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When talking about the most influential western TV series in China, Friends and Prison Break represent two milestones.
The ten-season series Friends was the first western drama a majority of Chinese viewers saw. And it can be a good example of English for generations of students. Even today, many English professors use it as teaching material to analyze language study points and American culture in class.
Broadcasted in 2005, Prison Break aroused a national fan base and changed the lifestyle of many Chinese people, youths in particular. Many domestic viewers have realized the ABCs of US TV series since then. Namely, only one episode is aired each week and most US TV series consist of several seasons. Therefore, it takes many years to watch a complete story from beginning to end.
FriendsandPrisonBreakaretwomostinfluentialUSTVseriesinChina. Photo：Weibo
With the boom of the internet, Chinese people have changed from passive receivers to active choosers with easier access to Western dramas. Stand-up comedy is no longer the preference for many people. Detective, political, zombie and law-related dramas seem to receive more and more fans recently.
Douban Movie, the Chinese version of Internet Movie Database (IMDb）, is a Chinese SNS website allowing registered users to record information and create content related to Chinese and foreign film and TV series.
It is worthwhile to notice that the rating system is the highlight of Douban Movie. Registered users rate movies and TV series on a scale of zero to ten and make brief or detailed comments. Some renowned Chinese media people and critics also register their official personal pages on the site.
Therefore, let’s make a stock of the 10 highest rated dramas from the UK and US in recent years. Please note that the first seasons of the candidate TV series were broadcasted 2010 or later to truly reflect the changing of Chinese tastes. The scores of each season differ from one another. Therefore, the average number is used to grade each candidate TV series.
10. Downton Abbey: 8.8
Downton Abbey is a British-American historical period drama that aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2010.
The series, set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1925, depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era with major events in history affecting their lives and the British social hierarchy.
A still of TV seriesDowntonAbbey.Photo:Weibo
9. House of Cards: 8.9
House of Cards is an American political drama web series created by Beau Willimon and premiered on February 1, 2013, on the streaming service Netflix.
Set in present-day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood, a Democrat from South Carolina's 5th congressional district and House Majority Whip who initiates an elaborate plan to get himself into a position of greater power, aided by his wife, Claire Underwood.
8. Breaking Bad: 9.1
Breaking Bad is an American crime drama which originally aired on the AMC network from January 20, 2008, to September 29, 2013.
It tells the story of Walter White, a struggling high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Together with his former student Jesse Pinkman, White turns to a life of crime, producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal world.
7 . Black Mirror: 9.2
Black Mirror is a British television anthology series created by Charlie Brooker that features speculative fiction with dark and sometimes satirical themes that examine modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies.
It first aired on British Channel 4 on December 4, 2011.
6 . Narcos: 9.2
Narcos is an American crime web series that originally aired on August 28, 2015, as a Netflix exclusive.
Set and filmed in Colombia, it tells the story of the notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who became a billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine, while also focusing on Escobar's interactions with drug lords, DEA agents and various opposition entities.
5 . Sherlock: 9.2
AstillofTVseriesSherlock. Photo: Weibo
Sherlock is a British-American crime drama based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories.
Ten episodes have been produced, with a three-part series airing in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and a special episode airing on January 1, 2016. A fourth series has been commissioned, which began filming in April 2016 for an intended 2017 release.
Sherlock depicts detective Sherlock Holmes solving various mysteries in modern-day London. Holmes is assisted by his friend, Dr John Watson who has returned from military service in Afghanistan with the Royal Army Medical Corps.
4 . Better Call Saul: 9.3
Better Call Saul is an American television crime drama series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. It is a spin-off prequel of Breaking Bad, which was also created by Gilligan.
Set in 2002, Better Call Saul follows the story of a small-time lawyer James Morgan, six years before his appearance on Breaking Bad as Saul Goodman.
The first season, which premiered on AMC on February 8, 2015, consists of 10 episodes.
3 . Silk: 9.3
Silk is a British television drama series produced by the BBC, which was broadcast over three series on BBC One between February 22, 2011 and March 31, 2014.
Created by Peter Moffat, the series follows the daily activities of Shoe Lane Chambers and its members in their personal and professional lives.
2 . Shameless (US version): 9.3
AstillofUSTVseriesShameless. Photo:Weibo
Shameless is an American comedy-drama series which aired on Showtime on January 9, 2011.
It is a remake of the same-named British series. Set in Chicago, it depicts the dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a single father of six children.
1. Game of Thrones: 9.4
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels.
The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and its sixth season concluded on June 26, 2016.
The series is set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and involves three plot lines with a large ensemble cast. The first narrative arc follows a dynastic conflict among competing claimants for succession to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, with other noble families fighting for independence from it. The second covers the attempts to reclaim the throne by the exiled last scion of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty. The third chronicles the rising threat of the impending winter and the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.
(CHINA DAILY)
