6) Elementary

Elementary isn’t a show that comes with too many surprises. You know that at the end of each episode, Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Joan (Lucy Liu) are going to come out on the winning side, for the most part. But there’s still something indulgent about watching the relationship between the characters continue to develop.

The partnership between Sherlock and Joan has become more entangled as they become further invested in each other on a personal and professional level, serving as the foundation for the rest of the story. The characters are designed to be flawed, and it makes them that much more likeable. They stumble over and over again as they try to figure out what the boundaries are, something that has become increasingly important to Joan the more she is enveloped in this new lifestyle.

As the narrative continues to delve further into Sherlock’s backstory, his vulnerabilities take on their own sense of character within the overarching story. The way he compensates by creating a push and pull in his personal relationships is essential to what the writers are trying to accomplish. The complexities of the iconic character are interpreted in a unique way in the series that remove it in a sense from what viewers have seen before. Not only does the choice to remove him from the usual British backdrop play into his development, but Sherlock’s tenacity for working with instead of against the authorities to further his understanding of the criminal element changes some of the more classic understandings of this well-established character.