Downton Abbey
Well, don't we think highly of ourselves, TVGuide.com, adding a PBS Masterpiece series to our list? Well, yes, we do, but the truth is, Downton Abbey is the most refreshing, non-stuffy addition to the whole upstairs-downstairs canon since Robert Altman made Gosford Park in 2001. (Hmmm, both were written by Julian Fellowes and co-star Maggie Smith — coincidence?) Fellowes has compared the quick-paced story of the residents of the titular English manor house — the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), his mother (Smith), his American wife (Elizabeth McGovern) his three daughters (note important plot point: no male heirs!) and the many servants who attend to them — to The West Wing, another fable with a big house, a powerful man and a delightful staff. So don't be put off by the British accents, the elbow-length gloves and all that tweed. It's actually quite an accessible family drama. (Bonus: Season 2, in which World War I barges in on the Granthams' genteel lifestyle, is right around the corner, premiering Sunday, Jan. 8 on PBS.)