Television has been so great in recent years that it’s a wonder that people still actually go to the theaters to watch movies. I’m being facetious, of course, but 2014 has been another fantastic year for the small screen, which is why we feel that it’s about time that we do our first ever list of the best TV shows of the year.

Even though we limited our selections to genres that interest us and our faithful Yellers (i.e., horror, fantasy, and crime), it’s still a tough crowd to choose from. Naturally, there have been some misses in 2014 (From Dusk Till Dawn, Sleepy Hollow, and Person of Interest, I’m lookin’ at you), but the hits, man the hits just kept rolling.

As great as these series appear to the eye in terms of the cast and their skills as actors, we’d be remiss if we neglected to give a nod of appreciation to the source material (if there is any), to the directors, to the writers, to the special effects teams, to the set directors, and, well, to everyone else involved. No, we’re not accepting an award… but you should award yourself the opportunity to give these shows a try.

No.14 Bates Motel

How is a show that I cover on a weekly basis at the bottom of this list? As interesting as Bates Motel is, it plods along at a very leisurely pace. And while the show is still coming into its own, finding focus on Norman rather than his sensational mother, it still has growing pains, but there’s huge potential, which its already begun to fill.

Synopsis:
Bates Motel is a contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho, and gives a portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years. Fans discover the dark, twisted backstory of Norman Bates and how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly is.

No.13 Constantine

To be honest and fair, I’ve only seen a couple Constantine episodes, but it looked very promising and I really liked what I saw, causing me to dog ear this one for later viewing. Call me what you will, but I actually liked the Keanu Reeves movie of the same name, based on the same graphic novels.

Synopsis:
A man struggling with his faith is haunted by the sins of his past but is suddenly thrust into the role of defending humanity from the gathering forces of darkness.

No.12 Penny Dreadful

This one is as fun to watch as it is visually arresting. An all-star cast leads this show as it weaves the tales of our favorite monster legends into a single web of intrigue and horror.

Synopsis:
Explorer Sir Malcolm Murray, American gunslinger Ethan Chandler, and others unite to combat supernatural threats in Victorian London.

No.11 Vikings

Synopsis:
The adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok: the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the saga of Ragnar’s band of Viking brothers and his family as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods: legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors.

No.10 American Horror Story

Honestly, this show is on this list more for second half of Season 3 than for the current Freak Show. Nonetheless, the series has an amazing concept: a different story each season with different characters played by the same actors, more or less.

Synopsis:
An anthology series that centers on different characters and locations, including a haunted house, an insane asylum, a witch coven, and a freak show.

No.9 Hannibal

Hannibal struggles with audiences and very nearly didn’t get picked up for a third season. It’s a dark, twisted, cerebral show, which might have something to do with its limited audience. The show can also be horrifyingly graphic in its depictions of violence and gore.

Synopsis:
Explores the early relationship between the renowned psychiatrist and his patient, a young FBI criminal profiler, who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers.

No.8 True Detective

Another crime drama that, at times, is as disturbing as Hannibal, but with a distinctively different palette. What’s more is the amazing performances turned in by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

Synopsis:
The lives of two detectives, Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, become entangled during a 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana.

Find out the next 7 shows on our list and our Number 1 pick after the jump…

I was scared that Penny Dreadful was going to devolve into “Dorian Gray, but with orgies,” or “American Horror Story: Boobs n’ Dracula” but it has been fantastic so far, a nice mix of gore and slow burn story-telling. I know that TV horror is dominated by Hannibal and The Walking Dead right now, one a great show and the other a show that has the coolest moments on TV in between hours of boredom, like a bloody iceberg in a sea of yawns. But if you haven’t given Showtime’s retelling of classic, gothic horror tales a chance, there is no better time to start than now, especially with what they’re doing with Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and his creations.

This promo focuses on the return of Frankenstein’s first creation, The Creature, and his announcement that he’s about to start making the doctor’s life a living hell if the doctor can’t give him a bride. As my generation would say, the Frankenstein monster is “thirsty.” If the first two episodes are any indication, this is going to be another entertaining plotline in a show that’s already proven unafraid to tackle multiple things at once with grace, which is good. Showtime series tend to fall apart when even faced with a single main character’s plotline, so Penny Dreadful is already ahead of the pack.

Penny Dreadful airs on Sundays at 10 PM, only on Showtime.

Dropping the premiere episode weeks in advance seems like it would be detrimental, but perhaps Showtime is attempting to drum up some new subscribers or talk about the new show isn’t what they’d hoped for and they’re trying to boost the buzz. Either way, it’s a bonus for us.

Conceptually, the show is amazing, combing characters from classic literature, such as Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Grey, Mina Harker, Vanessa Ives, Ethan Chandler, etc., and putting them all in a single narrative. How fun is that? It reminds me of the comic Kill Shakespeare, in which Shakespeare is a god-like character who uses a pen to write the fates of people, and the characters in the comic are from various Shakespearean works. I’m just waiting for something similar using Dr. Seuss characters.

As we’ve noted before, Penny Dreadful was created, written, and executive produced by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator, Sweeney Todd, Skyfall) and executive produced by Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife).

Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, Billie Piper, Rory Kinnear, Harry Treadaway, Reeve Carney star while Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) directs the first two episodes of the eight-part series.

Watch the premiere episode of Penny Dreadful and share your thoughts in our comments section below.

Rock Hard \m/

However, the gallery above does features Harry Treadaway as “Dr. Victor Frankenstein,” Reeve Carney as “Dorian Gray,” Eva Green as “Vanessa Ives,” Josh Hartnett as “Ethan Chandler,” and Timothy Dalton as “Sir Malcolm,” a hardened African explorer on a deeply personal quest.

Lastly, if you missed the trailer, it’s embedded for your convenience right below.

Penny Dreadful was created, written, and executive produced by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife), both of Neal Street.

I haven’t given up on you, Showtime. I’ve stuck with you through seven seasons of Californication, a show that rivals Game of Thrones with the amount of misery it subjects its characters to. I watched eight seasons of Dexter and Weeds, shows that only rival each other with the amount of misery they subject their audiences to. And I actually enjoyed The Tudors. You can take away my “Likes Good TV” card that I earned through making Deadwood, Breaking Bad, and Mr. Show my favorite shows now.

I know that, to pessimists, Showtime creating a show based around characters like the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, and Dorian Gray sounds like the company president stood up one day and announced “To destroy our audience’s present, we must first destroy their pasts!”, but Penny Dreadful, set to premiere on May 11, 2014, has some pretty decent talent behind it, namely John Logan. To those unfamiliar, John Logan is the guy who wrote films like Bats, Gladiator, The Last Samurai, The Aviator, Sweeney Todd, Rango, Coriolanus, Hugo, and Skyfall. Add in the fact that Sam Mendes is executive producing the show, and I think it’s in good hands.

There are numerous teasers and production blogs on Penny Dreadful‘s YouTube page, and it all looks pretty cool. I dig Eva Green in anything, and it seems like they’re doing a really good job with the production design. To be honest, the mix of eroticism and violence makes it look like an Alan Moore adaptation.

But don’t tell Alan Moore that. He wouldn’t understand.

There’s no telling from this teaser trailer above just how graphic or scary the show will be, but considering that it’s on Showtime, logic indicates that there should be some mature content. The teaser does, however, allude to a terrifying place between here and fear that’s filled with cursed souls. Fine, the teaser flat out says those things. Penny Dreadful stars Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, and Josh Hartnett, and the series is being brought together by the filmmakers who brought us such films as Gladiator, American Beauty, and Skyfall, John Logan and Sam Mendes.

With this caliber of cast and crew, the show is bound to be good. It’s really a matter of how they can bring these monsters together in the same world without giving in to cheese. Lord knows how cheesy Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ Dracula on NBC is going, and that’s just one monster.

Penny Dreadful is scheduled to make its premiere on May 11th. Will you be tuning in?

Rock Hard \m/