List of television shows considered the best
Appearance
(Redirected from Draft:List of television shows considered the best)
![]() | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. The specific issue is: Mainly includes American shows. (July 2025) |
This is a list of television shows that multiple television critics or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The television shows listed here are included on at least three separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from different publications (inclusive of all time periods, networks, and genres), as chosen by their editorial staffs.
List
[edit]Publications
[edit]The reference numbers in the notes section show which of the 10 selected publications list the television show.
- Empire – 2008,[1] 2025[2]
- Entertainment Weekly – 2013 (1-10,[16] 11-25,[15] 26-50,[17] 51-75,[11] 76-100[3])
- IGN – 2017,[4] 2023[5]
- Rolling Stone – 2016,[6] 2022[12]
- Screen Rant – 2024[7]
- Time – 2007[8]
- TV Guide – 2013[14]
- UGO – 2009[9]
- Variety – 2023[13]
- Writers Guild of America West – 2013[10]
See also
[edit]- List of anime series considered the best
- List of television shows notable for negative reception
- List of television awards
- List of most-watched television broadcasts
- TV (The Book), a collection of essays by television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz, which includes narrative fiction only
- TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, which excludes miniseries
Notes
[edit]The reference numbers show which publications include the television show.
- ^ 24:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
- ^ 30 Rock:[2][11][4][5][6][12][13][10]
- ^ 60 Minutes:[8][14][13]
- ^ Alfred Hitchcock Presents:[15][4][5][8][10]
- ^ Alias:[1][3][4][9]
- ^ All in the Family:[16][4][5][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ American Idol:[11][6][8][14]
- ^ The Americans:[2][4][5][6][12][7][13]
- ^ The Andy Griffith Show:[16][4][14][10]
- ^ Arrested Development:[1][2][15][4][5][6][12][8][9][13][10]
- ^ Atlanta:[2][5][12][13]
- ^ Band of Brothers:[1][2][4][5][12][7][10]
- ^ Barry:[2][5][12]
- ^ Battlestar Galactica:[1][2][11][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][10]
- ^ Beavis and Butt-Head:[11][4][6][8][9]
- ^ Better Call Saul:[2][4][5][12][7]
- ^ Boardwalk Empire:[2][4][5][10]
- ^ The Bob Newhart Show:[17][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ BoJack Horseman:[2][5][12][7][13]
- ^ Breaking Bad:[2][15][4][5][6][12][7][14][13][10]
- ^ Buffy the Vampire Slayer:[1][2][16][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ The Carol Burnett Show:[17][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Chappelle's Show:[11][4][6][12][9][13]
- ^ Cheers:[2][15][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Chernobyl:[2][5][7]
- ^ The Colbert Report:[6][9][10]
- ^ Columbo:[2][17][5][6][12][14][13][10]
- ^ Community:[4][5][12][13]
- ^ The Cosby Show:[15][4][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Curb Your Enthusiasm:[1][2][4][5][6][12][7][13][10]
- ^ The Daily Show:[4][5][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Dallas:[11][6][8][14][13]
- ^ Deadwood:[1][2][11][4][5][6][12][7][8][13][10]
- ^ Dexter:[1][2][5][10]
- ^ The Dick Van Dyke Show:[5][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Doctor Who:[1][2][11][4][5][6][7][9]
- ^ Downton Abbey:[4][6][10]
- ^ The Ed Sullivan Show:[6][8][14]
- ^ ER:[1][2][17][4][5][6][12][14][13][10]
- ^ Everybody Loves Raymond: [3][14][10]
- ^ Fargo:[2][4][6][12]
- ^ Fawlty Towers:[1][2][4][6][12][7][10]
- ^ Firefly:[1][5][7][9]
- ^ Fleabag:[2][5][12][7][13]
- ^ Frasier:[1][2][17][4][5][12][10]
- ^ Freaks and Geeks:[11][4][5][6][12][8][9][13][10]
- ^ Friday Night Lights:[2][17][4][5][6][12][13][10]
- ^ Friends:[1][2][15][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ The Fugitive:[17][6][10]
- ^ Game of Thrones:[2][3][4][5][6][12][7][13][10]
- ^ Gilmore Girls:[2][17][7][8][13]
- ^ Girls:[2][6][12][13]
- ^ The Golden Girls:[17][4][5][6][12][7][14][13][10]
- ^ The Good Place:[5][12][13]
- ^ Good Times:[3][4][6][12]
- ^ The Good Wife:[2][4][14][10]
- ^ Grey's Anatomy:[3][7][13]
- ^ Gunsmoke:[6][8][14][10]
- ^ Hannibal:[2][4][5][13]
- ^ Happy Days:[4][5][6][13]
- ^ Hill Street Blues:[17][4][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Homeland:[11][6][13][10]
- ^ Homicide: Life on the Street:[2][11][8][14][10]
- ^ The Honeymooners:[15][4][6][12][8][14][10]
- ^ I Love Lucy:[15][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ I May Destroy You:[2][5][12][13]
- ^ I, Claudius:[4][8][10]
- ^ In Living Color:[3][4][5][6][7][13]
- ^ It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia:[2][4][5][12]
- ^ The Jeffersons:[5][6][12][13]
- ^ Jeopardy!:[6][12][14][13]
- ^ Justified:[4][5][12][10]
- ^ The Larry Sanders Show:[17][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Late Night with David Letterman:[6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Law & Order:[15][4][5][6][14][10]
- ^ The Leftovers:[2][4][5][12][7][13]
- ^ Lost:[1][2][15][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ Louie:[4][6][10]
- ^ M*A*S*H:[2][17][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Mad Men:[2][16][4][5][6][12][7][14][13][10]
- ^ The Mary Tyler Moore Show:[16][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Modern Family:[11][14][10]
- ^ Monty Python's Flying Circus:[1][2][17][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][10]
- ^ Mr. Show with Bob and David:[4][6][12][9]
- ^ The Muppet Show:[17][4][5][6][12][9][13][10]
- ^ My So-Called Life:[15][5][6][12][8][13][10]
- ^ Mystery Science Theater 3000: [3][4][5][6][8][9]
- ^ NYPD Blue:[2][11][4][5][6][12][14][13][10]
- ^ The Odd Couple:[6][12][8][10]
- ^ The Office:[1][2][15][4][6][12][8][10]
- ^ The Office:[2][3][4][5][6][12][7][8][9][13][10]
- ^ The Oprah Winfrey Show:[8][14][13]
- ^ Oz:[2][3][4][5][6][12][7][10]
- ^ Parks and Recreation:[2][4][5][12][7]
- ^ Playhouse 90:[8][13][10]
- ^ Prime Suspect:[2][17][8]
- ^ The Prisoner:[11][4][5][8][10]
- ^ The Real World:[17][4][6][8][13]
- ^ Rick and Morty:[2][4][5][12]
- ^ The Rockford Files:[17][6][12][10]
- ^ Roots:[4][5][6][12][7][8][13][10]
- ^ Roseanne:[15][4][5][6][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Sanford and Son:[3][4][8]
- ^ Saturday Night Live:[15][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ Seinfeld:[1][2][16][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ Sesame Street:[4][5][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Sex and the City:[1][2][11][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ The Shield:[1][2][11][4][5][6][12][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ The Simpsons:[1][2][16][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ Six Feet Under:[1][2][11][4][5][6][12][7][8][13][10]
- ^ Soap:[11][4][8][10]
- ^ The Sopranos:[1][2][16][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ South Park:[1][3][4][5][6][12][8][9][13][10]
- ^ St. Elsewhere:[17][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Star Trek: The Next Generation:[1][2][11][4][5][7][9][13][10]
- ^ Star Trek: The Original Series:[1][2][3][4][5][6][12][8][14][10]
- ^ Stranger Things:[2][7][13]
- ^ Succession:[2][5][12][7][13]
- ^ Survivor:[17][4][5][8][14][13]
- ^ Taxi:[17][6][12][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Thirtysomething:[11][6][13][10]
- ^ The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:[4][5][6][12][8][14][13]
- ^ The Twilight Zone:[2][15][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ Twin Peaks:[1][2][17][4][5][6][12][7][8][9][13][10]
- ^ Veep:[2][4][5][6][12][7][13]
- ^ Watchmen:[2][5][12][13]
- ^ The West Wing:[1][2][11][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][13][10]
- ^ Will & Grace:[11][4][13][10]
- ^ The Wire:[1][2][16][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ The Wonder Years:[4][5][6][12][13][10]
- ^ The X-Files:[1][2][17][4][5][6][12][7][8][14][9][13][10]
- ^ Your Show of Shows:[16][6][8][14][10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af "THE 50 GREATEST TV SHOWS OF ALL TIME". Empire. 2008. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm Team, Empire (11 March 2025). "The 100 Best TV Shows Of All Time — And Where You Can Watch Them". Empire. Archived from the original on 16 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Staff, EW (11 July 2013). "TV: All-Time Greatest, Nos. 100-76". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl "TOP 100 TV SHOWS OF ALL TIME". IGN. 2017. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg IGN Staff (25 September 2023). "The Top 100 Best TV Shows of All Time". IGN. Archived from the original on 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci Sheffield, Rob (September 21, 2016). "100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax Team, ScreenRant (20 July 2024). "The Best TV Shows Of All Time, Ranked". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 9 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp Poniewozik, James (2007). "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME". Time. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Team, UGO (30 December 2009). "Top 50 TV Shows of All Time". UGO. Archived from the original on 3 November 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj "101 Best Written TV Series". Writers Guild of America West. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Staff, EW (11 July 2013). "TV: All-Time Greatest, Nos. 75-51". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg Sepinwall, Alan (26 September 2022). "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf D'Addario, Daniel; Aurthur, Kate; Davis, Clayton; Hailu, Selome; Herman, Alison; Longeretta, Emily; Maas, Jennifer; Otterson, Joe; Schneider, Michael; Tangcay, Jazz; Tinubu, Aramide; Vary, Adam B. (December 20, 2023). "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt (23 December 2013). "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Staff, EW (12 July 2013). "TV: All-Time Greatest, Nos. 25-11". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Staff, EW (27 June 2013). "TV: 10 All-Time Greatest". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Staff, EW (11 July 2013). "TV: All-Time Greatest, Nos. 50-26". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
External links
[edit]- Highest rated television shows on IMDb and Metacritic
- Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows on The Hollywood Reporter, which distinguishes between best and favorite
- The 101 best TV shows of all time you have to watch on Time Out, which excludes sketch shows, talk shows, news and non-fiction