In Queue: The 15 Most Binge-Worthy TV Shows Of 2014

December 26, 2014 - 7:15 pm by VIBE

The year's small-screen hits that deserved rounds every night

15. American Horror Story
Since 2011, FX's American Horror Story had fans scared shitless. In the first season, sanity was nowhere to be found as witches terrorized the third and freaks came out to play in the fourth. Season 5 returns Jan. 7, 2015.

Photo Credit: FX

14. Being Mary Jane Gabrielle Union plays the successful Mary Jane Paul, a news anchor who has it all: a great career, a closet full of shoes, handbags, clothes and a sexy car in the garage. But what Mary Jane doesn't have is a stable personal life. BET's original series,—created Mara Brock Akil, the mastermind behind The Game—reached four million viewers for its premiere and bagged a second season for 2015. Photo Credit: BET

13. Boardwalk Empire HBO's Boardwalk Empire followed Enoch "Nucky" Thompson—part politician and part gangster—and a cast of diabolical and delicious characters in Atlantic City as they navigate the tricky world of illegal alcohol in the Prohibition Era. Although the show weapped in its fifth season in October, the series, which garnered 40 primetime Emmy Award nods, will go down in history as one of HBO's best. Photo Credit: HBO

12. Games of Thrones Set on fictitious continents of Westeros and Esos, HBO's fantasy drama Game of Thrones has attracted legions of Stans who love mythical creatures, medieval times, legendary battles between good and evil and... sex. Based off of George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, fans eagerly watch the struggle among the realm's noble family as they try to maintain control of the prized Iron Throne. Watching mother of the dragons (read: bae), Khaleesi, is also a bonus. Photo Credit: HBO

11. Homeland Brilliant and bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes, will do anything for the sake of the nation. Showtime's political thriller Homeland follows Mathison, the only agent who suspects that, after eight years of captivity in Iraq, Marine Nicolas Brody—who is hailed as a hero by many—may have "turned." Photo Credit: Showtime

10. House of Lies Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle stars as Marty Kaan in Showtime's House of Lies. The fast-talking consultant who can sometimes be a bit... rude, uses his charms, wits and ability to stay one step ahead of his clients to keep business booming. Fans can't get enough of Marty's cross-dressing son Roscoe (played by Donis Leonard Jr.) and now that he and Jeannie have finally gotten their sexual frustrations out of the way, fans can't wait to see what happens next. Photo Credit: Showtime

9. House of Cards While some might believe Beyonce and Jay Z are the leaders of the "Illuminati," House of Cards loyalists know it's really Francis and Claire Underwood. Set in present-day Washington, D.C., the Netflix original series follows this political power couple as they do whatever they must to secure their position in Washington's underhanded world. Fans saw Frank—or F.U. as he refers to himself by—strategically work his way into the highest seat in the office in season 2, and we can only wonder what President Underwood will do now that he has the free world at his disposal. Season 3 begins Feb. 27, 2015. Photo Credit: Netflix

8. Ray Donovan Finesse, tact, and protocol only describe a glimpse of Showtime's Ray Donovan. Golden Globe nominee Liev Schreiber plays Donovan, a Hollywood fixer who smooths over all major issues for Tinseltown's power players. Everything is dandy until Donovan's father, Mickey (who loves watching women twerk) played by Oscar winner Jon Voight is released from prison after serving 20 years and is determined to unearth the family's dark past to get what he believes he's rightfully owed. The pilot episode became the most viewed pilot on Showtime and quickly garnered a following. Season 2 will air in 2015. Photo Credit: Facebook

7. Power Omari Hardwick stars as James "Ghost" St. Patrick in the Starz original series Power. Ghost is the owner of the popular Truth nightclub and though it's his legitimate business, he's also the largest drug distributor in New York City. He grows tired of trying to balance two lives and decides he wants out, but realizes going clean may be out of his reach. The TV drama, produced by 50 Cent was all the rage despite only having eight episodes, and has since been renewed for a second go 'round. Photo Credit: STARZ

6. Orange Is The New Black The Netflix original series Orange Is The New Black is centered around Piper Chapman, who is sent to a woman's prison for 15 months for her part in a drug transport a decade prior. Now, living a mild-mannered life in New York, she trades her power suit for an orange jumpsuit as she adjusts to life behind bars. While in prison, she befriends and (be-enemies) a cast of dynamic inmates, and that's when all the fun begins. Season 3 is set to stream mid-2015. Photo Credit: OITNB.com

5. How To Get Away With Murder Academy Award nominee Viola Davis plays Annalise Keating, a brilliant Criminal Law professor and an equally talented lawyer who leads a team of hand-picked students to shadow and assist with her cases. Things get interesting when a student turns up dead and all fingers point to Keating's cheating husband, Sam. Co-creator Shonda Rhimes once again takes viewers on an exhilarating, suspenseful ride that will leave you dead. How To Get Away With Murder will return to Thursday nights on ABC on Jan. 29. Photo Credit: Getty

4. Scandal Even if you never sat in front of your television to witness the greatness that is Scandal. the reach of Shonda Rhimes' smash hit is so far, you know what's going on without even trying. (Thanks, Twitter!) The ABC original drama follows political fixer Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, as she keeps some of Washington's biggest dilemmas under wraps. Oh, and she's in love with the President. Between her presidential boyfriend, hitman bae, terrorist mama and assassin/all-powerful father, Liv is due for a mental breakdown sometime soon. Scandal returns from winter break Thursday, Jan. 29. Photo Credit: Facebook

3. Suits When it comes to lawyers Harvey Specter and Mike Ross, they're an unstoppable team, except only one of them has a law degree. USA's Suits takes place at a fictional law firm in New York where, at first, only Harvey (played by Gabriel Macht) knew of Mike's (Patrick J. Adams) secret. But at the end of last season, Mike's biggest enemy and office loser, Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman) learns what he's been hiding all this time and is prepared to raise all hell to get the respect he deserves. Season 4 begins Jan. 28, 2015. Photo Credit: Facebook

2. The Walking Dead Who knew flesh-eating zombies would be all the rage? AMC's The Walking Dead helps prep anyone hoping to survive in a world full of walkers. The hunt-or-be-hunted drama follows sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes,who after waking up from a coma, learns the world is overrun by zombies. As he tries to locate his family, Grimes meets fellow survivors, who work tirelessly to escape or worse, not become one of the zombies themselves. New episodes of The Walking Dead return Feb. 8, 2015. Photo Credit: AMC

1. True Detective Although HBO's original series True Detective, only consisted of eight episodes, it was a runaway hit from jump. Starring Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, the series follows several story lines over 17 years as they try and find a serial killer in Louisiana. Photo Credit: HBO

Honorable Mention: Black-ish ABC's new kid on the block Black-ish follows Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson), beautiful wife (Tracee Eillis Ross) and their four gorgeous kids whose cultural assimilation maybe too much for the family after Dre's success. With the help of his old-school pops (Laurence Fishburne), Dre tries to raise their cultural awareness. Sometimes, it works and sometimes it doesn't. While Black ish isn't the Cosby Show, the comedy helps place African-American families in a positive light. Photo Credit: ABC

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