1. The Leftovers ; Resonated with me in a way that very few TV shows ever have, there's a sense of constant sadness that imbues every scene and yet it's a bunch of characters who I really, really like and want to be around. For my money, Guest was the single best television episode this year with Carrie Coons giving the best performance of any show. And a special mention to the music, I was in a cinema when an advertisement was shown and when it played, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, just incredible.
2. Fargo ; I don't know what to say about this series, as in I left writing this one last because I don't know what to say other than it's a great show with great performances and great humour. I guess that's all that needs to be said.
3. Mad Men ; Hard to gauge with fewer episodes but show felt better than the past couple seasons, which is saying a lot for one of the best TV shows of all time. And Cooper's exit, so good.
4. The Flash ; It's so early but it's also so good. Everyone is knocking it out the park, especially Grant Gustin and Jesse L. Martin, show is everything I want it to be and more, finger crossed they can keep it up.
5. Game of Thrones ; Finally clicked this season for me, I've liked the show but there's always been some disconnect, probably because I would need a spreadsheet to understand who half the families were. But I'm fully invested now, which makes the big moments (which were many) even bigger.
6. Arrow ; Should be much higher, the tail end of season two was top tier television but I'm been so bitterly dissapointed with the new season. But that doesn't take away from the conclusion of the island and the biggest bad ass on television wrecking havoc... and Caity Lotz in leather. Such a shame NONE OF THOSE THINGS are in your show now writers.
7. Brooklyn Nine-Nine ; Weak year for comedy but thankfully we have B99, which is probably more consistently laugh out loud funny than all the other comedies I watch combined.
8. Person of Interest ; Really great show, perhaps not as great as TVGAF suggests but still a fun ride that more people should be experiencing. Also it features Bear, the greatest canine on television.
9. Orphan Black ; Whilst certainly weaker than it's first season, it did make up for it by being one of the funniest shows on television. And at at it's worst, the show will always be the Tatiana Maslany power hour and that's a show I'll always love to watch.
10. True Detective ; Started out so strong but ended in a fizzle, same could be said for the character of Rust who felt like a parody by the end despite McConaughey's best efforts. Still the show did so much right, that it deserves a spot.
Honourable Mentions
24: It was 24 and they didn't miss a single step, for better or worse.
The Americans: Really liked the show and I'm glad it's getting some mentions, don't think it's ever going to be one of my top shows though.
Breaking Bad: Obviously not eligable, I watched the entire run over Christmas and January this year. News flash, Breaking Bad is fantastic and everyone was way too judgmental to Skylar.
Homeland: Show is pretty amazing right now with one episode left, this could creep into True Detective's slot after the season finale.
The Walking Dead: The ebbs and flows of this show are all over the place, the first few episodes of this new season were perhaps the best the show has ever been, so it deserves a mention.
Dishonourable Mentions
Hannibal: The show had felt like style over substance for quite a while but the most telegraphed twist I've seen in years insulted the audience intelligence to such a ridiculous degree, especially from a show that wants to feel it's so smart itself. The silver lining though is if you've grown to hate the show and want out, the season two finale was an amazing way to end it, I'm just going to ignore everything I know about the Hannibal Lector story and imagine him and Scully on a dimly lit beach together sipping pina coladas with all of those idiots actually being dead.
House of Cards: So, so dissapointing after the first season, I don't think there was a single thing half as compelling as the rise and fall of Peter Russo. And the hacking stuff, yikes.
Sherlock: I liked the third episode with Hannibal's big brother, it wasn't perfect but it was certainly good. That means I liked, not loved 33% of the season, quality over quantity this was not and I'm going to need to wait another 4 years before I know if they can redeem themselves.
That took way too long.