1. S.W.A.T.
Featuring six main members of the team (Hondo, Chris, Tan, Deacon, Luca, and Jim Street), plus their commander Robert Hicks, this show mirrors the components of an actual S.W.A.T. team. A part of the LAPD, the show follows the team as they fight crime, with different scenarios each episode. Not only does the show depict the tactical police work they do, but the personal lives of each character as well. The team has a sort of familial aspect, which makes the show funny and emotional to balance the more serious crime elements. I would recommend this show to lovers of Criminal Minds due to the setup of each episode being a unique situation, and obviously because of the crime drama genre of the show. With its eighth season having just premiered (October 18th), this show can definitely keep you occupied!!
2. Gilmore Girls
This show is definitely a change of pace because it is a little bit slower moving. Gilmore Girls is about the life of the main character, Rory Gilmore, and all of her friends and family that surround her life as she transitions from high school to college and more. Although Rory is not particularly well liked by a lot of the Gilmore Girl fan base, there are many other funny, sarcastic, and loveable characters to cheer on. She and her mother Lorelai are a dynamic duo who are basically best friends, so she is highly featured as well. From romance to friendship to extracurriculars, this small town drama is a coming of age. I recommend this show as a background show: one that you can watch while multi-tasking another activity as well, because it is quite easy to follow.
3. Brooklyn 99
Even though it’s another cop show, Brooklyn 99 is very different from S.W.A.T. Based in a New York precinct instead of the LAPD, the atmosphere and the team bond is a little bit different. Brooklyn 99’s main character, Jake Peralta, is very cocky and immature, but in a way that keeps you entertained while watching. Each character of the team (Jake, Amy, Hitchcock, Scully, Boyle, Captain Holt, Terry, and Rosa), are very different in nature. While Jake is messy, Amy is a neat freak, and while Boyle is weird and quirky, Rosa is very tough and guarded. The show follows a different crime each episode, but is definitely a little bit comic than a typical cop show.
4. Suits
Suits has a lot of important characters, but prime ones are Harvey Specter, Mike Ross, Donna Paulson, Louis Litt, Rachel Zane, and Jessica Pearson. This show is about a team of lawyers. Mike, the main character, is technically just another guy who happened to barge into an interview Harvey was holding for a new associate. While he never went to law school, Mike has a photographic memory and therefore knows everything there is to know just from reading it. Harvey and Mike are an awesome duo who always look out for each other, but also joke with each other like brothers. This is a great watch for people who are interested in the legal field, but honestly anyone who enjoys mystery/detective work as well because you don’t have to have any legal knowledge to enjoy the show.
5. The 100
This is a dystopian show that features Clarke Griffin, Bellamy and Octavia Blake, Raven Reyes, John Murphy and much more. They are a bunch of teenagers who originally all lived on a spaceship along with the rest of the human population because the Earth was “not safe.” However, due to a series of events, a big group of teenagers gets sent down to Earth and they discover that it actually is safe to live in…that is until they meet the Grounders which are people who stayed on Earth and try to fight them. Not only is there a tribe of Grounders but there’s a place called Mount Weather which is a controlling society who also live on Earth. They all fight and try to figure everything out – there’s war, romance, comedy, and pretty much everything else. So if you like adventure and dystopian shows, this might be for you!
