Categories: FX Shows

A side effect of being the greatest channel on television is that it will have a lot of really great shows.  Sorry HBO, FX has taken over your place and it's not close.  The FX category is tied for the largest category with Classic Comedy with 14 shows and that doesn't include The Shield (which is under Shows That Changed Television).  It's a tiny bit unfair: HBO's heyday was in its past which is reflected in my list (four shows in STCT) and it's a lot easier to catch up on and watch FX shows than HBO.  But still, 14 shows is a lot of shows, and most of them are still on the air.

Before starting, there are two shows on this list that I have completed: Terriers and Rescue Me.  I plan to revisit Terriers and write about it here at some point.  And Rescue Me is counted down as finished, but I stopped watching after five seasons, because the quality had dropped tremendously from its first season.  (But man that first season was pretty great)  I may or may not finish Rescue Me, but as you can see, it's not really a big concern for me to finish it.  (Other shows counted as "Finished" despite the fact that I haven't finished them: The Walking Dead, House of Cards, and Downton Abbey)

Comedies
Archer
Duh.  I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not fully caught up on Archer.  It has nothing to do with the show and everything to do with me.  I'm making more of an effort to watch comedy shows - and Archer is not far down the list of shows I will catch up to.  It also has the distinct honor of being one of the few shows I actually want to re-watch.  But first obviously I need to watch it once!

Where I'm at: Season 3, Episode 6

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
This show is in a weird place.  I was way late to watching this show, for some reason decided to watch the first season, and then stopped.  I remember liking and being impressed by the show and yet I never watched more.  (It's pretty much identical to How I Met Your Mother, except I liked this show better)  As it stands, It's Always Sunny will be watched after every other comedy that I've started, but I won't start any new comedies until this one is finished.  (Unless it's a situation like B99 where I can start from the beginning and watch while it airs.  But that's different)

Where I'm at: Season 2, Episode 2 (Yeah for some reason I stopped after one episode)

The League
Here's a show I am caught up to, at least I'm caught up to its latest episode on Netflix.  I'm not sure this show qualifies as a guilty pleasure - it's characters are pretty despicable   It's kind of about fantasy sports, but not really, but the comedic style of this show is one of my favorites.  It's sort of an improvisation/scripted show that just goes for broke a lot and is unapologetic about its shameless guest-star whoring.  Also, Rafi.

Where I'm at: Season 5, Episode 1

Wilfred
Yeah I don't know how this show works.  But it does.  Somehow.  The first season is mostly hit-or-miss, but the last episode was the best and I've heard positive things about the second season.  It's a drastically different comedy than any others on this list, a type of comedy I can appreciate.  And Jason Gann is tremendous as the dog.

Where I'm at: Season 2, Episode 1

Not really a Comedy, but Funny as Hell
Louie
Louis CK is probably my favorite comedian, but it feels wrong to call his show a comedy.  It's not really a drama either.  Either way, it's fantastic and this is one of the few shows I'm completely caught up to, thanks to that two-year break that Louie took.  Not sure what else to say about this.  You've probably either seen it or have actively decided to not watch it.

Where I'm at: Season 4 (Current Season)

Dramas
The Americans
If you've followed me on twitter for a while, you know that I regularly promote this show as if I was getting paid by them.  Well, I'm not and I will take this opportunity to yet again promote this show: go watch it as soon as you can.  The first season is on Amazon Prime and I'm guessing the second will be on there a good amount of time before the third season begins.  The reason I promote this show is because its ratings are not very good and I would very much like to not see this get cancelled.  And as a bonus, the third season has been picked up already so you at least won't have to worry about starting a doomed show.  (While FX seems very much committed to the show, just to be safe, watch it.)

Where I'm at: Season 2 (Current Season)

Justified
I was very late to the game on Justified: I watched my first episode of it probably six months ago.  And guess what? I'm completely caught up.  The show is that good.  Few shows are just purely as enjoyable as this one even when the quality drops off a bit.  The dialogue is maybe the best on television and it's a treat to watch two world class actors in Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins.

Where I'm at: Season 6 (Which will air next year)

Sons of Anarchy
I have run the gamut of opinions about Sons of Anarchy.  The first season was promising and I was optimistic.  The second season was even better and I thought it could be one of my favorite shows.  The third season sucked, but it had goodwill left over and the last few episodes were pretty great.  The fourth season was better, but severely soured me on the show as I realized I had overrated it because of the second season.  And then the fifth season got me back into a mood where I liked the show.  And I haven't seen the sixth season because I have watched it on Netflix and am waiting for it to add episodes there.  (Hopefully, it adds the season before the new season airs, but I'm not optimistic as it did not do that with its recent season.  I WANT to watch your show on live television, help me do that!)

Where I'm at: Season 6, Episode 1

Damages
I have not seen this show.  I do not know if it is good, although I'm reasonably confident it is.  I kind of have a thing for Rose Byrne though so you know any potential doubt I have going into this show is immediately squashed.  You know the show that you're kind of wary about starting and then you realize an actor/actress you like is in it?  Well that's what is happening here.  Either way, there's only 59 episodes so it's not like a huge commitment.

Where I'm at: Not started

Fargo
I missed the boat on this show.  I don't remember why I missed the first episode, but I missed it.  And then I never managed to catch the first episode when FX aired it at a later date.  And then I refused to watch the second episode without having first seen the first episode.  And thus, I have yet to see this show.  I hope it goes on Amazon Prime or Netflix.  Or I'll just record every episode that I see as it comes along (hopefully FX holds a marathon later).  Either way, I really want to see this show.

Where I'm at: Not Started

Nip Tuck
So this is a show that will be watched when I run out of shows.  So if you're a huge Nip Tuck fan - I'm not aware of any that I know - it's going to be a while.  I have no rational reason for choosing to watch this show.  And I may never get to it.  But like I said if I ever run out of shows to watch, then this will be watched.

Where I'm at: Not Started

Not Really a Drama, but Funny as Hell
American Horror Story
Yeah here's a show that's not really a traditional drama, but just an excuse for Ryan Murphy to do a bunch of crazy shit.  It's definitely not supposed to be a comedy, but's pretty funny at times.  And it's not scary, which is good for me because I hate scary movies.  Yeah here's a show that I find I have to watch if I'm interested in TV because it does things no other show does, even if it is objectively not that great of a show.  (For instance, it has one of the worst pilots I have ever seen)

Where I'm at: Season 3, Episode 1

And that's the list of shows that air on FX that I want to watch.