Image via FX
Ranking the best TV dramas of all time is certainly no easy feat, especially considering the speed at which we are consistently getting new contenders for this list. From Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon to more traditional broadcast and cable networks, television programming is now more prolific than ever. Remember when Netflix said they were producing over 700 TV shows in 2018?
In all its forms, television is more popular than ever, and it has become a one of the best mediums with which to tell interesting and nuanced stories. Film directors have pointed out that television is currently telling the tales that film doesn’t have the capacity for or is afraid to tell. Viewers are getting the television experience of a lifetime right now, with many shows (finally) placing an importance on diverse casts and stories.
So, how exactly does one whittle down the hundreds upon hundreds of great dramatic programming? A lot of arguing between co-workers, of course. But beyond just our peers, we’ve also taken into account the many of the shows that paved the way for what we’re tuning into today, from Twin Peaks to The West Wing—many of these OG classics have had a direct influence on the shows we love, like the creepy procedural of Hannibal or the fragmented dramatic timelines of This Is Us. You’ve gotta appreciate the predecessors!
That’s why our best TV dramas span many time periods, dabble in other genres (Sci-Fi! Fantasy! Teens!) and, in our humble opinion, encapsulate what makes these TV dramas so damn watchable. So get your favorite TV snacks ready and prepare for your watch lists to double: these are the best TV dramas of all time.
49. This Is Us
Network: NBC
Air Dates: September 20, 2016 - present
Stars: Sterling K. Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz
In need of a good, solid cry? If so, NBC’s This Is Us has you covered. The family drama follows the Pearson siblings—Randall, Kate, and Kevin as well as their parents, Jack and Rebecca. It flips between present day and flashback, so you get all the very sad background on the Pearson family drama. The show instantly hit a nerve, thanks to well-drawn characters who are instantly loveable, and amazing performances from Sterling K. Brown and Mandy Moore.
The DNA of previous family dramas like Parenthood and Friday Night Lights courses through the veins of This Is Us, but what makes the series unique is how it regularly employs a mystery element, to keep the audience guessing about plotlines that would typically unfold in a linear way. —Kerensa Cadenas
48. Carnivàle
Network: HBO
Air Dates: September 7, 2003 - March 27, 2005
Stars: Nick Stahl, Michael J. Anderson, Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Adrienne Barbeau, Patrick Bauchau, Cynthia Ettinger, John Fleck, Carla Gallo, Amy Madigan, Brian Turk, Diane Salinger, Tim DeKay, Karyne Steben, Debra Christofferson
HBO, whether the network's executives cared or not, pissed millions of people off when it cancelled Carnivàle after its second season in 2005. One of the channel's densest shows ever, the Daniel Knauf-created oddity introduced dozens of fascinating characters over its 24-episode stretch, using said folks to deliver a story drenched in heavy, good-versus-evil mythology. Naturally, the second season's final episode did little to answer all of viewers' questions.
Which makes Carnivàle a tough show to revisit, since one does so knowing that hardly anything will get resolved once it's all said and done. Still, Knauf's highly ambitious brainchild was damn good while it lasted. Set in an effortlessly eerie carnival, the show blasted viewers with strange hallucinations, religious unease, and a disconcerting dwarf (Michael J. Anderson) who looked like he time-traveled from the set of Tod Browning's 1932 off-putter Freaks. —MB
47. Big Love
Network: HBO
Air Dates: March 12, 2006 – March 20, 2011
Stars: Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin, Douglas Smith, Grace Zabriskie, Mary Kay Place, Matt Ross, Cassi Thomson, Amanda Seyfried, Shawn Doyle, Mireille Enos, Melora Walters, Daveigh Chase, Bruce Dern, Harry Dean Stanton
HBO's drama of polygamy in the Mormon community rankled plenty within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its depiction of life within the church. Whether or not extreme liberties were taken, Big Love remains a fascinating portrait of love and relationships in an unusual circumstance.
What was particularly excellent about the show was the group of wives married to Bill Paxton's Bill Henrickson. Watching Big Love, you can't help but wonder what Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), and Margie (Ginnifer Goodwin) would get into if they came untethered from the Henrickson clan. Unfortunately, just when viewers were about to have the opportunity, the series came to an end.
Still, the five seasons of Big Love we received are full of quirkiness and grace. —Brenden Gallagher
46. Fringe
Network: Fox
Air Dates: September 9, 2008 - January 18, 2013
Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole, Blair Brown, Kirk Acevedo, Seth Gabel, Leonard Nimoy
Fringe combined the best elements of several genres: science fiction, horror, and, most importantly, high-stakes, character-driven drama. The J.J. Abrams-backed science-fiction drama trails an FBI agent (Anna Torv), an enigmatic boy genius (Joshua Jackson), and his nutty doctor of a father (John Noble) as they investigate paranormal and otherworldly happenings, all while working to keep a parallel dimension's evil version of Noble's character from bringing the apocalyptic ruckus.
It's a wide-open premise that allows Fringe to bless viewers with an assortment of strikingly bizarre imagery. Early into the second season, for example, a shadow-man attacked a guy whose wife comes home to watch her husband disintegrate into ashes; "Marionette" (season three) features the pleasant shot of a mad scientist controlling his wife's dead body like a puppet with ropes and pulleys. And that's just a sample of Fringe's most heinous scenes, which once again begs the question: Why haven't you watched this damn show yet? —MB
45. Dark Shadows
Network: ABC
Air Dates: June 27, 1966 - April 2, 1971
Stars: Jonathan Frid, Nancy Barrett, Joan Bennett, Kathleen Cody, Thayer David, Roger Davis, Grayson Hall, John Karlen, Lara Parker, Louis Edmonds, David Henesy, Kate Jackson, Diana Millay, Alexandra Moltke, Kathryn Leigh Scott
Last year's Tim Burton-directed Dark Shadows movie, starring Johnny Depp, failed to put unaware heads onto one of TV's best genre shows of all time. If anything, that film's high level of shittiness was detrimental to ABC's classic slice of Gothic melodrama. Just try not to hold its ineptitude against the original Barnabas Collins.
Why? Because the original version of Dark Shadows is still a macabre blast. Technically a soap opera (but obviously nothing like those painful ones your mom loves), the series hits its stride once actor Jonathan Frid checked in as vampire Barnabas. Along with his family of eccentrics, Barnabas confronted romance, werewolves, alternate dimensions, and witches, a vast array of antagonists that kept Dark Shadows dependably unpredictable. —MB
44. Queer as Folk
Network: Showtime
Air Dates: December 3, 2000 – August 7, 2005
Stars: Michael Clunie, Robert Gant, Thea Gill, Hal Sparks, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Scott Lowell, Chris Potter,Peter Paige, Sharon Glass, Jack Wetherall
The praise for Showtime's Queer as Folk, unsurprisingly, often begins with its cultural significance: When the American version of the popular UK series debuted in 2000, physical interactions and romance between gay men and women had never been shown on TV with such boldness. Characters visibly made love just like any heterosexual ones would on other cable programs, aiding in the acceptance of same-sex relationships on television that's since benefitted shows like Glee.
What puts Queer as Folk into this countdown, though, is the show's actual quality, not just its ability to break ground. Regularly touching upon heavy subject matter (including HIV contraction and homophobia), the series was always firmly rooted in its endearing, fully realized characters. Tolerance was guaranteed. —MB
43. Felicity
Network: The WB
Air Dates: September 29, 1998 – May 22, 2002
Stars: Keri Russell, Scott Speedman, Scott Foley, Amy Jo Johnson, Tangi Miller, Greg Grunberg, Amanda Foreman, Ian Gomez
You have to applaud Felicity, a network show the held itself to a formal constraint that would limit the series to just four seasons (each one corresponding to the four years of a traditional college education). It's still not the norm for network series to exist with a definite endpoint in mind, and in 1998 it was even more unheard of.
Felicity marked J.J. Abrams first foray into TV as a show creator, and because of its acclaim, he was able to go on to even greater heights, with Alias and Lost (both included here). Both of those shows worked because Abrams cares about character.
Keri Russell's Felicity Porter is one of TV's most memorable women. Though she initially decides to attend college in New York because of a boy she's interested in, she chooses to stay in the city because it'll help her grow. TV needs more driven women like Porter. —RS
42. Hannibal
Network: NBC
Air Dates: April 4, 2013 - August 29, 2015
Stars: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Gillian Anderson, Caroline Dhavernas
It’s hard to imagine how one could improve on 1991’s Silence of The Lambs and the sheer horror of GOAT Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter , but somehow Bryan Fuller has managed to exquisitely add more layers to Hannibal Lecter’s origin saga.
The show follows FBI profiler Will Graham, who is recruited to investigate a serial killer in Minnesota. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter is also recruited to help Graham, as the killings begin to weigh on him. Little does Graham know that Lecter is the killer! The two embark on an increasingly complicated (and sexy) relationship, one in which Lecter is constantly trying to get Graham to lean into his killer side. Nothing in the history of media has ever made cannibalistic meals look so artful. —Kerensa Cadenas
41. My So-Called Life
Network: ABC
Air Dates: August 25, 1994 – January 26, 1995
Stars: Claire Danes, Jared Leto, Wilson Cruz, Bess Armstrong, A.J. Langer, Devon Odessa, Lisa Wilhoit, Tom Irwin, Devon Gummersall
All great actors and actresses got their start somewhere, and for most of them that jump-off point came via schlocky C-grade horror movies or thankless co-starring roles in bad comedies. That wasn't the case for Claire Danes, however, whose stellar chops are currently on loud-and-clear display in Showtime's phenomenal Homeland.
The multiple award-nominated Danes first worked her talents in My So-Called Life, a ballsy teen drama that covered issues like homophobia, child abuse, and homelessness with frankness previously unseen on programs dedicated to youngsters. And, much like she's done in practically everything she's accomplished since, Danes left a lasting mark in viewers' thoughts, despite the fact that ABC cancelled My So-Called Life after only one full season. —MB
40. In Treatment
Network: HBO
Air Dates: January 28, 2008 – December 7, 2010
Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Forbes, Melissa George, Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska, Emberth Davidtz, Josh Charles, Hope Davis, Alison Pill, Irrfan Khan, Debra Winger, Dane DeHaan, Amy Ryan, Alex Wolff
A remake of the Israeli series BeTipul, HBO's In Treatment replicated the inventive structure of that hit show: A new episode each night, Monday through Friday, covering each patient the therapist (Gabriel Byrne) treats, as well as his session with his own shrink (Dianne West).
The patients change from season to season, with the fixed points being Byrne, West, and some of the most incredible acting TV has ever seen. Truly, the three seasons of In Treatment were master classes in performance. The small scale—episodes set in the therapists's office—focused the viewer's attention, asking you to attend to the face and body language in a way that's unusual for TV (or most Hollywood movies, for that matter). —RS
39. St. Elsewhere
Network: NBC
Air Dates: October 26, 1982 – May 25, 1988
Stars: Mark Harmon, Ed Flanders, Cynthia Sikes, David Morse, Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel, Ed Begley, Jr., William Daniels, David Birney, G.W. Bailey, Norman Lloyd, Christina Pickles, Kavi Raz, Terence Knox, Ronny Cox, Barbara Whinnery
Called "Hill Street Blues in a hospital," St. Elsewhere brought the grittiness of Steven Bochco's cop drama to a run-down teaching hospital in Boston named St. Eligius. The fixation on the gritty that TV experienced in the early '80s was a precursor to HBO's promise in the late '90s to deliver something beyond what you could see on the major networks. But the trend to push the limits begins here.
St. Elsewhere was marked by its large cast, black humor, and understated drama. The characters quipped about the squalor of the hospital that funding had forgotten, giving the show a playfully nihilistic bent.
The show's willingness to dismantle and upend reached its apotheosis in the series finale. Over 22 million people tuned it to see how it would all end. Of course, no one could've predicted that it would end inside the snow globe of the autistic Tommy Westphall, son of Dr. Donald Westphall, former Director of Medicine at St. Eligius. If that sentence scans as nonsense to you, you're one of the few who hasn't had the ending spoiled. Seek out the DVDs ASAP. —RS
38. Babylon 5
Network: PTEN, TNT
Air Dates: February 22, 1993 – November 25, 1998
Stars: Bruce Boxleitner, Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, Jerry Doyle, Mira Furlan, Richard Biggs, Andrea Thompson, Bill Mumy, Jason Carter, Tracy Scoggins, Stephen Furst, Patricia Tallman
There's a real correlation between the abundance of quality TV programming in the last two decades and the wider acceptance that shows should be created with an end in mind. The model where a network runs a series until the wheels fall off and the ratings dip is no longer a given. J. Michael Straczynski's sci-fi epic Babylon 5 was conceived of as a story spanning five years; thus it lasted five seasons.
The contemporary idea of the showrunner as the author who ultimately shapes the narrative is visible here, too. Straczynski, the executive producer and creator, wrote 92 of the 110 episodes, which span the years 2258 and 2262 in the bustling life of the Babylon 5 space station. The space station is a center of trade and diplomacy in a future where the Earth has united as one nation in the face of intergalactic exploration. The storylines are complex, even by Game of Throne standards, full of rich character dynamics and inter-species relations that allow the show to comment on politics and religion in meaningful ways. This is the space opera for the Model UN kids. And with special effects that felt bleeding-edge at the time for TV.
Today, the effects are quaint, but the stories resonate with the same depth and force. Straczynski achieved his goal, and made a TV series that feels like a novel. —RS
37. Miami Vice
Network: NBC
Air Dates: September 28, 1984 – May 21, 1989
Stars: Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra Santiago, Michael Talbott, John Diehl, Olivia Brown, Gregory Sierra, Edward James Olmos
In 1984, Michael Mann turned up TV by injecting the medium with a sense of style and an appreciation for form that was revolutionary at the time. The eye-popping colors and scenes cut to pop music reflected the cool of Mann's feature film Thief, the first sign that he was an auteur to watch.
Miami Vice took Mann's questions of fate, free will, and individuality to Tony Montana's turf, where James "Sonny" Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) fought crime with Easter-bright style and rampant sockless-ness.
The MTV-style visuals juxtaposed against the downbeat fatalism of the narrative captured the attention of the nation, and paved the way for the best work in Mann's filmography: Manhunter, Heat, and the 2006 film adaptation of the series. —RS
36. Boardwalk Empire
Network: HBO
Air Dates: September 19, 2010 – present
Stars: Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Pitt, Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Vincent Piazza, Michael K. Williams, Jack Huston, Anthony Laciura, Paul Sparks, Gretchen Mol, Anatol Yuself, Christopher McDonald, Aleksa Palladino, Charlie Cox, Dabney Coleman
No other show on TV looks as elegant as HBO's Boardwalk Empire, the Prohibition Era drama created by Sopranos veteran Terrence Winter. Decked out in plush 1920s costumes, the show's colorful array of morally shoddy characters (led by Steve Buscemi's Nucky Thompson) speak with eloquence and regularly drop wisdom; operating in various forms of criminality, they're also harbingers of high-art doom. And by the end of its remarkable second season, Boardwalk Empire revealed itself to be the finest of tragedies.
The tagline for Boardwalk Empire's third season was an attention-grabber: "You can't be half a gangster." And with that take-no-prisoners attitude, the drama really upped the body count, replacing the second season's overarching what-to-do-with-Jimmy (Michael Pitt) tension with bootlegger warfare.
The resulting storylines weren't all successful, most notably Margaret's (Kelly Macdonald) meandering involvement with women's pregnancy issues. Elsewhere, though, series creator Terence Winter and his writing staff methodically, and quite impressively, developed plots for tragic war veteran Richard Harrow (Jack Huston, more deserving of some Emmy and/or Golden Globe love than ever before), explosive newcomer Gyp Rosetti (underrated character actor Bobby Cannavale), and hot-tempered Al Capone (Stephen Graham) that all satisfyingly paid off. —MB
35. Rome
Network: HBO
Air Dates: August 28, 2005 – March 25, 2007
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Max Pirkis, Simon Woods, Lindsay Duncan, James Purefoy, Ciaran Hinds, Tobias Menzies, Kerry Condon, Indira Varma, Allen Leech
Television's current preeminence over film has been largely discussed and written about in recent years, and it's a point that's tough to argue against. Sitting in an unlit movie theater to transport yourself to lavish worlds only read about in books isn't the only option—look no further than refined shows like Mad Men and Game of Thrones.
Back in 2005, the creators behind HBO's Rome captured the period elegance and unflinching brutality of films like Gladiator to deliver fierce entertainment to the small screen. Very loosely adhering to historical fact, Rome chronicled the fall of Julius Caesar and the rise of Emperor Augustus through the blood-soaked lives of two fictional warriors (played by Ray Stevenson and Kevin McKidd).
Rome also predated the present trend of more and more accomplished film directors dabbling in TV: One of the show's co-creators was John Milius, known for writing Apocalypse Now and directing action flicks like Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn. —MB
34. American Crime Story
Network: FX
Air Dates: February 2, 2016 - present
Stars: Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, Courtney B. Vance, Darren Criss, Penelope Cruz
Ryan Murphy might be one of the most polarizing figures working in television today, but you can’t say that the man isn’t full of good ideas. After making hits like Nip / Tuck, Glee,and American Horror Story, Murphy turned his gaze to the ever-trendy true crime genre. The first season, The People v. O.J. Simpson, took a dive into the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and the trial against her husband, O.J. Simpson. With pitch perfect performances and a sharp look at race relations in America, the show received nearly universal acclaim.
The show’s second season, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, fell much more under the radar. However, it’s definitely worth a watch, thanks to an incredible performance from Darren Criss and a poignant look at a number of LGBT characters. The third season will be centered around a New Orleans hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, so keep an eye out for that. —Kerensa Cadenas
33. Black Mirror
Network: Channel 4, Netflix
Air Dates: December 4, 2011 - present
Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard, Daniel Kaluuya, MacKenzie Davis, Jesse Plemons, Letitia Wright
As our technological world continues to get more and more advanced (group FaceTime, everyone!), episodes of Black Mirror get more and more frightening—and simultaneously more realistic. The Twilight Zone-esque anthology series premiered in 2011 to a cult following.
Now streaming on Netflix, Black Mirror has a bigger budget and bigger stars, and keeps one upping itself in the, “Oh God, it’s too real” department. Though most of the episodes will leave you with endless despair, two episodes from the last two seasons, “San Junipero” and “Hang The DJ,” finally did something new for the series: gave audiences some hope. —Kerensa Cadenas
32. Firefly
Network: Fox
Air Dates: September 20, 2002 – December 20, 2002
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Ron Glass
From TV impresario Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), this futuristic space Western is about a witty crew of smugglers that's big on multiculturalism and high-level prostitution. Fox cancelled Firefly after only 11 episodes, but it hit cult status with big DVD sales and a spinoff movie (Serenity). The fans who showed loyalty during the series' brief stint, meanwhile, continue to pledge allegiance—last year, the Science Channel's reunion special, Firefly: Browncoats Unite, scored 1.2 million viewers.
Whether network executives acknowledge it or not, there will always be room for Whedon's brand of snappy dialogue, lively characterization, and prone-to-cancellation sensibilities. Even if it's strictly on home video shelves. —MB
31. The X-Files
Network: Fox
Air Dates: September 10, 1993 - May 19, 2002
Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish, Mitch Pileggi
The X-Files spoiled us all. It's difficult to find quality genre programs on TV, let alone ones that can actually scare, yet creator Chris Carter and his crack team of writers (which included Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan) blessed horror and sci-fi lovers with nine seasons' worth of top-notch storytelling, remarkably imaginative monsters, and somewhat human villains. Nine years after its last episode, we're still waiting on a worthy predecessor; Fringe is close, but not quite there.
The "monsters of the week" that made The X-Files such a disturbing viewing experience week in and week out would've been pointlessly included if it weren't for the show's now-iconic main characters, agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Both complex and endlessly fascinating in their own ways, Mulder and Scully's two-sided presence guaranteed that, even if any given episode's fantastical elements were lacking, the character-driven portions would keep The X-Files on an even keel. —MB
30. The O.C.
Network: Fox
Air Dates: August 3, 2003 – February 22, 2007
Stars: Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody, Benjamin McKenzie, Melinda Clarke, Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Tate Donovan, Olivia Wilde, Autumn Reeser, Willa Holland, Alan Dale
Despite simply being about a kid from the wrong side of the tracks rubbing elbows with the Newport Beach elite, The O.C. has been off the air for about six years and people still quote, love, and rewatch the series obsessively.
How could they not? It was too ripe with dirty, pretty things. In the first episode, alone, we have grand theft auto, cocaine, and a threesome at a high school party's bathroom.
It didn't just introduce a generation to a new standard of teen drama, it introduced it to a whole new perfectly-packaged lifestyle. And it was unavoidable. What every other kid wore, listened to—did you honestly think about Death Cab for Cutie before Seth Cohen?—or liked in general could somehow be traced back to The O.C. Hell, the series' popularity even inspired the now-classic MTV reality show Laguna Beach. —TA
29. Beverly Hills, 90210
Network: Fox
Air Dates: October 4, 1990 – May 17, 2000
Stars: Jason Priestley, Luke Perry, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Gabrielle Carteris, Douglas Emerson, James Eckhouse, Mark Damon Espinoza, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Kathleen Robertson, Hilary Swank, Vincent Young, Lindsay Price, Daniel Cosgrove, Joe E. Tata, Jamie Walters, Carol Potter, Vanessa Marcil
No one knows teen drama better than Aaron Spelling, who is still considered the most prolific TV writer of all time. His Beverly Hills 90210 ran for ten years and captured the essence of teenage life, if you happened to be a rich kid who lived in California, and were popular and gorgeous. The show helped make actresses Shannen Doherty and Tori Spelling household names, launched four (less than successful) spinoffs, and made Luke Perry and Jason Priestley teen idols.
Beyond just following the ever-dramatic hook-ups and break-ups of the characters, the show dealt with issues a lot of high schoolers faced in the 1990s: alcoholism, homosexual rights, suicide, teen pregnancy, and AIDS. Or, you know, not really, because most teenagers don't look like they're 30 and aren't that concerned with the 12-step program.
Regardless, this show was just a stepping stone to all the teen melodramas we know and love today. Plus, we found out Shannen Doherty was real-life crazy, which is fun. —TA
28. The Leftovers
Network: HBO
Air Dates: June 29, 2014 - June 4, 2017
Stars: Carrie Coon, Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Ann Dowd
The existential crisis that is The Leftovers might be a tough sell for many viewers, but once you tap into its sheer beauty (after getting through some of season one’s dredge), it provides a TV experience that can’t be replicated. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, the series revolves around the Garvey family, who are left behind after 2% of the world’s population disappears during the “Sudden Departure.”
The Leftovers is a meditation on religion, guilt, and the human connection. With a stacked cast, many of whom give the best performances of their careers, The Leftovers has some of the best storytelling on television. If you don’t gasp and/or cry while watching “International Assassin,” there might be no hope for you. —Kerensa Cadenas
27. Alias
Network: ABC
Air Dates: September 30, 2001 – May 22, 2006
Stars: Jennifer Garner, Michael Vartan, Ron Rifkin, Bradley Cooper, Merrin Dungey, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman, Melissa George, Rachel Nichols, Balthazar Getty, Lena Olin, Amy Acker, Elodie Bouchez, Mia Maestro, Greg Grunberg, David Anders
We have Alias to thank for introducing us to Jennifer Garner. She played the super sexy— and deadly—CIA agent, Sydney Bristow, a Krav Maga expert who's fluent in 30 languages(31 if you count the language of love).
It may be hard to keep track of the double agents, the triple agents, backstabbers, and secret government agencies, but Alias will never be called boring or predictable. We're talking explosions, knife fights, guns, and a bountiful selection of wigs! Did you really expect anything less from creator J.J. Abrams?—TA
26. Justified
Network: FX
Air Dates: March 16, 2010 – present
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Nick Searcy, Natalie Zea, Erica Tazel, Raymond J. Barry, Damon Herriman, David Meunier, Jere Burns, Brent Sexton, William Ragsdale, Jeremy Davies, Margo Martindale, Kaitlyn Dever, Mykelti Williamson, Neal McDonough
In its 2010 premiere run, Justified proved itself to be a good show; in 2011, it became a great one. Two key factors played into the FX series' dramatic improvement, all-important alterations that largely benefited the top-notch performances from lead Timothy Olymphant (as charismatic lawman Raylan Givens) and co-star extraordinaire Walton Goggins (as soulful antagonist Boyd Crowder). The first was a central plot, something that eluded the show in the first season. The second? Casting Margo Martindale as this season's villain.
Justified's first season often fumbled its way through a procedural approach, developing its main characters while chasing down a new criminal every week. But Martindale's Mags Bennet, the queen bee of a rule-breaking family of hillbilly degenerates, supplied both Raylan and Boyd with a mutually disruptive entity. As a result, Justified found its focus, and season two handled its storyline with admirable grace, subtlety, and unpredictability.
One of these days, the privileged few who vote on Emmy nominations will wake up, acknowledge the cowboy hat, and give Timothy Olyphant a statue. Each season so far, Olyphant, as US Marshal Raylan Givens, has continued his small-screen reign of excellence. Charming, imposing, and able to crack wise better than most of his TV peers, Olyphant holds the Kentucky-set series down without falling behind his equally proficient co-stars. —MB
25. Law & Order
Network: NBC
Air Dates: September 13, 1990 – May 24, 2010
Stars: Chris Noth, George Dzundza, Dann Florek, Michael Moriarty, Carolyn McCormick, Jerry Orbach, Paul Sorvino, Jill Hennessy, Sam Waterston, Benjamin Bratt, Jesse L. Martin, Angie Harmon, Dianne Wiest, Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson, S. Epatha Markerson, Carey Lowell, Steven Hill
Dick Wolf had an idea for a show that would depict the American criminal justice system with a complexity and fullness that hadn't been seen on TV before. Each episode would begin with a crime, at which point viewers would spend time with the investigating detectives. After they'd made an arrest, the remainder of the episode would be spent with the prosecuting attorneys, not the defense, as was usually the case in typical courtroom dramas. He'd call it Night & Day, or maybe Life & Death. No, after some additional thought, Wolf decided on Law & Order.
For two decades and 20 seasons, Law & Order was an American institution, spawning four spinoffs, of which Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been the most successful.
At its best, the original produced timely TV that probed questions of power in this country, with episodes like 1992's "Conspiracy," in which a Jewish man is charged with killing a prominent figure in the black community. —RS
24. Veronica Mars
Network: UPN, The CW
Air Dates: September 22, 2004 – May 22, 2007
Stars: Kristen Bell, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Percy Daggs III, Teddy Dunn, Ryan Hansen, Kyle Gallner, Tina Marjorino, Tessa Thompson, Chris Lowell, Michael Muhney, Julie Gonzalo, Francis Capra, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni
If you need proof of how iconic Veronica Mars has become, we'll point you in the direction of the show's incredibly dedicated fanbase. Six years after the show was cancelled, fans have still refused to move on from the sassy, smart-talking teenage private investigator, who deals just as well with high school drama as she does with a homicide case. The show's fans pledged $2 million dollars on it's Kickstarter, helping the Veronica Mars movie start its journey to becoming a reality. It took less than ten hours to raise their goal, making it the fastest Kickstarter ever to reach $1 million, in four hours. Some people are speculating, since it's already at $3.5 million with 26 days left, that it will raise $10 million. If you're wondering why fans would fork over their hard earned cash for something like getting a show its own movie, you obviously never checked out the series on Netflix.
Don't write it off as a teenage drama. Well, it is, but don't write it off. Along with the typical teen drama stuff (you know, not fitting in, drug abuse-after school special junk) there's also the addicting series-long mystery of who murdered Veronica's best friend. —TA
23. Battlestar Galactica
Network: Sci-Fi
Air Dates: October 18, 2004 – March 20, 2009
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Barber, James Callis, Grace Park, Tricia Helfer, Michael Hogan, Tahmoh Penikett
Chances are, close-minded folks resisted Battlestar Galactica under the impression that the Sci-Fi Channel drama was just another Star Trek; in other words, nerd central. Though it looks like that on the surface, Battlestar Galactica worked on deep and fascinating levels.
Part political allegory, part enthralling suspense vehicle, and part religious allegory, the highly addictive series executed some of TV's best storytelling from 2004 through 2009. And, as always, the nerds were smart enough to realize that. —MB
22. Hill Street Blues
Network: NBC
Air Dates: January 15, 1981 – May 12, 1987
Stars: Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Michael Conrad, Bruce Weitz, Joe Spano, Charles Haid, Michael Warren, James B. Sikking, Ed Marinaro, Betty Thomas, Robert Prosky, Ken Olin, Dennis Franz, Barbara Bosson, Kiel Martin, Taurean Blacque, Rene Enriquez
The longstanding excellence of ABC's NYPD Blue is owed to the earlier, trendsetting work done on NBC's Hill Street Blues. Both shows were co-created by Mr. Steven Bochco, who broke tons of ground with the latter series by injecting a certain grittiness and documentary feel (i.e., the groundbreaking use of hand-held camerawork) to the previously hammy police drama conceit.
Hill Street Blues, respected for its honest depiction of low-income crime and antiheroic lawmen, brought viewers directly into its unnamed city's darkest recesses without ever losing sight of each character's humanity. —MB
21. The Walking Dead
Network: AMC
Air Dates: October 31, 2010 - present
Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Sarah Wayne Collies, Chandler Riggs, Steven Yeun, Laurie Holden, Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Dvaid Morrissey, Danai Gurira, Michael Rooker, Dallas Roberts, IronE Singleton, Melissa McBride
A television show about zombies? Any George A. Romero fanboy will tell you that, prior to AMC's The Walking Dead, such a proposition was unheard of. After all, TV producers only care about medical dramas, cop shows, and domestic sitcoms, right? Not the brave souls in the AMC offices, who continued their daring streak of green-lighting dark, cutting-edge adult dramas (Mad Men, Breaking Bad) by giving acclaimed filmmaker Frank Darabont the go-sign to adapt Robert Kirkman's beloved Image Comics title.
It's easy to see why AMC took the risk. The Walking Dead, as Kirkman lays it out, isn't about the zombies as much as its about the living characters. Led by do-gooder sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), the show's band of random survivors drives the hour-long pressure cooker, quarreling with each other while trying to stay alive amidst the flesh-eater takeover.
And thanks to Glen Mazzara, who stepped in to fill Darabont's role for season 2 after AMC's behind-the-scenes drama, the series is now exactly what optimistic fans thought it could be all along: bold, fearless storytelling. With its numerous zombie kills, bountiful gore, several major characters' terminations, and a heightened sense of danger supplied by bringing deadly comic book favorites (Michonne, the Governor) into Rick Grimes' ever-threatening world,
Furthermore, it's the people's show, breaking cable ratings records and dominating social media conversations every Sunday night while never registering with Emmy voters and making many stuffed-shirt pundits resist its genre sensibilities. —Matt Barone
20 Star Trek: The Next Generation
Network: First-run syndication
Air Dates: September 28, 1987 – May 23, 1994
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Denise Crosby, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton
There's a reason that Star Trek: The Next Generation is the longest running of the Star Trek series: It's the best. Set 100 years after Gene Roddenberry's groundbreaking original, TNG picked up on a USS Enterprise captained by Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard, one of the most intelligent and compassionate characters to ever grace the small screen. The supporting characters, including LeVar Burton's Geordi La Forge, Brent Spiner's Data, Michael Dorn's Worf, and Marina Sirtis's Deanna Troi, deserve plenty of the credit for the show's excellence, too.
The Star Trek franchise is about the desire for knowledge and connection; TNG just did it better, with more memorable characters and more memorable storylines. TNG introduced the Borg, complicated the tale of the Klingon people, and in general, the show just embodied the profound humanism of Roddenberry's project. For younger generations, this is the definitive Star Trek. And with good reason. —RS
19. Game of Thrones
Network: HBO
Air Dates: April 17, 2011 – present
Stars: Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Iain Glen, Kit Harrington, Charles Dance, Liam Cunningham, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Richard Madden, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Alfie Allen, Jack Gleeson
Someone should time how long the opening credits sequence for HBO's Game of Thrones runs—it has to be the longest on all of television. And that's because the gruesome, captivating sword-and-sorcery series, based on author George R.R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Fire and Ice book series, seems to average at least one new character introduced per episode. Somehow—perhaps through the kind of magic seen on the show—showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss consistently weave a multifaceted and endlessly compelling yarn around Game of Throne's stacked cast.
During the show's debut season, breakouts like Peter Dinklage (as pint-sized shotcaller and ladies man Tyrion Lannister) and Emilia Clarke (the golden-haired dragon lady Daenerys Targaryen) received most of the attention, but season two saw a few previously limited performers step to the forefront in major ways.
Of special note were Alfie Allen, who gave the suddenly megalomaniacal Theon Greyjoy's violent quest for power a stark (no pun intended) vulnerability; Sophie Turner, the brave young actress who shares most scenes with that sniveling bastard Joffrey (Jack Glesson) and continually manages to hold her own; and Maisie Williams, the 15-year-old wonder who played little Arya's undercover survival within the Lannister family's guarded walls with a sympathetic toughness.
How Game of Thrones balances so many rich characters while delivering eye-grabbing moments of wild carnage and pricey visual effects is one of the show's many selling points. That just goes to show you the paramount importance of substance over style. —MB
18. The Americans
Network: FX
Air Dates: January 30, 2013 - May 30, 2018
Stars: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Holly Taylor, Margo Martindale, Noah Emmerich
The FX Russian spy drama recently ended its six season run to mounds of critical acclaim, particularly about the show’s perfect ending. Since premiering in 2013, The Americans has had a quiet, critical hold on television, with many proclaiming it to be one of the best shows about marriage on TV ever.
Following a husband/wife team of Soviet deep-cover agents in D.C., played by the incredible Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, The Americans takes viewers through their many missions to aid Russian intelligence and features some of the best wigs on television. At its core, though, The Americans is about a family (and a marriage) that remains intact despite the many, many murders at the hands of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings. —Kerensa Cadenas
17. Oz
Network: HBO
Air Dates: July 12, 1997 – February 23, 2003
Stars: Christopher Meloni, Lee Tergesen, Dean Winters, Harold Perrineau Jr., J.K. Simmons, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Rita Moreno, Terry Kinney, Ernie Hudson, Eamonn Walker, Kirk Acevedo, B.D. Wong, Lauren Velez, Edie Falco, Sean Whitesell, Jon Seda
Before The Sopranos, The Wire, and Boardwalk Empire, there was Oz. HBO’s first one-hour dramatic television series, Oz took viewers behind the bars of the fictional Oswald State Correctional Facility for an unflinching view of prison life—from religious and racial strife, to rape and consensual gay sex, hard drugs, jarring violence, and shit-smearing insanity—and gave credence to the premium cable network’s slogan: “It’s not TV. It’s HBO.”
With no conservative advertisers to worry about, HBO and Oz went deep, gritty, and realistic (balls to the prison walls, if you will) exploring the redemption and destruction of the colorful caged convicts who populated “Emerald City,” an experimental wing focused on rehab but more likely to fuck you up permanently. As disturbing as any documentary prison show, but with fleshed-out characters whose ascents and descents you cared about, Oz locked you in, and was a perfect reminder to stay on the right side of the law. —JM
16. ER
Network: NBC
Air Dates: September 19, 1994 – April 2, 2009
Stars: Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Noah Wyle, Sherry Stringfield, Eriq Las Salle, Gloria Reuben, Laura Innes, Maria Bello, Alex Kingston, Kellie Martin, Paul McCrane, Goran Visnjic, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, John Stamos, Linda Cardellini, Parminder Nagra, Shane West, Scott Grimes, Angela Bassett, Mekhi Phifer, Ming-Na
ER has replaced St. Elsewhere as the gold standard for medical dramas on TV, and will probably hold that position for years to come. With 124 Emmy nominations, it is the most nominated drama in the history of the award. Based on creator Michael Crichton's (yeah, Mr. Jurassic Park) experiences working in a emergency room, ER brought unprecedented realism to the hospital drama.
The blood shone brightly under the harsh fluorescents. The good-looking cast had the serious look one gets wielding a scalpel near human flesh down pat. (They also knew how to joke when the emergencies had passed, but it was always with a dourness that made shows like Scrubs look too goofy for words.) ER was the perfect reflection of the layman's reaction to a hospital, but with a greater degree of verisimilitude than viewers realized they wanted.
As is the case with so many of the great TV shows, the characters kept things together. To the show's credit, the rotating cast maintained high levels of consistency. Latecomers like MekhiPhifer were just as captivating as earlier characters viewers fell in love with. For a series with 331 episodes to its name, that is a herculean accomplishment. —RS
15. 24
Network: Fox
Air Dates: November 6, 2001 – May 24, 2010
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Elisha Cuthbert, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Leslie Hope, Sarah Clarke, Eric Balfour, Penny Johnson Jerald
Posited around one of the more original TV premises of all time, the beloved Fox action series 24 is the kind of show that comes around, reinvents the small-screen medium, and then inspires a legion of inferior copycats. Basically, it's Lost's run-and-gun equivalent (but with a decidedly jingoistic bent that keeps it from ascending too high on this list).
If you slept on Kiefer Sutherland's badass Counter Terrorist agent Jack Bauer during his nine-year run, now's the time to familiarize yourself with eight days in his violent, death-defying, and endlessly twisty life. —MB
14. Friday Night Lights
Network: NBC, DirecTV's The 101 Network
Air Dates: October 3, 2006 – February 9, 2011
Stars: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Gauis Charles, Zach Gilford, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, Scott Porter, Aimee Teegarden, Michael B. Jordan
Texas. Football. Beer. These things go together like peanut-butter and jelly. You want to play football, boy? No, that shit is dangerous. You want to watch a decent sports show, so you can act like you know what's going on during the Superbowl? OK, check out Friday Night Lights, the teen drama set in a small Texas town, where everybody knows your name—and everyone is slightly racist.
For a show that sometimes leaned too hard on cliches, like underdogs and must-win games, the characters are some of the most vivid: like a coach and his wife who actually get along and bicker about boring things, like household decorations. Or football players who know that they're going to peak in high school. We wouldn't expect anything less from the TV show based on a quality movie, based on a quality book, which was based on real life. —TA
13. The West Wing
Network: NBC
Air Dates: September 22, 1999 – May 14, 2006
Stars: Martin Sheen, Stockard Channing, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, John Spencer, Dule Hill, Moira Kelly, Rob Lowe, Janel Maloney, Richard Schiff, Joshua Malina, Kristen Chenoweth, Alan Alda, Jimmy Smits, Mary McCormack
Aaron Sorkin wrote some of the best TV the world has ever seen while high on coke. In 2001, just after the second season of his White House drama The West Wing had wrapped, Sorkin was arrested at the the Burbank Airport for, among other things, possession of crack. Crack.
The writer and creator behind A Few Good Men, The American President, and Sports Night, had long battled with drug addiction, and did some of his most beloved work while writing stupid-stoned in the dead of night. His characters walk and talk with the same bottomless energy. And never have they walked and talked better than on The West Wing, an unabashedly liberal look at American politics.
Martin Sheen played Jed Bartlet, the Democratic president, and the rest of the characters were made up of his senior staff. We're stans here, so it's OK to shout out your favorite now. Were you a Josh person? (He had great hair and a debonair air, so we get it.) A CJ lover? (She was tough as fuck, and when she lost her man at the end of "Posse Comitatus" in the third season, we wept like children.) Have a soft spot for Toby much? (Of course you do.)
For four consecutive years, the show won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama. Those first four seasons, of which Sorkin wrote nearly every episode, is one of the finest runs in TV history, almost peerless. —RS
12. Twin Peaks
Network: ABC
Air Dates: April 8, 1990 - June 10, 1991
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Lara Flynn Boyle, Sherilyn Fenn, Michael Ontkean, Richard Breymer, Joan Chen, Piper Laurie, Peggy Lipton, Everett McGill, James Marshall, Jack Nance, Warren Frost, Harry Goaz, Michael Horse, Russ Tamblyn, Ray Wise
It's not exactly "going out on a limb" to declare that network TV will never air another show quite like Twin Peaks. Much like how cinemas don't regularly screen films comparable to Blue Velvet or Mulholland Drive. The common denominator here, of course, is David Lynch, the unclassifiable filmmaker whose wonderfully odd sensibilities own stock in horror, drama, romance, comedy, and brain-scrambling WTF-ness.
All of those elements, and plenty more, were the high points of Twin Peaks, the anything but routine procedural soap, co-created by Lynch and Mark Frost, that left viewers scratching their temples through its two-season existence. When they weren't scratching, though, viewers were applauding the show's uncanny knack for producing shivers and awkward laughs in equal measure.
The plot of Twin Peaks, or whatever semblance of coherent narrative there was, traced the investigations of one Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle McLachlan), a beguiling lead character obsessed with nabbing the person who killed homecoming queen Laura Palmer; unlike AMC's The Killing, though, the whodunit side of Twin Peaks played second fiddle to the show's beautifully random scenes. —MB
11. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Network: The WB, UPN
Air Dates: March 10, 1997 - May 20, 2003
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Stewart Head, Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, James Marsters, Juliet Landau, Eliza Dushku, Seth Green, Marc Blucas, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson
Buffy The Vampire Slayer seemingly had it all: monsters, comedy, interesting characters, and talented actors. So what did the Joss Whedon-controlled show lack? The amount of viewers necessary to extend its current reputation beyond cult status. Buffy's loyal viewers, as well as the critics wise enough to hop on board, know they had something special, though, and aware True Blood fans hopefully realize that Sookie Stackhouse's universe is an inferior substitute for Buffy's creature-packed world.
Whedon and company kept the ghouls front and center throughout Buffy's seven seasons, yet no hour was as nightmarishly scary as "Hush", the show's crown jewel of horror. In the Whedon-directed episode (which he also co-wrote), a pack of suit-wearing, Joker-crossed-with-skeleton-looking ghouls known as "The Gentlemen" come to town and steal people's voices, resulting in an episode that's predominantly without dialogue. Brave formal decisions like this one separated Buffy from the rest of the pack. —MB
10. Six Feet Under
Network: HBO
Air Dates: June 3, 2001 – August 21, 2005
Stars: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, James Cromwell, Freddy Rodriguez, Rachel Griffiths, Justina Machado, Jeremy Sisto, Mathew St. Patrick, Joanna Cassidy, Tim Maculan, Patricia Clarkson, Lili Taylor
Death is the great equalizer, but it’s also what separates Six Feet Under from other dramas. Centered on the survivors of a funeral director who dies accidentally in the pilot and leaves the Fisher family funeral home to his sons, the multi-layered series, created by American Beauty writer Alan Ball, explored familial conflicts as well as personal, religious, and philosophical perspectives on mortality.
Death was never distant, as each episode opened with someone’s expiration, bringing a new body and more questions into the lives of the grieving family members, who continued to converse with imagined versions of their deceased patriarch, hoping to sort out the great mystery of life.
Profoundly moving and resonant for anyone who will die someday—which, if you haven’t realized yet, means you—Six Feet Under is a must-watch before you kick the bucket. —JM
9. Breaking Bad
Network: AMC
Air Dates: January 20, 2008 – present
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, RJ Mitte, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks
It's hard to fathom that there are still people out there who've never seen AMC's Breaking Bad; at this point, creator Vince Gilligan's bleak and unpredictable drama should be required viewing for anyone who owns a DVR machine.
As sickly chemistry teacher turned crystal meth cook Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his unstable partner (Aaron Paul) descend further into the drug world's abyss, Breaking Bad continually outdoes itself, pushing TV's boundaries with shocking violence, complicated storytelling, and fearless performances. As it approaches its finale, we'll see if it can become that thing that's eluded TV lovers for so long: the perfect show. —MB
8. Lost
Network: ABC
Air Dates: September 22, 2004 – May 23, 2010
Stars: Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O'Quinn, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Harold Perrineau, Ian Somerhalder, Dominic Monaghan, Maggie Grace, Naveen Andrews, Henry Ian Cusick, Emilie de Ravin, Elizabeth Mitchell, Michael Emerson, Jeff Fahey
Three years removed from its divisive finale, we're still pondering the after-effects of ABC's Lost, trying to decide whether its long-awaited conclusion was satisfactory or chump style. Either way, the singular hit—about survivors of an airplane crash stranded on a mysterious island where flashbacks, flash-forwards, and even flash-sideways are the norm—is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of program, one that, even in its most confusing and frustrating hours, took creative risks that subsequent shows have failed miserably trying to emulate. —MB
7. NYPD Blue
Network: ABC
Air Dates: September 21, 1993 – March 1, 2005
Stars: Dennis Franz, David Caruso, Jimmy Smits, Rich Schroder, Kim Delaney, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Henry Simmons, Gordon Clapp, Bill Brochtup, James McDaniel, Nicholas Turturro, Esai Morales, Sharon Lawrence, Amy Brenneman
When all else fails during pilot season, and networks can't scrounge up any unique programming, there will always be the police procedural format. Year in and year out, channels both basic and cable premiere new shows steeped in the world of crime-solving, typically with crooked cops, flawed heroes, and a dead body or two per episode. And the sad fact is that every one of these programs is trying to be even half as great as NYPD Blue.
Co-created by Steven Bochco and David Milch, ABC's seminal police drama never skirted over the harsh realities associated with protecting and serving. The violence was raw, the characters were both likable and damaged (and sometimes naked), and fan favorites weren't immune to death. NYPD Blue thrived on the kind of naturally powerful storytelling that later procedurals have so desperately forced into clichéd submission. —MB
6. The Shield
Network: FX
Air Dates: March 12, 2002 – November 25, 2008
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Glenn Close, Paula Garces, Walton Goggins, CCH Pounder, Michael Jace, Catherine Dent, Kenneth Johnson, Jay Karnes, David Marciano, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, David Rees Snell
King Kong ain’t got shit on… Detective Vic Mackey. As played by Michael Chiklis, who transformed from balding, soft-batch, suburban police commissioner in The Commish (1991-1996) to bald badass leader of the LAPD’s Strike Team (a take on the Rampart Division’s scandalous anti-gang unit) in The Shield, he is arguably the dirtiest cop—and one of the best anti-heroes—in the history of entertainment.
The shocking pilot episode of showrunner Shawn Ryan’s series reveals that Mackey is a terribly immoral man, but he's so charismatic and devoted to his team that it’s impossible not to follow and root for him as he cheats on his wife with prostitutes, steals drugs and money, tortures, and even commits murders. His myriad crimes and Machiavellian ass-coverings grow increasingly unbelievable over the course of seven seasons, and yet the drama of consequences catching up to a man is unrelenting, right up to the series’ stupendous finale, which sets the bar for anti-heroes incredibly high (or perhaps low, so you’d have to slither under it). —Justin Monroe
5. The Twilight Zone
Network: CBS
Air Dates: October 2, 1959 - June 19, 1964
Stars: Various
How many times have you heard someone, when in a bizarre situation, say, "It feels like I'm in the The Twilight Zone"? There's one man to thank for that ongoing pop culture reference point: Rod Serling, the game-changer responsible for several award-winning TV scripts, but most notably known for creating the groundbreaking anthology series The Twilight Zone.
Given a look today, the Zone's greatest episodes still hold up as television's best examples of thought-provoking and unsettling storytelling. Serling and his writing team (led by Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont), probed societal issues and everyman fears with a genre-specific eye, inserting aliens, time travel, horror, and sometimes dark comedy into the everyday world as mirrors for viewers to confront harsh realities. The show was incredibly ahead of its time.
And it was, more often than not, scary as hell. Try driving on an open road alone at night after watching "The Hitchhiker", or not shivering in the presence of mannequins once you've seen "After Hours". We still get paranoid while flying on airplanes ("Nightmare At 20,000 Feet"), reading cookbooks ("To Serve Man"), and quarreling with neighbors ("The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street").
Television producers have tried time and time again to match what Serling did back in the early '60s, but to no avail. What's most scary about The Twilight Zone is how brilliant it remains today. —MB
4. Deadwood
Network: HBO
Air Dates: March 21, 2004 – August 27, 2006
Stars: Timothy Olymphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, John Hawkes, Jim Beaver, Brad Dourif, Paula Malcolmson, William Sanderson, Kim Dickens, Robin Weigert, Dayton Calle, W. Earl Brown, Powers Boothe, Keith Carradine
HBO's ferocious and poetic Deadwood, a historical drama spanning two years in the history of a frontier town in the Dakotas, had the richest use of language American telvision has ever experienced. The beautiful words put in the mouths of the lowlifes, prostitutes, and lawmen by David Milch and his team of writers attracted much attention for the show's liberal use of the words "fuck" and "cocksucker," but the deserve just as much scrutiny for their stunning power.
"If I bleat when I speak it's because I just got fuckin' fleeced." That's saloon owner Al Swearengen (played with fierce intelligence by Ian McShane) speaking coarse and quotable in damn near iambic pentameter. Swearengen, like all of the show's components, has a basis in historical fact—this is one well researched beast you're dealing with. There was a real Deadwood. Wild Bill Hickok was killed there. The Gem saloon really stood on that bloody, muddy ground.
But don't get stuck on the realness. The Deadwood created by the writers and actors involved with the HBO masterpiece is wholly theirs, a wonderful fiction where pimps deliver soliloquies whilst getting head, and profanity takes on a poetic dimension Shakespeare would've approved of. —RS
3. Mad Men
Network: AMC
Air Dates: July 19, 2007 – present
Stars: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Batt, Jared Harris, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Pare, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Christopher Stanley, Jay R. Ferguson
How many hours have we spent with Don Draper by now?
As TV becomes more cinematic (and thus richer) with regards to camera movement and editing, as it begins to play with form in the exciting ways, the medium will continue to stand distinct from film because of duration. You don't even get two hours with Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane. On the eve of the Mad Men's sixth season, we've spent roughly 50 hours with Don Draper (Jon Hamm). And given the pace of AMC's long, hard gaze into the ad industry of the '60s, those hours feel especially packed.
Testifying to the power of duration, Mad Men's unfurling arcs have asked viewers to evolve their feelings in ways that are only possible with time—lots of time. If you'd told me circa season one that I would feel something other than revulsion at the dawn of season six for Pete Campbell, the WASPy ad exec with the punchable face, I wouldn't have believed you. But as in life, relationships change and grow. My relationship with Pete (and to hell with you if you think that's a strange thing to say) is entirely different now. This is a beautiful and powerful thing, art that asks you to change. It should not be underestimated.
When it's over, Matthew Weiner's Mad Men may very well be remembered as the greatest show to emerge from TV's golden age. Exploring the complicated tangle of the personal and the political at an ad agency during one of America's most turbulent decades has provided viewers with enough indelible images and fascinating characters to populate entire novels. And the show only gets better as it incorporates more of the formal innovations of cinema into its machinery.
It's not right that I have to invoke other art forms to express the genius of Mad Men. It's lazy, for one thing. But it's also a reflection of the adolescence television is experiencing. The medium is still finding out what it can do. We're lucky, all of us, to be alive to watch. —RS
2. The Sopranos
Network: HBO
Air Dates: January 10, 1999 – June 10, 2007
Stars: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese, Robert Iler, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Drea de Matteo, Tony Sirico, Steven Van Zandt, Vincent Pastore, David Proval, Aida Turturro, Nancy Marchand, Steven R. Schirripa, Federico Castelluccio, John Ventimiglia, Vincent Curatola, Steve Buscemi, Max Casella, Joe Pantoliano, Joseph R. Gannascoli
As with any intimate relationship, the connection that exists between viewer and television series can be a complicated one. Like any loved one, the television characters we come to know best have the ability to trigger a range of emotions—glee, despair, surprise, fear, anger—allowing us to love them and hate them in equal parts.
In the history of television, few shows have engaged viewers as passionately as David Chase's The Sopranos, the story of a New Jersey mob boss with mommy issues. (OK, so it's a bit more complicated.) Steeped in nihilism and based in the psychotherapy process, the show—which ran for six seasons on HBO between 1999 and 2007—has been cited by many critics as one of the greatest series in the history of television. And with very good reason.
The Sopranos set the standard for excellence on HBO, and captured the attention of the nation. Has any recent TV finale been discussed more than the end of this series? No. And we'll continue to discuss it. We'll only continue to analyze the mob epic that was so much more. —Jennifer Wood
1. The Wire
Network: HBO
Air Dates: June 2, 2002 – March 9, 2008
Stars: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Wood Harris, Michael K. Williams, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Andre Royo, Aidan Gillen, Amy Ryan, John Doman, Frankie Faison, Larry Gillard, Jr., Deirdre Lovejoy, Sonja Sohn, Clarke Peters, Jamie Hector, Tristan Wilds, Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
What more can be said? That The Wire is the most important television series of the 21st century is practically textbook truth. Fueled by incredible anger and empathy, David Simon's panorama of Baltimore cast the war on drugs as the futile tragedy so many Americans have known it to be, while also shining light on the unending games all institutions play to keep the oppressed oppressed, and the stats squeaky clean.
The Wire began, in its first season, by chronicling the Barksdale drug operation and the struggle of the police assigned to bring it down. From that center, the other stories radiated outward like the spokes of a wheel. The second season brought the docks to the forefront. The race for mayor of Baltimore entered with the third season. The fourth focused on the nightmare of public education. The fifth tackled the newspaper.
Listing the moving parts does nothing to explain the work of the machine. And, as should be the case with all great art, no piece of writing can take the place of the series itself.
The Wire wasn't perfect. The newspaper arc and serial killer debacle of the fifth season remain missteps. Still, when the show was great—and the first four seasons are peerless—it was moving in a way that had you reaching for a Bible, for the Communist Manifesto, for some massive text that offers guidance in tough times.
Art should help you become a better human, and dammit if The Wire didn't do just that. —RS