Best New Show on Television (Read 185 times)

[horizon]

I'll get to the best new show in a minute. Before that I should also mention ABC introduced a nighttime soap opera with a Hispanic twist in "The Promised Land." I liked it but it was relegated to HULU after 5 episodes due to low ratings despite critical acclaim. It had gorgeous locations and a very attractive cast, but it just goes to show that "classy" TV often takes time to build an audience and today TV execs are looking for sugar rush entertainment and have little patience for a slow buildup. I imagine a show like Seinfeld would never make it in today's washed-out market.

For close to a week Comcast offered free access to a lot of Premium channel content. As is my want I dug into episodes 7-10 (I had previously watched 1-6 during an earlier free period) of "Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 11," my favorite show on HBO. Coming off a fantastic Season 10 I must say Season 11 was a crushing disappointment. It started off great with guest star Albert Brooks on episode 1 and episode 5 was very funny as well. And the finale episode 10 was pretty good. But the rest of the episodes were mainly flat and well below his usual funny standards. Richard Lweis was only on one episode due to health reasons, but this Curb season never found a consistent funny groove.

HBO of course is home to now legendary shows. From "The Sopranos" to "Sex in the City" it is renowned for groundbreaking shows. Naturally I didn't like either one of those shows but did faithfully watch "Game of Thrones" although I thought the violence was too over the top.

This season they premiered an American period piece called "The Gilded Age." And I am here to tell you it may go down as one of HBO's best creations. I was lucky to have squeezed in 8 out of the 9 episodes of Season One. The finale for this season (it has been renewed for a second season) airs Monday but unless I fork out some bucks, I will miss it. I should mention the TV ratings have continued to climb as the season went along. And I also understand they love it in the UK. So it is that rare hit that offers superior and classy entertainment. You can't help but get hooked.

Taking place near the turn of the century most people associate The Gilded Age with sharp income inequality with the haves and the have nots. The show mainly features the upper crust portion of society, and it is fascinating. But it also shares with the "Upstairs Downstairs "ethos where the wait staff and high society coexist. The cast is fabulous and there are countless juicy "soap" elements. I encourage every Days fan to search it out. I imagine most of you will love it like I do. I don't think there is another show currently playing on TV that can touch it with a ten-foot pole.