Here is a selection of the best series of 2015 to date. Some are deserved hits, others are recognized artistic achievements, and some are still hidden gems that just need to be discovered. Here's a list of the best series of 2015 so far that are new or have spawned noteworthy sequels.
Series are listed alphabetically, not by rating.
1. The Americans (2013)
Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) are Soviet spies in 1982 who pose as ordinary American parents. The Cold War thus came to television in an intimate espionage drama where the couple struggles with teenage daughter Paige (and potentially one day employed by the KGB) while undertaking a mission that could (depending on the circumstances) go down at any moment.
2. Better Call Saul (2015)
A comedic noir series that we're glad doesn't depend on Breaking Bad, either in context or drama. Bob Odenkirk is a virtuoso when it comes to sweat—his pores as eloquent as tiny violins: with every drop of desperation-scented sweat, he transforms Jimmy McGill from a corrupt lawyer to a slightly less corrupt lawyer.
3. Bloodline (2015)
The Rayburns own the Posh Hotel in the Florida Keys, but their sibling/parental feud comes to a head when their prodigal son, Ben Mendehlson, comes back to town.
4. Broad City (2014)
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer live in the big city - with nothing to show for it but each other and their friendship. Together, they create a kind of uninhibited comedy that dances like she's alone and naked in her apartment.
5. Empire (2015)
When the head of a billion-dollar hip-hop empire (Terrence Howard) learns that he is terminally ill, he must decide which of his three sons will inherit the family business. Meanwhile, his ex-wife was released from prison after serving a long sentence and is now demanding what she feels is her due. A unique family funhouse featuring both original and trendy music.
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6. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015)
The interwoven documentary series investigates an accused serial killer. One of the best TV dramas that made actual news when Robert Durst revealed his secret on camera and was also arrested in real life during the miniseries finale.
7. Orange Is the New Black (2013)
The Orange Is the New Black series remains a marvel: so many stories and so many compelling actresses willing to tell them. Characters that we thought we already knew and loved because of it take on new dimensions. America's women's prison saga continues.
8. Silicon Valley (2014)
A big step forward for an already excellent comedy: "I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a world where someone else will take care of a better world better than we can." The world of technology enthusiasts, the world of "start-up" culture, was relentlessly satirized from the very beginning - some of the jokes come from the 1990s. But Sillicon Valley is still a catchy, timeless series where manly boys meander between arrogance and humiliating defeat.
9. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015)
Ellie Kemper is touchingly vulnerable as a refugee from Indiana who is just starting out in life. She spent fifteen years locked in an underground bunker, where she was imprisoned along with three other girls by a crazy preacher. He enters the real world with a very different outlook on life and with a curiosity about what the Hanson guys have been up to lately.
10. Veep (Vice President, 2012)
Welcome to the Oval Office of Julie Louis-Dreyfus. Now that Selina Meyers has finally succeeded in the presidency, she is officially "the worst thing to happen to the country, next to slavery." Veep's follow-up venture into political satire just got fun -- at this point, it's all about Washington, DC, where the most awful people work. Intensely nihilistic, they produce venom so quickly that they make other comedies look a bit sleepy.
