Enough already with “Game of Thrones,” “Empire,” “True Detective” and all those attention-grabbing shows!
It’s time to give props to the sturdy series that don’t pretend to revolutionize TV. They’re the buddies that help you through those evenings when you don’t care about the zeitgeist and just want to veg out.
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you our favorite meat-and-potatoes shows that are not “Law & Order: SVU”!
“The Last Ship”
TNT’s “The Last Ship” — in which a lone US Navy warship is humanity’s last hope after a pandemic — is action the way Hollywood did it in the 1950s. It delivers a simple concept, medium-grade stars without arty pretensions (Eric “McSteamy” Dane, Rhona Mitra), and episodes so streamlined that each can be summed up in a sentence (“the crew retrieves monkeys for clinical testing,” “the crew races against the clock to fix the engine,” “the captain is lost at sea”). With just 10 episodes in Season 1, you can easily catch up before Season 2 starts June 21.
“Rookie Blue”
Can you believe this completely average, yet oddly satisfying, Canadian series is still around? “Rookie Blue” is to cops what “Grey’s Anatomy” is to doctors — a lusty soap filled with hot actors who are glad to have a regular gig. The show is up to Season 6 already (bowing June 25 on ABC) and yet the masses still aren’t outraged that Missy Peregrym’s Andy is hogging the story lines instead of Charlotte Sullivan’s Gail. Seriously!
“Penny Dreadful”
This Showtime series actually has a fancy pedigree, since it was created by playwright John Logan, who’s also penned movies like “Skyfall.” But don’t hold that against the show, a stylish tribute to 19th-century pulp fiction packed with references to Dorian Gray, Dracula and other figures. Basically anything starring siren Eva Green, our century’s answer to Ava Gardner, must be watched no matter how far-fetched it is. Season 2 premieres May 3.
“The 100”
The CW’s lo-fi series “The 100” has corralled a rabid following over just two seasons and 29 episodes — evidenced by the rapidly escalating amount of fan fiction. This one checks a lot of guilty-pleasure boxes: post-apocalyptic setting, turgid musical underscoring and ponderous dialogue, precocious teenagers saving the world, a cast of wily TV vets (Paige Turco, Isaiah Washington) and hot newcomers (Eliza Taylor, Bob Morley, Alycia Debnam-Carey). More, please!
“Castle”
ABC’s “Castle” is the rare procedural that’s not part of a franchise like “L&O,” “CSI” or “NCIS” — the cozy series actually looks more to the “Moonlighting” model. Stana Katic is holding out on renewing for an eighth season, but co-star Nathan Fillion is why we tune in when the stray episode crosses our screen. Just pair him with someone else and keep on trucking!