Best TV shows

[occamslightsaber]

If you like documentaries, I’d recommend “The Fog of War” featuring former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. “Countdown to Zero” is also another great documentary about nuclear proliferation.

[princeofcarthage]

You can't argue with raw numbers though. Its one of the most watched show of all time and has continuously been in top watched for many years. Rather going in flow of comments its best to watch and make decision for yourself. Some like x some like y I guess.

I can't argue with numbers but I sure can argue that the big bang theory is a piece of shit.
Appeal to the masses is no guarantee of quality. Closer to the opposite

Define "quality" and how do you determine it? For a show which is "piece of shit" it's literally not possible to be this insanely popular even for a couple seasons let alone 12 and a spin-off series.

[Goodspeed]

You can't argue with raw numbers though. Its one of the most watched show of all time and has continuously been in top watched for many years. Rather going in flow of comments its best to watch and make decision for yourself. Some like x some like y I guess.

I can't argue with numbers but I sure can argue that the big bang theory is a piece of shit.
Appeal to the masses is no guarantee of quality. Closer to the opposite

Define "quality" and how do you determine it?

You can't define or determine it objectively of course. I think the collective opinion of TV critics is about as close as you can get. BBT's metacritic score is 61. I guess that's not quite "piece of shit" territory, that's just my personal opinion. If I recall correctly (and I might not, because I watched this a looong time ago) it was rarely funny, the characters were caricatures rather than real people, and it was very sitcommy which is a genre I tend not to like much.

For a show which is "piece of shit" it's literally not possible to be this insanely popular even for a couple seasons let alone 12 and a spin-off series.

You can argue this is how you measure quality, but that would mean BBT is a better show than the Wire which is a ridiculous notion. A more realistic view is that the masses don't always reward quality (they do sometimes, like in the case of GoT), and the drive for profit often gets in the way of making something substantial.

[deleted_user]

The Best TV Shows are the TV shows I like best.

[Goodspeed]

https://i.redd.it/vk0vvfsivw621.png

Btw did you watch Succession yet? Much better than the Witcher, and although I haven't seen the Mandalorian it seems safe to say that doesn't beat it either.
Also Chernobyl.

Thanks for recommending the Succession, it's fantastic. Anymore recommendations or should I finally watch The Witcher?

What of the OP haven't you seen?
I wouldn't recommend all of it at this point, but knowing what you haven't seen will help me pick something.

[deleted_user]

For fun I counted that I've watched 25 of the 93 listed series (currently). ~7 more for an even 100 GS, and I consider this the greatest curation of TV shows on the internet. I think it'd be really interesting if you grouped them into tier lists, if such a thing appeals to you.

[Goodspeed]

Added The Pacific (drama)
It basically tries to be band of brothers and it's very good, but it's no band of brothers.

6 to go

[Goodspeed]

For fun I counted that I've watched 25 of the 93 listed series (currently). ~7 more for an even 100 GS, and I consider this the greatest curation of TV shows on the internet. I think it'd be really interesting if you grouped them into tier lists, if such a thing appeals to you.

It does sound like fun. It's going to be hard to compare some of these though. Like on the one hand you have a really serious show like the wire and on the other you have seinfeld. How even compare?
I'll just tier them by how much I enjoyed them I guess.

[deleted_user]

Could separate by genre but I think overall enjoyment might be the best like you said.

[Goodspeed]

(Shows are ordered alphabetically within tiers)

God tier
My idea of a (near) perfect show. These are shows that I would (and often have) rewatch multiple times (fun fact: I rewatch the Wire about once every 2 years). To be in this tier, it's not allowed to have any major flaws (think game of thrones, which would have been in here if it didn't start fucking up in later seasons).
I made an exception for Black mirror, which does get worse in later seasons, because it's so unique and in the episodes where it does well it's entertaining as well as thought-provoking. A couple eps being worse is also not as bad because each episode stands alone. It doesn't "ruin the story" like it did in GoT.

Black mirror
Breaking bad
Fargo
Mad men
Sopranos, the
Succession putting this among the greatest feels wrong, but then I recall how fucking glued to the screen I was watching it
Wire, the

Must-see tier
These are shows that stood out to me in a major way and I would gladly rewatch, but (in some cases barely) don't make the cut to God tier. With the exception of specific subjects or genres you strongly dislike, I would highly recommend all of these.

Arrested development God tier comedy, but it feels wrong to put a comedy show in the same list as the others there
Band of brothers
Better call Saul
Chernobyl
Crown, the
Deuce, the
Game of thrones God tier until the later seasons
Louie
Mindhunter
Rick and Morty
Rome
Show me a hero
Silicon valley
South park
True detective S1 is God tier

"Worth a watch" tier
You should give these a try if you have time.

Affair, the
Archer
Barry
Big little lies
Bloodline
Boardwalk empire
Bojack horseman
Curb your enthusiasm
Easy
Handmaid's tale, a
Homeland
Horace and Pete
House of cards
It's always sunny in Philadelphia
Katanagatari
Lost
Narcos
Night of, the
Office, the (UK)
Office, the (US)
Pacific, the
Parks and recreation
Peaky blinders
Prison break
Rectify
Scrubs
Six feet under
Top of the lake
Twin peaks
Undone
Westworld
When they see us

"See if it's for you" tier
Watch these if the premise appeals to you, or if you're a fan of good TV. These are shows I watched and enjoyed but in some cases didn't finish completely, and would probably not watch again.

24 not sure how well this aged, but I enjoyed it at the time
Battlestar galactica (2003)
Brooklyn 99 haven't finished
Community haven't finished
Dear white people
Dexter
Expanse, the
Firefly sadly cut short after 1 season
Flight of the conchords
Freaks and geeks
Friday night lights
Good omens
Homecoming
House
Luther
Orange is the new black
Orphan black started strong, but I haven't finished it
Russian doll
Shameless (US)
Spaced
Spartacus, blood and sand started very strong, but sadly went to shit
Stranger things started strong, but meh now. Haven't finished
Suits started strong, but meh now. Haven't finished
Supernatural
Terror, the great first season, bad second season
Walking dead, the started strong, but went to complete shit
Weeds
West wing, the haven't finished

"Shouldn't be on this list tbh" tier
These are shows that, if I made this list now, I wouldn't have put them on there. Come with explanations as to why.

Californication
Fluff. I watched this back when I had much less experience with shows and was much less critical.

Family guy
Toilet humor. Occasionally funny, but it has nothing to say. Would not watch now.

Flash forward
I don't remember much of this, but I remember being disappointed that it was cancelled after 1 season.

Friends
I enjoyed this as a kid but I suppose it hasn't aged well. Wouldn't watch now.

IT crowd, the
I quit watching this after like 3 episodes. I probably put it on here because I would've liked it if I hadn't grown out of the sitcom genre.

Justified
I watched some of this, but not enough to put it on this list. It was okay though, iirc.

Leftovers, the
Watching this show, I felt like they wanted me to care about the characters but I didn't. I finished it for the plot, which ultimately wasn't particularly great either.

Lucky Louie
I don't think this is particularly good TV, but I just like(d) Louis CK.

Modern family
Sitcom. Meh. I did watch most of it though.

Ozark
Quit somewhere in season 2. It's alright but so average and unoriginal.

Seinfeld
I've seen at most 1 season of this, and while I enjoyed it at the time I wouldn't watch the rest of it now.

Sons of anarchy
Never really enjoyed this much, but kept watching because I felt like I would start to. Quit somewhere in season 2.

Treme
I put this on the list because I recognized that it was good, and I'm a huge fan of David Simon's so I really wanted to like it. But it was too slow even for me at the time I watched it. I should give it another chance though.

"Should be on this list tbh" tier

Mr. Robot
I need to give this another chance. I've been hearing it's great everywhere, but when it first came out I tried it and wasn't (enough of) a fan.

[occamslightsaber]

Added The Pacific (drama)
It basically tries to be band of brothers and it's very good, but it's no band of brothers.

6 to go

I personally liked The Pacific better, but I can see why a good number of people prefer Band of Brothers instead. The Pacific can be a bit hard to follow since its three main characters (Basilone, Leckie, Sledge) weren’t even in the same company, unlike BoB which focuses entirely on Easy Company. It is also based on several different source materials rather than one. I might actually rewatch BoB to refresh my memories since it’s been a while.

Btw, may be you should fill the rest of your list with some non-English titles. I see one or two are already on the list, but I’m sure there are more.

[deleted_user]

Bojack criminally underranked.

[Goodspeed]

Yeah it's not quite must-see for me. Compared to the other shows in that tier it feels out of place

[princeofcarthage]

Prison break and house of cards are underranked tbh and crown is overrated imo. I didn't watch s6 of house of cards after Kevin Spacey was kicked, but first 5 seasons were great. I tried watching crown many times, just couldn't get into it

[occamslightsaber]

Oh forgot to mention, I’ve heard pretty good things about Veep, although I haven’t seen it myself. Or may be you should go really back in time and try M*A*S*H.

[Goodspeed]

Prison break and house of cards are underranked tbh. I didn't watch s6 of house of cards after Kevin Spacey was kicked, but first 5 seasons were great.

They were both solid "worth a watch" tier picks for me. House of cards could've been a must-see but the later seasons weren't good enough. I would disagree that the first 5 were great. I think I quit watching somewhere in S3, maybe 4. At least the first 2 were great though.

and crown is overrated imo. I tried watching crown many times, just couldn't get into it

Many times, even?
No show is for everyone, but the Crown was one of the easier must-see picks. It's just really good, in pretty much every way. What didn't you like about it?

[Goodspeed]

Oh forgot to mention, I’ve heard pretty good things about Veep, although I haven’t seen it myself. Or may be you should go really back in time and try M*A*S*H.

Veep couldn't keep me interested. I think I'm over sitcoms in general, unless they're exceptional. You'll notice the relatively large amount of sitcoms I put in the "shouldn't be on the list tbh" tier.
But considering it's a critically acclaimed sitcom it's probably a good candidate for the "should be on this list tbh" tier.

M*A*S*H is too old. I've found comedies in particular don't tend to age well.

[gibson]

I feel like the witcher should be in the "worth a watch" tier. Arrested development was good the first 3 seasons but the new stuff is kinda meh

[Goodspeed]

The witcher doesn't even make the list let alone "worth a watch" tier. The shows in that tier are actually good

[fightinfrenchman]

How can you not like Seinfeld

[Ashvin]

@Goodspeed any reason you didnt add deathnote to it?

[gibson]

The witcher doesn't even make the list let alone "worth a watch" tier. The shows in that tier are actually good

Idk I didnt take a detailed look at it, mostly just going by the name and I feel like its "Worth a watch", if only because its based off of one of the best/most popular video games of all time.

[Djigit]

Some good series you've probably never heard about:

• - Chosen
  - The Night Of
  - Escape at Dannemora
  - OZ (Okay you might have heard about that one, since it belongs to the HBO golden trio along with The Wire and The Sopranos. It doesn't enjoy the same popularity as the 2 others, perhaps due to the last season being worse than GOT's.)

Cancelled shows that were promising enough:

• - John Doe (a 2002 TV Kappa)
  - Mob City

[Goodspeed]

Some good series you've probably never heard about:
- OZ (Okay you might have heard about that one, since it belongs to the HBO golden trio along with The Wire and The Sopranos. It doesn't enjoy the same popularity as the 2 others, perhaps due to the last season being worse than GOT's.)

It's also just not nearly as good. Putting it in a "golden trio" with the wire and sopranos is overrating it by quite a bit, imo. HBO has made many things better than Oz.

- The Night Of

This is in the list.

- Chosen
- Escape at Dannemora

These I hadn't heard of. They don't seem particularly appealing at first glance. What made them stand out to you?

[Goodspeed]

I realized I forgot to add Sharp objects. Added it
Also edited the tier list into the OP