The 100 Best TV Shows of All Time | State of Streaming

How do you break down what makes the ideal television show? It’s not easy, given the fact that each person has their own individual taste. We reached out to our entertainment-centric staffers and critics from across the industry to vote on our Top 100 TV Shows of all time. You can check out ign.com for the full list of criteria. Whether you spend all your time bingeing I Love Lucy reruns or you can't stop rewatching Breaking Bad, you're guaranteed to find something on our list for you.
But was it The Simpsons, The Wire, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, or something else entirely that made our number 1 slot? Did a sitcom like Parks and Recreation or Friends sneak in there? Or did the crown go to one of the animated gems like Avatar: The Last Airbender or Batman: The Original series? Maybe the highest honors even went to a procedural like Law & Order! You'll just have to tune in to see.
#Top100TVShowsOfAllTime #Top100 #TVShows #StateOfStreaming

[@fatima_hr]

I'm really sad that Mr. Robot wasn't in the list. It's really an underrated show...

[@raymondsims7042]

Extremely underrated mr robot is easily top five for me

[@Pulpos999]

Have to say... Lost's pilot is a masterpiece

[@raymondsims7042]

Yeah lost pilot and first season is an absolute masterpiece. Too bad the rest of the show was never as great as season 1 again

[@benjaminr7252]

You can't put "of all time" if you don't consider foreign tv shows.

[@Bloody-Butterfly]

List should be called “Greatest North American TV Series of All Time”

[@Yoni123]

​@@Bloody-Butterflythere were at least a couple british shows so no

[@ivanxyev]

​@@Yoni123 so western and originally in english then

[@Yoni123]

@@ivanxyev That seems right

[@IzzyBerserk17]

Where the heck is Scrubs?!

[@aaronwalakay]

Exactly

[@juanoro-barcenas79495]

My Top 10: 1. Mad Men 2. Breaking Bad 3. Mr. Robot 4. The Americans 5. Better Call Saul 6. Six Feet Under 7. Snowfall 8. The Shield 9. Boardwalk Empire 10. Game of Thrones

[@raymondsims7042]

Mine would be 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3. Six feet under 4. Mr robot 5. Dark 6. The boys 7. Breaking bad 8. Succession 9. Yellowstone 10. Stranger things Honorable mentions Sopranos Mad men Better call Saul Dexter

[@ZimB00Ba]

My Favourite show 1-Game of Thrones 2-Breaking bad 3- Stranger Things 4- The Last Kingdom 5-Vikings 6- Mind Hunters 7-Ozark 8-House of Cards 9-The Crown 10-Orenge is the new Black 11-Lucifer 12-Dark and many more

[@brav0wing]

The fact the Breaking Bad was made by one of the best X-Files directors, you should give The X-Files a run and same goes for MillenniuM.

[@Arrowrude]

The Walking dead?

[@Arrowrude]

@@juanoro-barcenas79495 for me ,twd allways over breaking Bad

[@saxmanphd]

The Wire is the absolute goat.

[@raymondsims7042]

No doubt

[@JOmega2007]

This was a great list, but this list in incomplete without the Cosby Show. Despite what he did, The Cosby Show was one of the greatest and most influential shows of all time.

[@thenostalgiabusiness]

This definitely points out an issue with our modern age. When someone gets canceled, we tend to disregard their entire body of work too. We should allow the work to stand independent of the creator. It’s quite a contrast with controversial artists of the past, where, for example, we’re all aware of what Michael Jackson did, but we’re still able to acknowledge what a talented artist he was.

[@charisswilliams7177]

Thank you for putting Living Single on this list 😊

[@cynth3x]

no sons of anarchy , no prison break OK

[@I_Scorched_You]

That is criminal. Those 2 are some of the best

[@J.Dot187]

Prison Break?? 🥴

[@seanblizzy6885]

He said at least TEN seasons but some aren’t. I don’t understand either

[@MrVirtuezzz]

prison break is a terrible show

[@Yoni123]

​@@seanblizzy6885he said finished its run or had 10 seasons

[@horseclock6454]

Honestly and we all know it, It's always sunny in Philadelphia should have been number one..SHIIIIIIIIIIIDD.

[@ProtossHyrdalisk]

I’m not sure it’s always sunny is better than Curb, but at least they’re both on the list.

[@cjhutchinson2070]

better call saul should be way higher in this... but otherwise a pretty solid list

[@Re54life1]

This is a massive list and there’s a ton of shows left out but how can Married…with Children not be on the list if gave us men a reason to keep going in our worthless lifes. NOMAAM for ever

[@JY2535]

Honorable mention dbz, Lovecraft country, walking dead, and sense 8

[@raymondsims7042]

What’s your top ten shows? For me it goes 1. The wire (best show ever by far) 2. Game of thrones 3. Mr robot 4. Dark 5. The boys 6. Breaking bad 7. Succession 8. Yellowstone 9. Stranger things 10. Sopranos Honorable mentions Mad men Better call Saul Dexter

[@dashingdreww1185]

SpongeBob shoulda been top 10 , the early seasons jokes still hold up today and it’s one of the only shows kids and adults can enjoy

[@tiraedo-omozuwa3689]

Im happy with this list because The sopranos, breaking bad, twin peaks and the wire made top 10

[@raymondsims7042]

What’s your full top ten mate? I’d go 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3. Six feet under 4. Mr robot 5. Dark 6. The boys 7. Breaking bad 8. Succession 9. Yellowstone 10. Stranger things Honorable mentions Sopranos Mad men Bcs Dexter

[@therevanchist2123]

How can Sons Of Anarchy not even be in this list

[@mosesoftheblock2311]

Holy crap. The best show, The Wire, actually made #1. I am shoxked

[@dandelves]

great show but would not put it above band of brothers, chernobyl, or breaking bad

[@lifeisberserk9566]

@@dandelves thank you

[@raymondsims7042]

@@dandelves the wire is the best ever

[@PeterAtkinson]

It’s second on my personal list behind Breaking Bad, but very happy to see it number 1. Season 4 is maybe the best season in television history. My top 4 shows of all time were in their top 10 including Mad Men and The Sopranos. 👍

[@Rvj.12]

Time stamps?

[@jameshighower]

Based off the criteria no Chapelle show or boondocks is crazy

[@RatedX_Gaming]

Love the list and when you do these but please put the dates of the show along with the names.

[@Yoni123]

They had the years it run

[@RatedX_Gaming]

@@Yoni123did you watch the whole thing? They had it for some but not most.

[@HistoryTeacherSteve]

#29 Golden Girls!!!! #13 TNG!!!!!!!! #5 Twin Peaks! Great list :D

[@erice6973]

how is the Carol Burnett Show not even on this list??....unreal

[@KratosRager]

They chose the best clip for Doctor Who

[@Yoni123]

How isnt the original show here

[@KratosRager]

@@Yoni123 it’s both.

[@Paradox.117]

Band of brothers being at #54 is a crime. Almost everyone would agree that it deserves to be top 10. 15 minimum. The fact it only had 10 episodes in 2001 and people still regularly re-watch and talk about it, should make it higher than #54. Game of thrones did have a massive social/ pop culture influence (at the time) but it ended only 4 years ago and the majority of people barely talk about it anymore. Yet top 10 worthy

[@SlyRyFry]

Recency bias, it is what it is

[@nagrat_1680]

So true

[@aktrevor]

Breaking bad should be first

[@aman-uz5pf]

True Masterpiece

[@raymondsims7042]

@@aman-uz5pfoh it’s absolutely a masterpiece but should never be above the wire

[@romeostruedude]

Not even Charmed is on this list! THAT SHOW STILL PLAYS TO THIS DAY!

[@azulion]

1. Twin Peaks 2. Mad Men 3. Breaking Bad

[@Lemurs8]

Great list! Sopranos should be in the top 3 though. It paved the way for breaking bad and a lot of great dramas we’ve had in the years following.

[@megamoviez]

And it’s better than all of those

[@petersimone3759]

Yes but Twin Peaks paved the way for serialized television so by your logic, it should be number 1 or 2

[@vectoralphaAI]

No. its a horrible list.

[@iraford5788]

@@ninjasnipezmusic421 nah sapranos>breaking bad.

[@bullymaguire8161]

​​@@ninjaMsnipez4211hahahaha

[@cptclown2110]

LOST is a masterpiece of television

[@NathII7752]

Justified at 88 is criminal. Top 10 easily

[@truefreedom6593]

21:25-22:00 And there always will be

[@AdAstra78]

The Sopranos, The Larry Sanders Show, Succession and Arcane Desert island viewing right there...

[@rcadenow7543]

My top 5:;seinfeld, og quantum leap, friends, leftovers, lost, batman 90's animated series.

[@FF-ch9nr]

adventure time needs to be higher for how influential it is and its technically still ongoing, also no true detective wtf

[@NLANDXP]

NOT ON THE LIST: The Walking Dead (one of the most watched series every) Ozark Gravity Falls Downton Abby Sherlock Gilmore Girls Fargo True Detective Imdb or even Newsweeks list is better...Ozark

[@raymondsims7042]

What’s your top ten shows? For me 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3. Six feet under 4. Mr robot 5. Dark 6. The boys 7. Breaking bad 8. Succession 9. Yellowstone 10. Stranger things Honorable mentions Sopranos Mad men Bcs Ozark Dexter

[@TheRealTestFry2024]

This is a true story

[@larserik8899]

Oz is the granddaddy of them all

[@lifeisberserk9566]

So dang WILD

[@Zanders459]

Peep Show deserves to be in there somewhere. 10/10 from start to finish

[@dylananderson163]

Surprised no Rectify, SoA, Southpark, Peaky Blinders? Also Key and Peele and no Chappelle?!?

[@Yoni123]

South park was 60

[@ProtossHyrdalisk]

GOT up to season 5-6, one of the greatest shows of all time. GOT after 5, :(.

[@Yoni123]

2:05 how is RAW not on the list?

[@DwightMarten]

For real. As well as SmackDown.

[@YvesRichard]

You forgot Knight Rider and Dallas

[@RighteousToast]

Daily show at 99 is criminal.

[@anakin0405]

mindhunter and hannibal were both cancelled, how did they make it to the list? Amazing shown, but they sholdn't be there as they were cancelled.

[@jamiewells5220]

The Walking Dead , SpongeBob And Family Guy?!

[@TheRealTestFry2024]

Or American Dad?

[@War-child_]

The wire is no.1 so all is right in the world for me

[@peezydabeatmonster8112]

One Tree Hill, Married With Children, and the Cosby show should be on this list

[@ZacAttack98]

Glad to see 24 on this list

[@franksandoval6046]

100 cable tv shows is better !

[@mistersir4180]

Damn Right Twin Peaks is Top 5

[@raymondsims7042]

Top five most stupidest tv shows ever made without question

[@diysai]

Different strokes, Full house should have made it. What about Miami vice?

[@marcmoberly6174]

Parks and rec above the office???

[@jalves6494]

Watchmen? Wtf lmao are you joking that high! What!!!

[@juwanbivines3394]

Sons of anarchy, true blood, dragonballz, and the walking dead should’ve been on this list

[@HimryJr]

Dragon Ball z is over hyped and walking dead failed as a show a long time ago real ones know that

[@flotilha935]

Agreed

[@tcfilms8062]

Hard agree with all of those! Great shows.

[@thenostalgiabusiness]

If Walking Dead knew when to end the show, sure. Instead, they let it shamble around for far longer than it was welcomed.

[@flotilha935]

@@thenostalgiabusiness true

[@beatricerichard8267]

Crazy that six feet under wasn’t mentioned

[@SaltyMaltyMo]

Patriot, Halt & Catch Fire, Rome, Gravity Falls, Cowboy Bebop (Anime), Justice League/unlimited animated series, Battlestar Galactica (reboot), Mr Robot, Band Of Brothers, Black Sails, True Detective (s01), The Expanse, Mr. Inbetween, Top Boy, Detectorists, I'm Alan Partridge, Toast Of London, Better Call Saul, Severance, Andor. All these great shows are missing for the list.

[@krampusleader6493]

Band of brothers and better call Saul were on the list

[@Yoni123]

Battlestar was there too

[@David-bf2cg]

Agents of Shield should be on this list.

[@user-ld7uj9pv8e]

Never heard or watched so many. Never heard of The Wire 🤷‍♀️

[@quadb723]

No Northern Exposure, Rocko’s Modern Life, Ren & Stimpy, Rugrats or Doug

[@DR_L3G0]

Batman TAS that low?!! wow...

[@lifeisberserk9566]

Top 5 for me all the way

[@RobotronOG]

LOL

[@bwcc]

You american guys don't watch european TV shows, right? Unbelievable. Where's Dark??? What about True Detective? Mr. Robot too.

[@sebastianslazyk4251]

Throwing my hat in the ring. NO SCOOBY DOO?

[@bsteph26]

No boy meets world!?!?🌎 Or Kenan and Kel!?!?

[@NLANDXP]

A shockingly WEIRD list!! Putting horrible shows that don't stand the test of time WAY TOO high up. And omitting some really great shows NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!! IGN SEEK HELP!!

[@raymondsims7042]

Your top ten? For me it’s 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3. Six feet under 4. Mr robot 5. Dark 6. The boys 7. Breaking bad 8. Succession 9. Yellowstone 10. Stranger things Honorable mentions Sopranos Mad men Better call Saul Dexter

[@DOYLERULES69X]

My list 1. The Wire 2. Utopia (UK) 3.The Sopranos 4. Peep Show 5. Seinfeld 6. Breaking Bad 7. Fargo (season 1) 8. Better Call Saul 9. South Park 10. Game Of Thrones

[@KRATOS7514]

my favourite tv show of all time is the simpsons treehouse of horror episodes and always will be

[@adnanbilal2557]

No House M.D? No Dark? No Mr. Robot? These three deserve to be in this list over so many shows.

[@shakejaffer1881]

Mr robot is the most underrated show in history

[@raymondsims7042]

@@shakejaffer1881agreed it’s top four for me

[@lifeisberserk9566]

@@shakejaffer1881 that goes to Scorpion, Pennyworth and Max Steel

[@morebaileyskim]

30:40 you say the show in question went on to become the longest running sci-fi show in TV history but that is not true?

[@walterthompson8448]

Don’t no how friends is 56 that was the number one show in the 90’s

[@bencody207]

Ash vs evil dead ?? Nobody 😢. Ok it's cancelled and it's a crime against humanity but c'mon, it's a gem !

[@Someguyyyyyyy]

It pains me that Mr.Robot is not on this list…

[@raymondsims7042]

Yeah that’s why these type of list can’t be taken seriously

[@fireflyskull]

To many shows u left out this is more your own personal list not everyone else’s

[@grahamcarroll30]

The sopranos The wire The shield Nothing else matters on that list

[@m1cr0member]

Wow, no Sanford and son?

[@MASTERSLY1973]

No Miami Vice, Dukes of Hazard, Moonlighting, Knight rider, Married with children, Castle,NCIS and Strangers things ????? SERIOUSLY???

[@Yoni123]

Stranger things is not done or had 10 seasons so it cant be on the list

[@SlowToe]

South Park only 59?! It should be number one.

[@bonethugsfiend]

Top ten at least

[@jesstube6466]

no one beating that number 1

[@christophblumentopf9902]

Technically Rick & Morty just hits the 10 year mark in December.

[@Yoni123]

He said 10 seasons not 10 years

[@christophblumentopf9902]

@@Yoni123 nope 0:18, years.... and even if it were seasons, R&M didn't hit that mark either.

[@sawgerrera7396]

For me The wire is a top 1 too

[@raymondsims7042]

Agreed no show comes close

[@trw1782]

Leaving Mr Robot out just means nobody at IGN has seen it. Might wanna look into it... For me the Top 5 would be: 1. The Wire 2. Mr Robot 3. Breaking Bad 4. Sopranos 5. GoT

[@MrSquaky]

Spongebob? Malcom in the Middle? Black Mirror? The Boondocks? Family Guy? WWE....

[@CSB_22]

My list would look totally different from this.

[@raymondsims7042]

What’s your top ten? Mine is 1. The wire 2. Game of thrones 3 mr robot 4. Dark 5. The boys 6. Breaking bad 7. Succession 8. Yellowstone 9. Stranger things 10. Sopranos Honorable mentions Mad men Better call Saul Dexter

[@brav0wing]

My own list: 1. Babylon 5 2. The X-Files 3. Twin Peaks (season 1 and 2) 4. MillenniuM 5. Star Trek TNG 6. The Walking Dead (season 1 to 6) 7. Star Trek Deep Space Nine 8. Mindhunter 9. The Office 10. Scrubs

[@DeepFckingValue]

Bojack Horseman in front of South Park. Band of Brothers being so low? All was forgiven with the number 1 pick. The Wire is the GOAT.

[@zionarrington8489]

Isn't rick and morty still ongoing?

[@Paradox.117]

Yes it sure is. Another ign stuff up

[@Nekotaku_TV]

They said if it's been going on for 10 years... it's about to be 10 years. Crazy... But yeah the text was wrong saying it finished last year.

[@Nekotaku_TV]

@@Paradox.117 They said if it's been going on for 10 years... it's about to be 10 years. Crazy... But yeah the text was wrong saying it finished last year.

[@ravenprey666]

Technically, the age of real Rick and Morty is over now that Roiland has left.

[@kamesna6641]

24 should have been higher on this list. And what a crime on Seinfeld. That one should have been in the top slots.

[@RobotronOG]

Seinfeld was not funny, boring show.

[@Maddie-oq5fo]

Does The Wire hold up in 2023? Do people still recommend?

[@ffxikiipo]

Yes it does! It can feel a little slow and old at start but its so worth it

[@JOmega2007]

The Wire is the greatest show that HBO has ever put out. Even better than Game of Thrones in my Opinion.

[@ytubeanon]

too slow for me

[@raymondsims7042]

@@JOmega2007the wire is the greatest show ever put out🤷‍♂️

[@raymondsims7042]

@@ytubeanon the wire is “too slow” how?

[@robwhitexp]

So much is missing from this list.. Mr. Robot, Halt and catch fire.. But daily show only at 99 is hilarious. Should be top 5

[@BalanceProper]

Halt and catch fire was amazing yes

[@tristanlanphere7736]

Daily show should be in top 5? If they did that there would like 50 more people complaining about that

[@prcastro42]

How is the watchman on this list 😂

[@raymondsims7042]

No idea😂🤷‍♂️

[@jackjax7921]

Mad Men not on Top 5 is a crime. Every frame of Mad Men is like an onion, layers upon layers of meaning.

[@tristanlanphere7736]

Agreed, but it is there list

[@raymondsims7042]

@@tristanlanphere7736 what’s your top ten?

[@tristanlanphere7736]

@@raymondsims7042 1. Season 1-4 of game of thrones 2. The wire 3. Season 1 true detective 4. Madmen 5. Breaking bad

[@raymondsims7042]

@@tristanlanphere7736 solid top five what about top ten?

[@tristanlanphere7736]

@@raymondsims7042 6. Band of brothers 7. Sopranos 8. Better Call Saul 9. Twin Peaks 10. Succession 10.

[@flotilha935]

Has Twin Peaks? Then I'm in.

[@olivad1265]

Where is the comment with the list lol

[@ralphgudo]

family guy two and a half men survivor

[@monarda4149]

Black Sails, Rome, Spartacus

[@lifeisberserk9566]

Vikings

[@kingshadow8782]

Oh!

[@troyjohnsonjr]

One Tree Hill missing as well

[@m0rph3u5.]

TL;DR version: Top 10: 1. The Wire 2. The Simpsons 3. Breaking Bad 4. The X-Files 5. TwinPeaks 6. The Sopranos 7. MadMen 8. The Twilight Zone 9. Game of Thrones 10. Parks & Recreation

[@ethanvaughn9386]

Umm. What about the walking dead?

[@dechthecomrade7791]

No Jeopardy! ????

[@jhales313]

Who has parks and rec over The Office?

[@aliali-ce3yf]

they're both overrated

[@Bloody-Butterfly]

Me

[@aman-uz5pf]

Only 2 out of 100 will not put Friends in top 10 or 20 list