List of television shows considered the best

Last updated

This is a list of television shows that television critics or magazines have considered among the best of all time. The television shows are included on at least four separate best-of lists from different publications (inclusive of all time periods, networks and genres), as chosen by their editorial staff.

Contents

List

Television showGenreReleaseNetworkRef.
24 Action 2001–2010, 2014 Fox [A]
30 Rock Sitcom 2006–2013 NBC [B]
Alias Spy fiction 2001–2006 ABC [C]
All in the Family Sitcom 1971–1979 CBS [D]
American Idol Music competition 2002–2016, 2018–present Fox (2002–16), ABC (2018–present) [E]
The Americans Spy fiction 2013–2018 FX [F]
Arrested Development Sitcom 2003–2006, 2013–2019 Fox (2003–06), Netflix (2013–19) [G]
Atlanta Comedy drama 2016–2022 FX [H]
Band of Brothers War drama 2001 HBO [I]
Barry Crime drama 2018–2023 HBO [J]
Battlestar Galactica Science fiction 2003–2009 Sci Fi [K]
Beavis and Butt-Head Adult animation 1993–1997, 2011, 2022–2023 MTV (1993–2011), Paramount+(2022–23), Comedy Central [L]
Better Call Saul Legal drama 2015–2022 AMC [M]
The Bob Newhart Show Sitcom 1972–1978 CBS [N]
BoJack Horseman Adult animation 2014–2020 Netflix [O]
Breaking Bad Crime drama 2008–2013 AMC [P]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Supernatural 1997–2003 The WB (1997-2001), UPN (2001–03) [Q]
The Carol Burnett Show Variety show 1967–1978 CBS [R]
Chappelle's Show Sketch comedy 2003–2006 Comedy Central [S]
Cheers Sitcom 1982–1993 NBC [T]
Columbo Crime drama 1968–1978, 1989–2003 NBC (1968–78), ABC (1989–2003) [U]
The Cosby Show Sitcom 1984–1992 NBC [V]
Curb Your Enthusiasm Sitcom 1999, 2000–2024 HBO [W]
The Daily Show Talk show 1996–present Comedy Central (1996–present), Paramount+(2021–present) [X]
Dallas Soap opera 1978–1991 CBS [Y]
Deadwood Western 2004–2006 HBO [Z]
The Dick Van Dyke Show Sitcom 1961–1966 CBS [AA]
Doctor Who Science fiction 1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present BBC1 (1963–96), Fox (1996), BBC One (2005–present), Disney+ (2023–present) [AB]
ER Medical drama 1994–2009 NBC [AC]
Fawlty Towers Sitcom 1975–1979 BBC Two [AD]
Firefly Science fiction 2002 Fox [AE]
Fleabag Comedy drama 2016–2019 BBC Three (2016), BBC One (2019) [AF]
Frasier Sitcom 1993–2004 NBC [AG]
Freaks and Geeks Comedy drama 1999–2000 NBC [AH]
Friday Night Lights Sports drama 2006–2011 NBC (2006–08), The 101 Network (2008–11) [AI]
Friends Sitcom 1994–2004 NBC [AJ]
Game of Thrones Fantasy 2011–2019 HBO [AK]
Gilmore Girls Comedy drama 2000–2007 The WB (2000–06), The CW (2006–07) [AL]
Girls Comedy drama 2012–2017 HBO [AM]
The Golden Girls Sitcom 1985–1992 NBC [AN]
The Good Place Fantasy 2016–2020 NBC [AO]
Hill Street Blues Police procedural 1981–1987 NBC [AP]
Homicide: Life on the Street Crime drama 1993–1999 NBC [AQ]
The Honeymooners Sitcom 1955–1956 CBS [AR]
I Love Lucy Sitcom 1951–1957 CBS [AS]
I May Destroy You Comedy drama 2020 BBC One (UK), HBO (US) [AT]
In Living Color Sketch comedy 1990–1994 Fox [AU]
The Larry Sanders Show Sitcom 1992–1998 HBO [AV]
Late Night with David Letterman Talk show 1982–1993 NBC [AW]
Law & Order Legal drama 1990–2010, 2022–present NBC [AX]
The Leftovers Supernatural 2014–2017 HBO [AY]
Lost Science fiction 2004–2010 ABC [AZ]
M*A*S*H Comedy drama 1972–1983 CBS [BA]
Mad Men Period drama 2007–2015 AMC [BB]
The Mary Tyler Moore Show Sitcom 1970–1977 CBS [BC]
Monty Python's Flying Circus Sketch comedy 1969–1974 BBC1 (1969–73), BBC2 (1974) [BD]
The Muppet Show Variety show 1976–1981 ITV (UK), syndication (US) [BE]
My So-Called Life Teen drama 1994–1995 ABC [BF]
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Science fiction 1988–1996, 1997–1999, 2017–2018, 2022 KTMA-TV (1988–89), The Comedy Channel (1989–91), Comedy Central (1991–96), Sci-Fi Channel (1997–99), Netflix (2017–18), Gizmoplex (2022) [BG]
NYPD Blue Police procedural 1993–2005 ABC [BH]
The Office Sitcom 2001–2003 BBC Two (2001–02), BBC One (2003) [BI]
The Office Sitcom 2005–2013 NBC [BJ]
Oz Prison 1997–2003 HBO [BK]
Parks and Recreation Sitcom 2009–2015, 2020 NBC [BL]
The Real World Reality television 1992–2019 MTV (1992–2017), Facebook Watch (2019) [BM]
Roots Historical drama 1977 ABC [BN]
Roseanne Sitcom 1988–1997, 2018 ABC [BO]
Saturday Night Live Variety show 1975–present NBC [BP]
Seinfeld Sitcom 1989–1998 NBC [BQ]
Sesame Street Educational 1969–present NET (1969–70), PBS (1970–present), HBO (2016–20), HBO Max/Max (2020–25), Netflix (2025–present) [BR]
Sex and the City Comedy drama 1998–2004 HBO [BS]
The Shield Crime drama 2002–2008 FX [BT]
The Simpsons Animated sitcom 1989–present Fox (1989–present), Disney+ (2024–present) [BU]
Six Feet Under Comedy drama 2001–2005 HBO [BV]
The Sopranos Crime drama 1999–2007 HBO [BW]
South Park Adult animation 1997–present Comedy Central, Paramount+ [BX]
St. Elsewhere Medical drama 1982–1988 NBC [BY]
Star Trek: The Next Generation Science fiction 1987–1994 First-run syndication [BZ]
Star Trek: The Original Series Science fiction 1966–1969 NBC [CA]
Stranger Things Science fiction 2016–present Netflix [CB]
Succession Comedy drama 2018–2023 HBO [CC]
Survivor Reality television 2000–present CBS [CD]
Taxi Sitcom 1978–1982, 1982–1983 ABC (1978–82), NBC (1982–83) [CE]
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Talk show 1962–1992 NBC [CF]
The Twilight Zone Speculative fiction 1959–1964 CBS [CG]
Twin Peaks Horror 1990–1991, 2017 ABC (1990–91), Showtime (2017) [CH]
Veep Comedy 2012–2019 HBO [CI]
Watchmen Superhero 2019 HBO [CJ]
The West Wing Political drama 1999–2006 NBC [CK]
The Wire Crime drama 2002–2008 HBO [CL]
The X-Files Science fiction 1993–2002, 2016–2018 Fox [CM]
Your Show of Shows Variety show 1950–1954 NBC [CN]

Publications

The reference numbers in the notes section show which of the 10 selected publications list the television show.

See also

Notes

The reference numbers show which publications include the television show.

  1. ↑ 24: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
  2. ↑ 30 Rock: [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [12] [13]
  3. ↑ Alias: [1] [3] [4] [9]
  4. ↑ All in the Family: [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  5. ↑ American Idol: [10] [6] [8] [15]
  6. ↑ The Americans: [2] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  7. ↑ Arrested Development: [1] [2] [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [9] [12] [13]
  8. ↑ Atlanta: [2] [5] [11] [12]
  9. ↑ Band of Brothers: [1] [2] [4] [5] [11] [7]
  10. ↑ Barry: [2] [5] [11] [13]
  11. ↑ Battlestar Galactica: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9]
  12. ↑ Beavis and Butt-Head: [10] [4] [6] [8] [9]
  13. ↑ Better Call Saul: [2] [4] [5] [11] [7]
  14. ↑ The Bob Newhart Show: [17] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  15. ↑ BoJack Horseman: [2] [5] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  16. ↑ Breaking Bad: [2] [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [15] [12] [13]
  17. ↑ Buffy the Vampire Slayer: [1] [2] [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  18. ↑ The Carol Burnett Show: [17] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  19. ↑ Chappelle's Show: [10] [4] [6] [11] [9] [12]
  20. ↑ Cheers: [2] [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12]
  21. ↑ Columbo: [2] [17] [5] [6] [11] [15] [12]
  22. ↑ The Cosby Show: [16] [4] [8] [15] [12]
  23. ↑ Curb Your Enthusiasm: [1] [2] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  24. ↑ The Daily Show: [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  25. ↑ Dallas: [10] [6] [8] [15] [12]
  26. ↑ Deadwood: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [12]
  27. ↑ The Dick Van Dyke Show: [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  28. ↑ Doctor Who: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [7] [9]
  29. ↑ ER: [1] [2] [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [15] [12]
  30. ↑ Fawlty Towers: [1] [2] [4] [6] [11] [7]
  31. ↑ Firefly: [1] [5] [7] [9]
  32. ↑ Fleabag: [2] [5] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  33. ↑ Frasier: [1] [2] [17] [4] [5] [11]
  34. ↑ Freaks and Geeks: [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [9] [12] [13]
  35. ↑ Friday Night Lights: [2] [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [12] [13]
  36. ↑ Friends: [1] [2] [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12] [13]
  37. ↑ Game of Thrones: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  38. ↑ Gilmore Girls: [2] [17] [7] [8] [12] [13]
  39. ↑ Girls: [2] [6] [11] [12] [13]
  40. ↑ The Golden Girls: [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [15] [12] [13]
  41. ↑ The Good Place: [5] [11] [12] [13]
  42. ↑ Hill Street Blues: [17] [4] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  43. ↑ Homicide: Life on the Street: [2] [10] [8] [15]
  44. ↑ The Honeymooners: [16] [4] [6] [11] [8] [15]
  45. ↑ I Love Lucy: [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12] [13]
  46. ↑ I May Destroy You: [2] [5] [11] [12]
  47. ↑ In Living Color: [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [12]
  48. ↑ The Larry Sanders Show: [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12]
  49. ↑ Late Night with David Letterman: [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  50. ↑ Law & Order: [16] [4] [5] [6] [15] [13]
  51. ↑ The Leftovers: [2] [4] [5] [11] [7] [12]
  52. ↑ Lost: [1] [2] [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  53. ↑ M*A*S*H: [2] [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12]
  54. ↑ Mad Men: [2] [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [15] [12] [13]
  55. ↑ The Mary Tyler Moore Show: [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12]
  56. ↑ Monty Python's Flying Circus: [1] [2] [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15]
  57. ↑ The Muppet Show: [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [9] [12]
  58. ↑ My So-Called Life: [16] [5] [6] [11] [8] [12]
  59. ↑ Mystery Science Theater 3000: [3] [4] [5] [6] [8] [9]
  60. ↑ NYPD Blue: [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [15] [12]
  61. ↑ The Office: [1] [2] [16] [4] [6] [11] [8]
  62. ↑ The Office: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [9] [12] [13]
  63. ↑ Oz: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7]
  64. ↑ Parks and Recreation: [2] [4] [5] [11] [7] [13]
  65. ↑ The Real World: [17] [4] [6] [8] [12]
  66. ↑ Roots: [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [12]
  67. ↑ Roseanne: [16] [4] [5] [6] [8] [15] [12]
  68. ↑ Saturday Night Live: [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  69. ↑ Seinfeld: [1] [2] [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  70. ↑ Sesame Street: [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  71. ↑ Sex and the City: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12] [13]
  72. ↑ The Shield: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [9] [12]
  73. ↑ The Simpsons: [1] [2] [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  74. ↑ Six Feet Under: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [12]
  75. ↑ The Sopranos: [1] [2] [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  76. ↑ South Park: [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [9] [12]
  77. ↑ St. Elsewhere: [17] [8] [15] [12]
  78. ↑ Star Trek: The Next Generation: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [7] [9] [12]
  79. ↑ Star Trek: The Original Series: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [13]
  80. ↑ Stranger Things: [2] [7] [12] [13]
  81. ↑ Succession: [2] [5] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  82. ↑ Survivor: [17] [4] [5] [8] [15] [12]
  83. ↑ Taxi: [17] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  84. ↑ The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: [4] [5] [6] [11] [8] [15] [12]
  85. ↑ The Twilight Zone: [2] [16] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  86. ↑ Twin Peaks: [1] [2] [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [9] [12] [13]
  87. ↑ Veep: [2] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [12] [13]
  88. ↑ Watchmen: [2] [5] [11] [12]
  89. ↑ The West Wing: [1] [2] [10] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [12] [13]
  90. ↑ The Wire: [1] [2] [14] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  91. ↑ The X-Files: [1] [2] [17] [4] [5] [6] [11] [7] [8] [15] [9] [12] [13]
  92. ↑ Your Show of Shows: [14] [6] [8] [15]

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