People completely divided over definitive list of top 50 TV series of all time
A list has claimed to compile the 50 best TV shows of all time, using average ratings from the likes of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
Pretty accurate, you'd think? But people branded the list 'horrible' and 'a joke'.
The top five were a particular source of fury:
5 - Band of Brothers (2001)
A drama that details a unit of US Soldiers during World War II across ten episodes, HBO’s Band of Brothers takes the classic war film genre and turns it into an extended mini-series.
Advert
With a Rotten Tomatoes critic rating of 96 percent, Band of Brothers is considered among the best of its kind.
4 - The Sopranos (1999)
HBO’s The Sopranos took the popular mafia film genre and turned it into an elongated TV series, spanning six seasons.
People are driven mad by the show's ambiguous ending to this day, though creator David Chase seems to have finally cleared up if Tony Soprano made it out of that diner alive.
3 - Chernobyl (2019)
A dramatisation of the devastating nuclear power plant disaster in Pripyat, Ukraine, HBO’s Chernobyl was a five-episode miniseries that captivated viewers and critics alike.
With a 95 percent critics' score and a 97 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's clearly well-loved.
2 - Game of Thrones (2019)
Among the most popular shows of the modern era of television, HBO’s Game of Thrones ran for eight seasons and was widely beloved for almost its entire duration.
Its highly controversial ending likely prevented GoT from getting the top spot, but it still ranked very highly on every rating hub accounted for.
1 - Breaking Bad (2008)
Breaking Bad breaks the streak of HBO shows in the top five as the AMC original series clinches the top spot.
Despite ending over ten years ago, the crime drama continues to be watched and adored by fans, both old and new.
It ended up launching spinoff Better Call Saul, as well as 2019 Netflix movie El Camino.
While the list is mostly statistics-based, many have been quick to disagree with it for one reason or another.
After an image of the full list went viral on X (formerly Twitter), many online gave their opinions and criticisms for the list and its top five.
“That top two is a joke. One took two seasons to get going and the other had one of the most underwhelming endings in the history of television,” said one poster, “The Sopranos should be top.”
Another TV fan was shocked by shows that fell outside of the top five, stating: "The Sopranos being #4 and The Wire being #6 tells me all I need to know about this horrible list."
Other angry commenters pointed out things further down the list, such as Friends being the highest-ranking sitcom at #15, beating out shows like The Office (#17), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (#28), and Seinfeld (#30).
Here's the top 50 in full:
50/ Justified (2010)
49/ The Americans (2013)
48/ The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
47/ True Detective (2014)
46/ Happy Valley (2014)
45/ The Shield (2002)
44/ Twin Peaks (1990)
43/ Vikings (2013)
42/ Atlanta (2016)
41/ Broadwalk Empire (2010)
40/ The Bear (2022)
39/ Hannibal (2013)
38/ Mare of Easttown (2021)
37/ Deadwood (2004)
36/ Line of Duty (2012)
35/ Lost (2004)
34/ The Mandalorian (2019)
33/ When They See Us (2023)
32/ The Last of Us (2023)
31/ Peep Show (2003)
30/ Seinfeld (1989)
29/ The Boys (2019)
28/ It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005)
27/ Severance (2022)
26/ Heartstopper (2022)
25/ Black Mirror (2011)
24/ Mr Robot (2015)
23/ Mindhunter (2017)
22/ Narcos (2015)
21/ Mad Men (2007)
20/ Freaks and Geeks (1999)
19/ Battlestar Galactica (2004)
18/ Succession (2018)
17/ The Office (2005)
16/ Dark (2017)
15/ Friends (1994)
14/ House (2004)
13/ Fargo (2014)
12/ Fleabag (2016)
11/ The Twilight Zone (1959)
10/ Peaky Blinders (2013)
9/ Sherlock (2010)
8/ Stranger Things (2016)
7/ Better Call Saul (2015)
6/ The Wire (2002)
5/ Band of Brothers (2001)
4/ The Sopranos (1999)
3/ Chernobyl (2019)
2/ Game of Thrones (2011)
1/ Breaking Bad (2008)
Dylan Murray