this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
188 points (86.2% liked)

Television

839 readers
415 users here now

Welcome to Television

This community is for discussion of anything related to television or streaming.

Other Communities

Television Communities

A community for discussion of anything related to Television via broadcast or streaming.

Rules:

  1. Be respectful and courteous to all members.
  2. Avoid offensive or discriminatory remarks.
  3. Avoid spamming or promoting unrelated products/services.
  4. Avoid personal attacks or engaging in heated arguments.
  5. Do not engage in any form of illegal activity or promote illegal content.
  6. Please mask any and all spoilers with spoiler tags.

Matrix Link

founded 1 month ago
MODERATORS
 

cross-post from: https://lemmy.world/post/32413125

πŸ‘‹ Hi everyone!

πŸ’‘ A while ago I came across some post on reddit where someone ranked the top-50 TV shows using aggregated ratings from multiple sources β€” and I got really inspired. Hats off to the original for the inspiration and idea.

After hundreds of hours of data transfer, I expanded the idea into a list of 100 must-see TV shows (no animation/documentaries), based on data from 20+ rating platforms like IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Letterboxd, TMDB, Kinopoisk, Douban, and more (full list below).

🌎 The goal was to create a ranking that’s as close to objective as possible by combining scores from diverse international platforms β€” to equally represent critics, casual viewers, and different cultural perspectives across many countries.

To ensure quality and avoid outliers, I only included shows with at least 25,000 IMDb ratings. I tried to make a list of series with a broader audience in mind, which is probably why older shows didn’t make the final top. They tend to get less attention and fewer ratings from modern viewers, though some definitely deserve an β€œHonorable Mention.”

  • (You’ll find the shows that almost made the cut listed at the bottom of the table.)*

I’ve thought about this a lot and eventually came to this conclusion: if I didn’t filter by popularity at all, the list might end up with a bunch of random series that got, say, 85 points from 100 people. Instead, I gave preference to shows that scored around 83 points but from 300+ people - a stronger consensus. But still series that scored 75 points from 10,000 people wouldn’t necessarily make the list just because of the volume

βš–οΈ To add some balance, I also included a popularity score as one of the metrics β€” but kept its weight relatively low (just 1 out of 25 metrics). This metric was only applied within the top-100 to give more popular series a slight edge in their final positioning, while still ensuring rating quality remained the primary factor. Even shows with below-average popularity scores (as low as 65 points) could still make the cut if their ratings were outstanding enough.

For any missing ratings β€” which happened when a show had no data on a specific site β€” I used the average rating of the top-140 shows on that platform. This ensured that underrated or lesser-known series weren’t unfairly penalized due to lack of data.

If you’re wondering why your favorite show didn’t make the list β€” 99% chance it’s because it scored lower across aggregated ratings or didn’t have enough ratings compared to top-100 shows. There’s a 1% chance I genuinely missed it somehow, but given how deep I went into this, that’s pretty unlikely.

Hope you’ll find this list interesting or maybe even discover a few new shows to watch. Would love to hear your thoughts!

πŸ“Š** [Sources used]**

IMDb, IMDb Episodes Rating (W2WTV and Ratingraph), TMDB, Metacritic, Kinopoisk, Rotten Tomatoes, Serializd, JustWatch, Filmaffinity, Reelgood, Criticker, TasteDive, Taste.io, Simkl, Trakt, TV Time, Allocine, Filmweb, Myshows, Douban

πŸ”Ž Text version:

Click

  1. Breaking Bad – 92.28
  2. Chernobyl – 91.80
  3. Band of Brothers – 90.76
  4. The Wire – 90.40
  5. The Sopranos – 90.28
  6. Better Call Saul – 89.12
  7. Game of Thrones – 88.88
  8. Sherlock – 88.04
  9. Fleabag – 87.40
  10. Succession – 87.28
  11. Severance – 87.16
  12. Fargo – 86.80
  13. Peaky Blinders – 86.76
  14. The Office (2005) – 86.76
  15. The Queen's Gambit – 86.44
  16. Mindhunter – 86.44
  17. The Pitt – 86.44
  18. Dark – 86.24
  19. Stranger Things – 85.92
  20. Narcos – 85.88
  21. When They See Us – 85.88
  22. House M.D. – 85.80
  23. Shōgun (2024) – 85.68
  24. Mad Men – 85.48
  25. Mare of Easttown – 85.44
  26. Twin Peaks – 85.40
  27. Andor – 85.40
  28. Freaks and Geeks – 85.32
  29. Ted Lasso – 85.28
  30. The Penguin – 85.24
  31. Firefly – 85.24
  32. The Boys – 84.96
  33. The Haunting of Hill House – 84.92
  34. Atlanta – 84.92
  35. Friends – 84.84
  36. Black Mirror – 84.76
  37. Daredevil – 84.76
  38. Big Little Lies – 84.64
  39. The Last Kingdom – 84.64
  40. Downton Abbey – 84.60
  41. The Night Of – 84.56
  42. Rome – 84.56
  43. True Detective – 84.52
  44. The Crown – 84.52
  45. Boardwalk Empire – 84.52
  46. Silicon Valley – 84.44
  47. Hannibal – 84.36
  48. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 84.36
  49. Mr. Robot – 84.32
  50. The Bear – 84.20
  51. The Shield – 84.20
  52. Six Feet Under – 84.16
  53. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 84.08
  54. The Mandalorian – 83.96
  55. Fallout – 83.92
  56. Parks and Recreation – 83.88
  57. This Is Us – 83.88
  58. Broadchurch – 83.84
  59. The Expanse – 83.80
  60. Unbelievable – 83.80
  61. Heartstopper – 83.76
  62. The Last of Us – 83.68
  63. Shameless (2011) – 83.68
  64. The Pacific – 83.68
  65. 1883 – 83.68
  66. What We Do in the Shadows – 83.64
  67. Battlestar Galactica (2004) – 83.64
  68. Sons of Anarchy – 83.56
  69. Anne with an E – 83.56
  70. Community – 83.40
  71. Normal People – 83.36
  72. Curb Your Enthusiasm – 83.32
  73. Lost – 83.28
  74. Black Bird – 83.28
  75. Vikings – 83.24
  76. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia – 83.24
  77. Slow Horses – 83.24
  78. Dexter – 83.16
  79. Modern Family – 83.08
  80. Barry – 83.04
  81. Peacemaker – 82.92
  82. The Good Place – 82.80
  83. Person of Interest – 82.80
  84. The Leftovers – 82.80
  85. Seinfeld – 82.68
  86. Banshee – 82.64
  87. Adolescence – 82.52
  88. Orphan Black – 82.52
  89. Maid – 82.52
  90. Suits – 82.48
  91. Fringe – 82.32
  92. The Newsroom – 82.32
  93. Doctor Who – 82.24
  94. The IT Crowd – 82.20
  95. House of Cards – 82.16
  96. Ozark – 82.12
  97. One Piece (2024) – 81.92
  98. Yellowstone – 81.84
  99. Scrubs – 81.76
  100. Cobra Kai – 81.72

πŸ“œ Histogramma:

  • 1986–1990: 2
  • 1991–1995: 1
  • 1995–2000: 2
  • 2001–2005: 13
  • 2006–2010: 13
  • 2011–2015: 24
  • 2016–2021: 30
  • 2021–2025: 16

Honorable Mentions (Almost Made the Main List): Pride and Prejudice (1995), Line of Duty, Happy Valley, The Twilight Zone (1959), The Chosen, Fawlty Towers, The Bridge (2011), It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Mr Inbetween, The Knick, Peep Show, Deadwood, Olive Kitteridge, SKAM (2015), The Americans, This Is Going to Hurt, Wayne, Oz, Justified, Halt and Catch Fire.

⁉️ If anyone’s interested in what the ranking** would look like without any influence from popularity** (i.e. broader audience appeal), here’s the list. Let me know if you think it’s better - maybe I’ll make this the main one.

Click

  1. Breaking Bad – 92.00
  2. Chernobyl – 91.63
  3. Band of Brothers – 90.92
  4. The Wire – 90.75
  5. The Sopranos – 90.33
  6. Better Call Saul – 88.88
  7. Game of Thrones – 88.42
  8. Sherlock – 87.67
  9. Fleabag – 87.67
  10. Succession – 87.29
  11. The Pitt – 87.29
  12. Severance – 87.13
  13. Fargo – 86.75
  14. The Office (2005) – 86.58
  15. Peaky Blinders – 86.58
  16. When They See Us – 86.50
  17. Mindhunter – 86.46
  18. The Queen's Gambit – 86.21
  19. Freaks and Geeks – 86.13
  20. Dark – 86.08
  21. Shōgun (2024) – 85.96
  22. Narcos – 85.92
  23. Pride and Prejudice – 85.83
  24. Line of Duty – 85.79
  25. Mare of Easttown – 85.71
  26. House M.D. – 85.67
  27. Atlanta – 85.63
  28. Andor – 85.63
  29. Happy Valley – 85.54
  30. Firefly – 85.54
  31. Twin Peaks – 85.50
  32. The Penguin – 85.50
  33. Stranger Things – 85.42
  34. The Twilight Zone (1959) – 85.33
  35. Ted Lasso – 85.29
  36. Mad Men – 85.17
  37. The Chosen – 85.17
  38. The Last Kingdom – 85.13
  39. Fawlty Towers – 85.13
  40. Rome – 85.08
  41. Downton Abbey – 85.04
  42. The Shield – 85.00
  43. Silicon Valley – 85.00
  44. The Bridge – 85.00
  45. Boardwalk Empire – 85.00
  46. The Night Of – 85.00
  47. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 84.88
  48. The Haunting of Hill House – 84.88
  49. Big Little Lies – 84.79
  50. It's Okay to Not Be Okay – 84.75
  51. The Crown – 84.71
  52. Mr Inbetween – 84.71
  53. Six Feet Under – 84.67
  54. The Knick – 84.63
  55. Peep Show – 84.63
  56. Daredevil – 84.58
  57. Deadwood – 84.58
  58. The Boys – 84.54
  59. Olive Kitteridge – 84.54
  60. SKAM – 84.54
  61. The Americans – 84.50
  62. Friends – 84.46
  63. Broadchurch – 84.46
  64. This Is Going to Hurt – 84.46
  65. Wayne – 84.42
  66. Heartstopper – 84.38
  67. Unbelievable – 84.38
  68. Oz – 84.38
  69. This Is Us – 84.33
  70. 1883 – 84.33
  71. Black Mirror – 84.29
  72. Justified – 84.29
  73. The Bear – 84.29
  74. Battlestar Galactica (2004) – 84.25
  75. Hannibal – 84.25
  76. The Pacific – 84.25
  77. What We Do in the Shadows – 84.21
  78. True Detective – 84.17
  79. Anne with an E – 84.17
  80. The Expanse – 84.17
  81. Parks and Recreation – 84.13
  82. Friday Night Lights – 84.13
  83. Dopesick – 84.13
  84. Mr. Robot – 84.08
  85. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 84.08
  86. Curb Your Enthusiasm – 84.08
  87. Slow Horses – 83.96
  88. Pose – 83.96
  89. Fallout – 83.92
  90. Black Bird – 83.92
  91. Halt and Catch Fire – 83.92
  92. Normal People – 83.88
  93. Shameless (2011) – 83.75
  94. Gomorrah – 83.67
  95. The Mandalorian – 83.58
  96. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia – 83.58
  97. Sons of Anarchy – 83.58
  98. The West Wing – 83.54
  99. Community – 83.50
  100. Louie – 83.50

If you have a Reddit account, could you share this list there? I’ve been unfairly blocked in my every new account, so I can’t post it myself. I’d really appreciate it if more people could see this ranking! πŸ‘€

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 4 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

How does M * A * S * H not make the list?

[–] mshin@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

MAS*H ranked #137, but still not well-known enough - especially in post-Soviet countries and much of Asia - compared to the shows that actually made the final list. Unfortunately, not every 20th-century series has been fully appreciated by millennials and Gen Z the way it deserves to be, so yeah....

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Yesterday this was posted as 100 shows you must watch before you die. Today they're 100 highest-rated shows. Tomorrow what - 100 shows people liked?

[–] mshin@lemmy.world 8 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

sorry, I’ll update it tomorrow to: β€œ100 Shows That Will Validate Your Taste and Make You Feel Seen.”

[–] Harvey656@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

Mobile users.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Silicon Valley beat scrubs and seinfeld. It wasn't bad, but Scrubs and Seinfeld were masterpieces of the sitcom genre. They had significant cultural impact and were what people were talking about the next day. Silicon Valley was pretty good. I occasionally remember that I watched it, or most of it, idk if I finished because it didn't leave that level of impact.

Wait, I just noticed it has Dexter above the Good Place. What the actual fuck. Like I was a fan when Dexter was airing (until the last season when I stopped a few episodes in), but it was pretty good. The Good Place was one of the most impactful and well made television shows I've ever watched. I laughed, I cried, I thought, I craved shrimp, and years later I still reference it because of how good it is.

[–] idunnololz@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

How did Bojack horseman not make the list. I swear that show had amazing ratings. I would also personally place it very high on this list.

Edit: Oh I saw the comment that said animated shows are not included.

[–] Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

Oh, no wonder NONE of the shows I watch are on the list. I mainly watch animated shows.

[–] joshthewaster@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

It would be interesting to see the ratings adjusted for age. Probably no great way to do that without skewing some other aspect but could be fun. Secretly I just want the data to skew so that TNG ends up on top.

[–] Railcar8095@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Kobra Kai being there means the list is bad and can be fully ignored. Even at position 100.

Edit: Scrubs is 99??? Even considering the non existing 9th season it should be much higher

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 78 points 2 days ago (14 children)

The title is misleading. This is a list of the top 100 best rated shows. I wouldn't call Friends a show everybody must tee before they die. Also not one Star Trek made it here.

[–] BigBananaDealer@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

i hate friends but it is 100% a show you must see before you die. its cultural impact is too vast

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Was it? It was just popular, that's all. It was just one of many, run of the mill sitcoms about a group of friends. Just like Seinfeld before it and How I Met Your Mother after. At least in my opinion.

[–] BigBananaDealer@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

oh hell no, especially seinfeld they changed the game in terms of sitcoms. it only seems run of the mill nowadays because quite literally everyone copied seinfeld and friends trying to make the next big hit

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I guess I'm going to live forever.

yeah same πŸ˜‚

[–] kratoz29@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I wouldn't call Friends a show everybody must tee before they die. Also not one Star Trek made it here.

And that is why we have opinions, I wouldn't have included Star Trek in a watch before to die list ;)

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

In that case all I can say is: "Watch some Star Trek" :)

load more comments (12 replies)
[–] Bwaz@lemmy.world 1 points 21 hours ago

And not a single one of my top favorite shows is on the list. Guess I should be proud

[–] BigDaddySlim@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Better Call Saul AFTER Breaking Bad?? What is this chicanery???

Reasons BCS is superior to BB: 1.) no Skyler singing happy birthday scene 2.) see #1

Jokes aside BB is phenomenal don't get me wrong, but BCS goes so much deeper in character development, performances and world building. The top rated episode is rated as high as it is for a reason. I literally jumped in shock from it. I'll admit, when it was coming out up through the end of season 3, I felt it was a cash grab sequel and didn't vibe with it. I stopped watching for a few years until the hype around season 6 exploded online so I gave it another go and boy am I glad I did.

Also, Saul is fundamentally likable in a way Walt isnt. He's a shitty person too, but he's a rapscallion with a heart of bronze, as you watch hoping he'll trade it up for gold but knowing that's not how this story goes.

[–] vaguerant@fedia.io 34 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The Penguin is the #30 show you must see before you die? Holy recency bias, Batman!

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] mysticpickle@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago
[–] iMastari@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Great list! To be honest, I am surprised that The Expanse is so far down the list (59). I am going to check out the ones higher on the list that I have not watched yet. Thanks!

I tried watching it, but stopped early... Maybe some day...

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] mogranja@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Davel23@fedia.io 25 points 2 days ago (3 children)

The Good Place should be much higher. And Yellowstone should be MUCH lower. As in, not on this list at all.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] glimse@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Game of Thrones made me laugh but I understand why it's on the list....but Sherlock...? Everyone should see Sherlock before they die?

It's a fine show....but don't go out of your way for it. Kind of crazy it's anywhere near BB or The Wire

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] pseudo@jlai.lu 0 points 20 hours ago

I have watch 18 of these show and enough extract and random episode of 12 others to have a good enough sense of it and that list is bad.

Some recommandation are quite good. Some very bad. Most are about some decent show that was extremly popular when they got out.

[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (5 children)

Bonkers that curb your enthusiasm is so low on the list. And that's not the only bonkers aspect to the list... It's proof that popularity isn't a great metric.

load more comments (5 replies)

Also not one Star Trek made it here.

Lmao I'm glad I got my answer so I don't have to bother asking. Does DS9 or TNG make the list when you don't filter for general audiences because these are some of the most iconic shows out there even ~30 years after they stopped airing

load more comments
view more: next β€Ί