"What do you call a mother of three, naked under her trench coat that gets caught in a hotel escalator just as she randomly bumps into her father and his much-younger Colombian wife whose 11-year-old son is trying to woo a girl with the help of his stepbrother, his stepbrother's partner and their adopted Vietnamese baby daughter, who was dressed by one of her fathers in one of his feather boas for Valentine's Day? The new face of network-television family comedy," says The Wall Street Journal says.
What makes this oddball comedy so special?
"There were ... cameos from locals, including Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt. And, for a day, entrepreneur-investor Marc Andreeson tweeted lines from the show like 'I truly believe we can only achieve greatness... if first, we achieve goodness,'" says Fox News.
Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman calls the show "one of the most original, spot-on, no-missed-steps series in recent memory.".
"When I watched all of the first season of 'Orange Is the New Black,' I wasn't just binge-viewing. I was binge-reviewing. And my verdict, after all that, is that Netflix has indeed done it again. After 'House of Cards' and 'Arrested Development,' 'Orange Is the New Black' is the outlet's third triumph this year," NPR says.
"The critics were definitely turned on by season one, and it's Certified Fresh at 90 percent on the Tomatometer. Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture said, 'Masters of Sex is an intelligent, assured drama that gets better and better as it goes along,' Rotten Tomatoes reports.
"One reason for that success is the casting of Kerry Washington, who became the first African-American female lead in a network drama in almost 40 years," The New York Times says.
"Social media was part of the show's strategy from the beginning. During broadcasts cast members live-tweet about each episode…The network's efforts seem to have paid off. The show has a healthy number of people tweeting during the broadcast, and virtual 'Scandal' parties have sprung up on Facebook so friends can watch and comment together."
"'True Detective' is the most compelling series ... on television, one that boasts an almost embarrassing array of riches: a mesmerizing performance by current Hollywood 'It Man' Matthew McConaughey; an only marginally less notable turn by co-star Woody Harrelson; an intricate structure and hyper-literate dialogue by writer/creator Nic Pizzolatto; big-screen-worthy direction by Cary Joji Fukunaga; and an anthology format that has the potential to help change the way high-end television is produced," The Atlantic says.
"The Netflix political thriller 'House of Cards,' which stars Kevin Spacey as a ruthless majority-whip-turned-vice president and Robin Wright as his scheming wife, made history last year by becoming the first series distributed solely via the Internet to be nominated for drama series. This is the second straight nomination for 'House of Cards,'" The Los Angeles Times says.
"The show's strength is still the way it relishes lingering and withholding, forcing the audience to gaze at endlessly interpretable images," Twitter user @emilynussbaum says.
"The lavishly violent series has been a massive ratings hit for HBO and won numerous Emmys for its makeup, costumes and visual effects, but has yet to claim the big prize," the Los Angeles Times says.
"The British ensemble series, about a tragedy-prone aristocratic family and their fleet of servants, airs in the United States as part of the 'Masterpiece' program. It continues to be a ratings winner for the public broadcaster, with the third season finale earning 8.5 million viewers," (the Los Angeles Times says.
"From what started as a black comedy, descended into a labyrinth of blood, destruction and hell. It was like a great Jacobean, Shakespearean or Greek Tragedy," Anthony Hopkins says in a letter to actor Bryan Cranston.
