Search results
- Community. NBC. 2009-15. The half-hour comedy is a format built around comfort and familiarity, and while “Community” had those trappings — a quirky ensemble, a relatable setting, a will-they-won’t-they storyline — the Dan Harmon series was best when it got weird.
- Hannibal. NBC. 2013-15. Somehow, showrunner Bryan Fuller tricked NBC into airing an avant-garde homoerotic romance between Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) — practicing psychiatrist, preening aesthete, noted gourmand — and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an FBI profiler who could inhabit the mindset of a sociopath.
- Homeland. Showtime. 2011-20. Carrie Mathison has all the hallmarks of an unreliable narrator — except she’s usually right. That was what made “Homeland’s” first two seasons so compelling: The CIA agent played masterfully by Claire Danes ought to have been a superspy, but the very mania that lent her a special insight also clouded her judgment, and made her appear untrustworthy to superiors.
- Top Chef. Bravo. 2006-present. As a genre, reality has a largely lowbrow reputation. Not so with “Top Chef,” the Bravo tentpole that’s evolved over 20 seasons into the Rolls-Royce of food television.
People also ask
What is the best TV show of all time?
How are TV shows ranked?
What was the most popular TV show in 1973?
What is the most famous anime series of all time?
Rolling Stone magazine issued a list ranking what they call the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. The list was compiled after the pop culture magazine sent out ballots to entertainment inudustry professionals.
- (37.7K)
- G
- Kristin Marguerite Doidge
- Breaking Bad. - IMDb user rating: 9.5. - Years on the air: 2008-2013. The critically acclaimed AMC series "Breaking Bad" turned Walter White into an icon.
- The Wire. - IMDb user rating: 9.3. - Years on the air: 2002-2008. Still cited as one of the greatest TV shows ever made, "The Wire" went off the air more than 10 years ago.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender. - IMDb user rating: 9.3. - Years on the air: 2005-2008. Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino co-created this anime-inspired American animated show, with the backstory involving the "Avatar," a person who can "bend" and manipulate all four main elements of air, water, fire, and earth.
- Game of Thrones. - IMDb user rating: 9.2. - Years on the air: 2011-2019. Based on George R.R. Martin's beloved series of novels, "A Song of Ice and Fire," this megahit HBO series essentially took on a life of its own.
- Alan Sepinwall
- ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ The first of several movie-to-TV projects on this list. This one is a spinoff rather than an adaptation, though, since Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi have appeared on the show in the roles they played in the 2014 vampire rockumentary film.
- ‘Oz’ Before The Wire, before The Sopranos, there was Oz, the canary in the coal mine for the idea of scripted dramas existing outside the broadcast network ecosystem.
- ‘The Good Fight’ For seven seasons, The Good Wife was a fine example of how loftier creative ambitions could be smuggled into the formula of a broadcast network procedural drama.
- ‘The Odd Couple’ The 1968 film version of Neil Simon’s play about a mismatched pair of divorced middle-aged friends sharing an apartment was a beloved, Oscar-nominated, box office hit.
- 'Ozark'
- 'Sense8'
- '24'
- 'Californication'
- 'The Witcher'
- 'Scrubs'
- 'Homeland'
- 'Prison Break'
- 'Lost'
- 'How I Met Your mother'
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2017–present Fans of Jason Bateman in Arrested Development may have been surprised at first—and then likely blown away—by his dark, layered portrayal of Marty Byrde on the captivating crime thriller Ozark. The story sucks viewers in: A white suburban father caught up in a money-laundering operation moves ...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2015–2018 Though Netflix cancelled its sci-fi drama Sense8following season two, fans and critics praised its striking visuals—nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Cinematography—and LGBTQ+ thematic/character representation. Eight strangers find themselves psychically connected for unknown reasons and battle...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2001–2010 24 graced primetime Foxfor more than 200 episodes spanning nine seasons. Not exactly critically praised, the high-stress, adrenaline-packed series did become a pop culture hit, with even non-viewers knowing the exploits of counter-terroist agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and the beeping cou...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2007–2014 The notion of the alcoholic, promiscuous writer torn and tossed between his ego, questionable father skills, and fledgling career is well-tread. But Tom Kapinos' Calfornicationaddictively brings viewers into rock 'n' roll-tinged Los Angeles for all of Hank Moody's travails and self-realizations....
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2019–present The Witcher, Netflix's popular fantasy series, follows monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) and his destiny connected to Princess Ciri (Freya Allan). Based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's novels, the eight-episode first season satisfied fans of dark fantasy (and fans of the 2007...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2001–2010 Bill Lawrence's medical drama/sitcom Scrubs ran for nine seasons over a decade. It follows, and is narrated by, J.D. (Zach Braff), as he navigates his hospital career and romantic life alongside best friend Turk (Donald Faison), on-again-off-again partner/friend Elliot (Sarah Chalke), and the in...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2011–2020 Showtime's spy thriller Homeland ran for eight seasons. The Claire Danes-led show has earned near-universal praise throughout its run—particularly for its first two years (Best Drama Golden Globe for both). Homeland takes its audience into the highly risky, complicated world of CIAagent Carrie M...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2005–2017 Prison Break follows one brother (Dominic Purcell) falsely sentenced to death and the brother (Wentworth Miller) who intentionally joins him in jail to hatch an escape plan. Coinciding with Fox's 2000s success behind 24, this five-season drama fit in with national audiences attuned to primetime ...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2004–2010 Even non-viewers of Lost could not escape the prevalent narrative and fascination of its massive fan base. The supernatural/sci-fi hit ran from the mid-2000s to 2010 for six seasons, as viewers pieced together what happened to the island survivors of a plane crash. Lostwas nominated for hundreds...
- IMDb user rating: 8.3 - Years on the air: 2005–2014 The hugely popular sitcom How I Met Your Motherran for nine seasons beginning in the mid-2000s, introducing its unique narrative style and blend of humor and romance to millions. In the future, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) recounts to his children how he met their mother when he was younger and livin...
Presenting the best television series to ever grace the small screen, as chosen by TIME's TV critic James Poniewozik.
Oct 11, 2022 · Rolling Stone's The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (2022) A ranking of the most game-changing, side-splitting, tear-jerking, mind-blowing, world-building, genre-busting programs in television history, from the medium’s inception in the early 20th century through the ever-metastasizing era of Peak TV BY ALAN SEPINWALL. English.
