by Read on for our definitive guide to the greatest TV shows of all time, as determined by scientific research and analysis.
Note: The terms ‘definitive’ and ‘scientific’ used without permission.
The Project
I watch a lot of movies but am a bit of a sluggard when it comes to TV. When it’s time to pick something, I often consider: not just what is popular in the moment, but what are some all time greats I have missed out on.
If I discuss this with people, they offer up their favourites, and I put those on my watchlist. But I have wondered if there might be a more tangible method.
Is there a way to quantify the greatest TV shows of all time?
The Method
There are a lot of lists of all time great TV shows online, I have taken thirty of these and compiled them into one mega-list. To qualify, the lists had to meet the following criteria:
- From an established publication or website, i.e. no blogs or personal posts
- Must be ranked
- Must have no restrictions, i.e. not just shows from the 20th century, best dramas etc.
- Must have at least 25 entries
- Must be no older than 6 years.
Each show on each list would then get points depending on their position: #1 = 25 points; # 2 = 24 points, and so on. Across the 30 lists, I then averaged the scores to get a ranked order.
The lists I used could also be split into two categories:
- Curated: Compiled by critics/writers based on their taste, discernment, opinions etc
- Scored: Based on average user ratings, votes or a poll.
This gives us an all-up result, which we can split further into the critics versus the punters.
The Results
The nominated shows varied widely. Every single TV list had entries that appeared nowhere else, and the 30 lists together encompassed more than 200 shows.
This suggests that people’s TV favourites are quite personal, which may stem from the viewing experience: you are mostly watching shows at home, in your own space, whereas movies are a communal watch in public.
But uncommon selections were largely confined to the lower ranks of each list. General consensus on the top 10 appeared fairly quickly, and the top 3 were shortly far ahead of everyone else.
This made me feel better about the small sample size; there seemed to be broad agreement at the pointy end, on what constitutes a TV hall-of-famer.
The All Time Top 15
The Greatest TV Shows of All Time (?)
I have often heard ‘The Sopranos’ described as the best TV show of all time, and my project bore that out.
David Chase’s darkly comic mafia drama finished top with an average of 20.53, meaning it came roughly 5th on every list. It ranked # 1 on 7 lists – around a quarter of the sample – and was the only show to appear on all 30.
The Sopranos finished marginally ahead of ‘Breaking Bad’, Vince Gilligan’s crime drama about a high school teacher turned drug kingpin. The top 3 was rounded out by ‘The Wire’, the acclaimed series examining aspects of law enforcement in Baltimore.
These three shows were the only ones to average more than 15 points; that they are all about criminals is an interesting comment on what excites viewer interest (see also, the enormous popularity of true crime media).
The top 15 overall was not unexpected: an assortment of beloved shows, mostly from the past 30 years. Minor surprises for me: the high ranking of ‘Better Call Saul’, perhaps reflecting the enduring popularity of ‘Breaking Bad’, and the absence of ‘Buffy’, which I thought more highly rated than 23rd.
A fraction of a point outside the Top 15 were ‘MASH’, ‘Lost’, ‘Band of Brothers’, and ‘The Leftovers.’
Alternate Number Ones
The big three dominated the # 1 position on the lists, with one of ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘The Wire’ finishing first on 18 out of 30 lists. The overall Top 15 took care of most of the rest, these shows claiming 27 out of 30 number one spots.
The lists to buck this trend?
The critics at Metacritic gave their highest overall score to ‘Planet Earth II’ (see below), and their Top 25 had the most variance with the highest ranked overall; other shows they rated highly are the UK version of ‘The Office’ (2nd at Metacritic, 25th overall), and the documentary series ‘OJ: Made in America’ (4th against 73rd).
The writers at ‘Variety’ were one of the few lists that consciously tried to factor in the history of television, alongside critical preference. Their top choice was ‘I Love Lucy’, cited for quality and popularity, but also star Lucille Ball’s pioneering work as producer; in the 1950s it was uncommon for a star to exercise creative control over their output, and unknown for a female TV star to do so.
Our other alternate # 1 is ‘Sex and the City’, which was highest ranked by the writers at ‘Cosmopolitan’. I mean, you would be disappointed if they hadn’t.
Highest Ranked: Pre 20th Century
It is perhaps unsurprising, but there was noticeable recency bias across the lists.
You will sometimes hear the 21st century described as ‘peak TV’: a time when elite creatives were drawn to the medium, and more adventurous producers backed chancier projects. Streaming platforms, and their marketing teams, meant these shows were easier to watch, and more hyped, than ever; un-shocking then, that these are the shows that have stuck.
From the Top 15, all of the shows bar one were produced at least partially in the 21st century.
The highest ranked ‘old show’ is ‘The Twilight Zone’, which finished 9th. Rod Serling’s groundbreaking fantasy-sci fi-horror mash up debuted in 1959 and ran for five seasons, elevating short form storytelling with a twist. It is still often cited as an inspiration for writers and directors today.
Top 5 Pre 20th Century
9. The Twilight Zone
16. MASH
26. I Love Lucy
31. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
33. Cheers
Many of the shows to do well in this category were groundbreaking in one way or another. ‘MASH’ mixed broad comedy with antiwar sentiment and criticism of US government policy, ‘I Love Lucy’ established new norms on both sides of the camera, and ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ featured the radical notion of a young single woman pursuing a professional career (imagine!).
Highest Ranked – Non-Fiction
Another bias that showed was towards fictional shows. While the lists purported to be for any type of program, shows based on some form of reality – here I will include documentaries but also, news, game shows, reality TV and talk shows – were less common even than older shows.
The highest ranked nonfiction program was ‘Planet Earth II’, which finished 41st overall. The BBC, and David Attenborough’s, popularity in this category is shown in that they had 3 of the top 5 nonfiction shows, and 4 of the top 6.
The only outliers were ‘OJ: Made in America’, highly rated by The Guardian alongside Metacritic, and the Steve James documentary series ‘America to Me’, which chronicled a year in the life of 12 high school students in Oak Park, Illinois.
Top 5 Non Fiction
41. Planet Earth II
62. Planet Earth
73. OJ: Made in America
76. Blue Planet
81. America to Me
Other famous non fiction shows like ‘Oprah’ and ‘The Daily Show’ were nominated a few times, but their final placement was well into the 100s.
Highest Ranked – Children’s Program
Less surprising was that children’s programs would go largely unrecognised. The only two to be nominated were ‘Sesame Street’ (97th), and ‘Bluey’ (104th), each appearing on two lists.
While Sesame Street is a venerable, long running program, Bluey is a recent phenomenon.
Having debuted in 2018, the Australian animated show about a family of Blue Heeler dogs has quickly become a ratings phenomenon and cultural juggernaut. In 2024 it was the most streamed program in the United States, racking up a staggering 55 billion viewing minutes.
When rumours circulated last year that the show may be ending, the internet went into meltdown.
It will be interesting to see if this huge viewership equates to more all time great TV show recognition in future. Critic David Sims, of ‘The Atlantic’, recently called the program: ‘The best scripted show on television’.
The So Called Greats
Which shows appeared just once, ranked 25th, on one list?
- American Horror Story
- The Night Of
- The Singing Detective
- The O.C.
- One Piece
While shows like ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘The O.C.’ were very popular, being well liked does not always equate with critical acclaim. Which leads us to our final showdown: the snooty critics in their ivory towers, versus the regular folks in the loungerooms of television land.
Critics v. The Public
Above are two final lists, showing the Top 10 produced by the rankings of professional critics and writers, against the ratings given by members of the public.
The two lists show some interesting variances, and one striking similarity: the top 3 on both lists, is the same as the all-in list; ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Breaking Bad’, and ‘The Wire’ continuing their dominance, the public swapping the order of 1 and 2.
The biggest single ranking change for any show is for ‘Chernobyl’: the 2019 limited series about the titular nuclear catastrophe finished 128th on the critics list – cited in one list only – but 9th in the public ranking, appearing on all lists bar two. Other shows to be championed by the public:
- The Office – US: 6th public ranking, 31st critics ranking
- Band of Brothers: 8th public ranking, 46th critics ranking
- Sherlock: 10th public ranking, 64th critics ranking
Flipping this around, the critics were considerably more into ‘Mad Men’.
Matthew Weiner’s 1960s set drama about unhappy Manhattan ad execs was a critical darling throughout its run, so it is no surprise to see it 4th on the critics list; the public were much less enthused, ranking it 86th.
Other significant changes:
- The West Wing: 10th critics ranking, 71st public ranking
- Lost: 15th critics ranking, 31st public ranking (the fans never got over that finale)
The snobs, and slobs, have spoken.
To see the full list of all 219 shows that appeared on every list, click here.
