We all know that terrible feeling that occurs after you have watched the series finale of your most recent favorite show. Now what to watch?! Is there anything else out there that can replace it? We have all been there, read on for a few suggestions from The Family Firm staff and see if any of our recommendations tickle your fancy.
Deadwood - HBO (also available on Amazon Prime)
This show was originally aired in 2004 and that I have just gotten around to watching and must say that it is now one of my all-time favorites.
This series is set in the 1870s and takes place in the gold rush town of Deadwood which would later be incorporated into the Dakota Territory and ultimately into the state of South Dakota. The show revolves around Al Swearengen (portrayed by Ian McShane), a cunning saloon owner and aspiring town boss. It has a lot of what you might expect from a Western, including the gold rush theme, and armed violent gangs.
The show was created by David Milch who also created Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue. Sadly, there are only three seasons to this series.
The Americans - FX (also available on Amazon Prime)
The Americans is in its fifth season and is a good candidate for binge watching over a few lazy weekends. The series tracks the lives of a husband and wife team of Soviet spies that are living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Their cover is that they are travel agents and not only do they have to hide their true identity from their community but also from their two children. I really enjoy the spy thriller theme to the show but the character development of the two leads and their relationship is what makes this 80s themed show a real stand out.
Kate Fries
Wyatt and I have been enjoying watching Cosmos on Netflix which is an updated version of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” with the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hosting. You can learn more about the show here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Spacetime_Odyssey
Gerry Lord
NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is a fictional drama on CBS – now in summer hiatus. It’s my favorite show and has a reputation for being one of the best dramas on TV. The cast of characters is really strong and the investigators solve a different crime each week that occurs to a member of the military.
Foley’s War on Netflix is a fictional detective drama that starts out during World War II and continues during the cold war. There are three main characters and it centers around the police inspector, Christopher Foyle, who deals with crime intertwined with the war.
America’s Secret Space Heroes on the Smithsonian channel shows the behind the scenes work of those who involved in the U.S. space program. It focuses on the engineers as the “secret heroes,” who designed and built the spacecraft and instruments and solved a variety of problems along the way. Stories include the Saturn V moon rocket, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station etc.
Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives on the Food Network has a chef visiting 3 or 4 restaurants across the country during each show, interviewing the owners and sampling their specialties. I enjoy checking some of these restaurants out when I travel.
I watch a variety of cooking shows on different stations. I’ve watched enough to become the expert in my family for making gravy and cutting poultry properly and I enjoy trying some of their recipes.
America’s Got Talent is a talent competition on NBC with a variety of performers vying for $1 million. There are novelty acts, comedians, dancers, singers, magicians, musicians, etc. I prefer to DVR it, and speed through the commercials and the lesser performers. But some of the singers and magicians are fantastic and worth watching.
Blue Bloods now in summer hiatus is a fictional police drama on CBS that centers on law enforcement and family.
Cam Moore
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by writer Margaret Atwood. Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. Worldwide infertility has resulted in the enlistment of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead—called handmaids, according to an "extremist interpretation" of a Biblical account.
Better Call Saul, AMC
It follows the trials and tribulations of small-time lawyer James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill in the time leading up to establishing his strip-mall law office. The spin-off prequel to Vince Gilligan's prior series Breaking Bad.
Master of None, Netflix
Comedy series created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, and stars Ansari in the lead role of Dev Shah, a 30-year-old actor, following his romantic, professional, and cultural experiences.