With the abundance of streaming services now available, there’s never been a better time to find a great show to watch, even if there’s not one currently on. It can be a bit daunting trying to find a show that doesn’t have a crazy amount of episodes from start to finish.
A series between three and four seasons is usually not too much, though. There are some shows that have been cut off too early, and some that just knew exactly when to leave on a high note. Here are a few of our favorites from the last few decades.
Deadwood
With its anachronistic vulgarity and unforgettable characters, Deadwood was a huge departure from most other Western TV shows that had previously graced the small screen. Where white hats and black hats had dominated Western TV shows, Deadwood brought much more gray and brown to the landscape. While it wasn’t necessarily a ratings juggernaut, it has gained a cult following in the years following enough to spawn a TV movie that aired earlier this year, wrapping up the series for good. With just three seasons comprised of 36 episodes, it’s a show you can dive into and not be completely overwhelmed by.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Just because a series is marketed to kids doesn’t mean that it can’t be great. Avatar: The Last Airbender may not have seemed extraordinary at the time, but it has only grown in our hearts since it left TV over a decade ago. Avatar followed the adventures of Aang, another chosen one figure, and his friends as they try and save their world from certain destruction. Its premise was nothing new, but it managed to deftly balance not just a story but character development as well. Each character felt three-dimensional. Even its villains, particularly Zuko, were given more thought and attention than viewers have come to expect from any TV show, not just an animated one. At 61 half-hour episodes, it’s a great series to watch for the whole family.
True Detective
The first season of True Detective may have been lightning in a bottle, but its following seasons were something to behold in their own right. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson delivered career-best work and gave fans a Southern Gothic anthology series that stuck with them long after they first watched it.
Season two struggled to find as strong of a narrative voice, but season three came back with a formula similar to the first season and the acting talents of Mahershala Ali, reigniting the fan base briefly. It remains to be seen if HBO will give it another go, but given the behind-the-scenes struggles to get a third season completed, the audience is happy it just got to see one more.
Legion
How do you make a new superhero TV show stand out when a new one premieres almost every month? You go completely psychedelic and never let your audience get comfortable. Noah Hawley’s loose adaptation of the X-Men character, Legion, defied every superhero convention and refused to become simply defined. While Supergirl, the Arrow, and the Flash were having showdowns with new bad guys every week on The CW, Legion was having dance-offs that took place in David’s head (or did they?). Legion may be an acquired taste, but those that give it a chance, find it never proves to be boring.
Lie To Me
Lie To Me was a different kind of criminal procedural show that was abruptly canceled halfway through its third season. Featuring Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, the series follows him and his team of body language scientists as they assist law enforcement agencies through interrogation processes. The series was at its peak in the second season as it forced Dr. Lightman to look more and more into the mirror of his own techniques to find out what he was hiding. Season three went off the rails with an ending that made almost no sense, but we sure had a lot of fun along the way.
Pushing Daisies
Looking for a show with more than a dollop of whimsy? Look no further than Pushing Daisies. Week after week, audiences followed Ned, a piemaker with the best-named shop ever, The Piehole, as he accompanied a private investigator and helped him solve crimes by reviving victims for just 1 minute. If that’s not a premise you can be sold on, what will get you going? Ned initially finds himself in hot water after reviving an old flame for more than a minute, causing the death of another individual, beginning a series of close calls and encounters with people who have died most interesting deaths. No spoilers here, but be sure to have a pie nearby at some point; the show leaves the audience dying for a slice before they’re even done with an episode.
Mr. Robot
USA’s dark, Rami Malek-driven hacker series Mr. Robot came like a thief in the night of summer 2015, sending fans to online forums trying to crack the codes embedded by creator Sam Esmail. While many fans saw the first season reveal coming a mile away, it didn’t stop them from coming back for more.
Halt And Catch Fire
AMC knew that Mad Men was on its way out and was in search of its next big thing. Then along came Halt And Catch Fire with a pilot that could have been mistaken as Mad Men set in the ’80s switching out the world of advertising for the world of tech. But, if Mad Men’s stories were filled with protagonists who couldn’t lose, like Don Draper, Fire’s narratives centered on brilliant characters for whom success remained just one step away. Its protagonists do ultimately arrive at success, but much more time is spent watching them be creative and try to get ahead of the game. Despite Fire having a bumpy first season, it got better each year with a new set of episodes. And unlike some of the other shows it followed, its finale was a definitive conclusion.
Hannibal
Who would dare try to put another actor in the role of Hannibal Lecter made iconic by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs? Bryan Fuller (also the creator of Pushing Daisies) of course! Rather than retread the road laid by Jonathan Demme, Fuller went a completely different direction, starting with FBI profiler Will Graham rather than Clarice Starling, and casting Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen as the titular Hannibal. While initial episodes often felt similar to any other police procedural with Will helping track down the criminal of the week, it would become a much more cerebral show, focusing on Will’s relationship with Hannibal and his struggle to find morality in a depraved world of serial killers. There are continual rumors of a fourth season, but one way or another everyone should watch the amazing three seasons that already exist.
The Good Place
It’s quite remarkable that a comedy about ethics and moral philosophy would manage to be made into a TV show, let alone become one of the most popular shows of the last few years. Yet, The Good Place has done just that. With a huge twist ending in the first season, The Good Place made the audience start taking it seriously. While some shows have become bogged down by twists and mystery box plots, The Good Place has always managed to keep its characters centered with a lot of heart to buoy viewers through its ethical explorations. For those who haven’t caught up with this one, there are still a few more weeks before it enters its final four episode stretch.
