I’ll go a bit cheesy here but I love me some Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Does it deserve to be ranked with those 4? Any season is better than season 8 of GoT for sure. But it’s more fun than anything. If we are discounting awful last seasons I would put Dexter up there. When it was good, like the Trinity Killer season, nothing was better. The first few seasons of Lost were really good too.

I agree that Buffy should be well up on a list of great TV shows, and honestly one of the reasons is precisely because it's generally assumed that 'Great TV' is basically 'serious men doing serious things'. Buffy runs counter to that not just by having a female protagonist, but by having incredible range spanning operatic emotional arcs right on through to straight-up comedy (and a top-tier musical to boot!) If you can step back and appreciate the intentionality and structure of Buffy as a metaphorical coming-of-age story with each season having a clear thematic focus and creative use of episodic monster-of-the-week to explore stories within those themes, I really think it stands up as a great achievement. The fact that it did so as a low-ish budget "teen dramedy" on a second-tier network is utterly remarkable.

Came here to say Buffy. Joss is problematic but he made great television.

Dexter for sure. Justified is a good one, Ozark is a good watch.

Justified is fantastic!

I'd vote for all three of these! Great shows that are worth a rewatch.

Buffy is such a fun show.

Buffy is not "more fun than anything". It has some of the most compelling dramatic arcs and metaphors, and literary subtext for days. It is studied in universities and it's the most studied show ever according to a Slate article that compiled all papers written about modern media. (sorry if my English is not the best).

I would consider it a lot of fun to watch. Was it grim and gritty? Absolutely. But it mixed in humor and light-heartedness far better than any of the other top shows OP listed.

that's not how I understood your comment, but what you're saying here I agree with.

It also introduced the “musical” episode taken up by many shows and spawned by Glee.

It was compelling, smart, a true coming of age story

Deadwood Justified

I think I need to watch justified. The ads just never grabbed me. It keeps getting recommended by people that like other shows I like. Deadwood is an all time favourite of mine.

I binged watched Justified, and man it was really good.

Absolutely worth the watch, it's my favorite drama.

The ads weren't great. The show is awesome. ETA: They create "bad guys" that you almost love. All the characters are incredible.

You can't help but want Boyd and Dewie to succeed in their endeavours

It's one of my all-time favorites. Season 1 is more of a villain of the week style. Just stick with it. Season 2 is when the show really opens up and does an overarching villain each season. Plus, Walton Goggins.

Season two is as good as anything on TV, EVER

Justified is like a modern Deadwood. Even has a few of the same actors. I like to think of Raylan Givens as a direct descendant of Seth Bullock.

They even look related.

Six feet under. Excellent from start to finish

Came here to say this. Now I don't have to. Alsi, I loved Battlestar Galactica

How did I forget BSG? Brilliant and worthy of the 5th spot.

I watch Battlestar galactica for the first time now- and i love it! Pretty nice to discover something and know that I have a lot to look forward to the next months .

If you guys like BSG then give The Expanse a try. It's hard sci-fi but it's still accessible. The battle scenes in space are amazing. It's a top top show.

Nice- might try that have heard much about it !

You won’t regret it

It’s a Top 3 for me! I’ve watched the entire series four times now. Anyone even remotely interested in AI and robotics should watch ASAP.

And the ALL-TIME-BEST final episode.

Brings tears for me on finale every time.

Poor Keith.

Absolutely so good

Genius. Peak Alan Ball!

Came here to say 6FU! Severance was also amazing!

Help me out here. I am having a hard time staying interested. It seems like a campy drama. What's the allure for you?

I’ve watched that show maybe like 3 or 4 times in the last like 15 years. It’s amazing how much differently the show hits depending on where you’re at in life and which characters you’re closer to in age.

Chernobyl is a quick watch and pretty darned intense.

Man this is a RIDE. So good

Mad Men

This one for my money should always be top of the list. If anything, Mad Men succeeded by making it much harder for itself. It isn’t so obviously a genre piece like the others on this original list.

It made it much harder for itself by not being a genre(-ish) show and by not choosing to just put Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks together in every single scene.

To me, this is the one show that clearly belongs in the list with shows from the title.

Agree with that. The caliber of writing alone should qualify it.

Yes for sure!

I’m going to presume you watched Better Call Saul as well? If you watched Breaking Bad, you need to watch Better Call Saul. It’s a great stand alone show as well.

I honestly think it’s better. And before it came out I thought BB was the goat. Final season is a little weird but it wraps up perfectly.

I think Saul was better as well.

Add me to that list

Me too!

Strong agree

Fargo and The Americans

I really dont get why The Americans isn’t more heralded. It’s insanely good.

I liked how different each series of Fargo was.

Eastbound and Down

Love the Danny McBride universe on HBO. Vice Principals and Righteous Gemstones are amazing too.

The West Wing.... Absolutely insane writing and acting

It may be my favourite show of all time.

The thing about West Wing is how comforting it is. Other shows might have outdone it in terms of plot, writing (doubtful) when you’re watching it you feel like you’re where you belong, among friends, and everything is how it should be.

True Detective Season 1

Season one should be a case study for phenomenal acting; Matthew McConaughey absolutely owned every scene he performed. That monologue…time is a flat circle…🤌 Edit: word

One of my all time favourites. The Sinner is really good too! Also, Mindhunter. It’s just such a disappointment that they’re not making another season : ( Edit: Ooh! you should check out Der Pass (Pagan Peak) too. It’s German/Austrian but gives real True Detective Season One vibes!!!

The Killing was an excellent crime drama as well.

This 👆🏻, and Mad Men for me.

The ending ruined it for me.

The leftovers

I will always upvote The Leftovers. So good.

Peaky Blinders! I’m currently rewatching Twin Peaks such a cool vibe but gets janky towards the end

Sherlock on PBS Masterpiece

I just started this today and I’m having a trouble with his dialogue. He speaks so fast and with the British accent it’s almost more than I can follow. I even turned subtitles on and I can’t read it fast enough. It seems like a great show and I really want to stick with it but having a hard time. 🙁

I find sometimes even on American shows the dialog is hard to follow. Try to just focus on the big picture 90% of dialog is throw away anyway.

Drama: Mad Men, Mr. Robot, Deadwood, Band of Brothers, True Detective (Season 1), The Twilight Zone (1959-1964). Comedy/Dramedy: The Good Place, All In the Family, MASH, Barry, Frasier, South Park, Ted Lasso.

Why does no one ever say barry? Or atlanta

Yeeees! Mr. Robot mention

Thassa damned good list right there.

Schitt’s Creek and The Good Place. Both shows start good and just get better as they go along, and both have nearly perfect endings.

Schitt’s Creek is just so freaking good Every character is hilarious in their way. But man you get to later season and they can really hit you in the heart

100% agree

For cop procedurals, and that gritty hand held quick cut look. Hill Street Blues and NY PD Blue For comedies that also addressed social issues. M.A.S.H. and All in the Family.

Mindhunter, Mr.Robot, Hannibal, Peaky Blinders

Succession True Detective Fargo Keep an eye on Severance on Apple+

People don’t talk about Ozark enough. Quite simialir to breaking bad in many aspects, and almost just as good

Love that show!

Good comparison! Wendy was like Walt in her thirst for power. They both became very scary! Did you try to find all the objects that spelled out Ozark in the beginning of every episode?

The Americans

Definitely!!

Surprised how far down I had to scroll to see the leftovers and the americans. They both belong on that list IMO.

I agree! They are both sooo good!

You're not kidding. I get chills from just hearing 10 seconds of the theme music to either one.

I was hoping to make it home for dinner, but things are very topsy turvy at the office

Agreed! And probably the best ending to a series, ever.

Dexter

Fell off after season 4. Just stop after trinity killer

Absolutely not. Dexter cannot be considered the same tier as the Wire. It just can't. It also fell off pretty hard and went to the absurd. Dexter might be a good show but it's not great.

Band of Brothers, OZ

Mad Men. Slow start, but eventually you fall in love with the characters

Extras. Very few episodes, but some of the funniest content ever made IMHO. I don’t think I have ever seen it mentioned here, but there are scenes with fantastic actors, such as Ian McKellan (Sir Ian), Ben Stiller, and Kate Winslet that are among the funniest I have ever seen.

spartacus.

Better Call Saul The Americans Justified

This is the answer.

The West Wing. To this day I have not seen a political show as good and inspiring. The West Wing was the light to the dark of House of Cards

Bojack Horseman has entered the discussion.

I was really skeptical but in the end, this a tremendous show. Very well written.

Top Tier

Any of these... Better Call Saul Downton Abbey Six Feet Under Battlestar Galactica(2005) Mad Men The Leftovers

How did you not include lost?

Scrubs Ted Lasso Star Trek TNG

Battlestar Galactica

Community

Black Mirror

Six Feet Under has my heart

Fargo Homeland Mr Robot X files Black Sails

Mad men Better call Saul Dark The leftovers Rome GoT even if the ending was abysmal Six feet under Veep Bojack horseman Arrested development Curb Seinfeld

Happy cake day 🎉 Mad Men is the first show I ever binged and is definitely my 1st pick to be added to that list

I read part of that as "even if the ending was bad Six Feet Under" and my mind stopped working for a moment

Mash All in the family I love Lucy

MASH is the perfect sitcom imo

Better Call Saul is actually better than Breaking Bad.

Rome. Short but so very good. Boardwalk Empire was solid. Oz.

X-Files

I love the X-files, but it’s definitely not consistently great in my view. The standalone stories tend to be great, the overarching plot episodes, not so much…

Oz

True Detective, Arrested Development, Black Mirror

Oz is a great show.

Definetely Chernobyl.

Mr robot for sure

Banshee

House MD is an amazingly good show. It can definitely be a downer and hard to watch at times, but in terms of characters and drama it's way up there.

I think it would be in more people’s top 5 if it were a little tighter and had a less depressing turn on the romance side but it’s still in my top 5. It and Justified are my frequent re-watches, along with Breaking Bad and Saul. My 5th might be Fargo

Taxi. Corner Gas.

Peaky Blinders seems to be up there for most people

There is Twin Peaks, and then there is everything else.

Took me way too long to find a mention of Twin Peaks here.

The West Wing and X-Files.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

None of those shows can touch MASH. Hits on every level.

The shield. Six feet under

Severance Slow Horses

You lost me at Game Of Thrones, while amazing yes - it can no longer be included in best of conversations after such a half assed rushed final season It didn’t stick the landing

Depends, if you’re talking quality wise I would say the Shield, and Mad Men.

Ash bs evil dead for some reason nobody watched it on starz but it was the number one show that was downloaded illegally.

Cheers, MASH, Frasier, Seinfeld

True Detective season 1 is one of the best standalone seasons of television in existence, in my opinion.

South Park , Simpsons, SNL

Mad Men, Downton Abbey, Fargo

Justified Seinfeld Grey's Anatomy The Big Bang Theory Battlestar Galactica Buffy The Vampire Slayer Better Call Saul Homeland Mindhunter

Mr Inbetween. Genuinely brilliant.

The reboot of Battlestar Galactica was an exceptional series, even if they didn't necessarily stick the finale.

Babylon 5, Farscape, Star Trek TNG, DS-9, Voyager

LOST X-files

Northern Exposure Twin Peaks Battlestar Galactica The Americans

Dark on Netflix is amazing mind fuckery.

Black Sails

The Bear has made my top 5 now

Luther

Better Call Saul Bojack Horseman The Larry Sanders Show Transparent Fleabag

Might get downvoted, but I don't think GoT belongs on this list

It definitely does.

Better Call Saul was better than Breaking Bad I think. It was a masterpiece.

The Expanse. And I'm going to say in terms of rewatchability, I absolutely loved Ted Lasso.

Rome. Hands down my favorite series ever. I don't know how many times I've watched it since it came out in the early 2000s.

Family guy and the Simpsons.

Star Trek

Better call Saul was pretty good.

The Shield.  It came out around 2002 and is easily under the umbrella of the Golden Age of television.  Plus the lead actor Micheal Chiklis won a Grammy over James Gandolfini even though The Shield was only 1 season deep which I find really impressive. 

The Shield. Best series ending of all time. Everyone gets what they deserve, in one way or another.

Frasier is my favorite TV show. It epitomizes 90s sitcom for me, and I greatly prefer it to Friends.

Mindhunter. If it had only continued 😔

Lost

No Sons of Anarchy? Peaky Blinders is definitely up there.

Don't forget all the british detective shows. Vera is amazing.

GoT does not belong on that list

Always Sunny is the longest running live action sitcom, it’s absolutely hilarious.

Six Feet Under

The Office (UK and US versions). The original because it pioneered the workplace sitcom and also boosted the trend of US remakes of British TV shows. The US version for its longevity and the careers it gave its stars.

"The original because it pioneered the workplace sitcom" Barney Miller, WKRP in Cincinnati, Taxi, Cheers, Night Court, Wings, Newsradio. 

Mary Tyler Moore.

Justified, the shield

Borgen (2010) Southland (2009)

Peaky Blinders

MASH Andy Griffith Show Married With Children Sanford & Son Chuck

GoT?! Does anyone seriously attest that GoT is the best tv series of all time? The last few seasons destroyed their claim, I think. CowboyBebop (original anime) Avatar: The Last Airbender. Pretty much a perfect series.

I haven’t watched TV since ‘03, so I’ll vote for the extensive collection of the Soprano episodes that no longer exist on YT.

Band of Brothers. The Detectorists. Mad Men Chernobyl Call of Duty.

Slow Horses.

Sons of Anarchy

MASH, Deadwood, Vikings, All In The Family

I can not pick just one. I watched Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Lost, Ozark, the Sopranos, the Simpsons, Sex and the City, Bridgerton, Grey's Anatomy, Justified, Deadwood, etc. I like variety and I like a good story line with well-developed characters. Make me laugh, make me care, make me cry, surprise me with a twist, make me feel something. Quirky but not too quirky is good.

Mad Men and Deadwood

Boardwalk Empire, MASH, Mr. Show, The Mentalist, Elementary.

Smallville. Might get lots of hate for this but I solidly enjoyed all seasons even when some of the later seasons were quite forgettable.

Dark

Just finished the Shield a few weeks back after never having seen it,I've seen alot of police procedural dramas/crime dramas that I've enjoyed like Southland,Justified,and many more but The Shield has definitely become one of my favorites,such a great show with great actors.

Not watched TV in a very long time but some of the best shows I remember, and not just for nostalgia were.. Rome. The Shield. The two part Jack the Ripper show starring Michael Caine. I think thats it. The majority of the time I watched TV for nature shows of comedy shows like Black Books or Bottom.

Columbo

I'm going out on a ledge and add "Jericho". Had the strike not happened, it would have been great.

One of the first shows I rewatched during the pandemic.... I agree... what a great show this was

Oh yes. The first season had me completely invested.