For several years, "Law and Order: SVU TV show" has reigned as the most popular title in the "Law and Order" franchise. As the opening intones, In New York's war on crime, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous.," and the Special Victims Unit works round the clock on the city's most gut-wrenching cases. "SVU" has held onto its legions of loyal viewers by delivering hard-hitting, compelling and complicated plots week after week. Over the years, the characters have evolved, but the core cast has remained constant. The consistency and continuity undoubtedly contribute to viewers' dedication to Detectives Elliott Stabler (Christopher Meloni) and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). "Law and Order: SVU TV show" also attracts high-powered stars for special appearances in every episode, and it challenges the guests to step well outside their comfort zones, demanding they play parts radically different from roles that made them famous. In recent years, Julie Bowen and Luke Perry co-starred in an episode that told the story of a woman who unwittingly married the man who raped her. Cynthia Nixon of "Sex and the City" fame played a woman with multiple personality disorder; and superstar Sharon Stone has done a stint as Deputy District Attorney. "SVU's" combination of an exceptionally strong core cast plus great guest stars plus intriguing, engaging, labyrinthine plots often "ripped from the headlines" takes viewers on a weekly thrill ride, keeping it riding high in the ratings.

"Little Fires Everywhere" is a television miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Celeste Ng. The show premiered on Hulu in 2020 and consists of eight episodes. It is set in the 1990s and follows the intertwined lives of the wealthy Richardson family and a struggling single mother and her daughter.

Brothers & Sisters was an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 2006 to 2011. The show followed the lives of the Walker family, who run a successful business in Los Angeles. The main characters were the five adult Walker siblings and their parents. The show explored their relationships, careers, and personal struggles.

A spin off to the popular 16 and Pregnant (also on MTV), Teen Mom 2 follows along on the challenges and rewards faced by four teenage moms that were last seen on season three of 16 and Pregnant. There are many problems facing those who are still practically children themselves who attempt to raise their own babies. Family, peer pressure, school, and romance are a enough to struggle with before adding on the burden and reward of child rearing. The show attempts to show it can be accomplished with help from all relationships involved. The parents can provide much needed guidance and they can get an emotional boost from friends and romantic involvements too. Following four young women who become pregnant during their senior year of school, Janelle, Chelsea, Leah, and Kailyn have different problems and solutions but they are each determined to keep and raise their babies themselves. Boyfriends and parents complicate issues but basically stand behind the life altering decisions made by the new mothers. This program is reality programming at it's finest as it depicts life in real time.

Once upon a time MTV was all about music videos but ever since they began producing their own television series like The Hills they have evolved into a powerhouse in TV entertainment. The Hills is about the lives and ongoing happenings for several young women who reside in Los Angeles, California. Lauren, a young woman striving for her own independence, moves to LA with best friend Heidi and meet up with Audrina. Lauren interns with Teen Vogue, a teen magazine and becomes interested in the fashion industry. When her ex-boyfriend follows Lauren to LA they decide to get back together, which complicates her life. This show has the "reality TV" formula that is popular and gained The Hills some high accolades from the entertainment industry and spawned quite a few copy cat programs. While the young women have their romantic partners each is trying to make it and become successful, especially in the magazine and fashion industries that drew them to LA in the first place. As this is a show based on reality it's sometimes difficult to determine where reality leaves off and drama simply takes over. Still The Hills is fun to watch each week.

One critic characterized "Breaking Bad's" dark humor as "Thelma and Louise as seen by Dostoyevsky" and that was one of the perkier, more optimistic descriptions. A seven-part AMC series, "Breaking Bad" TV show tells the story of Walt White, high school chemistry teacher turned methamphetamine cooker and dealer. Of course, as Glenn Frye crooned, "The lure of easy money has a very strong appeal," but "Breaking Bad" does not allow for even a split-second of sunshine through the abysmal darkness. In this corner of the universe, crime never-ever pays. Walt, expertly portrayed by Bryan Cranston of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame, is neck-deep in problems, complications, and flat-out ugliness from the minute he lights the Bunsen burner. Although the writers have woven-in some amazingly ironic lines, known in the trade as "comic relief," the characters deliberately deliver their quips in such a super-slow, slack-jawed drawl they seem more tragic than funny. Of course, "Breaking Bad" TV series make some pretense toward allegory of the American middle class struggling through the throes of deep recession, and it scores some hard hits. Most of all, though, "Breaking Bad" shows that even when fine writers, directors, and actors can find humor and pathos in displaced white-collar workers' undignified struggle for dignity, it still looks awfully damned dreary and ugly.