Like most people I really enjoy watching television, however with an almost two-year old I find it hard to actually watch anything apart from cartoons and Disney films now. Don’t get me wrong I know all the words to The Little Mermaid, Hey Duggee is definitely the best cBeebies show and I do own a lot of Adventure Time related things. However sometimes I just need to watch something aimed at someone over 10.

I will fully admit that before I became pregnant I was a TV addict, especially for teen shows from America. Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Glee (I even went to see Glee Live once at the O2!), Teen Wolf, Awkward, you name it I’ve probably watched it. Sadly since having Clem I’ve got rather behind on most of them but I’m slowly catching up on some of them thanks to Netflix. I also enjoy watching more grown up shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Wire and True Detective. So in no particular order here are my ten favourite TV shows ever.

Top 10 Favourite TV Shows

• The OC. I can, and do, watch this over and over. Season 1 is definitely my favourite and by the time season 4 came around it was definitely losing its way (if you’ve seen it you know what I mean) but I still enjoyed it. Anytime anyone mentions California I immediately get the theme tune stuck in my head. Summer and Seth forever.

For those of you who haven’t watched it religiously like me The OC is set in Orange County and focuses on the lives of 4 different teenagers and their families. Geeky, indie music loving Seth Cohen, bad boy but actually just misunderstood Ryan Atwood, rich and popular girl Marissa Cooper and Summer her best friend. It featured teenage drinking, drug abuse, sexual assault, gambling addiction, mental health issues, homophobia and death. Oh the deaths, they certainly did those.

• The Shield. I’ve tried to get so many people to watch this but no one ever does. It definitely looks a little dated now but it’s so good! It’s also 7 seasons long which is pretty off-putting as well especially as things that happen right at the beginning of episode 1 are still being discussed at the end of season 7.

Based around a special task force in the  LAPD who are meant to be taking down gangs and doing drug busts. They are not the good guys in the police force, it starts off pretty shocking and doesn’t stop there.  If you like American police dramas set around corrupt cops and gangs then this is the show for you.

• Game of Thrones. Come on who doesn’t like Game of Thrones. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to tell you what this is about as pretty much everyone I know watches or reads the books. Also I can’t help but hum along to the theme tune when it starts.

• My So Called Life. I wanted to be Claire Danes, I remember when I saw this and she dyed her hair red I needed to dye mine red too despite having extremely dark brown hair at the time. It dealt with teenage issues at a time when other programmes didn’t. Addictions, abuse, relationships and homophobia are just some of the ones it included. This programme also began my life long crush on Jared Leto. No one leans quite like Jordan Cattilano.

• The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. Yep I couldn’t do this post without including them. They both have some ridiculous storylines, characters die, come back to life and die again more than any other programme I can think of but I love them. The Originals is actually slightly better, despite being a spinoff. If you feel the need for some vampire/werewolf/witch teen angst this is the show for you. It isn’t like twilight either, no sparkly vamps here, just ones that rip out people’s hearts.

• The X-Files. I watched the X-Files growing up, I loved it. Some of the episodes used to scare the hell out of me, Tombs still comes to mind when I think of this. I used to have the video game as well. It was great.

• The Sopranos.I remember when this first came on tv, it was on channel 4 really late at night. At the time I definitely wasn’t 18 so I wasn’t really meant to be watching it but I did. I never got round to finishing it all, and didn’t return to it for a good few years. I used to work in Blockbusters (RIP) and one day someone traded the lot in on DVD and it was super cheap so I bought them. Slowly over the period of a year we started to watch it all. The theme tune is instantly recognisable, James Gandolfini was amazing as Tony, the mobster who is struggling with his personal and work life.

• Buffy. Yeah more vamps, witches and demons but more 90’s now. I remember when this started, I used to make sure I had all my homework done so I could watch it. The theme tune was awesome too. I’m pretty sure every one knows about Buffy but if you don’t it was set in Sunnydale, the Hellmouth. Buffy is the chosen one, a vampire slayer. Her friends all become part of the Scooby Gang and she goes around hunting demons, falling in love with vampires and generally being awesome.

• Breaking Bad. This was another one of those shows that everyone said we should watch but we never did. It definitely took me a while to get into. I found it quite slow at the beginning but as series 1 went on I enjoyed it more and couldn’t wait to start watching the next season.

Breaking Bad is about a teacher Walter White who finds out he is dying from cancer so decides to make Meth with a former student (Jesse Pinkman) of his so that his family are financially stable when he dies. It leads into a life of violence and crime. There is now a prequel in the form of Better Call Saul, the story of the lawyer from Breaking Bad. We have also been watching that, and it’s also great.

And finally at number 10, something that I feel should be in everyone’s top 10 favourite tv shows.

• The Wire. It took me two attempts to start watching this. It wasn’t until season 2 that I actually realised just how good it is. Each season of The Wire introduces a different institution in the city of Baltimore, showing its relationship to law enforcement. They include the illegal drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy. The school system, and the print news media, while continuing on characters/plots from previous seasons.

I cannot stress how much you need to see this. It’s gritty and feels extremely real despite being a drama. If you won’t watch The Shield then please watch this.

Do you agree with my list? Is there anything you think I’m missing? Please let me know in the comments.