Maybe not the best (or feasible) solution but a colleague of mine never went on long vacations so he pre-booked all his annual leaves for consecutive Mondays! (worked for at least 20 weeks!)
Both Mr. Mercedes and Penny Dreadful are the exact kind of grim that you've mentioned.. no gore and guts at all..
I think you'll definitely enjoy Penny Dreadful. The good thing is that it's already completed and has only 3 seasons (total of 27 episodes). Give it a go.. you won't regret it.
Oh I don't mind grim at all.. in fact I'm currently watching a very dark one based on a Stephen King novel. The show is called "Mr. Mercedes". The starting scene in the pilot was extremely disturbing but also epic. So far 8 episodes are out and 2 more to go in the first season.
I also loooved "Penny Dreadful". All the actors did a terrific job but Eva Green was absolutely sensational!
Oh I do like English series.. they always have a certain added depth to them.. I will share some that I've enjoyed. Haven't seen Doctor Foster.. will take a look at it for sure..
TWD was getting a little monotonous and boring for me until Negan arrived.. man did he change things like crazy! Waiting impatiently for the upcoming season..
I love "TWD".. haven't seen homeland although I've heard good things about it.. just not into the whole "terrorism" theme right now.. I'm sure you'd understand why.. lol
Haven't seen "The Americans".. will check it out on IMDB..
Just wanted to put this out there coz I haven't seen any thread on this topic and its something I'm quite into. Please share some of your favorites (preferably current or from within the past 5-10 years). I'll share some of mine as well.
RE: Would you kiss the person above you or pass ?
Oh and yea... I'd definitely kiss her..