another box-set recommendation plea for these dark, wintery nights!

[Movingonmymind]

If I loved -
The Good Wife
The Affair
HOuse of Cards
Mad Men
Frasier
Desperate Housewives (for its fluffy silliness)
Orange (first series only, really gone off the boil )
Catastrophe
Six Feet Under
Modern Family
Scandal (first series then gone a bit OTT)

And if I hated-
Grey's Anatomy after a while
Breaking Bad - i tried lots but just no. a definite, absolute no.
Mistresses bit so-so
Luther ditto
Devious Maids, pale imitation of housewives imho.
House - ok at start but v formulaic.

Don't want gratuitous violence, obnoxious men and anything lacking in decent female characters.

The West wing! Every time.

Blacklist is also good.

I'm kind of assuming you've done the West Wing?

I want Veep next.

I'm currently wincing my way through Commander in Chief which is diabolically bad (it's the first series I've ever watched where I'm really aware that the sound is terrible - it all sounds like they're recording it into tin cans on the ends of pieces of string). However, I will watch Donald Sutherland in anything and Geena Davis in a lot of things so I will persevere.

ah, could revisit the west wing - think i was pg/bfing or otherwise engaged mostly when it was on so never watched it much but always meant to. thanks for the reminder!

never heard of the others, but shall check them out, especislly the one with Geena

Have you watched madam secretary? I enjoyed that too. We also enjoyed suits, white collar and elementary! Have got some good female characters in there too!

thanks, wasn't grabbed by Suits but shall check out the others.

The whole of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is on Youtube. I only managed an episode and a half when it originally showed because I got bored, and it was notoriously cancelled after 22 episodes because it was a bit shit, but watching it again, it definitely had something. They were right to cancel it but it's quite a fun watch nevertheless.

Justified
Deadwood

If nobody has mentioned it before then I just watched Hand of God and quite liked it.

It does have a few obnoxious men but I think some of the women balance it out. I like erycah badu in it and if they do another season I'd like to see a lot more of her character.

Transparent
Damages
Jane the Virgin

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries? Brilliant female characters, 1920s setting, not too violent despite the murders.

Fargo - there is violence but it's almost cartoonish. Its very funny and so well done.

Broad City - ridiculous, silly female-led sitcom.

Olive Kitteridge - beautifully acted, reflecting on life kind of drama.

Friday Night Lights - It's about high school American football but it's really just a great, easy to watch drama. It's my comfort viewing at the moment and I have zero interest in American football.

Homeland. Scarily close to reality.

I was just away to say Friday Night Lights. It's easy watching, but decent characters and yes - you do NOT need an interest in American football to get it. Just give it a couple of episodes to get into it, as the first few are a bit slow.

Another vote for Homeland. It's gripping!

Lie to me (currently on Netflix) is good.

We are totally into Friday Night Lights - great female characters for a series about a macho sport, not frenetic or violent, interesting small town America sub-culture.

At the moment I want to be Tami when I grow up.

Justified is good but pretty violent but it does have some good female villains.

Lost?