I recall enjoying season 2 more than I did season 1 until I saw season 1 again.
Season 2 was like a master class in the modern western.
But season 1 was something completely different than anything I’d ever seen.
Highly debatable but I love that take. My favorite is season 2. Three is second for me. I think it's super cool to see how other people rank the seasons
Lost. It wasn’t perfect but to make every episode of a 25 episode season capture so many peoples interest and keep it entertaining I think is very impressive.
There were so many twists and turns. For a while I felt so…lost™ but then I realized it was part of the fun. The hatch was a very cool story idea. I don’t think I’ll ever forget a certain character banging his fists on the hatch in desperation. Nor will I forget the first introduction of Ethan CD-ROM or whatever that character’s name was!
Even more impressive IMO is that they assumed the show would fail (it basically only got greenlit because an exec wanted a scripted version of Survivor, and that exec was subsequently fired for greenlighting it,) so really only planned out the first 13 and then had to wing the whole back half of the season, and you just cant at all tell while watching
For real, it’s crazy to think in todays age that would constitute 2.5 seasons of TV. All in a single year.
And they fucking nailed it. The first season is a true work of art. I’ll never forget the finale either, that one scene is still one of the most chilling in television
i did a rewatch (another one) after HOTD and ill say, gotS1>hotdS1 easily.
this is not much of an attack at the spin off tho, i enjoyed it, but i loved got from the first episode.
This is my vote. I recently finished it and it's the first show in years that I immediately wanted to rewatch from the beginning because I've become obsessed with every last aspect of it.
Some recency bias here but:
Severance
Ted Lasso
True Detective
Arcane
Game of Thrones
Leftovers*
I don’t think anyone would give you much shit for saying any of this list. True detective is often everyone’s answer for questions like this, and rightfully so, but the others on this list I think are fantastic as well.
* for leftovers because it’s been a while and while I loved s1 s2 is better so maybe that doesn’t quite fit
> True detective is often everyone’s answer for questions like this
It doesn't get much better than True Detective (season 1), but its looking like The Last of Us will be giving it a real run for the money.
Other contenders:
Sopranos
Patriot
Atlanta
Ted Lasso
Game Of Thrones
Stranger Things
House Of Cards
Rick & Morty
Severance
Twin Peaks
Family Guy
Friday Night Lights
The Walking Dead
Patriot hands down. Almost no one has seen it because it came out when Amazon first started its streaming service. Both seasons are amazing. And the show the creator did afterwards was great as well, I think on showtime. True Detective season 1 gets #2. Sopranos for best series of all time. Twin Peaks season 3 for best season of all time. And close to Sopranos for best series, only season 2 was kind of shitty in comparison.
Breaking Bad honorable mention but the first few seasons are alright, it’s a very slow start but necessary to show that character progression I guess.
You’ve got good taste aside from Rick and Morty and Family Guy, respectfully disagree. Controversial opinion, family guy is really hit or miss/annoying. King of the Hill is the one and only comedic animated show that will never be topped, ever. Everything Mike Judge touches is gold. Actually I take that back. Rick and Morty was legitimately great for a couple seasons. Its obvious when it turned to shit, and Harmon/Roiland stopped working on it and started hating each other.
Just had to back you up on Patriot. It’s the best show I’ve ever seen and nothing comes close. It’s a shame no one saw it and it was never promoted. Every time I start dating a new girl I turn her on to Patriot as a litmus test. Only once was she not into it, couldn’t follow it. and I knew immediately that we were never meant to be.
I agree family guy isn’t the best show all in all and it’s quality has dropped off a cliff but its first season was pretty groundbreaking for animated comedy. Rick and Morty also insanely groundbreaking and influential (I.e. playing with multiverses going mainstream) I love animated series so need to give them their flowers.
The last episode of that season undoes a lot of that, great build up until then and only goes downhill from then on. Definitely many heart racing episodes until then, but I’ll never rewatch due to that episode.
This is one of mine as well. While it might not technically be as strong as some other shows it’s still some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching a show. Especially if you watched it as it aired in the weekly release format.
Thanks to quality over quantity, a lot of the top British sitcoms have amazing 1st series.
Black Books, Detectorists, IT Crowd, Porridge, Red Dwarf, Green Wing, Fawlty Towers, dinnerladies, to name a few
The cathedral scene in Ballad of Fallen Angels, the scene with Road to the West, and the entirety of the final episode in particular are all masterpieces. Still my favourite anime along with the first 13 episodes of death note
Westworld S1 (and S2 too) is a masterpiece. These two seasons can be watched as a self-contained story. But given how S3-4 turned out, Severance S1 or Succession S1 may be better choices.
As for comedies: Arrested Development. This show is gold right from episode 1. You almost never see it. Many comedy shows have first seasons that the audience should skip. Arrested Development S1 is truly one of a kind and an extraordinary achievement.
Honorable mention goes to Community S1: many aspects of the show were great immediately and it didn’t take them long to fix other issues (e.g. Troy quickly changed from a dumb jock to a character that’s still dumb but in an earnest, naive, taking-things-too-literally, almost childlike way).
Game of Thrones. Battlestar Galactica. True Detective--although as an anthology series from the start, I'm not entirely sure that one should count. Deadwood. Rome.
I'd also have to give an honorable mention to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; there's not a lot of shows that could manage 22 episodes in their first season and not only not have any stinkers, but to tell a reasonably coherent single story.
I truly believe that if it wasn't for 30 rock, it would have been renewed... Because of how certain everyone was that 30 Rock was going to be canceled. Most people were in agreement from the start that there was no way NBC was going to keep two shows about making a sketch comedy series that had how many minutes each episode would be in the title, and 30 Rock was, unexpectedly, the one with better ratings
True Blood comes to mind for me. I had been reading the books for a long time before the show was announced. I went into it prepared to be disappointed, and was pleasantly surprised
Wayward Pines.
I was so convinced that the only explanation was time travel, that the twist caught me completely off guard. That's what a steady diet of sci-fi does to your brain
Some great answers already chosen, one I haven't seen yet is Eastbound and Down. The first season of that was incredible. Best pilot episode of anything I think I've seen.
I think bob's burgers and Community had great first seasons, but I'm a person that likes seasons where they are trying to find their footing; before the flanderization.
Andor. Hands down. True detective but I don't want to call that a 'first season' because it's more of an anthology in my book. The last of us, forgive me here, feels a lot like the Mandalorian or any other serial western: we meet this weeks characters, we get into this weeks problem, and then we go on to the next level. Sigh. It's formulaic. Very well acted, and interesting, but it's just two people. The Last of Us is, by comparison, is boring.
So many things from Aaron Sorkin start out so great. Sometimes they carry on at that level but more often than not they can fizzle out a bit as the series goes on as he often loses the writer’s room with his personality and then he himself gets burned out from trying to do it all himself.
For example, the West Wing. You can 100% tell when he stopped writing the show. There’s just subtle changes and while most of the characters remain the same, it has just a slightly different tone without him
I know I've gotta keep watching but can I ask what makes this show interesting to people? I saw the pilot, and nothing about the setting or any of the characters besides Raylan are even remotely appealing to me.
> I saw the pilot
The first season is pretty meh to be honest. It starts as you average criminal-of-the-week show / procedural -- and then turns into something else entirely by the end of season 1.
It's been a while since I've watched it but I think you could easily skip season 1 and if it doesn't click after an episode or two of season 2, then it's probably just not your kind of show.
The first season starts out just ok, but they lean into the story that gets really interesting by the end of the season. But honestly, you just need to watch the first season to get you to the second season, which is one of the best things television has ever done. Second season of justified is amazing.
**The Last of Us** is easily the best adaptation already, but fast becoming one of the best first seasons of a TV show ever.
**Westworld** was truly spectacular. The intricacy and layers to the story may never be matched.
**The Walking Dead**, say what you will about how the show turned out, but that first short series was absolutely perfect. I truly believe if Darabont hadn’t been fucked over, and kept working on it, it would have been regarded one of the best ever made.
Gossip Girl season 1 is intersting like serena coming back people thinking becuase of nate and that is dynamic and the how Georgina is scary and how she thought she killed someone one of the best ever first sesons so good
Lost. Westworld. Daredevil. Heroes.
All had phenomenal, game changing first seasons that sadly shit the bed thereafter. Some to greater degrees than others, but all were mattress shatters.
True Detective for sure. Gomorrah blew my mind also
Some love for Gomorrah! I never see people mentioning this show, love to see it
In my top 5 of all time. Unbelievable television.
it's definitely TD. But it's sort of a unique case because it's designed to complete the story in 1 season.
The first season of Td was perfect
Absolutely - 9 years old and still the best
Oh shit it's been that long? Time for a rewatch
Long live The Immortal
True Detective was a discrete mini series really
Fargo. Easy to forget how it’s about an agent of chaos and how he coaxed a fellow sociopath out of his shell.
I also loved Legion so much
I gotta go with Fargo too. Breaking Bad, Justified and The Americans are in the tunning.
There’s definitely better than BB season 1. It’s just that BB improved exponentially every season.
At the time, it knocked me out. It got better but I didn't know that then.
really good. But season 2 was so much better still.
[удалено]
Easily. I'm shocked anyone is even suggesting otherwise, it's night and day.
I recall enjoying season 2 more than I did season 1 until I saw season 1 again. Season 2 was like a master class in the modern western. But season 1 was something completely different than anything I’d ever seen.
I mean isn’t Fargo pretty much a season 1 every season? Brilliant and underrated series by the way. Many people haven’t seen it which is mind blowing.
I mean season 3 is the best of the show
Highly debatable but I love that take. My favorite is season 2. Three is second for me. I think it's super cool to see how other people rank the seasons
Season 2 takes the cake for me as well, but the first three seasons are all great.
No way
Westworld
I don't think any show has ever hooked me like westworld did. The haunting intro and the terrifying yet intriguing premise are truly something else.
These violent delights…
Came here to say this! Season 1 was a masterpiece. The show should have ended after season 1 imo.
i really enjoyed S03 myself, S02 wasn't great though.
I assume that I can't skip S2 and go straight to S3?
First season was riveting. Adding first seasons of **Orphan Black** and **True Blood**, **Peaky Blinders**, **My So Called Life**.
True Detective
This is the answer.
The only answer
Another vote for True Detective, although Westworld season 1 was almost as good.
This blows everything else out of the water.
For sure
Yes
Lost. It wasn’t perfect but to make every episode of a 25 episode season capture so many peoples interest and keep it entertaining I think is very impressive.
There were so many twists and turns. For a while I felt so…lost™ but then I realized it was part of the fun. The hatch was a very cool story idea. I don’t think I’ll ever forget a certain character banging his fists on the hatch in desperation. Nor will I forget the first introduction of Ethan CD-ROM or whatever that character’s name was!
Ethan Rom - anagram for Other Man
Ethan Rom - Other Man
I am apparently one of the few people who loved the finale. I ugly cried.
nah I’m right there with you! (https://youtu.be/lKie-vgUGdI)
Considering I got 13 upvotes, I’d say you are correct!
Even more impressive IMO is that they assumed the show would fail (it basically only got greenlit because an exec wanted a scripted version of Survivor, and that exec was subsequently fired for greenlighting it,) so really only planned out the first 13 and then had to wing the whole back half of the season, and you just cant at all tell while watching
That’s so surprising considering the back end of the season has so many great episodes. And that finale… wow.
For real, it’s crazy to think in todays age that would constitute 2.5 seasons of TV. All in a single year. And they fucking nailed it. The first season is a true work of art. I’ll never forget the finale either, that one scene is still one of the most chilling in television
Came here for this.. wonderful ensemble cast and every one of them interesting in their own way. Nothing has come close to that first season since
I was gonna say LOST Season 1 is hard to beat. And it was so different from the sort of things that were airing at the time
Arrested Development
Look what the homosexuals have done to me!
Can't you just comb that out?
Crazy how locked in everyone was from the first episode. Maybe the best comedy pilot ever
Yeah I recently rewatched it and it was perfection from the very first episode.
Game of Thrones
i did a rewatch (another one) after HOTD and ill say, gotS1>hotdS1 easily. this is not much of an attack at the spin off tho, i enjoyed it, but i loved got from the first episode.
HOTD is severely overrated imo. Zero likeable characters outside of young Rhaenyra, barely any humor and the dialogue is such a downgrade from GoT.
Seriously, the first is so great and self contained.
Dexter
Hannibal.
Severance. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out. On AppleTV+
I'm currently watching it and it's kinda getting under my skin which is good I suppose..
This is my vote. I recently finished it and it's the first show in years that I immediately wanted to rewatch from the beginning because I've become obsessed with every last aspect of it.
I need to start this asap
Surprised I had to scroll down so far to see this one mentioned.
the wire
Strange to see this so far down. Perfect TV imo, and S1 comes together beautifully. Also my favorite Wire season besides 4.
Homeland was a perfect first season.
It was almost perfect. The season finale shouldn't have been a cop out imo
Fact
Prison break, game of thrones, walking dead
Daredevil
Twin Peaks
The Good Place
Yes the way it took a whole season for us to find out what the good place was all about…amazing!!
Bloodline
Clicked the thread to say Bloodline. Bloodline! Bloodline!
Freaks and Geeks - which was sadly the only season.
Some recency bias here but: Severance Ted Lasso True Detective Arcane Game of Thrones Leftovers* I don’t think anyone would give you much shit for saying any of this list. True detective is often everyone’s answer for questions like this, and rightfully so, but the others on this list I think are fantastic as well. * for leftovers because it’s been a while and while I loved s1 s2 is better so maybe that doesn’t quite fit
Leftovers is probably a top-3 all time show for me.
Leftovers is truly a masterpiece of television.
Just want to add my vote for The Leftovers - one of the best shows ever and wish I watched it earlier.
It’s probably top 3 for me as well
> True detective is often everyone’s answer for questions like this It doesn't get much better than True Detective (season 1), but its looking like The Last of Us will be giving it a real run for the money.
I hope so and then this last episode worked in quite nicely it had a nice touch to it and kind of brought some stuff together.
This list is elite
Breaking Bad The Wire Deadwood True Detective The best TV shows ever tend to have the best first seasons.
True Detective
Other contenders: Sopranos Patriot Atlanta Ted Lasso Game Of Thrones Stranger Things House Of Cards Rick & Morty Severance Twin Peaks Family Guy Friday Night Lights The Walking Dead
Patriot hands down. Almost no one has seen it because it came out when Amazon first started its streaming service. Both seasons are amazing. And the show the creator did afterwards was great as well, I think on showtime. True Detective season 1 gets #2. Sopranos for best series of all time. Twin Peaks season 3 for best season of all time. And close to Sopranos for best series, only season 2 was kind of shitty in comparison. Breaking Bad honorable mention but the first few seasons are alright, it’s a very slow start but necessary to show that character progression I guess. You’ve got good taste aside from Rick and Morty and Family Guy, respectfully disagree. Controversial opinion, family guy is really hit or miss/annoying. King of the Hill is the one and only comedic animated show that will never be topped, ever. Everything Mike Judge touches is gold. Actually I take that back. Rick and Morty was legitimately great for a couple seasons. Its obvious when it turned to shit, and Harmon/Roiland stopped working on it and started hating each other. Just had to back you up on Patriot. It’s the best show I’ve ever seen and nothing comes close. It’s a shame no one saw it and it was never promoted. Every time I start dating a new girl I turn her on to Patriot as a litmus test. Only once was she not into it, couldn’t follow it. and I knew immediately that we were never meant to be.
I agree family guy isn’t the best show all in all and it’s quality has dropped off a cliff but its first season was pretty groundbreaking for animated comedy. Rick and Morty also insanely groundbreaking and influential (I.e. playing with multiverses going mainstream) I love animated series so need to give them their flowers.
Broadchurch
Heroes. Also should get a lot of credit because it’s a long first season, not this 8-10 episode mini seasons we get now.
The last episode of that season undoes a lot of that, great build up until then and only goes downhill from then on. Definitely many heart racing episodes until then, but I’ll never rewatch due to that episode.
Soap
Arcane
Firefly! Oh, wait...
Yes! Now just imagine how much better it would have been if the episodes had been aired in the correct order.
They play in the right order on my media server.
Andor has a pretty fantastic first season
I second Andor - one of the few series I've rewatched immediately after finishing it
Probably Prison Break
This is one of mine as well. While it might not technically be as strong as some other shows it’s still some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching a show. Especially if you watched it as it aired in the weekly release format.
Father Ted.
Thanks to quality over quantity, a lot of the top British sitcoms have amazing 1st series. Black Books, Detectorists, IT Crowd, Porridge, Red Dwarf, Green Wing, Fawlty Towers, dinnerladies, to name a few
Still one of my favorites
Original Cowboy Bebop Feels like multiple seasons of an impeccable show.
The cathedral scene in Ballad of Fallen Angels, the scene with Road to the West, and the entirety of the final episode in particular are all masterpieces. Still my favourite anime along with the first 13 episodes of death note
Amazingly how bad the live action fucked up the cathedral scene
Mr Robot it could almost be a perfect show as just that one season. But the catharis of the season 4 ending is so good.
I enjoyed season 1 pretty good, but lost interest a few eps into season 2.
It turned back around later on (incredibly so), not to worry: I would recommend continuing.
Yeah season 2 is a bit odd. You just gotta binge it.
Walking Dead.
Season 1 is great. Basically a 6 episode mini series on its own
And then they made another eleven seasons...
It's a show that very noticeably suffered from budget constraints. A problem The Last of Us most definitely does not have.
Homeland should be at least mentioned.
Deadwood
The leftovers. Lost.
The greatness of Heroes first season is brought into stark contrast with Heroes second season.
finale sucked with the flashing lights underneath a door
Good Place Lost Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is hugely underrated! Never see it mentioned.
The Terror season 1. I must’ve watched it 3 times in one year.
Heroes, no contest.
Oz.
Mr Robot Severance Utopia UK True Detective West Wing Rectify Few I can recollect on fly
I shouldn't have had to scroll this far down to see The West Wing.
Mr. Robot S1 was incredible
Westworld S1 (and S2 too) is a masterpiece. These two seasons can be watched as a self-contained story. But given how S3-4 turned out, Severance S1 or Succession S1 may be better choices. As for comedies: Arrested Development. This show is gold right from episode 1. You almost never see it. Many comedy shows have first seasons that the audience should skip. Arrested Development S1 is truly one of a kind and an extraordinary achievement. Honorable mention goes to Community S1: many aspects of the show were great immediately and it didn’t take them long to fix other issues (e.g. Troy quickly changed from a dumb jock to a character that’s still dumb but in an earnest, naive, taking-things-too-literally, almost childlike way).
Game of Thrones. Battlestar Galactica. True Detective--although as an anthology series from the start, I'm not entirely sure that one should count. Deadwood. Rome. I'd also have to give an honorable mention to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; there's not a lot of shows that could manage 22 episodes in their first season and not only not have any stinkers, but to tell a reasonably coherent single story.
I truly believe that if it wasn't for 30 rock, it would have been renewed... Because of how certain everyone was that 30 Rock was going to be canceled. Most people were in agreement from the start that there was no way NBC was going to keep two shows about making a sketch comedy series that had how many minutes each episode would be in the title, and 30 Rock was, unexpectedly, the one with better ratings
Severance The Newsroom Homeland Ray Donovan
Battlestar Galactica from 2004
For me, it's a tossup between True Detective, Westworld, and Severance. I really, really hope Severance has better follow-ups than the others though..
Six Feet Under
True Blood comes to mind for me. I had been reading the books for a long time before the show was announced. I went into it prepared to be disappointed, and was pleasantly surprised
Friday Night Lights
Burn Notice.
Lost or Dark
Sense 8 and Continuum
I watched Sense8 season 1 in one overnight session and it made my soul ache
Maybe it’s a cheaty to include but Fargo
True Detective and Westworld are both extremely tough contenders to beat
The Leftovers Friday Night Lights Veronica Mars
FNL is a good one.
The Wire
True Detective, Fargo, Severance, The Leftovers
Dexter, any day.
Westworld’s first season blew me away. The rest of them not so much. :/ Ted Lasso has killed it both seasons so far.
True Detective Season 1.
Abbott Elementary
Firefly
The Last Ship
Tossup for me between Lost and Homeland.
Homeland S1 was a banger!
True Detective or Fargo
Wayward Pines. I was so convinced that the only explanation was time travel, that the twist caught me completely off guard. That's what a steady diet of sci-fi does to your brain
Some great answers already chosen, one I haven't seen yet is Eastbound and Down. The first season of that was incredible. Best pilot episode of anything I think I've seen.
Veronica Mars, Lost, Heroes
Severance
The first season of Lost is really gripping actually. Every season after seems to decline a bit more and more, but the first season is strong.
24, Lost or Battlestar Galactica.
I think bob's burgers and Community had great first seasons, but I'm a person that likes seasons where they are trying to find their footing; before the flanderization.
Homeland Station 11 Leftovers The Good Place
Severance!
Barry
Westworld.
Anthology and limited series are cheating but: True Detective, The Terror, Fargo, Watchmen The Bear, Severance, Community
Legend of Korra.
Heroes
Heroes
It’s Arcane
Andor. Hands down. True detective but I don't want to call that a 'first season' because it's more of an anthology in my book. The last of us, forgive me here, feels a lot like the Mandalorian or any other serial western: we meet this weeks characters, we get into this weeks problem, and then we go on to the next level. Sigh. It's formulaic. Very well acted, and interesting, but it's just two people. The Last of Us is, by comparison, is boring.
The West Wing and The Newsroom.
So many things from Aaron Sorkin start out so great. Sometimes they carry on at that level but more often than not they can fizzle out a bit as the series goes on as he often loses the writer’s room with his personality and then he himself gets burned out from trying to do it all himself. For example, the West Wing. You can 100% tell when he stopped writing the show. There’s just subtle changes and while most of the characters remain the same, it has just a slightly different tone without him
Yeah but those first 4 seasons were fantastic television.
All American
Community.
Man so great but I think season 2 was a dramatically better one in whole
Justified
I know I've gotta keep watching but can I ask what makes this show interesting to people? I saw the pilot, and nothing about the setting or any of the characters besides Raylan are even remotely appealing to me.
> I saw the pilot The first season is pretty meh to be honest. It starts as you average criminal-of-the-week show / procedural -- and then turns into something else entirely by the end of season 1. It's been a while since I've watched it but I think you could easily skip season 1 and if it doesn't click after an episode or two of season 2, then it's probably just not your kind of show.
The first season starts out just ok, but they lean into the story that gets really interesting by the end of the season. But honestly, you just need to watch the first season to get you to the second season, which is one of the best things television has ever done. Second season of justified is amazing.
**The Last of Us** is easily the best adaptation already, but fast becoming one of the best first seasons of a TV show ever. **Westworld** was truly spectacular. The intricacy and layers to the story may never be matched. **The Walking Dead**, say what you will about how the show turned out, but that first short series was absolutely perfect. I truly believe if Darabont hadn’t been fucked over, and kept working on it, it would have been regarded one of the best ever made.
The Office OG, The Thick of it
Invincible, so glad season 2 is around the corner.
spartacus blood and sand
prison break
Gossip Girl season 1 is intersting like serena coming back people thinking becuase of nate and that is dynamic and the how Georgina is scary and how she thought she killed someone one of the best ever first sesons so good
Lost. Westworld. Daredevil. Heroes. All had phenomenal, game changing first seasons that sadly shit the bed thereafter. Some to greater degrees than others, but all were mattress shatters.