The Best Shows You’ve Never Seen – Part 1

Network television is in a sad state right now. In the aftermath of the popularity of Tivo, and now streaming sites like Hulu, there just isn’t as big of a push for live viewership as there was when television was in it’s golden-age. Ad revenue for these conglomerates is dropping like flies and that translates into punishment for writers and viewers of great television shows.

Nowadays, a show that gets 3 million viewers might scrape by and make it 2 seasons before getting cancelled, and such is the case with the two shows I want to bring to your attention, the first show is called Life.

Life (NBC – Wednesdays 9PM)

I don’t know how else to put this except to say Life is a great show. The premise of Life is really original. A cop named Charlie Crews goes to jail for a murder he didn’t commit. He is cleared 12 years later by DNA evidence and goes back to the LAPD as a detective… and oh, he’s been given $50 million dollars for his troubles.

The most fascinating thing about Charlie Crews is that you’d expect him to be dark and twisted after 12 years in the slammer, however he comes out cool and collected because he studied Zen, however his dark side does come out from time to time. This is just the kind of show that really makes you look forward to television again. This series is so consistent and well-written that it makes you wonder how Without A Trace could be on for so many seasons with the recycled scripts and Anthony LaPaglia’s canned acting.

Damian Lewis (Charlie Crews) is a breath of fresh air. There simply hasn’t been an actor like him on television, nor a character as well-written and acted as Charlie Crews. Damian Lewis was meant for this role. Sarah Shahi plays Dani Reese, Charlie’s new partner and she does a fantastic job of playing a recovering alcoholic who thinks that Crews is deranged. The interactions between Crews and the other characters on the show is 100% entertaining and the characters actually grow and change throughout the seasons.

During the first season of Life you learn that Charlie is leveraging his LAPD status to figure out who framed him, even though he continues solving day to day crimes, he is secretly trying to figure out who put him in prison and why. Life has amazing acting, humor, substance, consistency and great cinematography, it’s not just another “cop show”. To use a food analogy, if CSI is a quarter-pound burger, Life would be a 14oz. Porterhouse will all the trimmings and a side of mashed potatoes. This show has to be watched to be appreciated, but I guarantee, if you pick it up you won’t be disappointed, the only disappointment is that it’s likely not coming back for a third season.

You can watch Life on NBC.com, Hulu.com or pick up the entire seasons on DVD via Netflix or local retailers.