Top 100 TV shows of the 21st century?

Arts & Sciences Arts & Entertainment
1

The NYT has a new clickbait list of the results of its poll of more than five hundred “stars, showrunners, craftspeople, executives and other industry experts,” who were asked to name the ten best series that have premiered since Jan. 1, 2000. (So no Sopranos.)

Here’s the list of the poll results. Whaddaya think?

01. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

02. The Wire (2002-2008)

03. Mad Men (2007-2015)

04. Succession (2018-2023)

05. Fleabag (2016-2019)

06. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

07. Veep (2012-2019)

08. 30 Rock (2006-2013)

09. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2024)

10. Atlanta (2016-2022)

11. The Office (U.S.)

12. Arrested Development (2003-2019)

13. Girls (2012-2017)

14. Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)

15. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)

16. The Office (U.K.)

17. The Americans (2013-2018)

18. I May Destroy You (2020)

19. Chernobyl (2019)

20. The Crown (2016-2023)

21. The White Lotus (2021-present)

22. Lost (2004-2010)

23. The Comeback (2005-2026)

24. Deadwood (2004-2006)

25. The Leftovers (2014-2017)

26. Black Mirror (2011-present)

27. Better Call Saul (2015-2022)

28. Band of Brothers (2001)

29. Key & Peele (2012-2015)

30. Severance (2022-present)

31. Survivor (2000-present)

32. Andor (2022-2025)

33. Enlightened (2011-2013)

34. Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020)

35. True Detective (Season 1)

36. The Pitt (2025-present)

37. Battlestar Galactica (2005-2009)

38. Homeland (2011-2020)

39. Watchmen (2019)

40. Adolescence (2025)

41. Louie (2010-2015)

42. Hacks (2021-2026)

43. Peaky Blinders (2013-2022)

44. BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)

45. Happy Valley (2014-2023)

46. Broad City (2014-2019)

47. Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

48. House of Cards (2013-2018)

49. Normal People (2020)

50. Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)

51. The Good Place (2016-2020)

52. Downton Abbey (2010-2015)

53. Stranger Things (2016-2025)

54. The Bureau (2015-2020)

55. Insecure (2016-2021)

56. Nathan for You (2013-2017)

57. I Think You Should Leave (2019-present)

58. Chappelle’s Show (2003-2006)

59. PEN15 (2019-2021)

60. Peep Show (2003-2015)

61. RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-present)

62. Slow Horses (2022- present)

63. The Thick of It (2005-2012)

64. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013-2018)

65. Mare of Easttown (2021)

66. The Rehearsal (2022-present)

67. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-2025)

68. Ozark (2017-2022)

69. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005-2012)

70. The Shield (2002-2008)

71. Beef (Season 1)

72. Squid Game (2021-2025)

73. Barry (2018-2023)

74. The Bear (2022-2026)

75. Ted Lasso (2020-present)

76. Somebody Somewhere (2022-2024)

77. Modern Family (2009-2020)

78. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-present)

79. The Good Wife (2009-2016)

80. How To With John Wilson (2020-2023)

81. The Queen’s Gambit (2020)

82. Better Things (2016-2022)

83. Justified (2010-2015)

84. Planet Earth (2006)

85. The Great British Baking Show (2010- present)

86. Shogun (2024-present)

87. Reservation Dogs (2021-2023)

88. Dexter (2006-2013)

89. Baby Reindeer (2024)

90. Eastbound & Down (2009-2013)

91. Catastrophe (2015-2019)

92. The Night Of (2016)

93. Station Eleven (2021-2022)

94. The Diplomat (2023-present)

95. House (2004-2012)

96. Halt and Catch Fire (2014-2017)

97. Community (2009-2015)

98. The OA (2016-2019)

99. Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

100. Scandal (2012-2018)

2

A great list. The Pitt should be in there, though.

3

Uhm, 36. The Pitt (2025-present):face_without_mouth:

4

Damn, that’s a message. :laughing:

5

The full article (not paywalled):

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/arts/television/best-tv-shows-21st-century.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EVE.MHnm.KHDIlkQ_Mhhn&smid=url-share

6

Where are all the Taiwanese soap operas on the list? Should be at least 10 of them on the top 100 :angry:

/s :winking_face_with_tongue:

7

They are in my house :sweat_smile:

8

Pfff. No Rick & Morty and Community no.97

9

I was livid to see no Frasier on there - Daphne’s tartan skirt alone shits all over all of these. Alas that was last century along with:-

ER
Fawlty Towers
Mr Bean
Mork and Mindy

10

The show I perhaps would most like to have seen (but was not surprised that it’s missing) is Star Trek: Lower Decks. It’s quirky and fun, and it never takes itself too seriously. It’s also very, very inside Trek in the best possible way.

11

I have no problem with the Top 3. I do have a problem with #13. I’ve never watched a show where I’ve absolutely despised every single narcissistic vapid selfish spoiled character so much and yes that includes Sex and the City.

12

Some notable omissions… Mr Robot, Hannibal, Broadchurch, Justified, Boardwalk Empire…

Breaking Bad is great but it isn’t better than The Wire and perhaps a couple other shows on there imo.

13

Yes.

And Mind Hunter. (Did that miss the cut?)

14

Yeah I think so

15

Too bad. I couldn’t get enough of that show.

16

After it published list of findings of its poll of a select few (well, 500 or so), the NYT let readers contribute their own suggestions. That placed a lot of new shows in the top 100 and significantly altered the placement of some others (e.g., Community soared 67 places and Ted Lasso jumped up a similar 65).

There’s no easy way for me to show just the names and changes, so please consult the link below for details.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/arts/television/reader-votes-tv-shows-21st-century.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FlE.omMT.XVDghnoppCtp&smid=url-share

But if you wanna see the reader-submitted shows that didn’t make the top 100, here are numbers 101-500:

101. Rick and Morty 102. The Haunting of Hill House 103. Orange Is the New Black 104. Industry 105. The Righteous Gemstones 106. Glee 107. Peep Show 108. Firefly 109. What We Do in the Shadows 110. The Newsroom 111. Scandal 112. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver 113. Hannibal 114. I May Destroy You 115. Attack on Titan 116. Doctor Who 117. Outlander 118. Taskmaster 119. Shameless (U.S.) 120. Chappelle’s Show 121. Psych 122. Planet Earth 123. Yellowstone 124. Halt and Catch Fire 125. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown 126. How To With John Wilson 127. 24 128. Silicon Valley 129. Westworld 130. Veronica Mars 131. The Last of Us 132. Bridgerton 133. Gossip Girl (2007) 134. Better Things 135. Sharp Objects 136. Narcos 137. Only Murders in the Building 138. Boardwalk Empire 139. Catastrophe 140. Happy Valley 141. The Shield 142. Bluey 143. Adventure Time 144. PEN15 145. Beef 146. Squid Game 147. Bad Sisters 148. Killing Eve 149. Eastbound & Down 150. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations 151. Arcane: League of Legends 152. The Gilded Age 153. The Bureau 154. Fargo (Season 2) 155. Desperate Housewives 156. Call the Midwife 157. Suits 158. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert 159. All Creatures Great and Small 160. Gravity Falls 161. Sex Education 162. The Night Of 163. Orphan Black 164. Supernatural 165. Over the Garden Wall 166. Rome 167. Key & Peele 168. Interview With the Vampire 169. The Thick of It 170. The Comeback 171. The O.C. 172. Top Chef 173. Entourage 174. Sons of Anarchy 175. Fringe 176. Babylon Berlin 177. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 178. Malcolm in the Middle 179. The Boys 180. Line of Duty 181. Borgen 182. The OA 183. Criminal Minds 184. My Brilliant Friend 185. WandaVision 186. For All Mankind 187. Midnight Mass 188. The Mandalorian 189. Parenthood 190. The Colbert Report 191. Daredevil 192. The Morning Show 193. Money Heist 194. Euphoria 195. Vanderpump Rules 196. Bosch 197. Fauda 198. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 199. Louie 200. Archer 201. Monk 202. Luther 203. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 204. House of the Dragon 205. The Other Two 206. True Blood 207. Lioness 208. Call My Agent! 209. Landman 210. Sense8 211. Baby Reindeer 212. Pushing Daisies 213. Game Changer 214. The Bridge (Denmark/Sweden) 215. Flight of the Conchords 216. How to Get Away With Murder 217. Adults 218. Young Sheldon 219. Enlightened 220. Endeavour 221. Skins (U.K.) 222. Treme 223. The Traitors (U.S.) 224. Dark Winds 225. The Studio 226. The Amazing Race 227. Billions 228. Person of Interest 229. Prison Break 230. Task 231. The Real Housewives of New York City 232. Yellowjackets 233. The Night Manager 234. Patriot 235. Star Wars: The Clone Wars 236. The Vampire Diaries 237. Shetland 238. Never Have I Ever 239. Party Down 240. Reacher 241. Rectify 242. Jane the Virgin 243. Grace and Frankie 244. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt 245. Nurse Jackie 246. Superstore 247. Loki 248. The Killing (U.S.) 249. The Good Fight 250. Detectorists 251. Bones 252. Portlandia 253. The Terror 254. Weeds 255. The Great 256. Furious 257. The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City 258. NCIS 259. Vikings 260. The Mentalist 261. Alias 262. One Tree Hill 263. Steven Universe 264. Happy Endings 265. Invincible 266. Heartstopper 267. Death Note 268. The Curse (U.S.) 269. Search Party 270. Top Gear 271. The IT Crowd 272. The Knick 273. Foundation 274. The Penguin 275. Paradise 276. Master of None 277. Pose 278. High Maintenance 279. Angels in America 280. The Gentlemen 281. The Last Dance 282. The Boondocks 283. The Venture Bros. 284. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 285. Madam Secretary 286. Nirvanna the Band the Show 287. The Blacklist 288. The Middle 289. Project Runway 290. Vera 291. Unforgotten 292. 1883 293. The Last Kingdom 294. Pachinko 295. Anne With an E 296. Black Sails 297. The Lincoln Lawyer 298. The Pacific 299. Fargo (Season 5) 300. The Man in the High Castle 301. Detroiters 302. Scavengers Reign 303. Doc Martin 304. Russian Doll 305. Phineas and Ferb 306. Fallout 307. American Dad! 308. Ripley 309. White Collar 310. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 311. You’re the Worst 312. Mr Inbetween 313. The Killing (Denmark) 314. Our Flag Means Death 315. Foyle’s War 316. The Closer 317. Alone 318. The Real Housewives of Atlanta 319. The Fall 320. Wolf Hall 321. Dept. Q 322. Black-ish 323. Big Brother (U.S.) 324. Boston Legal 325. John Adams 326. American Horror Story: Coven 327. Blue Lights 328. Hunter x Hunter 329. Poldark 330. True Detective: Night Country 331. After Life 332. Transparent 333. Castle 334. Smiling Friends 335. Your Friends & Neighbors 336. The L Word 337. Review 338. Generation Kill 339. Pretty Little Liars 340. Lupin 341. Letterkenny 342. Dancing With the Stars 343. The Inbetweeners (U.K.) 344. Skam 345. Unbelievable 346. Crash Landing on You 347. The Rookie 348. Legion 349. Ugly Betty 350. American Vandal 351. Grantchester 352. Jury Duty 353. Please Like Me 354. The Residence 355. Big Love 356. Blue Eye Samurai 357. Vice Principals 358. DTF St. Louis 359. Star Trek: Lower Decks 360. Snowfall 361. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst 362. Trailer Park Boys 363. Californication 364. Elementary 365. Banshee 366. Joe Pera Talks With You 367. The Summer I Turned Pretty 368. Regular Show 369. Blue Bloods 370. You 371. Nobody Wants This 372. Longmire 373. Love Island 374. Jersey Shore 375. Ghosts (U.K.) 376. American Horror Story: Asylum 377. Dead to Me 378. Wednesday 379. Jimmy Kimmel Live! 380. The Young Pope 381. Dying for Sex 382. Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! 383. The Vietnam War 384. The End of the F***ing World 385. MobLand 386. The 100 387. Looking 388. Once Upon a Time 389. Good Omens 390. Maid 391. Clarkson’s Farm 392. Finding Your Roots 393. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 394. Fargo (Season 3) 395. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 396. Jackass 397. Damages 398. Smallville 399. GLOW 400. Resident Alien 401. Heroes 402. Star Trek: Discovery 403. MythBusters 404. Shoresy 405. The Affair 406. Chuck 407. Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos 408. Lucifer 409. Emily in Paris 410. Two and a Half Men 411. Jujutsu Kaisen 412. Tehran 413. Colin from Accounts 414. The Mindy Project 415. Dopesick 416. Slings & Arrows 417. Extras 418. The Haunting of Bly Manor 419. Fisk 420. Penny Dreadful 421. Last Tango in Halifax 422. Say Nothing 423. Bloodline 424. Spiral 425. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 426. Ghosts (U.S.) 427. Devs 428. Star Trek: Picard 429. When They See Us 430. It’s a Sin 431. 1923 432. Carnivàle 433. Big Mouth (U.S.) 434. Kim’s Convenience 435. Deadloch 436. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 437. Monster (Japan) 438. On Cinema 439. Agatha All Along 440. One Day 441. Real Time With Bill Maher 442. The Deuce 443. The Legend of Korra 444. Riverdale 445. Un village français 446. Southland 447. Evil (U.S.) 448. Shtisel 449. Lovecraft Country 450. Gomorrah 451. Extraordinary Attorney Woo 452. From 453. The Chair Company 454. Merlin 455. Naruto: Shippuden 456. Mom 457. Burn Notice 458. Utopia (U.K.) 459. The League 460. Counterpart 461. Love, Death + Robots 462. Queer as Folk (Canada/U.S.) 463. Godless 464. American Idol 465. Degrassi: The Next Generation 466. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 467. The Traitors (U.K.) 468. High Potential 469. Gavin & Stacey 470. Designated Survivor 471. The Tudors 472. Ludwig 473. Lodge 49 474. Fellow Travelers 475. The Magicians 476. Law & Order: Criminal Intent 477. Aqua Teen Hunger Force 478. 30 for 30 479. Trying 480. Ray Donovan 481. Chicago Fire 482. Maniac 483. The Umbrella Academy 484. Poker Face 485. Hannah Montana 486. Couples Therapy 487. Peacemaker 488. Vinland Saga 489. Kath & Kim (Australia) 490. Young Royals 491. In Treatment 492. Rescue Me 493. Brothers & Sisters 494. The Grand Tour 495. The Durrells 496. Will Trent 497. Matlock 498. Hell on Wheels 499. Planet Earth II 500. Girlfriends