12 of the best ABC TV shows you need to watch

1. ugly girl

Ugly Betty

• United States, 2006–2010.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 6.6.

Cheerful and a bit naive, Betty Suarez gets a job at a fashion magazine. She is smart and capable, but she doesn't know how to dress at all, and she also wears glasses and braces. Because of this, her colleagues have a low opinion of her, and the chief womanizer does not care at all. However, knowing Betty closer, he changes his attitude towards the girl.

The Colombian series I Am Betty the Ugly Girl has been re-shot countless times. But the American version with America Ferrera in the title role turned out to be especially successful: it combines a love story organically with good humor.

By the way, Russian viewers also received their own adaptation - "Don't Be Born Beautiful." Only the authors of the domestic series paid much more attention than the Americans to the melodramatic component.

2. Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives

• United States, 2004–2012.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy, detective.
• Duration: 8 seasons.
• IMDb: 7.5.

Model housewife Mary Alice shoots herself in the temple with her husband's revolver. Her friends Bree Van de Kamp, Gabrielle Solis, Susan Meyer and Lynette Scavo try to unravel the mystery of a woman's death while solving their own problems.

"Desperate Housewives" replaced "Sex and the City", becoming another landmark project of the 2000s. The creator of the series, Mark Cherry, managed to successfully combine melodrama and detective, diluting all this with a caustic satire on American society.

3. Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

• United States, 2005 - present.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 18 seasons.
• IMDb: 7.5.

Shonda Rhimes' medical drama has been on the air for 16 years. The series even spawned spin-offs, Private Practice and Fire Station 19. In the center of the plot is the difficult workdays of the interns and doctors of the Seattle Grace Hospital. Doctors face the most unusual cases and in the meantime manage to fall in love with each other.

4. Detective agency "Moonlight"

Moonlighting

• USA, 1985-1989.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy, detective.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 7.6.

Celebrity model Maddy Hayes loses all her livelihood overnight and decides to close her side businesses, including the money-losing Moonlight Detective Agency. But detective David Addison convinces the heroine to become his partner. As a result, a life full of adventures so captivates Maddie that she refuses to sell the office and devotes her life to investigations.

Nowadays, the series is already considered a cult classic, and the tandem of Cybill Shepard and the young Bruce Willis captivated the audience. On the screen, the couple acted out their feelings convincingly, and it was impossible to believe that in fact the actors did not get along with each other at first. Willis was listed second in the credits, but he certainly wanted to be the first.

5. Nashville

Nashville

• USA, 2012-2018.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 7.7.

In Nashville, the capital of country music, a tough confrontation is unfolding between country star Rayna James, whose albums have recently ceased to bring the same income, and the young ambitious singers Juliet Barnes. In order to improve Reyna's business, her label bosses insist on a joint tour with Juliet. That's just both women in absentia are not delighted with each other.

The series, created by Thelma & Louise screenwriter Callie Howry, will appeal to even those who are indifferent to the soap opera genre. The relationships between the characters here are really interesting. Well, it will be difficult to pass by the most beautiful compositions even for viewers who have never listened to country music.

6. Once upon a time, in a Fairytail

Once Upon a Time

• USA, 2011-2018.
• Fantasy, adventure, melodrama.
• Duration: 7 seasons.
• IMDb: 7.7.

Emma Swan, who considered herself a simple girl, ends up in the town of Storybrooke. Because of the curse cast by the Evil Queen, its inhabitants have forgotten that they were characters in fairy tales in the past. Emma herself, as it soon turns out, is the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White. And it is she who will free the city from the curse.

The authors came up with an interesting concept: the plot unfolds in two worlds at once - real and fabulous. As a result, stories known to everyone since childhood appear in a completely new light.

7. Newbie

The Rookie

• United States, 2018–2021.
• Drama, crime.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 8.0.

After the divorce, John Nolan intends to start life from scratch. It's not so easy when you're 40, but the hero still decides to try. He enters the police academy, where he is initially met with skepticism. But his life experience and sense of humor give him an advantage over younger recruits.

The series with Nathan Fillion, the star of "Castle" (this project will be discussed below), balances between drama and comedy. Although the heroes are engaged in seemingly ordinary police affairs, the story is still rich.

8. Think like a criminal

Criminal Minds

• USA, Canada, 2005–2020.
• Thriller, drama, crime, detective.
• Duration: 15 seasons.
• IMDb: 8.1.

Long before the release of Mindhunter, there was already a great series based on criminal psychology. The plot here revolves around a team of FBI investigators who, together with profiling specialists, are trying to analyze the thoughts of criminals and predict their further actions.

The show ran for 15 years on ABC and CBS, and during that time received two spin-offs, Criminal Minds: Behavior of a Suspect and Criminal Minds: Overseas. And now it are going‘Criminal Minds’ Revival in the Works at Paramount Plus / Variety renew for the 16th season.

9. Castle

Castle

• United States, 2009–2016.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy, crime, detective.
• Duration: 8 seasons.
• IMDb: 8.1.

Successful writer Richard Castle unexpectedly becomes a defendant in a real police investigation. The fact is that someone decided to imitate the murders from his novels. This case is assigned to homicide detective Katherine Beckett. And she is sure that the author will help her understand what is happening.

Castle was originally put on the air as a temporary replacement. But the comedy-detective procedural suddenly liked the audience so much that they decided to leave it in the broadcasting grid and even increased the number of episodes in the season.

The recipe for success consisted not only in excellent humor and references to popular culture, but also in chemistry between Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, which, as they say, was not limited to the screen.

10. How to Get Away with Murder

How to Get Away with Murder

• United States, 2014–2020.
• Detective, thriller, crime, drama.
• Duration: 43 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

Successful advocate Annalize Keating teaches How to Get Away with Murder, which teaches how to win dead ends. Also, the heroine chooses five ambitious students as her wards. They are ready to do anything to show her their potential, but do not yet know that they themselves will soon be involved in the murder.

The series was conceived by Grey's Anatomy author Shonda Rhimes, a leading authority on contemporary soap operas and strong female characters. Well, the main role was played by Oscar winner Viola Davis.

11. Clinic

Scrubs

• United States, 2001–2010.
• Comedy, drama.
• Duration: 9 seasons.
• IMDb: 8.3.

Young doctors John Dorian and Christopher Turk come to work as interns at the clinic. They have to learn medical tricks from the charismatic Dr. Cox, who is not so easy to please.

An acclaimed medical comedy classic that ran for nine seasons. But at the same time, the series should have ended. before. In the ninth season, for some reason, the heroes beloved by all were replaced with new ones, and the old men themselves rarely appeared.

12. stay alive

Lost

• United States, 2004–2010.
• Fiction, detective, fantasy, thriller, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 8.3.

A plane flying from Sydney to Los Angeles crashes on a mysterious island. The surviving passengers soon begin to realize that what is happening to them is not accidental, and the island itself is not so uninhabited.

The first four seasons of "Lost" can be reviewed with pleasure today. They had mysticism, and mysterious incidents, and complex relationships between the characters. But the ambiguous ending was a huge disappointment for fans and went down in history as one of the most unfortunate series endings.