Wednesday, October 7, 2015

AFT Awards: Best Drama Series

This is the twentieth category of the 9th Annual AFT Television Awards, my personal choices for the best in television during the 2014-2015 season. Finalists and semi-finalists are included to recognize more of the impressive work done on television today. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them.

Best Drama Series



Last year’s nominees: Breaking Bad, Justified, Person of Interest, Ray Donovan, Sons of Anarchy

Emmy nominees: Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, House of Cards, Mad Men, Orange is the New Black

Semi-finalists: 12 Monkeys, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Banshee, Better Call Saul, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Elementary, Game of Thrones, Hell on Wheels, House of Cards, Longmire, Mad Men, Person of Interest, Rectify, The Red Road, The Walking Dead

Finalists: Orphan Black took a big gamble with a new plotline and succeeded very well in enhancing its story. The Newsroom signed off with six final installments that combined excellent writing with superb acting. Parenthood went off the air with a heartfelt and heartwarming final season. The Flash redefined the superhero genre with a fresh and undeniably exciting take on a very likeable protagonist. The Bridge somehow got darker in its second season, which introduced new elements of corruption and intense drama.

The nominees:

Justified and Sons of Anarchy, two of FX’s most influential series, made the most of their final seasons, leaving viewers with a tremendously positive and unforgettable memory of the shows. Ray Donovan developed in its second season, charting new territory with the same calm cool and mesmerizing style. The Affair told a complicated story from multiple perspectives, a risky device that ended up more than able to weave an unbelievably watchable tale.

The winner:

The Leftovers took a questionable concept and turned it into searing drama and a completely captivating character study.

Next up: Best Comedy Series

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