There are many television series which fly under the radar as under appreciated and under rated however, the one that sticks out the most to me is Direct TV's Kingdom. In 2014 Byron Balasco created a unique series surrounding the inner workings of an MMA gym owned by a retired fighter, Alvey Kulina (Frank Grillo). The show follows Alvey and his partner Lisa Prince (Kiele Sanchez) as they manage their fighters, friends and family while dealing with their own relationship obstacles. As an audience you fall in love with Alvey's sons Nate (Nick Jonas) and Jay (Jonathan Tucker) as they grow as fighters and people. We battle through life's triumphs and tribulations with fighter Ryan Wheeler (Matt Lauria) after he returns from time in prison, hoping to put his past behind him to be the best fighter possible. Each character represents their own struggle in society while depicting a realistic, heart breaking look at "fatal flaws" within one's being.Byron Balasco along with his team of brilliant writers have effortlessly created a story which displays the perfect balance of life drama including - sex, romance, racism, drugs, alcohol, athleticism, sexuality, money and health. Each character is forced to rely on one another to survive the crazy, unpredictable society of Navy Street Gym. Throughout the 3 completed seasons of Kingdom, the audience goes on multiple journeys with each character often which leave us on the edge of our seats, grabbing for the tissues or with a nostalgic smile as we slowly become apart of the family. The writing, directing and cinematography in Kingdom is outstanding however, it is the acting that makes this show a stand out from the rest. While watching acting of this caliber one can not help but question the authenticity of award shows such as The Emmys or Golden Globes because actors such as Jonathan Tucker and Matt Lauria should not have to miss out just because their television series is not from a "higher" or "greater" production company. Jonathan Tucker has taken a very unique and eccentric character as Jay Kulina and shaped him into one that the audience loves to love despite his many flaws and struggles. As each episode passes you can not help but question what crazy tirade Jay will take you on while hoping that it is even greater than the previous. Matt Lauria has had the difficult challenge of creating a character such as Ryan Wheeler which leaves the audience questioning his mystery without losing any interest in his obvious deeply buried emotions. Throughout the three seasons, Lauria has skilfully peeled the layers of Ryan's personality while surprising the audience at the best of times with his outrageous behaviours and antics. While these two are personal stand outs, each cast member raised the bar for any guest actor on the show and thus, creating a standard which had to be matched - and was matched. One does not have to be a fan of the UFC or MMA in any kind to still enjoy Kingdom. However, if you do hold an appreciation for the sport you will find that kudos must be given to the actors for the incredible work they have done off camera to prepare for shooting of this series. Each actor who portrays a fighter is in immaculate shape as they trained with professional fighters and trainers to provide complete authenticity to the sport. In no way has there been any lacking towards the fitness required to be involved in this series as there were no stunt doubles in any of the fight or training scenes in order to show the utmost respect the sport and it's fighters. Kingdom has it all and in no way does it disappoint. Viewer discretion is advised however as the show does contain strong content including nudity, coarse language, adult scenes, depiction of drug and alcohol use and violence. While the show has come to a close, I believe that this is one which can be appreciated and celebrated still in years to come. I would not dismiss this show nor would I forget these actors as they will be doing big things in the years to come.

There is no words to tell you guys how good this series is.. There is no bad review to this series, only to say its a f*****g amazing series! I also wanted to say that I f*****g hate that this got canceled and f**k you TV-network for canceled this series... Like what the f**k? Anyways with that saying, I f*****g love this series and I have never getting so much effect to my life for a series!(Sorry for the bad English, I never write a Review. But this needed to be done)10/10 Tacos for this series!!!!

Kingdom Season 3 Try this little thought experiment. Try it with your friends. List off a handful of the extant TV shows that you considered truly great. Now see how many of them you can say had endings that were truly great. It seems to be a kind of inverse and perverse rule that the greatest shows cannot have great endings. Even Seinfeld had one truly horrible episode and that was the very last one. Some just seem incapable of maintaining their quality and fizzle out. Some, like Deadwood, have the rug pulled out from underneath them before they can bring about any kind of ending. Some, like the Sopranos or Lost, cannot possibly deliver in one episode or even one final season what took them so much time to build up. Even the exceptions to this rule, like the Mary Tyler Moore Show, are so incredibly rare that they only seem to prove the rule. Kingdom, in all the glory of its brief 3 seasons, is one of those oh so rare exceptions. It was a harrowing show to watch right down to its pitch perfect ending. It went well above and beyond being a show about Mixed Martial Arts, lifted by brilliant writing and acting and strong, almost film quality production value. I've written about this show before, and am still thwarted by my inability to convey just how great it really is, and now how great its ending is. This is a true ensemble cast and there is no no misstep, not even one false moment in the acting or in the writing. This is an ending that is both terrible and wonderful to watch because there is nothing about it that is not earned. The final season is made even more poignant for MMA fans in that it involves the legendary Matt Hughes, who is still in recovery from a recent car accident. Hughes stands among that small list of champions which will without a doubt be considered part of the UFC's golden age. While the title holders of today may be more well rounded and boast a more complete game, Hughes will be remembered along such names as Randy Couture and Rich Franklin as one of those rare moments in the fight game when character truly did seem to win out and the better man really did seem to get his hand raised. How special Hughes was is evidenced by the outpouring of love from the entire community, even from Hughes' opponents, when that terrible accident took place and the gasp of relief that we all felt when we heard that he was conscious and able to squeeze his doctor's hand. It seems exactly right that Hughes should appear in this fine show's finale. In fact, everything about this finale felt exactly right. I am still amazed at what a superb and brave performance that Nick Jonas, a pop star, is able to give in this show. I am still surprised at how unflinchingly honest the show is able to remain. And no one who watches this show or the too quickly cancelled The Black Donnellys has any doubt that Jonathan Tucker is as good an actor as anybody out there on Television or in Film. At some point Hollywood is going to get a clue and see that Tucker has a magnetism and power that takes you far beyond an appearance that is not typical surface pretty. When he is let loose he can steal scenes from the best actors out there. He also seems to have an internal compass that does not allow him to give a single false moment or to indulge in the obvious and easy emotions that we have been conditioned to expect. Maybe the only good thing about Kingdom coming to an end is that so many wonderful actors, writers and directors are now free to try other things. Well, perhaps that and that this show is given an opportunity to end in such a perfect way rather than fizzling out or having the rug pulled out all of a sudden. If you haven't watched Kingdom yet, I truly envy your opportunity to discover it now. If you haven't watched Kingdom all the way to the end yet then I can truly tell you that the best is yet to come. For those of us who have watched this show all the way through, it will live in our memories as one of those oh so rare exceptions to the rule. Kingdom, all three seasons of it, is as close to perfect pitch as we are ever likely to find. And I for one am looking forward to watching it all over again, from beginning to end.

My boyfriend and I love watching different shows and are always finding new ones to watch. He found this show randomly and we decided to try it. Overall, it is one of the best shows I've ever seen, if not the best, and there are only 2 seasons so far. Don't be fooled by the mma idea because you don't have to be interested in mma to love the show. You will fall in love with each and every character because they are so well developed. All the actors are incredibly good and fit their character perfectly. Each episode has some huge event that leaves you heartbroken or in awe and almost impossible not to watch another episode. It is crazy to me that this show isn't a huge hit but Breaking Bad is. I don't ever write reviews but this show was so good that I had to.