Real talk: we bitch about shows like “Two and a Half Men” and present-day “The Office” here on Warming Glow all the time, but really, we couldn’t be happier with the state of TV these days. Stop and think about the mass quantity of great series that will air by year’s end, if they haven’t already: “Breaking Bad,” “Game of Thrones,” “Archer,” “Mad Men,” “Community,” “Parks and Rec,” “Happy Endings,” “Justified,” “Louie,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Homeland,” “The Colbert Report,” “It’s Always Sunny”…the list goes on and on. It’s an amazing time for the small screen, and with Independence Day right around the corner, I put together a list of 20 reasons why I’m proud to be an American TV fan. We love you, “Sherlock,” but you’ll get yours on…Guy Fawkes Day, I guess?
Because “Happy Endings” is a better “Friends” than “Friends.”
Because “Archer” exists.
Because Stefon more than makes up for Seth Meyer’s self-satisfied smugness on “SNL.”
Because although “Community” has gotten sh*t ratings for three seasons now, it still will have aired 84 episodes by the end of its fourth and not necessarily final season.
Because FX gave Louis C.K. a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that no other network would even think about, and “Louie” has since become quite possibly the funniest show on TV, if not the most soul-crushingly honest.
Because Danny Devito, who doesn’t have to be working right now, is willing to make himself look like an insane, perverted, drunk, stoned monster on a weekly basis.
Because of Boyd Crowder’s hair and dance moves.
Because characters who deserve to get slapped and/or punched get slapped and/or punched.
Because even if “The Simpsons” is a shell of its former self, it’s refreshing that the greatest show in TV history can still occasionally come up with a great episode, like last season’s “The Book Job.”
Because of that moment when a show goes from good to HOLY SH*T, like “Boardwalk Empire” did midway through its second season.
Because there are still Nickelodeon shows out there that don’t treat kids like idiots.
Because Hipster Erin.
Because Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a goddamn national treasure and doing the best work of her career on “Veep.”
Because of “Parks and Recreation”‘s universe-expanding recurring characters, including Jean-Ralphio.
Because suggestive “30 Rock” jokes routinely slip past the censors.
Because it’s fun watching an old episode of “South Park,” and then watching a newer one to see how far Trey and Matt have developed Randy Marsh as a character.
Because Showtime finally has a show worthy of its “HBO competitor” status.
Because of Roger’s outfits on “American Dad!”
Because the best drama in TV history, “Breaking Bad,” returns in less than two weeks.
Because Alison Brie. (More here)
And Kristen Bell.
And Alexandra Breckenridge.
And Sofía Vergara.
And Hannah Simone.
And Timothy Olyphant.
And the 69th sexiest woman in America, Stephen Colbert.
