The notion that we’re currently living in a “Golden Age” of television has become a bit tired and overused, but it’s hard to argue with the sentiment. Viewers are absolutely spoiled by choice, and thanks to the rise of binge-watching and the relative ease of access to a variety of on-demand services, finding what you want to watch has never been easier. Unfortunately, there are still so many programs that get lost in the shuffle. Some barely get noticed and are promptly canceled, while others seem to flourish under the radar — successful in their own right, but largely ignored by audiences at large. Shows like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad aren’t the only significant shows of the last decade, even if popular media sometimes makes it feel that way. These 10 shows may be undervalued in pop culture, but they are all valuable contributors to the Golden Age in their own right.
10. Penny Dreadful
A macabre supernatural drama set in Victorian London, Penny Dreadful premiered last year and has a second season already underway, but despite an intriguing concept and stellar cast, the Showtime series doesn’t seem to have made much of a splash in the cultural zeitgeist. Perhaps the show was perceived as too similar to the maligned League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, another ensemble piece that also incorporates famous literary characters from the era like Dorian Gray and Frankenstein’s Monster (to be fair, the comic series by Alan Moore is vastly superior to the 2003 film). Or maybe fiction featuring vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings are going out of vogue and Penny Dreadful arrived too late. For whatever reason, this show, which features such talents as Eva Green, Josh Hartnett, and Timothy Dalton, deserves more credit (and viewers).
Source: Screenshot via Showtime
