My Personal Top Five Favorite TV Series

Top Five TV Series: Krystal’s Edition

• Sex and The City (1998-2004)
• This TV Series is will always and forever be a lifeline for me. I really started watching the series in middle school and then the underlying lessons like female self-assurance, confidence, and sexuality I relate and understand as an adult. This show illustrates different kinds of women and situations that women face.

• CSI: Miami (2002-2012)
• Investigation crime shows are definitely my kryptonite, and annual summer binges. This show is not just great because it’s based in my hometown but because of the great storylines that keep the show going. There’s not just one main bad guy there's many, I feel like the series (even though it is dramatized) taught me how to handle myself in certain situations. It’s shot great, the golden color corrections do remind me of home, and the series does take after the most badass investigative crime unit.

• Charmed (1998-2006)
• This was the one show that literally played from 3- 5pm Monday- Friday religiously. I remember coming home from school and instantly sitting down and watching charmed till either dinner was ready or it was time to do my homework. The idea of three sisters discovering that they are the charmed ones, and have to fight evil to protect their loved ones, and the world is pretty much spot on when it comes to grasping the audience's attention. But it was really the empathy that you can feel for each sister, coming to terms with their lives and their struggle to overcome obstacles

• Power (2014- )
• The double life is attractive and interesting to watch. The leading character is one of the wealthiest men but also a drug kingpin. When his business partner gets too hungry, an old enemy is released, and the temptation of an old flame arises James St. Patrick struggles to keep everything under control. This TV Series is very new but took the audience by storm, and enjoys leaving everyone at the end of their seat every episode. PS: This season finale literally left me overjoyed but anxious for the next season! Too much ahead.

• How to Get Away with Murder (2014- )
• Viola Davis is nothing short of exceptional and a legendary actress in my book. So naturally as her being the lead character in this TV series is enough to sell me on a great show! I have a love and attachment to each character even through their annoying stages. (If each character can appeal to you- it’s a great show) The thought of law students and a defense professor for crimes becoming tangled in a murder plot is a strong enough storyline to carry over for not just one but several seasons.

Shonda Rhimes

Over Thanksgiving Break I discovered the television show Scandal. It’s created by Shonda Rhimes who is also the creator of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away with Murder”. All three are amazing shows. On Thursday nights, Twitter becomes a giant “Scandal” chat room, fans of the show dispatching around 200,000 tweets per episode. A good portion of these tweets contain “OMG.” Now the same goes for “How to get Away with Murder”. Shonda is running the show(s) at ABC!

Shonda is one of the most powerful African-American female show runner in television. She has three hit television shows on back to back to back on Thursday nights. Rhimes oversees around 550 actors, writers, crew members and producers. The televisions in her office and home are connected to a system that allows her to watch real-time editing by her editors. Basically she is AWESOME. The End.

The Shondaland Empire

Shonda Rhimes is one of the most powerful and successful women in television. There's no doubt about that. Her empire began back in 2005, when she became creator and executive producer of a television show for her first time. It was Grey's Anatomy and it premiered on ABC as a mid-season replacement. For those of you who have been living under a rock, Grey's is a medical drama about surgical interns and residents as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. The show is wildly successful, beginning its eleventh season this week. Rhimes expanded her empire in 2012, when another show of hers, Scandal, hit ABC. Thursdays became known as "Shonda Thursdays" at ABC, as Grey's aired from 8-9pm and Scandal followed from 9-10pm. Scandal also became an instant success. The show is a political thriller that follows Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, a former White House Communications Director for the President, who has left to start her own crisis management firm. With two back-to-back primetime shows on the second most popular day of television (after Sundays), Rhimes is clearly one of the most powerful female showrunners and most powerful black showrunners in television. But her reign continues, as she conquers the final hour of ABC primetime on Thursdays. This past Thursday, Rhimes' newest show premiered after Grey's and Scandal. How to Get Away with Murder is a legal drama starring Viola Davis as a law professor at a prestigious university who, with her students, becomes entwined in a murder plot.

This Thursday was the first of many new and improved "Shonda Thursdays," with three hours of Rhimes television back-to-back-to-back. And to say it was a success is an understatement. How to Get Away with Murder beat Rhimes' other two premieres, drawing in 14 million viewers for the series premiere. Grey's and Scandal brought in 9.8 and 11.9 million viewers respectively. Now the real question is how many of those viewers will return next week and the week after that. The success of a series premiere says more about the marketing than about the quality of the show. The show's success will be determined by whether the number of viewers strengthen as the season continues or starts depleting. Overall, ABC beat its competition during every hour of primetime (with the exception of CBS's Thursday Night Football, because, well, it's football).