Lately, primetime TV selections haven’t been as great as some available on Netflix. Here are some quality alternatives to current on-air shows that are just “okay.”
Thriller
Watch “American Horror Story” instead of “Pretty Little Liars.”
While ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars” is a guilty pleasure, “American Horror Story” offers much more suspense (and a plotline that actually makes sense). “AHS” provides integral back stories of each character while “PLL” makes many characters impossible to follow. The first season of “AHS” is wrapped up in 12 episodes, so it doesn’t drag on for years like “PLL.”
Comedy
Watch “Parks and Recreation” instead of “Hart of Dixie.”
For those who like small town-centered comedy, “Parks and Recreation” is a more entertaining pick than The CW’s “Hart of Dixie,” and the constantly perky Leslie Knope is a more relatable character than Zoe Hart ever was.
Quirky Sit-Com
Watch “Orange is the New Black” instead of “2 Broke Girls.”
If you want a dose of better lady-centric TV, look away from “2 Broke Girls” and toward Netflix original “Orange is the New Black” instead. In a world of one-dimensional female TV characters, “Orange is the New Black” delves deep into the emotional rollercoaster that is life in an all-female prison.
Reality
Watch “Portlandia” instead of “The Real Housewives of Anywhere.”
You (and your middle aged mother) love your weekly fix of wealthy, blinged out women fighting with each other about whose designer bag is shinier on “The Real Housewives,” but IFC’s “Portlandia” offers clever faux reality christened by “Saturday Night Live.”  The series features multiple skits performed by “SNL”’s Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein.

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