Sex And The City brought us female ejaculation, threesomes with gay couples... and crabs. When it ended in 2004 we thought there would never be another show with such a rampantly sex-crazed cast of girls... Then along came Girls.
It's not just SATC that has been usurped. All our favourites have been replaced by younger models. Us, fickle? Yes, and proud! From sordid sofa sex and violent cops to womanising spies and breast-baring barbarians, here's today's telly addict fodder - and the classics they trumped.
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Girls: The grittier, sluttier, seedier face of our new TV addictions
SATC: It's sex, but it's glossy sex in designer apartments (wearing designer bras - why always with the bra?)
GIRLS IS THE NEW... SEX AND THE CITY
LOWDOWN: A decade after Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte and Carrie closed the doors (and their legs) on their last orgy, Girls has arrived as its grittier, sluttier younger sister.
THEN: Sex And The City was practically porn (thanks to Samantha for the memories) but it was glossy porn, starring hot women in designer clothes.
Sordid sofa sex: Writer, director, producer and star of Girls, Lena Dunham, far left, with gritty girl gang, left to right, Jessa, Shoshanna and Marnie
Sex And The City: Charlotte, Carrie, Samantha and Miranda.. the girls that gave us glossy orgies, designer clothes... and crabs
What are we doing? Watching transfixed from behind our hands of course. Cringe.
THE SMOKE IS THE NEW... LONDON'S BURNING
LOWDOWN: The 1988 - 2002 drama London's Burning might have used REAL LIFE firemen as extras. But The Smoke uses REAL LIFE fire. Authentic is an understatement. Writer Lucy Kirkwood starts huge fires in buildings and gets actors to put them out. Real flames, real explosions, real danger. No CGI. Think of the insurance bills!
The Smoke: Real fires. Think of the insurance bills!
Firefighters. Flames. Muscular men rescuing
babies from blazing infernos. The Smoke, left, which uses real (yes,
real!) fires while filming, seems to have it all - so long, London's
Burning!
London's Burning: Blackwall's Blue Watch were hot property in the 80s and 90s
THEN: There were fires aplenty fought by the Blue Watch boys of Blackwall fire station, but there were also road accidents and cats up trees. And we were gripped! For decades. We should probably have got out more.
NOW: 'There are kick-ass, life-threatening fires and emotional explosions,' says lead Jamie Bamber, who plays swarthy firefighter Kev Allison. 'All TV fires are bull**** compared to these.'
LOWDOWN: Blood, breasts and beastly behaviour is at the heart of both these hit shows. Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy; Rome is based on historical events around 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic to Empire.
THEN: Sexed-up Roman history - and the boys parading their pins in tiny togas - proved a hit with the viewers, with Polly Walker's Atia of the Julii emerging as the anti-heroine and femme fatale of the series.
Polly Walker as Atia of the Julii, the sexy, scheming niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Augustus and Octavia
The Romans march into battle in the second season of the hit HBO series
NOW: With Rome brought to a close in 2007 after two successful series, Game of Thrones is the place to go for your fix of sex, swords and scheming.
There's more to Game of Thrones than naked bodies, blood and guts though: Romance, politics, strong female characters and adventure are all in the mix. It's sharp, funny with more plot twists than The Killing.
Game of Thrones: The place to go for all your sex, swords and scheming
24 IS THE NEW...THE SAINT
LOWDOWN: While The Saint was an oh-so British spy show, 24 is oh-so American with Kiefer Sutherland playing counter-terrorist agent Jack Bauer.
THEN: That face! That chin! Roger Moore was catapulted to stardom thanks to his role in Sixties spy thriller The Saint before he went on to become a more sinful spy in James Bond.
NOW: 24 should come with a health warning: Jobs have been lost and vitamin D deficiencies suffered thanks to 48-hour box set binges in darkened rooms.
For those who've just got their lives back after Breaking Bad finished, beware: There's a follow-up show, 24: Live Another Day, being filmed now to air later this year. Cancel all plans for 2014 immediately.
Roger Vs Kiefer... who would win? 24, left, with
Kiefer Sutherland, is a very American take on Roger Moore's role in The
Saint, right
TRUE DETECTIVE IS THE NEW.... BREAKING BAD
LOWDOWN: How can the Breaking Bad-shaped hole in our lives ever be filled? Step up True Detective, an equally dark series featuring Hollywood man of the moment Matthew McConaughey, and Woody Harrelson, as a pair of crime-fighting detectives with issues.
THEN: Who’d have thought crystal meth would ever go mainstream? But the sixth series of the gritty drug-fuelled drama is most definitely the end for Walter White and co. As it ended, an entire nation (globe?) was left wondering how to spend their week nights.
NOW: True Detective is centred around an eerie Louisiana serial killing and a subtle but devastating fall from grace. Are these cops really true to their profession? Almost certainly not. But they wear those corduroy suits damn well.
True Detective: A dark series featuring
Hollywood man of the moment Matthew McConaughey and the not-so-hot but
still quite famous Woody Harrelson as a pair of crime-fighting
detectives with issues
Bad boys: Could True Detective fill the gaping hole left in our lives by the end of Breaking Bad?
MODERN FAMILY IS THE NEW... 2POINT4 CHILDREN
LOWDOWN: There’s something oh so compelling about watching families who are more messed up than us: they make us look normal.
THEN: In 2point4 Children the average-looking Porter family live in an average London house doing average things... but have above-average bad luck.
Modern Family: Weirdness, dysfunctionality... yep, they are just like us (except better looking and with nicer houses)
From LA to Chiswick: Modern Family star Sofia Vergara (left) and 2point4
Children (right) are worlds apart - but both make us feel better about
how weird our own families are
NOW: Fake fly-on-the-wall show Modern Family is where the magic really happens. We get to spy on three families so dysfunctional it’s a wonder they make it out of the house in the morning. Sofia Vergara is the proud owner of (both) the show’s other selling points.
Yes, there ARE families out there as weird as ours. They just have better hair and better houses.
GREY'S ANATOMY IS THE NEW... ER
LOWDOWN: What is it about men and women in uniform that is so appealing? Even with those fugly plastic shoes the doctors of Hollywood get our pulses racing.
THEN: Any show that launched George Clooney will always have a place in our hearts. Dr Doug Ross was the highlight of ER, now the longest-running medical drama on American TV.
Swooney Clooney: Grey's Anatomy (left) is on its
10th series and is still going strong while ER (right) lasted for 15
seasons - thanks in large part to the wonder of George Clooney
NOW: Grey’s Anatomy has taken the brooding medical staff theme and run with it, adding even MORE hot doctors, dubious bedside manner and a chart-topping soundtrack as the professionals fight for power, privilege and Prozac supplies under the haunting skies of Seattle.
It has over 100 episodes to go before it beats ER’s record, but our obsessions with other people’s ailments is keeping viewing figures so healthy dreamy Dr Shepherd and team might just make it.
You can watch all of our new obsessions with unlimited access to TV shows, live and on demand on NOW TV. For more info go to
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