Against all odds, these shows are all improving.
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00:00 Making a TV show sounds like a lot of hard work.
00:02 You have to think of plots, design sets, find all the props, and control a gaggle of unruly actors.
00:08 Do you know how hard that is? It's honestly easier to count grains of sand one by one.
00:12 Less stressful, too.
00:13 While some shows start off with all the promise in the world,
00:16 the real-life commitments needed to make it happen often get in the way over time.
00:21 Stories fizzle out, actors and writers leave, people lose interest.
00:25 It's a tale as old as TV time.
00:27 Not in the case of these ten offerings, however, which are somehow going from strength to strength.
00:33 Whether they've had a recent renaissance or have been improving season on season for a while now,
00:39 each of them deserves a big shiny medal for their stamina.
00:42 In a world where so few shows survive the test of time, these lot aced it with flying colours and time to spare.
00:49 Will they continue their forward momentum in years to come?
00:51 We certainly hope so, otherwise they'll have to give those medals back.
00:54 They don't come cheap, you know.
00:56 So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, here with ten TV shows that are somehow getting better.
01:01 Number 10, Tulsa King
01:03 If you ask a hundred people how old Sylvester Stallone is, the answers could range anywhere from 52 to 235.
01:11 The 76-year-old Stallone has done it all in the world of acting, except starring in a scripted TV show.
01:17 That changed with the release of Tulsa King, in which Sly plays a mob boss
01:21 who attempts to turn the sleepy city of Tulsa into a criminal's paradise.
01:26 The show dropped its first episode on Paramount+ on the 13th of November.
01:30 Many were worried that Stallone's years of starring in direct-to-video action movies would have tainted his star power,
01:36 but he actually carries the entire show.
01:38 He's received praise for his on-screen charisma and fish-out-of-water humour as a man who has spent the last 25 years incarcerated.
01:46 The show has been well-received by fans and critics alike, with a second season already in the pipeline.
01:51 Few would have expected it, but Stallone still has what it takes to play a convincing leading man.
01:56 It's been a joy to watch him week-to-week in Tulsa King, and long may his time at the top continue.
02:01 Number 9, The Good Doctor
02:03 Season 5 of medical drama The Good Doctor ended in pretty spectacular fashion
02:08 when the wedding of two of the characters was hijacked by a mad gunman.
02:12 You're supposed to say, "I object, not go on a murderous rampage."
02:15 Hasn't this guy seen Shrek?
02:16 Anyway, that was a pretty dramatic point to leave things,
02:19 so it's natural that the show's ongoing sixth season picked up right where that action left off.
02:24 After a rollercoaster of an opening episode, the gunman is arrested and all the characters are safe.
02:29 However, one of them ended up paralysed from the waist down, severely changing the course of the entire show.
02:35 Whilst The Good Doctor doesn't reinvent the wheel,
02:37 season 6 has proved that it's still got plenty of melodrama left in its tank.
02:41 Hospitals are a natural setting for drama, with life and death decided there on a daily basis.
02:46 The show has done well to maximise this potential, without ever letting it grow stale.
02:51 With more drama than ever before, The Good Doctor doesn't need to go under the knife,
02:55 and is far from needing life support.
02:57 Sorry for the medical puns, but it was a golden opportunity.
03:01 Number 8, The English
03:02 Whilst you can watch all episodes of The English on Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer,
03:07 it is still being shown weekly on BBC Two.
03:09 So, it counts.
03:10 Starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, The English is a revisionist history drama
03:15 about a woman who travels to the American West in 1890 to seek revenge for the murder of her son.
03:21 Whilst Lady Cornelia Locke is there, she meets Sergeant Eli Whipp,
03:25 a Native American who is seeking to reclaim the land owed to him by the white man.
03:30 The two form a bond, and even discover that they have things in common.
03:33 The action unfolds over a beautiful western background,
03:36 which was probably afforded by Amazon's involvement in the show.
03:39 They set the standards pretty high with the Rings of Power.
03:42 As well as being visually stunning, Blunt and Spencer do a great job with their characters.
03:47 As the episodes unfold and we learn more about them,
03:49 it's impossible not to become attached to the pair and root for them in their respective
03:53 fights for justice.
03:54 None of this binging nonsense, alright?
03:56 Watch it weekly like the rest of us.
03:58 Number 7, The Winchesters
04:00 As a prequel to the Tumblr-ific show Supernatural, The Winchesters had a lot to live up to.
04:06 Set in the 1970s, the show follows the exploits of John Winchester and Mary Campbell,
04:11 the parents of Supernatural protagonists Sam and Dean.
04:14 It not only serves as an origin story for their careers as hunters, but also as a love story,
04:19 showing how the pair fell for each other and eventually started a family.
04:23 The Winchesters is a lot of fun.
04:24 It might not stray a million miles from the Supernatural formula, but that's far from a bad
04:29 thing.
04:29 That show wrapped up in 2020, and there's been a Jensen and Jared-sized hole in our lives ever
04:35 since.
04:35 The Winchesters has overcome its significant hurdle and has won over a large portion of
04:40 Supernatural diehards.
04:41 What's next for the show is still up in the air, but if it runs for even half the time
04:45 of its predecessor, that's a huge win.
04:48 Number 6, The Sex Lives of College Girls
04:51 Sounding like a video you have to walk through a special curtain in order to buy,
04:54 The Sex Lives of College Girls is a coming-of-age drama with a special focus on the deed.
04:59 It trails four college students, all female if you hadn't already worked that out,
05:03 as they traverse school, society, and yes, sex, with a variety of hilarious and heartwarming
05:09 outcomes.
05:10 On paper, it sounds pretty trashy, just another excuse to put attractive young women in sexual
05:14 scenes on TV, but it runs much deeper than that.
05:17 It deals with racism, as one girl comes from a predominantly white background.
05:21 There are gay characters, characters of colour, characters in relationships with older partners.
05:26 It's got variety, this show, and not in the Kama Sutra kind of way.
05:29 The second season, currently streaming on HBO Max, continues this upward trend.
05:34 It's conscious without ever being preachy, and the wide range of characters ensures that
05:39 each episode is a joy to sit through.
05:41 So there you go, don't judge a book by its cover, and don't judge a TV show based on
05:45 its title.
05:46 Unless it's Naked and Afraid.
05:47 That one's pretty literal.
05:48 Number 5 - Yellowstone
05:50 Proving that westerns aren't just the black and white racist films your grandad likes,
05:55 Yellowstone puts a modern spin on the classic Wild West formula.
05:58 Starring Kevin, dancers with Wolves Kostner, and a whole bunch of other famous faces,
06:03 Yellowstone chronicles the lives of the Dutton family, and the events that go down on their
06:07 enormous cattle ranch.
06:09 Throw in a Native American settlement, greedy land developers, and a wagonload of family
06:13 drama, and you got yourself a mighty fine TV show there, partner.
06:17 Currently, in its fifth season, long-term viewers of the show have really gotten to
06:21 grips with its colourful cast of characters.
06:23 There's Kostner's John Dutton III, the rancher equivalent of Brian Cox from Succession.
06:27 There's Jamie Dutton, who sets a bad precedent for adopted children everywhere.
06:31 And finally, there's Rip Wheeler, a man with a name so cowboy that he absolutely had to
06:36 be in this show.
06:37 Still going strong after so many seasons, you've got a fair bit of catching up to do
06:41 if you want to immerse yourself in the world of Yellowstone, but trust us, it'll be worth
06:45 it.
06:45 Number 4 - Chicago Fire
06:47 On the surface, Chicago Fire looks just like any other weekly procedural drama.
06:52 In some areas, it is, but there's more to this show than meets the eye.
06:56 The first instalment in the One Chicago connected universe, this show about the men and women
07:00 in the big red trucks first debuted back in 2012.
07:03 We met the likes of Matthew Casey, Kelly Severide, and Gabby Dawson, and witnessed their personal
07:09 and professional lives grow and change.
07:11 Comedy, tragedy, long hosepipes - this show had it all.
07:14 11 seasons and over 200 episodes later, the personnel of Firehouse 51 are still going
07:20 strong.
07:21 A few faces have come and gone, and the show has changed course plenty of times over the
07:25 years, but it's still here.
07:26 After a pretty rocky start, the show has gone from strength to strength.
07:30 Viewers of the first season derided it for its cliches, but over time, it has built up
07:35 a solid fanbase through long-term storytelling and the stellar work of its cast.
07:39 In a world where linear TV has gone down the toilet, Chicago Fire's most recent season
07:44 actually outperformed its first in terms of viewers.
07:47 Guess you could say it's hot right now.
07:49 I'm so sorry.
07:50 Number 3 - The White Lotus
07:53 Anthology series are always a risk.
07:55 When each new season of a show is set in a new location with new characters, it can
07:59 create a short-term viewing habit in our audience.
08:02 Why should they get invested if they know their favourite faces are going to disappear
08:06 at the end of the season?
08:07 Why should they give a hoot about any of what's going on?
08:09 Because if they don't, they might miss out on a great show like The White Lotus.
08:14 The White Lotus takes place over a week at a luxury holiday resort owned by the company
08:18 of the same name.
08:20 However, rather than spas and charcuterie boards, the guests and staff usually have
08:24 to deal with secrets and murder.
08:25 The first season was set in Hawaii and opens with one person dead.
08:29 The second season, which is currently showing on HBO, is set in Sicily and opens with a
08:33 bunch of people dead.
08:35 The show managed to ramp up the tension and intrigue from the word go with their new season,
08:39 which has been an absolute joy to watch.
08:42 It's already been renewed for a third instalment.
08:44 Imagine how many people are going to die in that one.
08:46 Number 2 - Rick and Morty
08:48 Do you even need us to explain to you what Rick and Morty is at this point?
08:51 Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's unhinged adult cartoon about the antics of a mad scientist
08:57 and his grandkid are the stuff of pop culture legend these days, perhaps as much for its
09:01 various controversies as anything else.
09:04 However, in spite of having a fanbase more toxic than a nuclear dumping ground, the show
09:08 continues to impress, and its current season might be its best yet.
09:12 Season 6 of Rick and Morty premiered on the 4th of September on Adult Swim.
09:17 The episode involves a lot of context from past episodes, so you're going to need to
09:21 look up the synopsis yourself.
09:22 Therein lies the beauty of Rick and Morty.
09:25 It's a silly, crude cartoon that pays attention to its own continuity.
09:29 This allows it to build meaningful character relationships around the various pickle jokes.
09:33 A fundamentally well-written show, as well as being extremely funny, Rick and Morty is
09:37 one of the best shows currently on TV in this or any other dimension.
09:42 Number 1 - The Simpsons
09:43 Let's get this out of the way nice and early.
09:45 The Simpsons should have been cancelled years ago.
09:47 Whilst the debate rages on as to when the golden age of the show actually ended - season
09:52 8, 10 and 15 are all bandied around - it is almost unanimously agreed that the show has
09:57 now not been good for way longer than it ever was.
10:00 This is a real shame, as those early years of the show still hold as some of the finest
10:04 television ever made.
10:05 However, don't count Homer and Family out just yet, as they've seen a bit of a resurgence
10:10 in recent years.
10:11 Season 33 was viewed by some as a return to form, and season 34, which has been ongoing
10:16 since the 25th of September 2022, has continued that upswing.
10:20 Let's be clear, we are not saying that this current season of The Simpsons is better than
10:24 its classic era.
10:25 That will likely never happen, as times have changed way too much.
10:28 However, we are saying that this is some of the best Simpsons content in years, which
10:33 is something worth celebrating.
10:35 And that concludes our list.
10:36 If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments below, and while you're
10:40 there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
10:43 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
10:47 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
10:49 I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day, and I'll see you real