Greatest TV shows of the 21st Century

5 consistent, excellent seasons. What you'll see on this list are many shows that simply couldn't sustain their quality, but BB stands above them all for never faltering and being excellent throughout.

The one thing that might be held against it, particularly for those looking to get into/stay into it, is the slow pacing. That can be an issue for some, but it does lead to a more 'show, don't tell' approach, which provides a deeper sense of immersion.

Only 14 episodes were made (followed by a film that ably condensed future seasons that we'd never get into less than 2 hours) but you'd be hard pressed to find a programme that achieves so much in so little time. Joss Whedon's opus.

Season 1 was fantastic (8.9/10) yet season 2, while reaching the heights of the first season for the most part, dragged a lot towards the end, with the feud coming to a standstill (8.4). Overall an amazing show, similar to GoT in style before it came along.

S1 was outstanding, with superb characters, political intrigue mixed with riveting action scenes and raw, Roman sexuality almost entirely confined to a single location. 9/10.

The prequel season (to be watched after S1), Gods of the Arena, was made with the lead actor, the superb Andy Whitfield, unable to perform due to suffering from cancer. It was pretty much done to delay for him and despite not being a continuation of S1's story, did as well as could be hoped for, adding to the existing characters and introducing others that would be pivotal in the future, such as the fan favourite Gannicus. 8.5 out of 10 season.

Vengeance, by necessity, took characters that were all crammed together previously and set them apart, which led to the tight plotting becoming harder to stick to; the urgency and intensity were difficult to replicate. The plot, dialogue and excessive slo-mo weren't quite to the prior standard either and yet conversely, there's so much to appreciate, the acting and character work especially. It still has that edge that you'd expect, just slightly lesser. 8.2/10.

War of the Damned ended Spartacus in an excellent manner, which is very rare. The first 5 episodes were a mix of very good-to-great (the weakest half season to date, making me concerned for what was to follow and end the series on), slightly lacking in that special something that Spartacus usually provided. But then episode 6 changed everything. It was absolutely fantastic and every episode after it was similarly superb. The last half season of WotD was as strong if not perhaps even stronger than Blood and Sand, so high was the quality. The finale could not have been more satisfying and was arguably one of if not the best episode in the show. 8.5/10

The 'good serial killer' sounds weird to say but it's apt for him. Michael C. Hall gives the performance of a lifetime to such a unique yet flawed human being, a sociopath. Jennifer Carpenter excels as his sister Deb, displaying the emotive skills that made her renowned so early on in her career. In S7 especially. The music adds a captivating, spooky aura to everything and the writing is for the most part skilfully weaved and consistent (excluding seasons 6 and 8). Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 were all fantastic, 5 was an 8.5/10, unfortunately S6 and 8 were seriously lacklustre. Placing 'Dexter' here doesn't quite sit right with me, as its 5 best seasons were even better than Breaking Bad's 5 in my opinion, some of the best seasons I've ever seen but overall, it was dragged down by 2 disappointing seasons so I have to drop it down a few places.

A fantastically realistic view on the Baltimore drug scene. Superb acting, a great script and a solid story make this a timeless classic. S1- 9/10 S2- 8.3/10. The new characters were a little uninteresting, it ended quite abruptly and some random/nonsensical things happened here and there, yet everything else (Omar, Stringer etc.) was up to snuff. S3- 8.7. Stellar. Huge ensemble and everyone done justice and superbly woven among the intricate narrative. S4- 8.2. The favourite of many, focusing on the impact of this life on kids, how they're initiated, how vulnerable they are. I really enjoyed it, just not quite as much as when the story focused more on the established, adult characters from earlier seasons. Plus the overall story went nowhere, leaving everything for the next season, despite admittedly having plenty of character development. S5- 8.2. A fine conclusion, I wouldn't say that the character development, the new characters and the antagonists were as interesting as some of those in previous seasons but it was consistently good despite that.

Season 1 is another example of antagonists and protagonists thrown together into one environment, so that the tension is turned up to maximum and conflict is a given. Plus there's a romantic aspect, an obsessive prison guard that is intent on uncovering the mystery of the main character and of course the titular plan to break out of prison. Plans that are complex and change. The sub plot of the investigation into the case is also ever more interesting the further the investigators delve. S1 was outstanding, 9+/10, having two 10/10 episodes and so many 9s/9.5s.

Season 2 was about 8.2/10, had a strong first half and a decent second half that may have fizzled out somewhat towards the end.

Season 3 had a pretty good-to-great first half, looking at becoming the least best season so far, yet it was very strong in the second half, bringing back the gripping tension and intricacies that made PB so entertaining in the first place. 8.3/10

Season 4 for about two thirds was heading for an 8.8/10, it was damn impressive. Don't get me wrong, just like every season after S1 it was contrived but Prison Break had to be in order to keep all of these characters we've come to love together. The last third of the season, while still great (something I need to reiterate), got perhaps a little too over the top and repetitive. The ending was both satisfying and shocking. 8.3/10

Funny, action packed, colourful, consistent and really affable.

Slow paced, which can affect how a lot of people gravitate towards Mad Men, nonetheless I enjoyed S1-3 a lot, with S4 making me truly aware of the quality of Mad Men. It was one of the best seasons of television that I've ever seen, even to this day. It set a new standard, one that the last 3 seasons worked off of.

There's so much information behind certain looks or lines that you could write pages about what occurs in each episode, Don Draper being an iconic, deeply layered character.

A show that revolves around a funeral business and the lives of the family that runs it. Very relatable and appealingly witty, Six Feet Under holds up remarkably well. Especially its existential themes, which are handled outstandingly. Practically every episode and every season are around that 'greatness' level, with the series capped off with one of the best finales ever made. It's a series predicated on sadness yet with an underpinning of resounding hopefulness.

Terrifically done divided narrative with complex and engaging characters. It is astonishing how amazingly the stories are interwoven and all perspectives join together for this truly epic story. The cast is so enormous and expansive yet practically every single character is likeable in their own way and receives significant amounts of development and exploration. This is the definition of must watch tv... and then the last 3-ish seasons just had to exist.

Season 1- 9.5/10. Season 2- 9.3/10. Season 3- 9.0/10. Season 4- 8.8/10. Weakest half season of the entire show up until this point (still great, admittedly), but luckily the second half more than made up for it. Season 5- 8.3/10. It was slow, with a lot of characters' paths delayed for an unnecessarily long time and in every episode, at least one or two scenes fell flat, Dorne especially. Braavos too. Episode 8 was terrific though. Season 6 was a further drop, a major dip due to the lack of books to use as a template. It was often a contrived mess, often just recycling prior character arcs, resulting in copious amounts of filler. With lazy, expository dialogue, rampant story and character inconsistencies and flaws, at no point was I wowed in S6. An excess of fan service too, it has to be said. That sounds like a lot of complaining but it really has been a dramatic downturn, much like Dexter in fact; 4 outstanding seasons, 1 great but not as good 5th one and a 6th, far lesser one. Albeit not even close to how poor S6 of Dexter was, just disappointing, lax. Some good moments here and there but far too many holes to pick. 7.8/10.

S7- An improvement over S6, there was simply a lot of great material this year as opposed to last. The downsides were the heavy expositional dialogue which cropped up often and again the extremely controversial holes in the narrative consistency of the show. Sadly the showrunners sometimes lack in even the most basic common sense. You just have to accept that it's now essentially fan fiction, but considering that, they did fairly well. Flawed but satisfying enough.

S8- Never has a series fallen to such depths from such heights, even after the last few years wobbled so much. I just waited for it to be over, particular in the last episode. Nonsensical writing abounded.

For a 22 episodes per season show, Nikita S1 somehow had exemplary consistency and little to no drag. Events that occurred in just this first season alone would be drawn out over multiple seasons on any other show; it's so tightly made. The intensity and claustrophobia especially are superlative. The dialogue, characters and acting were also top notch. S1- 8.9/10.

Nikita's 2nd and 3rd seasons are wildly inconsistent, lacking subtlety, devoid of what made the first season so unbelievably good; the claustrophobia, tension, sense of the characters being threatened, intelligence and thoughtfulness in every action etc. The latter seasons discarded most of this too often. S2 started off amazingly, got a little shaky and back to awesome during the middle and was a little shaky again for the second half, dragging far too much. The writing got a little too dumb at times for my liking, often multiple times per episode. Which was especially visible seeing as how S1 was so considered and thorough in that respect. Everything was too easy with the good guys always winning, the fear, stakes and the tension weren't there anymore. Some new characters (Cassandra and Carla) weren't interesting or well acted either. S3 was like S2; mostly amazing first half (including a few classics) for the most part, tedious second half.

Season 4 was a return to form, only 6 episodes so the filler and delays were thrown out the window, with concise, well done plotting. Some long strings of expositional dialogue here and there, yet otherwise very fun.

This prequel to Psycho is an intriguing, enticing look into how Norman Bates became the iconic character in Hitchcock's classic. The acting is top drawer, particularly from Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates. The tone is very eerie, and the direction and writing are sublime. S1 I'd give an 8.4/10, very impressive stuff. S2's first 6 episodes were very strong, on par with or perhaps even better than S1, but ep 7 was a stumble and the last 3 episodes were an improvement, but still not as solid as the first 6. 8.1/10 S3- 8.3. This show is a masterclass of acting, of subtlety. Really gets into the mindsets of these disturbed characters as well as their influence on the ordinary people around them. A good start, amazing middle and a decent end add up to what is one of 2015's best seasons. And with S4 and 5, Bates solidifies itself as one of the more underappreciated and most importantly, consistent shows of the last few years.

S1- 7.8. Just short of 'great' though it had a lot of potential S2- 8.5. Had engaging new characters with a cool premise. S3- 7.4. Uneven, with a middle that was admittedly weak; I found the whole Irish story to be slightly grating and some sub plots didn't quite hit home. But the last few eps salvaged the season. S4- 8.7. Solidly great in the first half and upped it's game even more so in the second half, delivering not one but two 10/10s including the finale, which was spectacular. S5- 8.3. Considering the score, it wasn't really that memorable except for a few scenes, whereas I recall more from every prior season, even S3. Lacked that bite. Some quality episodes in there though. S6- 8.2. Meandered a lot. The writing crumbled, so much self-indulgence too but again, enough strong episodes in the mix to uplift it. S7- 8.2 Was tighter than 6, the last 3 episodes especially were very powerful, a fitting wrap up to years of plot lines. Good start too with perhaps a bit of treading water in the middle, waiting to deal with things until they were closer to the end, still a little bit of flawed writing and self-indulgence but nothing that personally rocked my confidence in the show.

S1- 8.3. For a 25 episode season, it was remarkably riveting throughout. With little more than basic survival on the plate, we got a very raw look at this cast of characters. They're all mysterious yet given enough exploration in the present and through flashbacks to become fascinating and sympathetic, parallel to every new piece of information we get about the island. S2- 8.1. Bookended by great episodes, there was a bit of sag in the middle, as the show that's built on moving forward suddenly stalled for a fair while, but all in all, looking back, not quite S1 level but close enough. S3- 8.2. More consistent than S2, though there were some lesser episodes in there. There were many standout ones too, quite a few in fact. All sprinkled throughout, maintaining interest. S4- 7.9. The plot meandered, with answers being delayed in a constant, unrealistic way; they could've demanded information from the outset but weakly put it off repeatedly, to drag out the season. Less than great but not without worthwhile material. S5- 8.4. Arguably the best season yet. The momentum just kept going. What a thrill to watch. S6- 7.8. Plenty of interesting material spread out but all in all, it was a bit weakly written, with the primary plot being verbally repeated for most of the season without any advancement, as the writers delayed progress continuously. It was a real drag. But like I said, there was much in it that I enjoyed nonetheless.

The best sci-fi series ever made, about humanity being pushed to the brink of extinction. One of the best first episodes you'll ever see as well, so getting into it is easy.

I'd give Season 1 an 8.5 and S2 an 8.4. They both have a consistent standard with some exceptional episodes here and there. S3 I'd give an 8.2/10. A bit of a step down, with a poor attempt at focusing on and humanising the enemy, consequently making them dull and not seem nearly as threatening, which the series could never recover from. But S3 also with its fair share of enjoyable content, like the masterpiece "Unfinished Business". Season 4- Low-to-mid 7/10. The writing suffered. Lesser known characters were prioritised, despite not being interesting and even the main characters became stupid and unlikeable for a time. Indifference is an apt word; for the first 40% of S4 I didn't care about anything going on. The effects were now cartoony, even the direction and sound were noticeably different. It got better as it went on though, albeit with a divisive ending. The overriding topic of religion, easily BSG's weakest aspect, really took over in later seasons, especially 4.

Seasons 1-4 range from great to brilliant whereas 5-9 are good to pretty good. All in all a suspenseful and compelling show, with each episode ending on a note that demands continuation. One of the earliest greats of the modern era of television.

S1- 7.7 Very good, not great but plenty of potential. S2- 8.1 Very consistent all around. S3- 8.0 First half was even better than S2 with some standout episodes, some of the best so far, but the second half went a little over the top to qualify the season as the best one yet. S4- 8.2 A steady season with an outstanding episode, 'Back in the Hole', towards the end that elevated the whole thing. S5- 8.1 Didn't top S4 but was sturdy throughout. S6- 8.1 Consistent with a strong finish. Some memorable/brutal moments in there. S7- 8.2 Just like with S4, always solid with one exceptional episode that pushed it beyond.

It's more of a soap opera (at least to begin with) than anything else and while Jericho started off as resoundingly average initially, it just got better and better until it hit consistently greatness for the last third of S1 and all of S2. It had a few stand out moments with some pretty decent characters too.

This show is basically what Revolution should've been. Having also been cut short with plenty of fascinating avenues being set up to explore, such as the breakup of America, who was behind the bombings and the fight against them, Jericho is one of those shows that was cancelled before its time with so much left to tell, instead of the numerous shows that have been given more seasons than they deserve and as a result are running on fumes. All in all I thought they concluded the series rather well in spite of the above. Just be sure to stick with it.

Boardwalk Empire is a borderline show, its episodes typically ranging between high 7s and low 8s. Often a slow burn, like a good long book. S1 and 2 were similar in quality while 3 trumped both, a memorably great season with a magnetic performance from Bobby Cannavale. Season 4 sadly had no real plot and was like a filler season; the main character did nothing but sit around a hotel and the side characters, ones that were fun with relatively brief focus, now carried the season's episodes ineffectively. Mainly because they weren't really doing anything interesting either. Forgettable.

Season 5 was unique in that it was composed entirely of flashbacks and flash forwards, which I don't recall seeing before. With just 8 episodes, it did get a little rushed towards the end as the flashbacks became predictable and padded. They were very compelling in the first half of the season though, where we saw the rise and growth. But at least S5 had a plot, which is more than what S4 had. As for the flash forward, while I wasn't crazy about how certain conflicts concluded, the journey during the course of the season was gripping. Very impressive season, roughly the standard of S1-2, or as close to as to be practically as good.

S1-8.1 I struggled to get into it at first, before coming back to The Sopranos a long time later and finding the last 1/2 a dozen episodes especially absorbing. S2-7.9. Lacked a focused, compelling overall plot though the characters and the various smaller plots were nonetheless engaging. S3- 8.0 More focused than S2 with more of the arresting character development. S4- 8.0 S5- 7.8 S6- 7.8

Read the plot summary written by its creator; I couldn't sell it better myself. This is one of the more lesser known heavy hitters on this list. It's essentially a mix between The Tudors (far more lively though) and Rome, it's what Marco Polo wanted to be but failed at; an international cast that inexplicably retain their real accents while being centred on a powerful historical family. Now these accents, they have to be mentioned here; the dad's American (and we're talking Boston American; the way he says "BE GONE!" always elicits a chuckle), one son's Spanish, the other is English and the daughter is German. It's jarring at first but give it time and it kinda works. With time spent investing in this story, these characters, you'll barely even notice or care. Italy at the time was so divided and different that a myriad of accents (even within the same family) can be overlooked.

Borgia is filled with factual decadence (anything goes in this time period!) and intrigue as the old world clashed with the new in midst of the Renaissance. The first season was a very capable setup, albeit with a little bit of a struggle to find its footing in terms of character actions, some of the acting too, before settling into its particular rhythm. Plenty of potential to be mostly absorbed by but not quite fully realised. Then Season 2 came along and realised it. I was entranced, it was just very well written; the dialogue often struck me, the performances and characters arcs too, especially Mark Ryder as Cesare Borgia, who was a real standout and the focal point of Borgia from here on out, for good reason, all the more surprising considering how frustrating he could be in S1.

Season 3 had a difficult task; wrapping up the show with so many events and so much time remaining, with arguably the best stories having already been told, plus needing to follow such an astounding S2. It floundered a little bit for the first half, before firmly finding its way again for the second half. The stunning 3rd from last episode stands out most of all; the dialogue and acting were unreal. I'd place the season in between the other two on its merits; very good, a lot of it particularly so, compelling albeit with some lag to begin with as mentioned, but wholly worth the ride.

A masterwork. So carefully crafted, the slower paced and seemingly inconsequential first handful of episodes made retroactively essential, its annoying characters and their quirks similarly endearing and amusing within just a few episodes. Steins; Gate undoes its own flaws, which you don't often see. The simple yet elegant music warrants a mention too, punctuating very well ('Believe Me' is a track that I could listen to for hours). This is a gruelling rollercoaster, as good of an example of the butterfly effect than you'll ever get. The series ended after 24 episodes, which I consider a perfect ending. The team came back later with an epilogue, an OVA that some consider not part of the canon, which I agree with, mainly due to it being a little unnecessary (not bad per se, just not needed). So I can't really tie that to the season.

Covers the claustrophobic, lonely nature of incarceration primarily from the perspective of a privileged newcomer. All members of the various factions receive their fair share of focus, leading to a nicely developed, broad cast of characters. Pornstache is the highlight though, having, to quote another commenter, "the sadism of Joffrey Baratheon and the moustache of Tom Selleck".

S1- 7.9 S2- 8.0 S3- 7.9

The best anime I've seen.

It's an extraordinary game of cat and mouse with mind boggling twists that you'll never see coming. It's exquisitely written, often ingenious actually, with a huge amount of tension at times. Dark, intriguing with two tremendous main characters, totalling 37 episodes. The first roughly dozen episodes were incredible, down to 'great' up until ep 25, with the quality sharply dropping off from there, but for those first 25 eps, definitely worth a watch. Imagine Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty as Japanese teenagers with American voices.

Timothy Olyphant shines as Raylan Givens, a US marshal with an attitude of endearing insolence. S1 was great, S2 was pretty good but I wasn't too drawn into S3; the story and character development were a little weak. That's actually an understatement; I practically lost interest after S3. Season 4 however was arguably better than the 1st. It brought what I expected and wanted from Justified but only sporadically got; gunfights, quick draws, an abundance of witty, sometimes quotable dialogue and a strong story. The underlying mystery added an extra dynamic that was much appreciated. It wasn't perfect; it was uneven but almost completely enjoyable, with a string of truly terrific episodes in the second half. Season 5 was mostly great, the highlight being Walton Goggins as he was throughout, a stark reminder of his abilities and what the writers can do when they're at their best. But in true Justified style, it petered out towards the end. And the final season was a bit middling; it wasn't bad by any means but it just wasn't memorable, in that awkward point in the middle.

Other than a fair stretch in S1 where the pace stood still (true to history in terms of the event, but for the viewer, not ideal) The Tudors was very consistent and ably documented a fascinating/tumultuous time in English history. From the creator of Vikings.

By it's nature as a procedural, POI can be formulaic, expository and predictable, but it's pretty well regarded for good reasons; conspiracies, AI, Minority Report style crime prevention. It gets better as it goes on too, particularly after the first season.

S1- 8.3 Anchored by very elegant dialogue, superlative performances and ever relevant music to whatever mood the scenes may take, Penny Dreadful is my favourite new show of 2014. It simply got better and better.

S2 fell quite a bit. The villains had plenty of screen time and weren't interesting at all, hammy even, the characters and general season story arc were weakly written, albeit with 2 anomalous episodes that evoked S1. 7.8

S3- Another mixed bag. An upswing in terms of the great dialogue and scenes being far more prevalent this year, although the last few episodes weren't the strongest and the finale was rushed, leaving ample threads open. The plotting in general left a lot to be desired but the bottle episode was perhaps the best episode of the year.

There were some questionable additions in S3 that compromised the prior authenticity while being anachronistic; Dr. Jekyll being Indian for one, plus one of the major sub plots consisted of way over the top misandry, as well as new, contrived characters such as the female fencer who could do what the men could, only better, despite society at the time. If you're going to make a show about England when it was entirely white and misogynistic too, don't try to add contemporary diversity and gender values, stay true to the time period. Don't compromise it, especially when it's in its final season and it doesn't conform to even the previous seasons.

One of the best procedurals out there. It can be incredibly funny, poignant, heartfelt, it hits on all fronts. Dr. House is delightfully offensive and hilarious, his ups and downs, struggles and pains, relationships with his friends and team keep the programme not only very fun but also consistently good.

The cases, character growth and the humour were all at their peak in the first 3 seasons and although the quality went down every season, it was such a slight change that House was still very enjoyable. If I have to use scores, I'd say that S1-3 were roughly 8/10, S4-6 were a high 7/10 and S7+8 were a mid 7/10. It should've ended with S6, as the last two seasons dragged it out a little bit although saying that, it was still good.

The funniest sitcom I've seen, often laugh out loud. In terms of consistency and popularity, it replaced the hole that Friends left. Much like Parks and Rec (which this team was also behind), the very short 1st season took a little bit to settle in, until they found their groove and went from there.

I thought that S7 was when it started to become rarer on the laughs, only for S8 to be a surprising improvement, contrary to what I'd heard. I'd call S9 my least favourite, although when your worst season is 'fine', that's not bad at all (I will say that it ruined a character and there were a few episodes in a row that I didn't care for at all, before the last lot wrapped things up well).

From Steven Soderbergh, detailing the rapid advances in medicine and society itself during the turn of the 20th Century. S1- 7.8. Slow to start and dropping off a bit at the end, otherwise it was a welcome surprise. S2- 7.8. Undeviating from S1, slow moments and the drop off towards the end, nevertheless the heights more than make up for that.