All-time Greatest TV Shows
by PaulDowsett | created - 04 Dec 2013 | updated - 2 weeks ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Wire (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
Stars: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 376,708
2. Farscape (1999–2003)
TV-14 | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Thrown into a distant part of the universe, an Earth astronaut finds himself part of a fugitive alien starship crew.
Stars: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Lani John Tupu
Votes: 40,226
3. Lonesome Dove (1989)
TV-14 | 96 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.
Stars: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane
Votes: 25,866
4. Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy, Drama
A high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.
Stars: Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine
Votes: 153,114
5. The Singing Detective (1986)
70 min | Drama, Musical, Mystery
Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
Stars: Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, Joanne Whalley, David Ryall
Votes: 4,804
6. Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis
Votes: 175,412
7. The Shield (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Drama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace
Votes: 87,963
8. The Rockford Files (1974–1980)
TV-PG | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases of an easy-going ex-convict turned private investigator.
Stars: James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos, Luis Delgado
Votes: 10,846
9. Maverick (1957–1962)
TV-14 | 60 min | Western
Bret and Bart Maverick are well-dressed gamblers who migrate from town to town always looking for a good game.
Stars: Jack Kelly, James Garner, Roger Moore, Lane Chandler
Votes: 3,618
10. Star Trek (1966–1969)
TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols
Votes: 92,778
11. I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
A failed television presenter, now presenting a programme on local desperately tries to revive his broadcasting career.
Stars: Steve Coogan, Simon Greenall, Felicity Montagu, Phil Cornwell
Votes: 21,950
12. Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge (1994–1995)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy
Alan Partridge hosts his own chat show on the BBC. He insults and belittles almost all of his guests and is humiliated by the rest.
Stars: Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front, Patrick Marber, Steve Brown
Votes: 6,843
13. Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995)
TV-PG | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight battles crime in Gotham City with occasional help from Robin and Batgirl.
Stars: Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Bob Hastings
Votes: 116,795
14. The Crimson Petal and the White (2011)
TV-MA | 69 min | Drama, Romance
Set in 1870s London, a young prostitute finds potential power and status after becoming the mistress of a powerful patriarch.
Stars: Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Amanda Hale, Shirley Henderson
Votes: 3,601
15. Floyd on Fish (1985– )
TV-PG | 30 min | Documentary
Keith Floyd shares his love of seafood and prepares some succulent fish dishes.
Stars: Keith Floyd, Rick Stein
Votes: 38
16. Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.
Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt, Dennis Wolfberg
Votes: 36,428
17. The Office (2001–2003)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, Lucy Davis
Votes: 123,032
18. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,038
19. The 4400 (2004–2007)
TV-14 | 43 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
As the reappearance of 4,400 missing persons on a single day confounds the global community, federal agents on the case slowly discover the ways in which the victims have been changed.
Stars: Jacqueline McKenzie, Joel Gretsch, Patrick John Flueger, Conchita Campbell
Votes: 46,857
20. Smallville (2001–2017)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville, Kansas.
Stars: Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Kristin Kreuk
Votes: 137,910
21. Red Dwarf (1988– )
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
The adventures of the last human alive and his friends, stranded three million years into deep space on the mining ship Red Dwarf.
Stars: Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn
Votes: 37,254
22. For the Term of His Natural Life (1983)
520 min | Adventure, Drama
In 1830's England, a young man from a good but troubled family is unjustly convicted of stealing a watch. He's transported to Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) where he suffers under the enmity ... See full summary »
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Patrick Macnee, Samantha Eggar, Diane Cilento
Votes: 234
23. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Set after the events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Sarah Connor and her son, John, try to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.
Stars: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones
Votes: 62,789
24. Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt
Votes: 2,131,700
25. Southland (2009–2013)
TV-MA | 42 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The lives of Police Officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Stars: Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Regina King, Ben McKenzie
Votes: 29,085
26. Kyle XY (2006–2009)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A family takes in a formerly institutionalized teen savant who is missing standard human behaviors such as anger, joy, and love.
Stars: Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre, Bruce Thomas, April Matson
Votes: 30,629
27. Deadwood (2004–2006)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif
Votes: 117,467
28. Wolf Hall (2015)
TV-14 | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
After the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey, his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, finds himself amongst the treachery and intrigue of King Henry VIII's court and soon becomes a close advisor to the King, a role fraught with danger.
Stars: Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Claire Foy, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Votes: 13,068
29. True Detective (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch
Votes: 655,220
30. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Batman is wrongly implicated in a series of murders of mob bosses actually committed by a new vigilante assassin.
Directors: Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, Frank Paur, Dan Riba, Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm | Stars: Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Stacy Keach
Votes: 56,796 | Gross: $5.62M
31. Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995)
TV-PG | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight battles crime in Gotham City with occasional help from Robin and Batgirl.
Stars: Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Bob Hastings
Votes: 116,795
32. Invincible (2021– )
TV-MA | 50 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
An adult animated series based on the Skybound/Image comic about a teenager whose father is the most powerful superhero on the planet.
Stars: Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Grey Griffin
Votes: 201,595
33. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008)
TV-Y7-FV | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a war-torn world of elemental powers, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
Stars: Dee Bradley Baker, Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena
Votes: 371,537
34. Band of Brothers (2001)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, History, War
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
Stars: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor
Votes: 525,888
35. Fargo (2014–2024)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks
Votes: 421,244
36. Black Sails (2014–2017)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Follows Captain Flint and his pirates twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel "Treasure Island."
Stars: Jessica Parker Kennedy, Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Zach McGowan
Votes: 112,798
37. Teachers (2001–2004)
TV-MA | 50 min | Comedy, Drama
Comedy drama that follows the exploits of school staff both inside and out of the classroom.
Stars: Ursula Holden Gill, Lloyd McGuire, Gillian Bevan, Ellen Thomas
Votes: 3,884
38. Jessica Jones (2015–2019)
TV-MA | 56 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Following the tragic end of her brief superhero career, Jessica Jones tries to rebuild her life as a private investigator, dealing with cases involving people with remarkable abilities in New York City.
Stars: Krysten Ritter, Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville, Carrie-Anne Moss
Votes: 226,594
39. The Umbrella Academy (2019–2024)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A family of former child heroes, now grown apart, must reunite to continue to protect the world.
Stars: Aidan Gallagher, Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda
Votes: 274,830
40. The Wonder Years (1988–1993)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Kevin Arnold recalls growing up during the late 60s and early 70s; the turbulent social times make the transition from child to adult unusually interesting.
Stars: Fred Savage, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Jason Hervey
Votes: 40,729
41. My So-Called Life (1994–1995)
TV-14 | 912 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A 15-year-old girl and her trials and tribulations of being a teenager and dealing with friends, guys, parents, and school.
Stars: Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Claire Danes, Devon Gummersall
Votes: 21,960
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