The Best TV Shows of All Time

According to @th1sandth8t @imdb @rottentomatoes @metacritic @variety @rollingstone @empiremagazine

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TV Show Intros for Top 20 Series of All Time

This&That’s TV Show Rankings as of March, 2025

1. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

“What’s the best story of all time?” my English professor asked me as I strolled in 10 mins late to the first day of class. As someone who just binged GOT the month before, the answer came naturally, even though I knew she’d prefer it if I said a book. The difference between Thrones and other shows is that it isn’t just a show, it’s a story. An 8 season, 73 episode journey. Set in a world of dragons, knights and magic the show follows the story of a number of noble families vying for the Iron Throne and control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. In the Game of Thrones, you don’t win or lose, you win or die. The high stakes ‘Game’ is filled with power, love, loyalty and betrayal as the characters navigate this world filled with danger and intrigue. Despite GOT sitting atop the throne of my tv show rankings, I admittedly watched the first few episodes years before and declared it ‘boring’. After being convinced otherwise and giving it another shot, all I can say is be wary of the slow start, let the scene set itself and watch the story continue to get better like fine wine. There are a plethora of characters that enter and exit the scene and multiple ongoing complex storylines, but the characters are captivating and the visuals are remarkable; as a wise man once said, “Thrones is not for the feeble minded”. If you are one of the few who still hasn’t watched Game of Thrones, do yourself a favor and experience this unforgettable experience that will have you fiending for the next season of the House of the Dragon.

2. Peaky Blinders (2013-2022)

The British crime drama set in 1920s Birmingham, England is led by the ambitious and charismatic Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy / Him). There’s a mixture of hedonism and despair in the 1919 aftermath of The Great War as newly minted revolutions and criminal gangs are fighting for survival in a nation rocked by economic upheaval. As the Shelby Company Ltd attempts to rise above their working-class roots, they must also face off against rival gangs and the police, all while navigating a complicated web of alliances and rivalries. The show offers a captivating look into the shady underworld of gangsters and criminal activities, as well as an exploration of the human condition and our search for power, love, and redemption. The intense and thrilling roller coaster ride that is Tommy Shelby’s limitless ambition is quite simply a must watch.

3. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

When mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, he transforms into the ruthless meth kingpin "Heisenberg" in a desperate attempt to secure his family's financial future. Creator Vince Gilligan's masterpiece offers television's most compelling character study, meticulously tracking White's transformation "from Mr. Chips to Scarface" across five perfectly paced seasons. Bryan Cranston delivers a career-defining performance as White, supported by an exceptional cast including Aaron Paul as his former student and partner Jesse Pinkman. With its stunning cinematography, moral complexity, dark humor, and meticulous attention to detail, "Breaking Bad" stands as a landmark achievement in storytelling that explores how easily a good man can be corrupted when he embraces his darkest impulses.

4. Black Mirror (2011-present)

Charlie Brooker's anthology series provides a dark, twisted reflection of how technology shapes modern society through standalone episodes exploring dystopian visions of the near future. Each installment of "Black Mirror" examines the unintended consequences of innovation through thought-provoking stories that range from satirical to horrifying. The series imagines technologies that feel disturbingly plausible—social media ranking systems, consciousness uploaded to the cloud, memory implants that record everything we see—and explores their devastating psychological and social impacts. With its stellar casting, cinematic production values, and prescient storytelling, "Black Mirror" has become the "Twilight Zone" of the digital age, making viewers question their relationship with technology while delivering some of the most inventive and disturbing television ever produced.

5. Snowfall (2017-2023)

Set against the backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, "Snowfall" chronicles the devastating impact of the crack cocaine epidemic through the intersecting stories of an ambitious young dealer, a Mexican wrestler caught up in a drug cartel, and a CIA operative funding the Nicaraguan Contras through cocaine sales. Created by John Singleton, Eric Amadio, and Dave Andron, the series provides a nuanced examination of how institutional forces and individual ambitions fueled a crisis that decimated inner-city communities. With its authentic period detail, complex characters, and unflinching portrayal of the drug trade's social cost, "Snowfall" stands as both gripping crime drama and vital social history, offering an uncompromising look at how government policy, economic desperation, and entrepreneurial opportunity created a perfect storm that continues to shape American cities today.

6. The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Tony Soprano, a New Jersey mob boss with panic attacks, reluctantly begins therapy to discuss the professional and personal pressures threatening to upend his life in HBO's revolutionary drama. Created by David Chase, "The Sopranos" redefined television storytelling through its psychological depth, moral ambiguity, and cinematic quality. James Gandolfini's towering performance as Tony—at once terrifying, charming, and vulnerable—anchors a show that balances brutal mob violence with domestic family drama, existential questioning, and surprising humor. Through Tony's therapy sessions with Dr. Melfi, the series explores themes of identity, masculinity, mental health, and the decline of traditional institutions. With its controversial finale, unforgettable characters, and nuanced exploration of the American dream, "The Sopranos" is the cornerstone of television's Golden Age that paved the way for all prestige dramas that followed.

7. Rick and Morty (2013-present)

A sociopathic scientific genius drags his anxious teenage grandson across infinite dimensions in Adult Swim's animated sci-fi comedy that combines mind-bending concepts with dysfunctional family dynamics. Created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, "Rick and Morty" uses its multiverse premise to deliver both high-concept science fiction and devastating emotional truths about loneliness, intelligence, and the search for meaning in an indifferent universe. The series cleverly subverts sci-fi tropes while exploring existential themes through Rick Sanchez's nihilistic worldview and his profound, if reluctant, attachment to his family. With its intricate plotting, brilliant animation, philosophical musings, and dark humor, "Rick and Morty" transcends animation to become one of television's most ambitious shows, balancing absurdist comedy with moments of surprising emotional depth.

8. Entourage (2004-2011)

Rising Hollywood star Vincent Chase navigates fame and fortune alongside his childhood friends from Queens in this glamorous, fast-paced HBO comedy-drama offering an insider's perspective on the entertainment industry. Created by Doug Ellin and loosely based on Mark Wahlberg's experiences, "Entourage" captures the intoxicating lifestyle of celebrities and their inner circles while exploring the complex dynamics of male friendship. Jeremy Piven's Emmy-winning performance as volcanic agent Ari Gold provides the series' comedic highlight, delivering quotable one-liners and explosive tirades with unmatched intensity. While the show revels in Hollywood excess—parties, cars, women, and drugs—it's ultimately about the unbreakable bond between Vince and his loyal entourage: manager Eric, driver Turtle, and half-brother Drama. A time capsule of mid-2000s celebrity culture, "Entourage" offers wish-fulfillment fantasy wrapped in sharp industry satire.

9. Succession (2018-2023)

When aging media mogul Logan Roy reneges on his promise to name a successor, his adult children engage in increasingly vicious psychological warfare to claim his business empire in HBO's darkly comic examination of wealth, power, and family dysfunction. Created by Jesse Armstrong, "Succession" offers a Shakespearean drama disguised as a corporate satire, following the emotionally stunted Roy siblings—controlling Kendall, politically savvy Shiv, impulsive Roman, and detached Connor—as they scheme, backstab, and occasionally ally with each other for their father's approval. The show's razor-sharp dialogue, delivered by an extraordinary ensemble cast, strikes a perfect balance between biting humor and genuine pathos. With its cinéma vérité camerawork and Nicholas Britell's Emmy-winning score, "Succession" delivers a devastating critique of the ultra-wealthy while making its horrible characters somehow sympathetic in their damaged humanity.

10. Money Heist (2017-2021)

Eight criminals recruited by a mysterious mastermind known as "The Professor" execute an audacious plan to print billions of euros inside the Royal Mint of Spain in this Spanish thriller that became a global phenomenon. Created by Álex Pina, "Money Heist" (La Casa de Papel) elevates the heist genre through its intricate plotting, charismatic characters, and political undertones that transform the robbers into folk heroes challenging a corrupt system. The series masterfully builds tension through flashbacks, unreliable narration, and constant twists, while developing complex relationships between the hostages and their captors. With its iconic imagery—red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks—and the stirring Italian anti-fascist anthem "Bella Ciao," "Money Heist" transcends its thriller elements to become a cultural touchstone about resistance, making viewers root for criminals who embody a rebellion against financial institutions.

11. The Wire (2002-2008)

David Simon's sprawling HBO drama examines the broken institutions of Baltimore—from the police department and drug trade to schools, politics, and media—creating a complex portrait of urban America that plays more like a visual novel than a conventional police procedural. Each season introduces a new institutional focus while following an interconnected web of characters on both sides of the law, including the self-destructive detective Jimmy McNulty, philosophical stick-up man Omar Little, and strategic drug kingpin Stringer Bell. The series rejects simplistic notions of good and evil, instead examining how systems fail individuals regardless of their intentions. With its unflinching realism, authentic dialogue, and refusal to offer easy solutions to entrenched problems, "The Wire" remains television's most ambitious sociological study—a show that demands patience but rewards viewers with an unparalleled depth of understanding about how American cities actually function.

12. The Boys (2019-present)

In a world where superheroes are corporate celebrities who abuse their powers without consequence, a group of vigilantes works to expose the truth behind "The Seven," America's premier superhero team controlled by the sinister Vought corporation. Created by Eric Kripke and based on Garth Ennis's comic, "The Boys" offers a hyperviolent, darkly satirical deconstruction of superhero mythology that doubles as a sharp critique of celebrity worship, corporate power, and media manipulation. Antony Starr's chilling performance as Homelander—a Superman-like figure with severe psychological issues—provides the series' terrifying center, while Karl Urban's vengeful Billy Butcher leads the outmatched team fighting against him. With its unflinching brutality, irreverent humor, and surprisingly nuanced character development, "The Boys" reinvents the superhero genre by showing what might happen if godlike beings existed in our actual, compromised world.

13. True Detective (2014-present)

HBO's anthology crime series follows different detectives investigating disturbing murders that expose the darkness lurking beneath seemingly ordinary communities. Season one—featuring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as mismatched Louisiana detectives tracking a serial killer across 17 years—remains the show's defining achievement, combining philosophical nihilism, Southern Gothic atmosphere, and extraordinary performances. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, the series reinvents itself each season with new settings, casts, and storytelling approaches while maintaining its core themes: how investigating evil affects those who confront it, the thin line between order and chaos, and the secrets people carry. With its ambitious narrative structures, haunting cinematography, and psychological complexity, "True Detective" transcends police procedural conventions by treating crime as a window into larger questions about human nature, institutional corruption, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of a chaotic world.

14. Ozark (2017-2022)

After a money laundering scheme goes wrong, Chicago financial advisor Marty Byrde relocates his reluctant family to Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million for a Mexican drug cartel in five years to keep his family alive. Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, "Ozark" slowly transforms from a "Breaking Bad"-influenced crime drama into its own distinctive story about how criminality corrupts everyone it touches. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney deliver career-defining performances as Marty and Wendy Byrde, whose marriage evolves from near-collapse to terrifying partnership as they become increasingly comfortable with moral compromise. With its desaturated blue color palette mirroring the emotional bleakness, "Ozark" builds unbearable tension through each season while examining how ordinary people adapt to extraordinary circumstances, the complicity of "legitimate" institutions in criminal enterprises, and how easily ethical boundaries can blur when survival is at stake.

15. Dave (2020-present)

Aspiring rapper Dave Burd (Lil Dicky) navigates the music industry, relationships, and his own neuroses while pursuing his dream of becoming the greatest rapper alive in this semi-autobiographical FX comedy that balances crude humor with surprising emotional depth. Created by Dave Burd and Jeff Schaffer, "Dave" uses its protagonist's insecurities—both personal and professional—as a vehicle to explore larger themes about artistic ambition, male friendship, mental health, and identity in the social media age. While the show delivers plenty of raunchy comedy through Dave's obsession with his anatomical peculiarities, it also offers nuanced portrayals of his relationships with girlfriend Ally, hype man GaTa (playing himself), and childhood friend/manager Mike. As the series progresses, "Dave" evolves beyond its comedy roots into a thoughtful examination of creativity, fame, and the sacrifices required to pursue artistic success.

16. Prison Break (2005-2017)

Structural engineer Michael Scofield deliberately gets himself incarcerated in the same prison where his wrongfully convicted brother awaits execution, carrying an elaborate escape plan tattooed across his entire body. Created by Paul Scheuring, "Prison Break" combines the tension of a jailbreak thriller with conspiracy elements as Michael (Wentworth Miller) assembles a crew of inmates with the skills needed to execute his meticulously designed scheme. The series maintains breathless momentum through its first two seasons by constantly raising the stakes and introducing new obstacles, while developing compelling relationships between the diverse cast of characters. What begins as a relatively straightforward mission to save Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) expands into a complex narrative involving government conspiracy and corporate corruption. Despite diminishing returns in later seasons, "Prison Break" at its best delivers heart-pounding suspense, ingenious plotting, and a powerful examination of how far someone would go to save their family.

17. Severance (2022-present)

Employees at mysterious corporation Lumon Industries undergo a surgical procedure called "severance" that completely separates their work memories from their personal lives in Apple TV+'s chilling workplace dystopia that blends science fiction with existential horror. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller, "Severance" follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott) as his "innie" (work self) begins questioning the nature of his employment after a colleague disappears, while his "outie" (outside self) grapples with profound grief. The series creates an unforgettable visual language through its sterile, labyrinthine office spaces and methodical pacing that builds unbearable tension. Beyond its central sci-fi conceit, "Severance" offers a powerful allegory about work-life balance, corporate control, and the fragmentation of identity in modern capitalism. With its meticulous world-building, stellar ensemble cast, and philosophical depth, the show establishes itself as one of television's most original and thought-provoking dramas.

18. The Office (2005-2013)

The American adaptation of Ricky Gervais's British sitcom follows the daily lives of employees at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company's Scranton branch, capturing their mundane work routines, interpersonal conflicts, and occasional triumphs through documentary-style filmmaking. Developed by Greg Daniels, "The Office" transcends its mockumentary format to create one of television's most beloved workplace comedies anchored by Steve Carell's iconic performance as Michael Scott, the well-intentioned but socially inept regional manager desperate to be both boss and friend. While the show delivers cringe-worthy humor through Michael's inappropriate behavior and Dwight Schrute's bizarre intensity, it balances this comedy with genuine emotional investment in the characters' relationships—particularly the slow-burning romance between Jim and Pam. Through its nine-season run, "The Office" perfects the art of finding extraordinary humor in ordinary situations while celebrating the unlikely communities that form in unremarkable workplaces.

19. Inside Job (2021-2022)

This adult animated comedy postulates that every conspiracy theory is true and follows the dysfunctional employees of Cognito Inc., the shadow government organization responsible for maintaining these secrets and controlling the world. Created by Shion Takeuchi, "Inside Job" centers on Reagan Ridley, a misanthropic genius who leads a team of misfits handling everything from reptilian shapeshifters to robot presidents while dealing with workplace politics and her manipulative father who formerly ran the organization. The series brilliantly combines workplace comedy tropes with elaborate science fiction concepts, delivering smart satire about power, secrecy, and corporate culture. With its dense plotting, Easter eggs for conspiracy enthusiasts, and surprisingly emotional character development, "Inside Job" balances outlandish premises with relatable themes about family trauma, imposter syndrome, and the challenge of maintaining one's principles within corrupt systems.

20. BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)

In an alternate Hollywood where anthropomorphic animals live alongside humans, washed-up 90s sitcom star BoJack Horseman attempts to revive his career while battling addiction, depression, and self-destructive behavior that repeatedly sabotages his relationships.