5 US TV Shows you should give a chance

Some shows aren't that great at selling themselves. With Netflix, Amazon & various other streaming websites flooding the market, it takes a lot to make us sit down weekly and commit to a show.

First impressions are crucial. So, if your title puts people off, your pilot isn't strong or your trailer just doesn't cut it, that's half of your viewers gone in a heartbeat.

I tend to wait 4 episodes before calling time on a tv show. It gives them a chance to show they can deliver. A pilot is rarely representative of what a show will grow to become - remember that Game of Thrones recast several major roles before HBO aired it's reworked pilot, New Girl put Coach on the bench for a few seasons while both Bones and Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a lot of set-up to do!

So here are 5 (well, technically 6) that should definitely be on your radar,


1. Crazy-Ex Girlfriend 
Currently airing on The CW
Please, I beg of you, look past its name. Yes, the title is a sexist term - something Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) even calls out in her opening titles - but it's so much more than that.
Let's face it, we've all done crazy things in the name of love..or lust..or whatever, and Rebecca is so relatable because she's just like us. She makes bad choices, has verbal diarrhea, struggles with her overbearing mother and wears spanx. This is a heroine I can get behind. Plus she won a Golden Globe!

The supporting cast too, despite mostly not having huge CVs are just phenomenal. And if you think you recognize Greg but can't place him, that would be because you last heard him in Disney's Frozen.

Give it a try if: You want dialogue that makes you laugh out loud, great songs & a beautifully flawed leading lady.

2.iZombie
Currently airing on The CW
Another offering from The CW that is held back by its name. Strong from the off,  two Once Upon a Time alumni head up a tight-knit cast that have yet to put a foot wrong.

Unlike most zombie shows, it doesn't take itself seriously. The jokes are completely in keeping with the tone, the script is SO quotable, and the characters develop in ways that you might not expect but feel completely natural.
The brains Liv eats cause her to take on the qualities and mannerisms of their previous owners and it TOTALLY works - unlike Stitched which has a similar premise, but without the zombies. Blaine is a villain you love to hate, Ravi as Liv's only ally is ever-so lovable, and neither best friend Peyton or ex-fiancee Major are the 2D characters you might expect.

Give it a try if: You like zombies, crime-solving and think Meat Cute is a great name for a Butchers.

3. Galavant
Just wrapped up Season 2 on ABC
This show is completely charming. I never actually expected it to get renewed for Season 2, mainly because it was used to fill the January void on ABC after Once Upon a Time went away for it's mid-season break. The trailer is pretty strong, but it wasn't very well advertised.

My other half doesn't particularly like musicals - sacrilege, I know - and even he enjoyed it.
The cast are hilarious and features a young actor named Luke Youngblood who is mysteriously absent from the trailer, who started out in Harry Potter and then moved on to Community viaTracy Beaker. Vinnie Jones is surprisingly capable as bodyguard Gareth to Timothy Omundson's delightful King Richard.
And then of course there's Galavant himself. But I'll let you fall in love with him yourselves.

Give it a try if: You like Alan Menken & fancy a bit of a medieval romp.

4. Selfie
Available on Hulu, originally aired on ABC, was cancelled after 8 episodes.

A controversial inclusion on this list, I gave this show a chance because I love Karen Gillan. And the idea of a modern spin on My Fair Lady/Pygmalion. John Cho, I’d come across in FOX’s reboot of Sleepy Hollow as well as playing Sulu on the Star Trek reboot (he likes the reboots). Incidentally, he is the first Asian-American romantic male lead on American TV. That title though. It’s terrible. And yes, the female lead is as narcissistic as the title implies. 

The pilot too isn’t strong, but it does do an excellent job of showing you how shallow and social-media obsessed Eliza Dooley is.Henry’s character doesn’t get much to work with for a couple of episodes, but comes into his own later down the line, and both characters learn a lot from each other along the way. It IS worth the time and effort once it gets going and showed real potential around halfway through. Sadly, its fate was already sealed by that stage in the game. It moved to Hulu to live out the rest of its short life.  I actually joined the ‘Save Selfie’ campaign (don’t judge) in an attempt to get the show another shot online. The supporting cast are wonderful – David Harewood (most recently gracing our screens in Supergirl) and his chocolatey voice make for an amazingly unconventional boss, and Allyn Rachel is delightfully catty as the neighbour – who reminds me a lot of New Girl’s Jess, without her dorky charm.

Give it a try if: You fancy something a wee bit fluffy and out of the norm to binge on.

5a & 5b Marvel’s Agents of Shield & Agent Carter

Airing on ABC

I have to admit, I am a HUGE Marvel Fangirl. I fell in love with Captain America, and then I had to watch ALL the other movies in the run up to the release of Avengers Assemble back in 2012. In fact, the main reason I agreed to go on a date with a guy that summer is because he offered to take me to see it.

I digress. If you switched off after an episode or two of Marvel’s Agents of Shield, you are definitely doing this show a disservice. Yes, it did have to tread water a little before Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out, but it was the ensemble cast that kept me coming back ‘til then. Mostly for FitzSimmons. That’s a ‘ship I can get behind.

I promise you, this show is worth sticking with. It intersects with the Marvel movie universe, has strong character story arcs – although I’m not sure what to call Skye any more – and Coulson grows into a fantastic leader for our band of misfits.

As for Agent Carter? It’s more than just a place-holder for Agents of Shield during its midseason break. It’s a love letter from all the things I adored about Captain America. Kudos to you Marvel/ABC/Disney for finally having a woman at the fore. Hayley Atwell is completely sublime. I cannot fault her. And I really don’t want to! 

I could write a LOT about how great this show is, but I’ll stick to a few key points, so as not to bore you. Dominic Cooper reprises his role as Howard Stark, and rather than use his star quality and magnetism as padding, the show uses him sparingly, and in an appropriate context every time. Special mentions should go to James D’arcy’s Jarvis (love him), Enver Gjokaj as Sousa (getting deservedly more screen time in Season 2) and Chad Michael Murray who has graduated from playing a pre-teen heartthrob to a mule-headed chauvinist and it works. Hayley Atwell’s Peggy stands out from this crowd of men, and she does it with grace & elegance – helped along by a costume department who deserve a round of applause of their own. Oh, and she’s a badass. And only gets badder in Season 2.

Give them a try if:You love all things Marvel.

If you’re looking for a new show to sink your teeth into – while we all wait (im)patiently for Game of Thrones, then maybe give one of these a shot.