American TV Drama

"Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

In this highly successful spin-off to the original Star Trek, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Galaxy-Class starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, set out to explore the final frontier. Along the way, they make first contact with myriad different species and solve reconflicts among those societies with whom they were already familiar, most notably the Klingon Empire.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is known as the series which set the Star Trek franchise in motion, with seven magnificent seasons all of which enjoyed high ratings. In 1994, the series received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. To date, no other syndicated series has accomplished this feat. The cast went on to appear in four films, produced between 1994 and 2002: Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek Nemesis.

The Shield breaks the conventional formula of the cop genre. It plays out in a tough, morally ambiguous world in which the line between good and bad is crossed everyday. The series focuses on the tension between a group of corrupt but effective cops and a captain torn between bringing them down and advancing his own political ambitions. The Shield stars Michael Chiklis as rogue cop Vic Mackey, leader of the elite Strike Team unit, who is effective at eliminating crime but who operates under his own set of rules. Benito Martinez plays David Aceveda, the young captain turned councilman who doesn't like Mackey's tactics and wants to bust him off the force. And CCH Pounder as Claudette Wyms, a veteran detective who understands Mackey and knows how to play both sides of the fence.

Set in Baltimore, this show centers around the city's inner-city drug scene. It starts as mid-level drug dealer, D'Angelo Barksdale, beats a murder rap. After a conversation with a judge, Det. James McNulty has been assigned to lead a joint homicide and narcotics team in order to bring down drug kingpin Avon Barksdale. Avon Barksdale, accompanied by his right-hand man Stringer Bell, enforcer Wee-Bey and many lieutenants (including his own nephew, D'Angelo Barksdale), has to deal with law enforcement, informants in his own camp, and competition with a local rival, Omar, who's been robbing Barksdale's dealers and reselling the drugs. The supervisor of the investigation, Lt. Cedric Daniels, has to deal with his own problems, such as a corrupt bureaucracy, some of his detectives beating suspects, hard-headed but determined Det. McNulty, and a blackmailing deputy. The show depicts the lives of every part of the drug "food chain", from junkies to dealers, and from cops to politicians.

Welcome to a world where Monday has a three drink minimum. Mad Men exists here and it's a fabulous place to visit, back before Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique really made much of an impact and before the Surgeon General put warning labels on cigarettes. It was an America on the brink of social explosion and Mad Men, which tells the story of a group of Madison Avenue advertising executives in the early 1960s, captures that surface stillness perfectly, complete with the growing tension barely contained below the surface.

Set against the disparate worlds of politicians and mob bosses, looks at how gray good and evil can be. Placed in a fictional Irish neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island known as "The Hill," the series explores what lengths people go to achieve the elusive American dream. Focusing on two brothers on opposite sides of the law, determined to protect the neighborhood and what is theirs by whatever means necessary, the show is a gritty look at politics and the Mafia.

The outlaw camp of Deadwood marches slowly towards civilization, facing its first elections. But the power struggles continue over everything in Deadwood—influence, money, and whores—as the founding camp members form strategic alliances to face down the threat of a powerful newcomer, seeking to remake Deadwood in his image.
Created and executive produced by David Milch ("NYPD Blue"), Deadwood is one of most acclaimed dramas on television. The series was nominated for 22 Emmys® and won 7 and earned a Golden Globe® Award in its first two seasons for Ian McShane.
Cast regulars include: Timothy Olyphant as new Sheriff Seth Bullock, Ian McShane as the ruthless town boss Al Swearengen, John Hawkes as Sol Star, Molly Parker as Alma Garret, Powers Boothe as Cy Tolliver, Robin Weigert as Calamity Jane, Brad Dourif as Doc Cochran, Leon Rippy as Tom Nuttal, Paula Malcomson as Trixie, Sean Bridgers as Johnny Burns, W. Earl Brown as Dan Dority, Dayton Callie as Charlie Utter, Jim Beaver as Ellsworth, William Sanderson as E.B. Farnum, Kim Dickens as Joanie Stubbs, Jeffrey Jones as A.W. Merrick, Titus Welliver as Silas Adams, Anna Gunn as Martha Bullock, Garret Dillahunt as Francis Wolcott, Bree Seanna Wall as Sofia Metz, Brent Sexton as Harry Manning with recurring guest stars Brian Cox as flamboyant stage promoter Jack Langrishe and Gerald McRaney as power-hungry newcomer George Hearst.

Based on novels by author Jeff Lindsay, Dexter follows the life of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a charismatic blood spatter analyst who works in the forensics at the Miami Metro Police Department. On the outside, Dexter seems like the perfect guy -- he has a sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), that adores him and a steady girlfriend, Rita (Julie Benz), with two kids that look up to him. However, what they don't know is that Dexter moonlights as a serial killer, only he isn't your typical killer. Basing his life on the teachings of his foster father, Dexter only kills people who truly deserve it: he ensures that those who got away with horrible crimes will never kill again.

Set in Boston, The Practice centers on a firm of passionate attorneys to whom every case is important and every client worth a fight to the end. Legal maneuvering is the firm's modus operandi, and they have it down to a science, making even the most questionable arguments convincing. And while they can't — and don't — win every trial, the pursuit of justice remains the priority until the final verdict is announced … and sometimes afterwards. Pursuing justice, however, often confronts them with serious ethical and moral issues of conscience. The 8th and final season brings James Spader as Alan Shore, a witty lawyer who gets on everyone's nerves at the firm.

CRIMINAL MINDS revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. Special Agent Jason Gideon (Mandy Patinkin) is the FBI's top behavioral analyst and he joins the Behavioral Analysis Unit lead by Special Agent Aaron Hotchner (Thomas Gibson), a family man who is able to gain people's trust and unlock their secrets. Also on the team are Elle Greenaway (Lola Glaudini), an agent with a background in sexual offenses; Special Agent Derek Morgan (Shemar Moore), an expert on obsessional crimes; Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler), a classically misunderstood genius whose social IQ is as low as his intellectual IQ is high; and Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, (AJ Cook), a confident young agent who acts as the unit liaison for the team. Each member brings his or her own area of expertise to the table as they pinpoint predators' motivations and identify their emotional triggers in the attempt to stop them.

Secret agent Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) just received a burn notice -- a statement that a spy is unreliable and has been effectively fired -- for unknown reasons. Now, Westen must find out who issued the notice and why they did it without being able to use the resources and contacts he once had at his disposal.
While searching for answers, Weston receives help from Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), an ex-IRA agent and Michael's ex-girlfriend and Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell), a former Navy SEAL skilled in surveillance. And then there's Madeline (Sharon Gless), Westen's overbearing mother who is unaware of her son's profession.
Created and written by Matt Nix, Burn Notice combines a mixture of action and a fresh sense of humor that combined result in a new breed of spy.

Sleeper Cell is a chilling and unflinching look at all sides of a complicated issue, focusing on an African-American Muslim who joins an Islamic sleeper terrorist cell in the United States while working undercover for the FBI. The series stars rising film star Michael Ealy as the undercover agent and Oded Fehr as the ruthless leader of the cell.
The show lifts the veil of secrecy to reveal a riveting and authentic look at the war on terrorism. It explores and illuminates the many facets of Islam and the repercussions of its extremism when it clashes with Western society. The series will fold current events and pertinent political developments into its contemporary storylines as it explores the personal and professional side of committed agents combating one of the most concealed dangers in our nation's history.

Wayne and Dahlia Malloy go on the run after stealing money from the extended family bank, taking their three children along with them. After an unfortunate accident they obtain the identity of a wealthy, normal family, the Riches. With the idea of a better life for themselves and the keys to a new house in a classy neighborhood in hand, they soon find that suburban life is more twisted and challenging than any of their previous cons.

Private Practice is a spin-off of the highly popular ABC series Grey s Anatomy starring Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery, a renowned neonatal surgeon. After realizing that her life isn t advancing at Seattle Grace, Addison packs her bags and heads off to Santa Monica to start a new life. She reunites with her newly divorced med school friends, Naomi (Audra McDonald) and Sam (Taye Diggs), and joins them in the chic private practice along with the other doctors on staff.

They are The Unit, a covert Special Forces team operating outside the usual military chain of command. Whether stateside or aboard, these heroes are on the frontlines protecting U.S. citizens and foreigners alike, slipping in under the radar and risking their lives to save the day then leaving just as quietly without any well-deserved credit or thanks. Starring Dennis Haysbert and Scott Foley, this riveting, action-packed drama is as realistic and pulse-pounding as it gets.

Bones is an investigative drama following the exploits of Dr. Temperance Brennan, who is one of the leading forensic anthropologists in her field. Dr. Brennan works at the Jeffersonian Institute and leads one of the finest teams that helps put names and faces to remains that cannot be identified by traditional means. Many times the remains are too badly burned, scarred, or decomposed. She is also often called upon by various law enforcement organizations to help identify victims or witnesses to crimes. She has an extraordinary way of seeing past the apparent and reading the clues correctly when others may not.

The Sopranos, writer-producer-director David Chase's extraordinary television series, is nominally an urban gangster drama, but its true impact strikes closer to home: Like 1999's other screen touchstone, American Beauty, the HBO series chronicles a dysfunctional, suburban American family in bold relief. And for protagonist Tony Soprano, there's the added complexity posed by heading twin families, his collegial mob clan and his own, nouveau riche brood.

The turbulent lives of two handsome and high-priced Miami plastic surgeons may be one of the more unusual premises for a television series, but the FX Channel's Nip/Tuck combines sudsy sex and biting wit with the emotional quandaries involved in body modification in a way that makes for an engrossing--and occasionally gross--hourlong drama. The show benefits greatly from its two leads--Dylan Walsh as the troubled "good" surgeon and Julian McMahon as his predatory (but equally troubled) "bad" partner--as well as Joely Richardson as Walsh's wife and Roma Maffia as the surgeons' nurse. If Nip/Tuck does have a stumbling point, it's in its occasionally glib dialogue (series creator Ryan Murphy was a writer for the verbally flashy high school series Popular), which can clash with an episode's more dramatic and poignant moments. The show also doesn't shy away from showing the more gruesome aspects of plastic surgery, but viewers can often see more stomach-churning images on the top-rated CSI. But the strength of the performances and the originality of the premise make these rough spots manageable for viewers looking for an interesting spin on the usual "doctor show."

"Everything is numbers," states Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) in the pilot of Numb3rs, a satisfying (and educational!) new crime drama. Executive-produced by brothers/film directors Ridley Scott (Gladiator) and Tony Scott (Top Gun), it's like CSI with algorithms and probabilities instead of blood spatter and DNA swabs, which separates it from the slew of gruesome forensics-centered cop shows currently on the air. In this case, it's a brains-vs.-brawn matchup: a brilliant math professor (Krumholtz) consulting on crimes for an FBI agent (Rob Morrow) who happens to be his older brother. While Don, Morrow's character, busts the baddies with his team of agents, Charlie's scribbling formulas on chalkboards and statistically deducting a rapist's next target by comparing his pattern to a sprinkler system. (Yes, it sounds geekier than it is). As the show progresses, Charlie--not yet desensitized to people's fates relying on his findings--takes it harder and harder when his hypotheses don't always result in justice. It sounds very cerebral, but the cops and robbers concept plus brother-to-brother dynamics make it all go down easy. There's an unpretentious way the premise is executed, which ends up making math--get this--fun.

Without a trace is a fast-paced procedural drama about the Missing Persons Squad of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sole responsibility of the special task force is to find missing persons by applying advanced psychological profiling techniques. The team reconstructs a "Day of Disappearance" timeline that details every minute of the 24 hours prior to the disappearance, following one simple rule: learn who the victim is in order to learn where the victim is. Senior agent Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia) heads the dedicated team. His squad includes Samantha Spade (Poppy Montgomery), Vivian Johnson (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), Danny Taylor (Enrique Murciano), and Martin Fitzgerald (Eric Close)

Following the phenomenal success of MIAMI VICE, Executive Producer Michael Mann returned to television with a new kind of gritty crime drama, one that talked tougher and hit harder than anything the small screen had ever seen before. For two explosive seasons, CRIME STORY told the hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca (Anthony Denison) from the mean streets of early '60s Chicago to the neon nights of mob-run Las Vegas. Today, CRIME STORY is considered a true cult classic as well as one of the most startling series in television history. featuring a stellar supporting cast that includes Stephen Lang, Bill Campbell, Ted Levine, Darlanne Fluegel and Joseph Wiseman, and such guest stars as David Caruso, Michael Madsen, Pam Grier, Ving Rhames, Lorraine Bracco, Gary Sinise, Deborah Harry, Vincent Gallo and Julia Roberts.

The series begins in 52 BC, as Gaius Julius Caesar completes his conquest of Gaul after eight years of war, and prepares to return with his army to Rome. While Caesar's self-interested niece Atia and long-lost paramour Servilia anxiously await the general's return, ruling patricians despair that Caesar's homecoming will disrupt the status quo, and threaten the extravagant prosperity they've enjoyed at the expense of the lower class. In the Senate, old-guard leaders plot to undermine Caesar's influence by convincing his old friend, Pompey Magnus, that the general is a threat. Back at the front, two mismatched soldiers, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, see their fortunes rise following several serendipitous missions. As Caesars legions move closer to Rome, allegiances are put to the test for soldiers and civilians - and the escalating tensions climax with a full-scale conflict destined to change history.

The cops. The cars. The clothes. From executive producer Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) comes the first season of the explosive, groundbreaking detective show that redefined the word "cool." Set against the seamy and steamy Miami underworld, ride shotgun with suave Vice cops Sonny Crockett (Golden Globe winner Don Johnson) and Rico Tubbs (Phillip Michael Thomas) as they battle a never-ending gallery of criminals, drug dealers and lowlifes. Set to Jan Hammer's electrifying score and featuring a soundtrack of rock legends exploding in 5.1 sound, including Glenn Frey, Phil Collins, U2 and Peter Gabriel, every episode crackles with excitement and stylish flair. Also starring Emmy(r) and Golden Globe winner Edward James Olmos and a powerhouse roster of guest stars including Ving Rhames, Jimmy Smits and Bruce WIllis.

The members of the police department at Hill Street Station heard this advice at the end of every roll call. This realistic and quite gritty police drama also featured many humorous moments.

"And hey - let's be careful out there."

Power, wealth, sex, glorious extravagance. One place has them all - Dallas. Patrick Duffy, Victoria Principal and more play Texas sons and daughters whose lives revolve around oil, family and power. And Larry Hagman portrays petroleum magnate J.R. Ewing, whose pursuit of, in no particular order, money and clout knows no limits. Arguably the best television series ever produced, and certainly the best soap opera ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. It had the best trans-season cliffhanger in history that had the whole world asking "Who shot J.R.?" Dallas is an important part of American History, if not world history.