8) The 100
Not many would have believed that one of the coolest straight-up science fiction stories being told on TV could be found on The CW a few years ago. But here we are, a year and a half and two seasons into the much-more-than-a-teenage-survival-story The 100, which presents a future scenario where a space station full of humans make their way back down to a post-apocalyptic Earth to discover they are not alone! Cheesy? Sure. Cliched? Occasionally. Chaotic and fun? Undoubtedly.
That chaos is The 100‘s bread and butter. The show tricks you with the introduction of one eye-roller of a plot line after another, but repeatedly sprints in the opposite direction the second it gets the chance. Think Clarke is about to enter a series-long love triangle with her two suitors? Hah, one gets offed in episode three. Afraid all of this will end in one giant Lord of the Flies allegory about society’s potential for crumbling? Have fun picking your jaw off the floor watching the way the adults and teens reunite in season two.
This year had a few shocking deaths, awesome new characters (Alycia Debnam-Carey’s brutal war commander Lexa), and a gruesomely evil plan by the new Big Bads that proved season one wasn’t just a fluke. Slick and confident and unafraid to portray actual female badasses, mentally and physically, The 100 simply feels proficient in every category – romance, drama, action, sci-fi, dystopia, some Lost-inspired mysticism – that it’s easy to fall in love with from word go.
