Television dramas reached new heights in 2013, with some shows becoming modern cult classics. Five popular shows are nominated for a Golden Globe award for their spectacular storylines and superb acting.

The 2014 Golden Globe nominees for Best Television Drama are:

"Breaking Bad"- "Breaking Bad" definitely reached cult status this year as the superbly acted show came to an end. The series focuses on chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who is diagnosed with lung cancer. After his diagnosis, he turns to cooking and dealing meth to ensure his family has money should he pass away. He teams up with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to teach him the drug dealing ropes. But White quickly surpasses Pinkman in terms of strategy as well as cooking skill, and becomes increasingly egomaniacal, putting his wife and children at risk.

"Downton Abbey"- The popular British period drama about an uber-wealthy British family and their downstairs staff had a difficult season, with the passing of both Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens). The past season saw fantastic acting from the cast as they dealt with the two tragedies. The characters are facing more changes this coming season as they move out of the 1910s and into the roaring '20s. The show focuses on the rapid developments at the turn of the 20th century, and the inevitable changes that are in store for the staid British gentry.

"The Good Wife"- The acclaimed drama about a lawyer, Alicia (Julianna Margulies), and her two-timing politician husband has evolved into a show that is about much more than publicized infidelity. Alicia is a powerful attorney in her own right, and recently dealt a huge blow to her law firm, Lockhart/Gardner, by striking out on her own. She is now at odds with her colleagues, which creates an especially complicated relationship between Alicia and her former colleague and ex-lover, Will (Josh Charles).

"House of Cards"- The American version of the BBC miniseries of the same name became an instant Netflix hit. The series surrounds Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democratic Congressman and House Majority Whip who decides to get revenge on those who passed him up for appointment as Secretary of State. Underwood, with the help of his chief of staff, executes shady dealings and machinations to earn the nomination for Vice President.

"Masters of Sex"- "Masters of Sex" is a 1950s-era drama about Dr. William Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan), two researchers of human sexuality at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The Showtime hit was based on Thomas Maier's biography Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love. The series also focuses on the dichotomous life of Masters, who studied sex yet was repelled by intimacy.

Prediction: "House of Cards"

Although the hit series "Breaking Bad" gained immense popularity in 2013, the Golden Globe will most likely go to the Netflix hit "House of Cards." "Breaking Bad" has never won a Golden Globe before, and it is likely that the award will instead go to "Cards," which is the first show solely released on the Internet to be nominated for a Golden Globe. The pioneering drama has an intricate plot and an anti-hero lead character who is consumed by the seduction of power. Spacey's Shakespearean asides to the camera create a modern, political take on Richard III that is darkly compelling.