, together with his group of survivors, stand in their way.
The Wire
Five seasons of pure, gritty brilliance on the streets of Baltimore. The acting, especially by Dominic West, Idris Elba, Andre Royo and Clarke Peters, is some of the best ever seen on TV, or anywhere for that matter. The only thing we don’t like is that there will not be a sixth season.
Treme
Inspired by the New Orleans tragedy, Treme is another great offering by David Simon. Some of The Wire actors are here, just in case you’re missing them. This is also one for music lovers as it has one of the greatest soundtracks of all times.
Mad Men
Elegant and stylish, this series is one of the best looking on TV. Someone must have done their research as the 1960s mood is brilliantly recreated. And the actors – from Jon Hamm to January Jones and Christina Hendricks – are not just pretty faces.
Breaking Bad
One of the best things about this series is its sheer originality – when penniless chemistry genius Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) learns that he has terminal cancer, he decides to leave his family enough money for them to survive without him. So he dedicates his grey cells to creating the best quality crystal meth on the drug market.
Homeland
This is the latest thriller on the small screen which will leave you gasping for air. Claire Danes will not be remembered for Romeo + Juliet, but for this. We can’t wait for series two, which starts this September.
Boardwalk Empire
Set in the Prohibition era, Boardwalk Empire is vast in budget and sheer scale – the pilot episode was directed by Martin Scorsese with a budget of $18 million. Actor Steve Buscemi proves that moving from the big screen to the small one can, in fact, be an upgrade.
Justified
Writer Elmore Leonard’s novels have inspired some of the greatest films ever, from Get Shorty and Jackie Brown to Rum Punch and Out of Sight. Justified draws inspiration from some of Leonard’s short stories and absolutely nothing is lost in translation from one medium to another.
Dexter
We loved Michael C Hall in Six Feet Under as the younger brother in a family running a funeral home – and we love him even more as the blood spatter expert who works for the Miami Metro Police Department by day, and metes out justice in his own original way by night.
The Killing
Dark and forbidding, this series is so good that the first season was bought by the BBC. Don’t let the fact that it’s in Danish scare you – the subtitles actually add to the drama and mystery.