Try Dicte, Danish, female reporter. Dark, in parts, but balanced. And I have a crush on Dar Salim.
Tired of brutish men but loved The Wire? 
Did you watch Treme? I loved that show and was sad when it ended, although the last season wrapped things up very well. Loved the fact that it was actually filmed in New Orleans, loved the scenes of the city, loved the cast (which included a few from The Wire), and the music, so good.
Iām feeling a little like you about Ray Donovan. Itās just getting to be too much. Every week thereās a new disaster, new problems, new ridiculous scenarios. The writing is not keeping up with the talent in that cast. Iām not sure what else I can recommend at the moment. Iām currently watching The Returned, which is dark, gloomy, and strange. I thought I liked it at first, but am down to the final two episodes and it just keeps getting darker and darker.
I didnāt like its season 2.
Yeah, the second season more or less proved that the creative team didnāt have the goods.
@Consolation Have you watched Orange is the New Black? Call the Midwife?
Currently, Iāve just started watching the early seasons of Great British Bakeoff that were never aired in the US.
There is a French version of The Returned, the original, that I saw on Netflix. Really good. Liked it more than the A&E version.
@alwaysamom , yes, I too loved Treme. Just a great show: characters, actors, musicā¦vicarious food! Sad to see it end. @doschicos, Iām a fan of OITNB (especially when it isnāt concentrating on Piper!), and Iāve watched every season I could find of The Great British Bakeoff, including those not shown here. I watched the first season, at least, of Call the Midwife, and read the book. But I think Iāve heard that the later seasons go beyond the book, so thatās an idea, thanks.
I recently finished watching the first two seasons of Black ish: great show. Iām really dying for the next season of Mozart in the Jungle.
I agree with everyone: the first season of Bletchley Circle was great, the second so-so. I sorely missed Anna Maxwell-Martin, an actress whom I really enjoy. She is great in Death Comes to Pemberley, and also in North and South.
I agree about the best bits not revolving around Piper, @Consolation.
Have you watched American Crime? I really liked it, 1st season more than 2nd.
No, I havenāt. I will give American Crime a shot.
If you like Orange is the New Black, try Wentworth. I enjoy that one even more!
I loved Lie to Me. Itās on Netflix. I didnāt know Bletchy Circle had a second season.
@Consolation - if you didnāt like Breaking Bad or the Sopranos, you probably wonāt like Peaky Blinders. It is violent. Itās about gangsters after all.
Has anyone watched Stranger Things? Iāve only seen a couple of shows and it reminds me of the X-Files.
I watched Stranger Things one very rainy headachy day. I like Wynona Ryder and really wanted to like the show. In fact I thought she was totally miscast and was overacting and not very good in that part. And also, it couldnāt make up its mind, is this an X files type supernatural show, or is it about this cool group of middle schoolers, or a mom and kids, or what? My favorite part was the middle schoolers. Anyway, I did watch the whole thing. Iāve done worse, and stranger, things.
H and I both loved Stranger Things. We both liked Winona Ryder in it too. I thought she was great for the part.
I thought of it like E.T. only with Alien thrown in. The kids are great.
If you can take the violence, sex and nudity of Game of Thrones then try Marco Polo. Really good so far.
Loved Stranger Things. The Winona Ryder character wasnāt my favorite, but in general I thought the casting and the acting was excellent.
We just finished the second season of the leftovers. Jennifer Aniston is a lucky ladyā¦lol Now Iām finally watching house of cards.
Son binge watched Stranger Things and highly recommends it. Will try to find time together to fit it in.
Iām watching Grace and Frankie and enjoying it. Am into Season 2 and it was fun seeing an old actor friend in the most recent episode. I havenāt talked to him in a while so didnāt know he had done this show. I like the series, although the writing can be inconsistent. There are many excellent moments, though, poignant and realistic, and some episodes are very, very good. The casting and acting are wonderful.
I have fairly pedestrian taste in food and wine, but I will watch The Wine Show just to enjoy Matthew Goode and Matthew Rhys.
http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/wine-show-drunk-and-in-love.html?mid=facebook_vulture
I am very much enjoying Stranger Things. Weāve watched four episodes. Husband no longer wants to watch it because of the teenage daughter. I can just put that in the background and concentrate on the important story lines. Itās really scarey. Wish I could watch it with my son, since we loved to watch this kind of stuff together. So glad he recommended it, as well as you guys, of course!