Friday, December 31, 2010

Top 20 New Shows of 2010: #2

My annual TV Awards, the AFT Television Awards, are given out during the summer. But this year, during both the spring and the fall, produced many impressive new television series. As 2010 closes out and 2011 begins, here’s a look back at the best new shows of the year.

#2: Boardwalk Empire

Here we have a show worthy of comparison to the HBO greats like “The Sopranos” and “Six Feet Under.” This Prohibition-era epic boasts a stellar, large ensemble, including standout players like Kelly Macdonald and Michael Shannon, and extraordinarily rich storytelling that covers a wide breadth of people, events and themes. Each episode feels like its own mini-movie, and there’s a reason why this series might finally dethrone “Mad Men” at the top awards this year.

Best Episode: “Anastasia” / “Nights in Babylon
Pilot Review | Episode Reviews

1 comment:

Richter Scale said...

Small correction Abe, that episode you put amongstyour favorite is called Nights in Ballygran (not Babylon), which I think must be a town or city in Ireand, given that the episode is about St. Patrick's Day (and Nucky is Irish). It's a great episode though, my favoite this season as well, even though I still found Mad Men stronger this season (partly because while Boardwalk Empire is really good, it still feels a little conventional, something I hope they remedy in Season 2 as they explore more storylines).