The best TV show lists will invariably include one or two of the O.J. Simpson-based series, the excellent "This is Us," and critical favorites that hardly anyone watches, such as "The Americans" and "Transparent." I've decided to focus instead on TV series that may not be on most lists, but I think people should check out (and not just new series). Previous episodes should all be available to stream.

For several years now, I've been issuing in-depth reports on the impact of pre-season buzz in determining new series success - or rather, the lack of impact. Over the past 15 years, the success rate of new prime-time series that received the most buzz leading up to their debuts was roughly 30% - virtually identical to the success rate for all prime-time series.

I conducted a survey of my Facebook friends (a surprisingly diverse group), just as a fun exercise. I asked four simple questions about their DVR, on-demand, and OTT usage. Twenty-five percent of respondents did not have a DVR (the national average is about 50%). Here are the results.