We know about your obsession for Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, but stop watching reruns! Scrap the summatives and get watching something new! 2014 has been an absolutely stellar year for new series and these are the ones we’d recommend…
1. The 100
Summary: Set in the post-apocalyptic future, the Earth has been decimated by nuclear warfare and the 2000 survivors live in a space station. When oxygen begins to run low, 100 juvenile delinquents are sent back down to earth to test its habitability.
Comments: Put 100 teenage criminals together in a forest and carnage naturally ensues. A great script, lots of action and an amazing cast, make each episode 45 minutes of pure addictive television.
Starring: Eliza Taylor (The November Man), Bob Morley (Neighbours)
Recommended if you love: The Hunger Games
Addict factor: 10
2. Â Â Â How To Get Away With Murder
Summary: Five law students are selected by the prestigious criminal defence lawyer Professor Keating to work for her firm, but everything turns weird once the group become involved in a murder plot.
Comments: Davis absolutely owns this show as the terrifying Annalise Keating, and if you can get over Enoch’s slightly dodgy American accent then this show is completely addictive.
Starring: Viola Davis (The Help), Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter)
Recommended if you love: Law dramas, murder mysteries and strong female leads
Addict factor: 8
3. Â Forever
Summary: Dr. Henry Morgan is an eccentric medical examiner living in New York and working to uncover the perpetrators of some of the city’s highest profile murder cases. He also happens to be an immortal and is obsessed with discovering the means to his own death.
Comments: The awkward chemistry between Gruffudd and de la Garza is hilarious.
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four), Alana de la Garza (CSI: Miami)
Recommended if you love: Silent Witness
Addict Factor: 6
4. The Knick
Summary: At the Knickerbocker Hospital in early 1900s New York, a brilliant but cocaine addicted doctor becomes Chief Surgeon after his supervisor and closest friend commits suicide.
Comments: Tensions over race and religion sit right at the heart of this dark and graphic series, and Owen’s performance as Doctor John Thackery is completely electrifying.
Starring: Clive Owen (Blood Ties), André Holland (42)
Recommended if you love: House M.D.
Addict Factor: 4
5. Outlander
Summary: A happily married WW2 nurse is transported back in time to 18th century Scotland, where she meets the dashingly handsome Jamie Fraser and finds her heart torn in two different directions.
Comments: Sensational acting, and if you didn’t love the Scottish accent before this series, you will now!
Starring: Caitriona Balfe (Escape Plan), Sam Heughan (Doctors)
Recommended if you love: Period dramas and men in kilts
Addict Factor: 8
6. Jane the Virgin
Summary: A devout young Latina woman finds her life turned upside down after she is accidentally artificially inseminated.
Comments: An absolutely bizarre premise for a show that somehow really works. Rodriguez’s performance will warm the cockles of your heart and the show is perfect for some light comic relief.
Starring: Gina Rodriguez (Sleeping with the Fishes), Justin Baldoni (Single Ladies)
Recommended if you love: Chick Flicks
Addict factor: 5
7. Selfie
Summary: Based on My Fair Lady, a young sales representative, who has a global media following, is coached by a cynical inventor in the art of selflessness.
Comments: A funny piece of social satire focussing on the modern world’s obsession with technology and social media. Whilst Cho’s acting leaves much to be desired, it’s worth watching just for Gillan’s lovably hilarious performance.
Starring: Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), John Cho (Sleepy Hollow)
Recommended if you love: Confessions of a Shopaholic, New Girl
Addict factor: 5
8. True detective
Summary: Set in Louisiana, two very different detectives become unlikely allies during a 17 year hunt for a prolific serial killer.
Comments: The A-list cast of this series does not disappoint, and it definitely lives up to its critical reputation. Try and make it past the slow first episode – your efforts will be rewarded.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games)
Recommended if you love: Inspector George Gently
Addict factor: 7
9. Penny Dreadful
Summary: In Victorian England, clairvoyant medium Vanessa Ives, sharp-shooting Ethan Chandler and explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, combine forces to search the demonic London underworld for Murray’s daughter
Comments: This program combines all of the best elements of several classic gothic Victorian novels, including Dracula, Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Warning: Not for the faint hearted
Starring: Eva Green (Casino Royale), Timothy Dalton (James Bond)
Recommended if you love: Gothic horror, steamy sex scenes and vampires
Addict Factor: 7
10. The Leftovers
Summary: 2% of the world’s entire population unexplainably disappear, and the survivors try to return to normality
Comments: Another series with a star-studded cast that has absolutely astounded the critics in its first season. The Leftovers deals with complicated themes of cult behaviour and religious tensions in the wake of inexplicable disaster.
Starring: Justin Theroux (Wanderlust), Amy Brenneman (Private Practice)
Recommended if you love: Lost
Addict factor: 8