We all have our favourite TV shows, those feel-good shows we watch over and over again when we’re kicking back, lying in bed sick or just plain bored. But are our personal picks really the best shows of all time?
Now we know: X/Twitter user NikMilanovic shared a smart chart ranking the “greatest TV shows of all time,” which tally up critic and user scores and votes from aggregators like IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and Just Watch to get a complete picture of TV’s biggest hits.
And, perhaps surprisingly, Apple TV Plus hit TV show “Severance” made the cut in a pretty healthy spot.
But first…what came out on top?
Top 50 TV Shows Innies and Outies
This is the undisputed top tier, with drug trafficking drama “Breaking Bad” taking the number one spot, followed by “Game of Thrones,” “Chernobyl,” “The Sopranos” and “Band of Brothers.” All classics.
Surprised to see The Wire drop to #6 on the list of greatest shows of all time. Time to watch Breaking Bad. pic.twitter.com/U6xMoSKpcLJuly 6, 2024
However, Apple’s “Severance” is ranked 27th, sandwiched between “Heartstopper” at 26th and “It’s Sunny in Philadelphia” at 28th. Severance Season 2 The release date has also been decided!
Is this ranking fair, considering that Apple TV Plus shows have only aired one season so far? Based on this list, they’re in the good leagues for one-season shows: Chernobyl is a limited series, and The Last of Us is ranked 32nd, despite not even reaching season two yet. There are also a few shows that are certainly riding the success of their early formative years: True Detective (47th) never quite recaptured the magic of season one, even after making it into season four, and Lost (35th) is an odd one out, as it lingered long after the show’s heyday.
But there are some big-name shows missing from this one. Whatever you think about the later seasons, there’s no denying the global popularity of The Simpsons, or the influence of comedies like Crazy Energy and South Park. The X-Files? I Love Lucy? Both are missing. There’s a clear bias towards drama, live-action and English-speaking audiences, and, aside from The Twilight Zone, there’s only one show from before the mid-1980s.
But as a crude subsection analysis of contemporary TV pop culture, the list is representative of today’s tastes, and by that measure, Apple has a genuine hit on its hands with Severance.
According to the list, the top 50 TV shows of all time are:
- Breaking Bad
- game of thrones
- Chernobyl
- The Sopranos
- Band of Brothers
- wire
- Better Call Saul
- Stranger Things
- Sherlock
- Peaky Blinders
- The Twilight Zone
- Fleabag
- Fargo
- House
- friend
- dark
- office
- Inheritance
- Battlestar Galactica
- Freaks and Geeks
- mad men
- Narcos
- Mindhunter
- Mr. Robot
- Black Mirror
- Heart Stopper
- Severance pay
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- the boys
- Seinfeld
- Peep Show
- The Last of Us
- When they see us
- The Mandalorian
- lost
- Job
- Dead Tree
- Easttown Mare
- Hannibal
- bear
- Boardwalk Empire
- Atlanta
- Viking
- Twin Peaks
- shield
- Happy Valley
- True Detective
- The Haunting of Hill House
- American
- Justification
