Over the course of this week, The New York Times has been rolling out a list of the Top 100 best TV series of the 21st century.
The list is a massive poll of “more than 500 stars, showrunners and other TV insiders”. It skews heavily American, and the usual suspects are all here, along with some rather left-field choices at times.
As “The Sopranos” debuted in the late 1990s, it’s not included, which means the Top 3 are what you expect – “Breaking Bad,” “The Wire” and “Mad Men”. Also making the Top 10 were “Succession,” “Fleabag,” “Game of Thrones,” “Veep,” “30 Rock,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Atlanta”.
In the mix, there are some great shows from “Andor” and “Chernobyl,” to “Deadwood,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “The Pitt” and “Severance”. But the list has also already stirred debate – “The Shield” down at 70 and “Justified” at 83, but “The White Lotus” and “The Comeback” in the high 20s?
At the same time, there are some glaring omissions – not even making the Top 100? The likes of “Mindhunter,” “Hannibal,” “The Expanse,” “State of Play” (UK), “Interview with the Vampire,” “The Fall,” “Crashing” (UK), “Fargo,” “Line of Duty,” “Life on Mars,” “Big Boys,” “Arcane,” “The Last of Us,” “The Killing (Forbrydelsen)”, “Sons of Anarchy,” “For All Mankind,” “The Good Fight,” “The IT Crowd,” “Rectify,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Broadchurch,” “Dark,” “Sex Education,” “American Crime Story,” “Mr. Robot,” “The Knick,” “The Terror” first season, “Happy Endings,” “The Haunting of Hill House,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Flight of the Conchords” and so much more.
Here’s the list:
1. Breaking Bad
2. The Wire
3. Mad Men
4. Succession
5. Fleabag
6. Game of Thrones
7. Veep
8. 30 Rock
9. Curb Your Enthusiasm
10. Atlanta
11. The Office (U.S.)
12. Arrested Development
13. Girls
14. Friday Night Lights
15. Six Feet Under
16. The Office (U.K.)
17. The Americans
18. I May Destroy You
19. Chernobyl
20. The Crown
21. The White Lotus
22. Lost
23. The Comeback
24. Deadwood
25. The Leftovers
26. Black Mirror
27. Better Call Saul
28. Band of Brothers
29. Key & Peele
30. Severance
31. Survivor
32. Andor
33. Enlightened
34. Schitts Creek
35. True Detective (season 1)
36. The Pitt
37. Battlestar Galactica
38. Homeland
39. Watchmen
40. Adolesence
41. Louie
42. Hacks
43. Peaky Blinders
44. BoJack Horseman
45. Happy Valley
46. Broad City
47. Twin Peaks: The Return
48. House of Cards
49. Normal People
50. Parks and Recreation
51. The Good Place
52. Downton Abbey
53. Stranger Things
54. The Bureau
55. Insecure
56. Nathan for You
57. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
58. Chappelle’s Show
59. PEN15
60. Peep Show
61. RuPaul’s Drag Race
62. Slow Horses
63. The Thick of It Philadelphia
64. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
65. Mare of Easttown
66. The Rehearsal
67. The Handmaid’s Tale
68. Ozark
69. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
70. The Shield
71. Beef
72. Squid Game
73. Barry
74. The Bear
75. Ted Lasso
76. Somebody Somewhere
77. Modern Family
78. It’s Always Sunny In
79. The Good Wife
80. How To With John Wilson
81. The Queens Gambit
82. Better Things
83. Justified
84. Planet Earth
85. The Great British Baking Show
86. Shogun
87. Reservation Dogs
88. Dexter
89. Baby Reindeer
90. Eastbound & Down
91. Catastrophe
92. The Night Of
93. Station Eleven
94. The Diplomat
95. House
96. Halt and Catch Fire
97. Community
98. The OA
99. Gilmore Girls
100. Scandal
For the full list, with explanations of the choices, head over to The New York Times.
The list comes as “The Sopranos” creator David Chase recently declared that the Golden Age of Television is over, saying it was a 25-year blip which won’t come back – a time when TV upped its game and became more cinematic, filled with auteurs and personal stories.
