Top 10 Current Cult TV Shows

A cult show, as defined by the writers of Reaver's Digest, is a syndicated program that will maintain and grow viewers long after it's been cancelled.  However, oddly enough, the shows below haven't been cancelled just yet and are in fact still going!  Yay for us!  And before we begin, let's just give kudos to the BBC for funding so many kick-ass shows.

10. Adventure Time with Finn and Jake

Embarrassingly enough I don't know a whole lot about this show outside of what shows up on our tumblr feed, but credit should be given where credit is due.  We've seen a couple of episodes, and from what we can tell it's the most amazing cartoon currently out there.  Relying heavily on absurd one-liners, we wish we spent more time watching this show.

9. Castle

We actually almost forgot this from the list, but thank goodness we didn't!  Rick Castle's nerdy innocence and impossible rock-star status as a writer makes this show one of the most enjoyable on TV.  Nathon Fillion's nerdgod status as Capt. Malcolm Reynolds is one of the reasons we got into Castle in the first place, but we're really glad we stayed.

8. Mad Men

It doesn't hurt that Jon Hamm is so darn sexy, but the versatile cast of Mad Men presents an interesting portrait of life in the 1960's leading into the 1970's.  What gives Mad Men it's cult appeal is not the steamy love life of Don Draper but rather the societal shift that's occurring from episode to episode.  Or at least we'd like to think so...

7. Downton Abbey

PBS's first big show in a long while, Downton Abbey is interesting for a variety of reasons.  In the same way that Mad Men is a snapshot of a lifestyle at a given time, this show similarly illustrates societal change at a pivotal moment (that being roughly WWI).  The success of the show largely rests on the talented cast and drama-saturated episodes.  More please!

6.  Doctor Who

I wasn't sure where to put this one on the ranking, but I decided about on the middle because of the 49 years history.  So technically it isn't a current show in that it's been going on for quite a while, but let's be honest.  Starting with Christopher Eccleston and really picking up with David Tennant, Doctor Who's most recent 7 seasons have completely changed the way that people view this show.  Even more so, Hipster Doctor Matt Smith has further made this show accessible and even fashionable for all audiences!  Yay BBC!

5. Portlandia

Produced by Lorne Michaels and starring comedians Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, this delightful "reality" TV show has revitalized short skits.  Keeping up with the absurdist trend, this comedy is so enjoyable because of that subtle realization that deep down the skits are based on a little bit of real life in Portland, Oregon.  Does this alarm us?  A little bit.  Mostly we are just too busy laughing.

4.  Merlin

For the sake of space and what we're sure is your dwindling lack on interest, we'd like to just refer you to our previous article Merlinated: How I Became Bewitched.  To sum that article up.... blissfully cheesy show wrought with delightfully witty dialogue and easily lovable characters.  (Thanks to the BBC for continuing this one)

3. Sherlock

The further down this list we go the more recognizable the cult favorite.  BBC (again) has worked with Stephen Moffat to create a fast-paced detective thriller which reinterprets the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in such a way as to leave fans of his original works feeling as if they are members of Doyle's inner circle, albeit modern-day.  There are just enough similarities between Doyle's original works and the BBC's modern adaption that to figure out the updated culprit to the crime is both a challenge and a thrill.

2. 30 Rock

Just to remind our readers, the act of making lists is overall a highly subjective "art", and therefore certain items get preferential treatment.  In a year however, 30 Rock wouldn't have made this list as it's currently on it's last season ever.  With 20-plus episodes to a season and nearly seven seasons, there are enough episodes to fit in geeky references both obvious and obscure.  We've seen every episode about 4 or 5 times, so for us 30 Rock makes the top of the list, but not quite....

1. Game of Thrones

Oddly enough, we're pretty angry that we have to put Game of Thrones here.  However, we have to give credit where credit is due.  George R.R. Martin's intricate and fast paced fantasy world is the modern day equivalent of Tolkien.  The Game of Thrones television series has done for fantasy what The Lord of the Rings movies first did for the entire genre.  It gave the general public something that they could truly enjoy, usually something reserved for only the hardest of hard core geeks.  Therefore, we have to place Game of Thrones first in that it's effects will be felt for quite some time..

Small side note:  I'm eagerly awaiting Joss Whedon's S.H.E.I.L.D..  I think that it might really be something special, but it's too early even for speculation.  Have a great weekend!