Lincoln Heights is currently streaming in the US on Hulu, and its 9/10 TMDB rating reflects what viewers who have already found it know. 4 seasons that reward every hour invested. That rating comes from 37 viewer scores — enough to represent a genuine consensus rather than a handful of enthusiasts. The availability across streaming platforms means you can start tonight without hunting for a disc or a dodgy stream. Russell Hornsby is the obvious draw, but once you are in, it is the writing and the ensemble that keep you watching. If it has been sitting on your watchlist untouched, there is no better time to finally start it.

Eddie Sutton is a dedicated police officer, his wife Jenn, a devoted nurse, but their most important job is as parents to their three teenage children Cassie, Tay and Lizzie. They're your everyday American family living in the suburbs of Southern California, but the Suttons are thrown for a loop when Eddie decides to move his wife and three kids to the inner-city neighborhood where he grew up. Russell Hornsby and Nicki Micheaux lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. The series ran for 4 seasons (2007–2009), building a story that gave its audience time to invest properly. The animation style is distinctive enough to be immediately recognisable, but it is the writing underneath that keeps viewers coming back season after season. Every episode repays the time invested, and the series as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The kind of animated series that belongs on any best-TV list regardless of format. The complete run is available and worth watching in order — the character development is cumulative. The visual design is immediately distinctive, but it is the writing that explains why Lincoln Heights has the following it does. Adult animation that actually works for adults tends to lean hard on either comedy or drama — this one has the balance to do both without losing its footing. Viewers who responded to Beverly Hills, 90210 will find the same commitment to quality here.