14 Best TV Shows of 2014 — Tree’s Picks

'Psych' was an underrated gem for its entire 8 season run... that's why it's on this list. It rarely got the critical acclaim it deserved and  so I'm putting its final season on my list. Was it the best season? Nope. It was good and I already miss Shawn and Gus' ridiculous misadventures in amateur detective work though. If they ever reboot 'Fletch' into a TV show -- it would be exactly the same as 'Psych.' Probably not as good.

After one mediocre season with a substitute showrunner, 'Community' got its creator (and its groove) back in 2014. It also lost two show regulars (Chevy Chase and Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino) and was cancelled... and then was save at the very last minute up for a final season by Yahoo of all companies. Though they are a bit short-handed now (Shirley isn't coming back for season 6 either), it'll still be awesome to see the remaining Greendale gang get one step away from fulfilling their self-imposed #SixSeasonsAndAMovie prophecy.

'The Goldbergs' works for the same reasons 'The Wedding Singer' worked -- it's funny and it's set in the 1980s. It was such a funny era that it's the perfect setting for a sitcom. It drives my wife crazy when I pick the show apart for historical inaccuracies like 'Return of the Jedi' premiering one week (1983) and the characters playing Nintendo the next week (at least 1985), but it's all in good fun.

'The Flash' is just what the DC cinematic universe needs to lighten up the bleak tone that haunted 'Man of Steel.' The show manages to be fun and ridiculous, but you can still take it seriously... sort of like what Marvel does really well. Too bad they decided to keep the DCTVU and the DCCU separate (huge mistake). 'The Flash' makes the perfect counterpart to the CW's gritty 'Arrow' and is one of the best new shows on TV. It's still getting better too, which is always a good sign.

'Fargo' had so many great individual performances that it's nearly impossible to not include it on this list. Even though I got lost a few times in the plot (I still don't understand what happened with that raining fish situation), I thoroughly enjoyed this awkward, thick-accented crime drama. Did I mention that Billy Bob Thornton's chilling turn as a hitman was worth the price of admission alone? It was.

Mike Judge came back to the nerdy world he first explored in the cult classic 'Office Space' and hit an absolute grand slam! Casting T.J. Miller as the show's loudmouth proved a brilliant move, as he is the true scene-stealer. The supporting cast is great too... this is just a funny ass show.

'Hannibal' is one of those shows I love, but hardly anyone I know is watching. It's hard to not see Anthony Hopkins when you think of the character, but the marble-mouthed Mads Mikkelsen has managed to make me forget 'Silence of the Lambs.' Hugh Dancy is great as Will Graham as well, but it will be interesting to see where the show goes from here. I will say that all of Hannibal's dinner party jokes about "having people for dinner" have wore out their welcome though. Michael Pitt's turn as Mason Verger may have taken more than a few cues from Heath Ledger's Joker, but was still entertaining to watch... too bad he's not returning to the show this year.

'The Newsroom' ended season 2 like they thought it was the series finale... probably because it almost was. They did end up getting a shortened 6-episode third season to wrap it all up and they didn't waste a minute of it. It seemed like the show had finally found the perfect balance in season 3, which made it all the more sad to see it go. Everyone got butthurt about the rape story subplot in the second to last episode, which was really blown out of proportion and took attention away from a great show's great final run. For a political show that was all smart people talking really fast, 'The Newsroom' was a really fun show to watch.

I can't believe I forgot to include 'Trailer Park Boys' on this list initially (sorry 'Parks and Rec'). The Canadian mockumentary series returned from the grave this year and while some claimed that the show lost some of its magic, I thought they did an incredible job making this season one of the funniest. Others got hung up on inconsistencies between previous seasons and the movies (like the unexplained absence of Randy and Lucy's baby), but if you're bothered by those things -- you're probably missing the whole point of the show. It's funny, it's absolutely ridiculous and it doesn't take itself too seriously. The Ricky-isms were better than ever, Lahey was as drunk as ever, Bubbles was... well, Bubbles, and even Corey came back this season! It was a triumphant return in my opinion.

When you have actors this good on a show this well written, how can you lose? McConaughey turned in the performance of a lifetime as a brilliant detective that believes in nothing, Woody Harrelson got that one chick's giant boobs shoved in his face and we all got to watch this great show. I think everyone came out ahead on this one.

Aside from the most recent episode of 'Arrow,' the most exciting TV moment of the year for me happened at the beginning of season 2 on 'House of Cards.' I won't spoil it, but I was so thrilled that I wanted to stand up and start clapping. Kevin Spacey is a great actor and the role of Frank Underwood plays to his strengths so well it's like watching Jordan get the ball in OT. You know he's going to dunk it, you don't how or when, but that's what makes every second you watch so exciting.

Guillermo del Toro is a master of horror. So when I heard he was bringing his vampire novel trilogy to TV, I was already in. This show didn't get the massive reaction that 'The Walking Dead' did when it hit TV, but it damn well deserved it. 'The Strain' is far from your standard vampire tale and has a great cast to boot. You should make sure to watch season 2 so  they don't cancel this phenomenal show before it gets through it's planned 5 seasons... and just ignore the fact that the big bad known as "The Master" has dick-fingers. You get used to it.

People bitch about the uneven pacing of 'The Walking Dead,' but it doesn't really bother me. That's probably how the zombie apocalypse would be. Actually, there'd be way more bearded dudes eating cans of beans around a campfire in real life. They are running low on people to kill (well, without killing someone that people will be REALLY pissed about) and each half season feels more like a complete season, but I love every minute of it. I can't wait to see where the show goes next. Years before this show aired, I said that someone needed to do a zombie apocalypse show. I'm glad it finally happened, but I never thought it could be the biggest show on TV.. especially with how awesomely gory the show is. Since they've basically stopped making good horror movies, it's nice to have such a great horror show (with better actors than the genre gets on the big screen) delivered to my living room every week.

'Arrow' is the best show on TV. I don't care what you say about it... it just is. I said it earlier and I'll say it again -- DC is really screwing up by excluding these already well-established characters from their soon-to-be-a-lot-bigger movie universe. 'Arrow' takes what was great about the Chris Nolan Batman films and applies it to the Green Arrow character. It's handled seriously and with love for the source material and that's all that it takes most of the time. If they did a show like this with Batman and his rogues' gallery -- it would be the greatest thing to ever hit the small screen. That will probably never happen, but we still have 'Arrow.' The show, even though it's forced to play with a less beloved section of characters than a Batman show would be, still kills it. Last season's Deathstroke arc was incredible and this year's mid-season finale battle with Ra's al Ghul was the most exciting thing I've seen on a TV show in recent memory. The rest of the year is going to be really good.