Top 10 Drama Shows

The Wire

Grittier, less glamorous and a damn-sight harder to follow without subtitles than The Sopranos, The Wire is a Baltimore-set drama with oodles of wit, suspense and intelligence that will hook you like a bass to a maggot.

Breaking Bad

The Sopranos

A little jittery in the opening two series, delving as it does into the realm of the soap opera, The Sopranos nevertheless finds it's feet in series 3-6, and in the process becomes the greatest TV drama of all time. A must-see, a life-changer.

Mad Men

This one's attracted a real cult following, and if you like your American dramas to be thought-provoking and intelligent then Mad Men - set in a 1960s ad agency in New York - more than fits the bill. One of the best shows around at the moment as far as I'm concerned.

Lost

The Shield

Picket Fences

Twin Peaks

David Lynch's brilliant, bizarre soap opera deserves its place on this list for basically being like no other show I have ever seen. The main plot, the investigation of the murder of Laura Palmer, was ever-present but it's the bizarre characters - such as the lady who carries a log around, the backwards talking dwarf - and the utterly weird goings-on that made this so memorable. Nearly 20 years later I'm still struggling to figure it all out.

Dexter

The West Wing