There have never been as many channels on TV as there are today. Most cable boxes answer the call when you hit three digit numbers in the seven hundreds.

There also have never been as many scripted shows as there are today. Over 400 hour and half-hour comedies, dramas and everything between get broadcast and streamed every year.

You’d think that with the widespread broadcasting of shows, each channel would have a few hits and a few duds. Or, if one channel consistently produced hits and even Emmys, that channel would get some high praise.

FX has, over the past ten years, produced shows that are similar in their artistic goals. Their big idea, “there is no box,” kicks out the cliche of thinking outside the box. This gave their original programming an identity in 2008 when the channel was only identifiable as the baby sibling of their parent network Fox.

Almost all of FX’s shows head to Netflix, which helped build the viewership of those shows, but also contributed to the lack of awareness of the channel itself. When you pick and choose on Netflix, you do not always pay attention to the channel that originally aired that show.

So, many of your favorite shows might be from FX, but you might not know it. A list of their current, recent and future hits will awaken you to how quietly great FX is.

“American Horror Story”

With a secretive and scary marketing campaign, American Horror Story returned for its sixth season last week. The Ryan Murphy-produced, hour-long art/horror show keeps its cast from year to year but changes the location and setting in which new characters appear. This is one of the few shows you’ll see your friends watch as it airs, a high honor in the age of streaming.

“Atlanta”

Donald Glover’s new half-hour comedy rates at 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes () after three weeks. Glover writes, produces, directs and stars in his modern day creation as Earn, a struggling father who manages his cousin’s recent local rap stardom. It is subtle and quiet with its pace, but the jokes come at you from the sides in new ways. Perfect example of “there is no box.”

“Archer”

“Archer” is probably the best example of a Netflix Show you didn’t realize was an FX show. It’s been perfect for bingeing in every season. Its aesthetic as a cartoon and its attitude as a show make you laugh in ways more twisted than network cartoons like “Family Guy.”

“The Americans”

Another great thing about FX is their respect and desire for auteur television. They give the people who come up with the idea for the show complete control of that show. Joe Weisberg, a former CIA officer, writes and produces most of the spy thriller. “The Americans” has not reached a permanent streaming site yet, but once it does it will get a cult following. Quietly, it’s the best show on television.

“Baskets”

Zach Galifianakis fits the “there is no box” manta perfectly. His comedic style and relationship with Hollywood is an interesting and under-told story, but here he is given the reigns to be as weird, meta, and angry as he wants. He plays twin brothers Dale and Chip, one of whom tries to follow his dream of becoming a clown. Worth the watch.

“Fargo”

When I heard the movie that introduced the Coen Brothers to the world was getting a remake as a television show, I worried the sequel/remake twitch of the movie industry had spilled too much into television. I was wrong to worry. Season 1 followed the movie and expanded on some characters in entertaining ways, but Season 2 blew everybody away. You get to the narrative universe from a different perspective in terms of time and character. Watch the movie, then binge the shows.

FX rules television without most people knowing about it. The once-small, throwaway channel that you neglected deserves to be the channel playing when you hit the power button on your remote. Here are some more of the network’s shows, some old and some still living, just to impress you a little more: “Wilfred,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The League” and “Sons of Anarchy.”

Kyle Stevens is a sophomore advertising major. You can email him at ksteve03@syr.edu or reach him on Twitter at @kstevs_.

Published on September 18, 2016 at 9:37 pm