BEST TV SERIES OF ALL TIME
In the days of yore, before Netflix and Hulu allowed us to stream our favorite show whenever we pleased, people used to plan their evenings and weekends around cable schedules. In other words, television has always been American's most cherished pastime. These days, modern technology has given us the gift of getting to pick from, oh, just every single TV show ever, all of which are available to stream at any moment of your choosing. And it's overwhelming! I don't know about you, but I end up frozen on my couch, endlessly scrolling through Netflix's "New Releases" category, struggling to narrow down my options. What do I feel like? What would bring me the most joy at this moment? Who am I?!
Anyway. That's why we made this list—to narrow things down for you. If you're looking for a truly great TV show, you've come to the first place. Behold: The 45 best TV shows of all time.
'Full House'
Original run: September 22, 1987 — May 23, 1995
Starring: Bob Saget, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Premise: A recently widowed father calls in his brother-in-law and best friend to help raise his three young daughters. The Tanner family gave us laughs and a young John Stamos; launched the careers of the Olsen twins; and became one of our favorite families to watch on TV. "Have mercy!"
'Stranger Things'
Original run: July 15, 2016 — Present
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Natalia Dyer
Premise: If Stephen Spielberg did TV, boom, you'd have Stranger Things. In 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana a boy goes missing out of thin air, and it's up to his mom, preteen friends, a girl who goes by the name "Eleven" and a struggling police chief to find him before the mysterious thing that took him takes him away forever.
'Gilmore Girls'
Original run: October 5, 2000 — May 15, 2007
Starring: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop, Edward Herrmann, Scott Patterson
Premise: This dramedy follows the relationship of a close-knit single mother and her daughter and their lives in the town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. While the city alone sounds like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, the narratives of first loves, friendship, and family will make you wish you were a Gilmore girl too.
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'BoJack Horseman'
Original run: August 22, 2014 — January 31, 2020
Starring: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins
Premise: All right, this could get some heat, but this is arguably the best show on Netflix. What looks like a less crude version of Family Guy from its trailer is anything but what it seems. Over six seasons, you watch BoJack Horseman, a once-famous 90s star now alcoholic, and his friends navigate life in "Hollywoo." It's a show we wished would've lasted forever. Bring tissues, and lots of them.
'Saved by the Bell'
Original run: August 20, 1989 — May 22, 1993
Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Dustin Diamond, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies
Premise: Oh, to be a high school student at Bayside High School in Palisades, California. Whether you watched this when it was on the air or caught a re-run on TBS when you couldn't sleep, Saved by the Bell made you want to relive high school again. Sure, the episodes always ended in some cheesy life lesson, but we ate it up like there was no tomorrow. Here's hoping the reboot is just as good.
'Barry'
Original run: March 25, 2018 — Present
Starring: Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Anthony Carrigan
Premise: A former marine who now works as a hitman gets sent on a mission to Los Angeles and ends up catching the acting bug. Unfortunately, leaving a life of crime isn't always easy. Yes, since its leading man is SNL veteran, Bill Hader, it has some laughs, but it also tackles topics of PTSD, acceptance, and more.
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'American Horror Story'
Original run: October 5, 2011 — Present
Starring: Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates
Premise: When this horror anthology series dropped, television got a little bit more creepy. Who knew blood and gore could have a deeper meaning? Seasons range from stories of a coven of witches to a killer clown. Picking a favorite season would be like a parent deeming who their favorite child is, but if we had to choose, we recommend just starting with season 1.
'Broad City'
Original run: January 22, 2014 — March 28, 2019
Starring: Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, Stephen Schneider, Hannibal Buress, John Gemberling
Premise: This comedy was for the girls, and oh my god was it outs. Out of all the television shows about twenty-somethings living in a big city, this is one of the more realistic ones. Broad City followed two friends, Abbi and Ilana, and their all-too-relatable troubles of living in New York.
'Veep'
Original run: April 22, 2012 — May 12, 2019
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh
Premise: A former senator becomes the Vice President of the United States, and she realizes it's nothing like she thought it would be. The comedy wasn't like the usual all-too-serious shows about life in the White House. Instead, we got a vulgar, funny, and honest look on life on Capitol Hill, and we're thankful.
'Mad Men'
Original run: July 19, 2007 — May 17, 2015
Premise: A story about an ad executive in the 1960s and the women in his orbit, Mad Men made Don Draper one of the most legendarily complicated characters in TV history. Bonus points for the series' finals reveal that the show was kind of about its female characters all along.
'Big Little Lies'
Original run: February 19, 2017 — Present
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz, Meryl Streep, Shailene Woodley
Premise: A group of well-to-do moms in affluent Monterey try to keep up appearances...until they're all involved in a murder. Is it too soon to call this being one of the best shows of all time, given that it only has two seasons so far? That cast list suggests it can't really go wrong.
'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
Original run: October 15, 2000 — September 2011, then renewed with a ninth season that aired in October 2017 and a tenth season set to air in 2020.
Starring: Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman
Premise: The misanthropic creator of Seinfeld plays a much cringier version of himself as he adjusts to married life in Los Angeles.
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'The Americans'
Original run: January 30, 2013 — May 30, 2018
Starring: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys
Premise: Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are a perfect married couple, living in the sleepy Washington, D.C. suburb of Falls Church, Virginia in the 1980s. Oh, except they're secretly spies for the KGB who are deep undercover as they try to get the dirt on state secrets. Classic family stuff!
'Scandal'
Original run: April 5, 2012 — April 19, 2018
Starring: Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Darby Stanchfield, Katie Lowes, Bellamy Young, Guillermo Diaz
Premise: Scandal was groundbreaking for a lot of reasons. First, it proved the Shonda Rhimes was a showrunning powerhouse who could make an entire night of television worth tuning into, at a time when networks were feeling a little passé. Second, Olivia Pope became an icon in women who get things done. And third, it showed that a diverse cast didn't pigeonhole a show, but in fact just made it more relevant to everyone who tuned in. And TV hasn't been the same since.
'Friday Night Lights'
Original run: October 3, 2006 — February 9, 2011
Starring: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Minka Kelly, Jesse Plemmons, Michael B. Jordan
Premise: Who knew that a show about a high school football team in Texas would make for not only must-watch TV, but a show that's eminently binge-able even over a decade after it first aired? Friday Night Lights never garnered the audience it deserved during its original run, but its legacy lives on.
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'Sex and the City'
Original run: June 6, 1998 — February 22, 2004
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon
Premise: Four thirtysomething best friends in New York City talk frankly about friendship, family, and, of course, sex in this legendary HBO series.Though parts of it seem a little dated now, it opened the door to other shows that wanted to finally take women's lives seriously—and did it in style.
PRISON BREAK
It an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and Scofield devises an elaborate plan to help his brother escape prison and clear his name. The series was produced by Adelstein-Parouse Productions, in association with Original Television and 20th Century Fox Television. Along with creator Paul Scheuring, the series is executive produced by Matt Olmstead, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Parouse, Neal H. Moritz, and Brett Ratner who directed the pilot episode. The series' theme music, composed by Ramin Djawadi, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2006.[1] Prison Break is a joint production between Original Film, Adelstein/Parouse Productions, and 20th Century Fox Television and syndicated by 20th Television.
BREAKING BAD
is an American neo-Western crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show aired on AMC from January 20, 2008 to September 29, 2013, consisting of five seasons for a total of 62 episodes. It was set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underemployed and depressed high school chemistry teacher who is struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to crime, partnering with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), by producing and selling crystallized methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal underworld. The title is a Southern colloquialism meaning to turn to a life of crime.[8] Gilligan characterized the series as showing Walter's transformation from a soft-spoken Mr. Chips into Scarface.
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