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For Sale Mar 29, 2026 at 7:10 PM

What are your top 3 underrated television series?

Posted by Alarmed-Tradition-88


Mine would be three period dramas from late 80s -early 90s - “Homefront,” “I’ll Fly Away” and “China Beach.” I absolutely love these series! Such high quality writing, acting and production values. It’s a shame that none of them are really spoken about in today’s time. Curious to hear yours!

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bahumat42 Mar 29, 2026 +19
Counterpart - JK simmons in a pretty great scifi show Person of interest - just as relevant as when it aired. Sharpe - This ones showing its age but it shows a time period under utilised in entertainment.
19
ElectricalDark8280 Mar 30, 2026 +7
You just broke my heart again by mentioning Counterpart. So good and deserved to keep going.
7
bahumat42 Mar 30, 2026 +3
Sorry to hear that but if nobody mentions it will be lost to history and it deserves more eyeballs.
3
tamammothchuk Mar 30, 2026 +3
Counterpart was so good, indeed.
3
she-dont-use-jellyyy Mar 29, 2026 +3
I'm watching PoI for the first time and it is astonishingly relevant right now.
3
SolSparrow Mar 30, 2026 +2
Watching Counterpart with my husband who never saw it- getting to relive the whole show with new eyes is so damn good.
2
alemus2024 Mar 29, 2026 +13
I don't have 3, but I'll reccommend Halt and Catch Fire.
13
jedi_trey Mar 30, 2026 +1
Amazing show
1
thehollyproblem Mar 29, 2026 +23
China Beach? The series that brought women to the front line? ♫Through the mirror of my mind...♫
23
comedygold24 Mar 29, 2026 +4
You mean the series that dared to show the other side of war?
4
thehollyproblem Mar 29, 2026 +2
Yes oh my god hi are you the person who gave him a home before he died so far away? big fan.
2
ymcameron Mar 30, 2026 +3
[Now I need to go rewatch Jenny Nicholson’s Vampire Diaries video.](https://youtu.be/BTEr32NxMUk?si=6BUSYwEiCvt4xaZ0)
3
thehollyproblem Mar 30, 2026 +1
You are quite welcome
1
wino_whynot Mar 30, 2026 +1
I looked for that after I read Kristin Hannah’s The Women, but didn’t see it streaming. Where did you find it???
1
El_John_Nada Mar 29, 2026 +11
Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Titus and Grounded for Life are sitcoms that, in my opinion, don't get talked about enough and, for having rewatched them recently, they haven't aged badly at all.
11
kratomdevil Mar 30, 2026 +2
Upvoted for not mentioning the same 20 or shows that get mentioned every single time an iteration of this question is asked. Bonus upvote for doing sitcoms. Thanks for the recs! The literal only thing I remember about Parker Lewis is KUBE’S LUNCH
2
El_John_Nada Mar 30, 2026 +1
It was that and "Synchronise watches" for me. But I'm rewatching it now and it's crazy how much it seems to have inspired stuff like Scrubs.
1
silky_asian Mar 29, 2026 +20
I don’t have 3 for ya, but I will always put Patriot as my top.
20
Maculate Mar 29, 2026 +8
It's the name. Getting confused with the movie and just being a really poor title for what it is. Couldn't agree more. One of the best shows ever.
8
TummyDrums Mar 29, 2026 +3
FYI if you're not watching DTF St. Louis right now, it's another Steven Conrad show, and has been pretty great so far.
3
Upbeat_Tension_8077 Mar 29, 2026 +9
Mr Inbetween, Orphan Black, & Reservation Dogs
9
Sobotoc4311 Mar 29, 2026 +7
These three were all exceptionally rated, not sure where you get the idea they are underrated. Great shows but certainly not fly under the radar shows with mid reviews. 
7
djkhan23 Mar 29, 2026 +7
Young Justice Reboot Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles
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Stingray88 Mar 29, 2026 +3
Reboot the computer animated series from the 90s, or Reboot the Hulu comedy from a few years ago? I’m down either way, just confirming.
3
djkhan23 Mar 30, 2026 +4
Animated ytv series
4
Stingray88 Mar 30, 2026 +2
Ytv? YouTube tv?
2
djkhan23 Mar 30, 2026 +2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YTV_(Canadian_TV_channel)
2
Stingray88 Mar 30, 2026 +2
Got it, yeah, excellent series. I loved it as a kid, along with their other show Beast Wars. Have you seen the efforts to remastering efforts that have been happening? I’m excited for the results.
2
bahumat42 Mar 29, 2026 +2
>Young Justice Seasons 1 and 2 were great but it was a definite decline after that.
2
ShanklyGates_2022 Mar 29, 2026 +6
Black Sails Spartacus Agents of SHIELD
6
filthy-_-casual Mar 30, 2026 +3
Black Sails is so good
3
ulikedagsm8 Mar 30, 2026 +3
Jupiters c***, I didn't think Spartacus was underrated!
3
antmars Mar 29, 2026 +8
Pushing Daisies, Better off Ted and… Pushing Daisies again.
8
UsedToiletWater Mar 29, 2026 +10
Better off Ted - the one where they installed the state of the art security system that ended up not detecting black employees...it made me laugh so hard, tears came out.
10
bahumat42 Mar 29, 2026 +5
Better off ted deserved scrubs level of success. Just a fun time all around.
5
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 29, 2026 +4
If you love Better off Ted, Check out Andy Ritcher Controls the Universe, made by the same creator!
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sciflare Mar 29, 2026 +8
*Millennium*, *Due South*, *The Magicians*.
8
Mezhead Mar 29, 2026 +1
THAT is one hell of a Venn Diagram.
1
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 29, 2026 +1
Huge fan of “The X Files.” Would you consider Millennium to be a sister series of sorts in form of tone and storylines?
1
LowCalligrapher3 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Absolutely, but Millennium has a very distinctive style in storytelling layout, each season has theor own style. Season 1 is a very dark and strongly procedural "cop show" style with a very subtle overall arc that a handful of episodes touch on, Season 2 gets more into less procedural and a more serialized seasonal arc where bits of comedy relied get injected (with a couple of the episodes even being entirely comedies), Season 3 kinda meldes those two styles into an awkward mishmash while forging its own surreal path. Only three seasons but I definitely recommend it, don't forget The X-Files Season 7's "Millennium" offers essentially a coda for the show. Also if you really enjoy the show, the standalone Millennium comic and the book "Back to Frank Black" are both very much worth checking out.
1
ResIpsa79 Mar 29, 2026 +4
Judging Amy. River (British limited series). Dark Not seems mostly popular only online).
4
mlg1981 Mar 29, 2026 +4
Friday Night Lights, Picket Fences and Treme
4
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 29, 2026 +1
Glad you brought up Treme! May be my favorite work from David Simon. Even more than The Wire. Also love Friday Night Lights but hesitant to watch Picket Fences just because I have never really been able to get into liking David E. Kelley’s work.
1
Kalamac Mar 29, 2026 +3
Killjoys Jeremiah Reaper
3
nowhereman136 Mar 29, 2026 +3
Histeria! Brisco County Jr Barney Miller
3
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 29, 2026 +2
I wish they would air Barney Miller more in syndication!!! Such a well written show. You completely forget they’re only on one set 90% of the episodes lol.
2
WiillRiiker Mar 29, 2026 +3
Married With Children 3rd Rock From The Sun The League
3
BrightLuchr Mar 30, 2026 +3
Atlanta, Farscape, Traders (1996)
3
John_Bruns_Wick Mar 30, 2026 +3
John From Cincinnati Bakersfield PD Wellington Paranormal John from cincinnati had the best scene ive ever seen "We prefer that you don't!" "Baptize that f****** pistol, Cissy." Bakersfield was a cop comedy from the nineties , which was our first taste of giancarlo esposito , and it was just so funny. He is paired with a white guy who is not used to working with black guys and is sort of racist and when Giancarlo tackles a white thief who is running away, his partner, on instinct, tackles Giancarlo and tries to pull him off, like his brain just assumes the black guy is the bad guy despite spending all day getting to know him. Gold. Wellington. IYKYK. Cant decide which partner is funnier. Honorable mention Freakazoid. Animated buffoonery. Freakazoid makes his hand talk and its deeply insulting the antagonist who gets mad and punches freakazoid's hand in the face instead of freakazoid.
3
jbrowder24 Mar 30, 2026 +2
I missed Freakazoid when it was first on but have been able to enjoy thanks to MeTV Toons, definitely some terrific stuff
2
Sobotoc4311 Mar 29, 2026 +2
Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, El Marginal, Servant
2
Sitheref0874 Mar 29, 2026 +2
Life - Damian Lewis Jack Irish. Balthazar - Tomer Sisley. They all withstand multiple rewatches.
2
fullmetalsprockets Mar 29, 2026 +2
Life was great.
2
Darkfigure145 Mar 29, 2026 +2
Reaper, Surface, and Rubicon
2
GobbleGobbleGobbles Mar 29, 2026 +2
1. Halt and Catch Fire 2. Pantheon 3. Pluto I will probably give a different answer depending on the day, but I think Halt and Catch Fire will always be on the list
2
growsonwalls Mar 29, 2026 +2
The Great, Big Love. Will never shut up about these two amazing series.
2
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Really enjoyed Big Love! It’s a shame it never got the same recognition as its sister HBO series of the time. Haven’t seen The Great yet but heard it was great satire.
1
wickedfemale Mar 30, 2026 +2
the mick, the mick and the mick
2
Sobotoc4311 Mar 30, 2026 +1
More than fair. I actually think that its my favorite project that anyone has done outside its always sunny. That includes ap bio, mythic quest, and her new series (which admittedly I've only watched one episode)
1
kratomdevil Mar 30, 2026 +1
The order you listed them is the correct ranking.
1
cplcarlman Mar 30, 2026 +2
The Joe Schmo Show Small Town Security Wayne
2
Sobotoc4311 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Jury Duty gets a lot of hype around here. I find it to be a rather awful series. The first season was considerably better but still only mediocre at best. I think mainly because I've see the Joe Schmo Show. And I gotta say, unlike jury duty, the series was great because the entire thing was written around the individuals choices and actions. It was essentially improv. It just doesn't work for me in jury duty because jury duty is entirely scripted. The character just feels there. It never evolves past "what is going on?" The entire second half of Joe Schmo is the most brilliant TV writing in history. The entire series evolved around one character. It wasn't just plopping someone in as a secondary or background character. It was writing an entire show around the actions and likability of a single individual.  Joe Schmo show flew so that Jury Duty could limp and get accolades.
1
judithishere Mar 30, 2026 +2
Halt and Catch Fire and The Leftovers
2
ThisIsTheNewSleeve Mar 30, 2026 +2
Halt and Catch Fire, Jericho, and Dollhouse
2
GaryNOVA Mar 30, 2026 +2
r/MySoCalledLife r/KidsInTheHall r/MST3K
2
Sobotoc4311 Mar 30, 2026 +1
As long as we are talking OG Kids and not the later projects such as Hell and Reboot. 
1
Minglans Mar 30, 2026 +2
The Story of Minglan ReBoot! (1994) The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
2
ReflexImprov Mar 30, 2026 +2
The Middle Man Seeking Woman Difficult People
2
fractalfay Mar 29, 2026 +1
Shadow and Bone, The Irregulars, Lovecraft Country
1
boomosaur Mar 29, 2026 +2
Interview with the Vampire, Babylon 5, norsemen
2
Pheerandlowthing Mar 29, 2026 +1
Mayor of Kingstown, Preacher and Banshee. One is still going and the other two were fairly popular at the time but some people may have missed.
1
foxtrotocelot Mar 29, 2026 +1
Taskmaster Black Books Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place
1
MapCompass Mar 29, 2026 +1
Better off Ted. Babylon 5
1
GotoDeng0 Mar 29, 2026 +1
Bloodline. IMO Ben Mendelsohn's portrayal as the black sheep of the family goes down as one of best villains in recent memory. A phenomenal performance, and wrapped in a good mystery plot) Only Season 1, though. It was initially going to be a single-seaon miniseries, but had enough success that they made 2 more underwhelming seasons. The fact that Mendelsohn, the cornerstone of the season 1, isn't in seasons 2 or 3 is a big reason for the downturn (not a spoiler since you see Mendelsohn's character is dead in the opening scene of the series).
1
brickiex2 Mar 30, 2026 +1
We are liking Justified
1
frankmint Mar 30, 2026 +1
Slings and Arrows. Tales of the Gold Monkey. Pachinko (WATCH THE DAMN SHOW!).
1
dr_no12 Mar 30, 2026 +1
a good sitcom is always super underrated
1
KED528 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Better Things (FX/Hulu) The Deuce (HBO) Patriot (Amazon)
1
pishposhpoppycock Mar 30, 2026 +1
Melrose Place, Point Pleasant (so sad it got cancelled after just one season!), and Pacific Blue (mostly for the eye-candy)!!
1
INFECTEDWIFISIGNAL Mar 30, 2026 +1
Interior Chinatown was pretty great
1
blond_nirvana Mar 30, 2026 +1
I'm going to pick 3 recent children's shows: Waffles & Mochi Caitie's Classroom Puffin Rock
1
garciaman Mar 30, 2026 +1
Bates Motel Fargo The Bridge
1
veebs7 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Chuck, The Other Two, The Mole
1
Alastor3 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Person of Interest Halt and Catch Fire Gurren Lagann 
1
jbrowder24 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Loved Homefront and I'll Fly Away! Both canceled after two seasons so not sure why someone is giving you grief on underrated just because they were also critic darlings. At least I'll Fly Away got a wrap up movie but they need to be added to streaming sites or over air channels like from Weigel. China Beach was slightly before I was old enough but will have to check it out sometime. It's really hard to pick just three. I think I'll go with Now and Again (1999 with Eric Close), Eyes (2005 with Tim Daly), and State of Grace (2001 with young Alia Shawkat & Mae Whitman; Frances McDormand narrated as an older version of Alia's character).
1
oatmealish Mar 30, 2026 +1
Lodge 49, Halt & Catch Fire, Patriot
1
Mrmoi356 Mar 30, 2026 +1
I have two instead of three: You're the worst is arguably the most underrated comedy I've seen. Interview with the Vampire is very well reviewed but in terms of popularity it's extremely underrated.
1
LowCalligrapher3 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Homicide: Life on the Streets. Millennium. Tru Calling.
1
RoseyOneOne Mar 30, 2026 +1
Patriot, guy.
1
Idavoiduinrl Mar 30, 2026 +1
Prison Break, Trailer Park Boys, Silicon Valley
1
numbbb555 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Fringe,person of interest,how to sell drugs online
1
Felis_bieti Mar 29, 2026 +1
“I’ll Fly Away” and “China Beach” are not even a little underrated. That word has lost all meaning.
1
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 29, 2026 +2
If you bring both shows up to most people, even those who were watching TV when the series were on the air, they wouldn’t know what you were talking about. I think China Beach is just now starting to have some resurgence because it just started steaming on Roku. 
2
Felis_bieti Mar 29, 2026 +1
That doesn't mean it's 'underrated.' It just means it's been off the air for a couple or three decades. China Beach went on 40 years ago in the late 80's. The shows were all considered top notch and still are by anyone who watched them.
1
Alarmed-Tradition-88 Mar 29, 2026 +1
I agree but even during their runs, while they were critically acclaimed, they still had trouble finding  audiences and consistently garnered low ratings, which led to their cancellations. I get if that would be the case if I called something “LA Law” underrated since that show did have a strong amount of ratings success and overall cultural popularity during its initial run.
1
Felis_bieti Mar 30, 2026 +1
Critically acclaimed is the opposite of underrated.
1
IMO2021 Mar 29, 2026
Suits, Wentworth, Halt & Catch Fire,
0
galaxyadmirer Mar 30, 2026 +2
Suits got pretty popular when it was added to Netflix
2
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