If network television has been slowly dying for the past decade, then 2014 was the year that the plug was pulled. Of our top ten picks, only two of them (Bob’s Burgers and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, both of FOX Sundays), came from one of the four major networks. And only two of the other choices in this year’s poll came from either ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX.
I’m going to discuss this year’s best television show, Shameless, by committing just a little bit of blasphemy. Here goes: Shameless is like The Wire.
No, don’t stop reading. I get it, it’s not as good as The Wire. It’s certainly not as gritty or complex or unrelentingly cynical. It’s not Important Television. But it gets one thing exactly like The Wire: It doesn’t sugarcoat the truth, and it earns every small moment of grace.