Without a doubt, TV is the greatest invention of all time; more so, if you are a self-proclaimed TV junkie. Here’s a very-subjective list of best TV shows that will totally keep you glued to the television.
The telly’s been around for a while now and it is a herculean task to try to compile a list of the greatest TV shows ever made. Also, it’s next to impossible to watch everything that has been aired on the television; and you can’t just announce some shows as “the best ever” if you haven’t seen even half of the shows out there.
As it happens, there are several good shows, and I did my best to fit them into a specific genre and include them in a single list. These are the shows that made watching the television even more pleasurable, and given a chance, I’d gladly watch their reruns too! This list does not follow any particular order.
Comedy
Friends
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer
Created By: David Crane, Marta Kauffman
Seinfeld
“Divorce is always hard. Especially on the kids. ‘Course I am the result of my parents having stayed together so ya never know.”
Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander
Created By: Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld
The Simpsons
“Operator! Give me the number for 911!”
Cast: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer
Created By: Matt Groening
I Love Lucy
“Ever since we said “I do”, there have been so many things that we don’t.”
Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, Keith Thibodeaux
The Office
“We can tell him his mother is dying. That usually works on him.”
Cast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Oscar Nunez, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, Zach Woods, Amy Ryan, James Spader, Catherine Tate, Clark Duke, Jake Lacy
Created By: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant
Californication
Cast: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone, Pamela Adlon, Madeleine Martin, Evan Handler, Madeline Zima
Created By: Tom Kapinos
Arrested Development
“I don’t criticize you! And if you’re worried about criticism, sometimes a diet is the best defense.”
Cast: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter
Created By: Mitchell Hurwitz
Bewitched
“I’m going to be killed by a fictional character!”
Cast: Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead, David White, Dick York, Dick Sargent
Created By: Sol Saks
M*A*S*H
“Attention all personnel. Due to a lack of casualties, today’s midnight movie will be shown at 9:00 in the morning… And midnight has been canceled.”
Cast: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Gary Burghoff, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, David Ogden Stiers
Cheers
“To me, our relationship makes perfect sense. You want me to propose to you, I propose to you. You say no, I say fine, I never wanna see you again. You drive me nuts telling me you want me to propose again, I do, you turn me down. Next thing I know I’m in a court of law where I’ve got to propose to you or go to jail. It’s the classic American love story.”
Cast: Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, John Ratzenberger, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer, Kirstie Alley, Bebe Neuwirth
Created By: James Burrows, Glen Charles, Les Charles
Some critically acclaimed TV shows from the comedy genre are given below:
★ How I Met Your Mother
★ Taxi
★ Sex and the City
★ Will and Grace
★ Hot in Cleveland
★ Malcolm in the Middle
★ Dharma & Greg
★ The Thin Blue Line
★ Home Improvement
★ Community
★ That ’70s Show
★ Everybody Loves Raymond
★ Perfect Strangers
★ Full House
★ Family Guy
★ Cougar Town
★ Get Smart
★ The Golden Girls
★ 30 Rock
★ 3rd Rock from the Sun
★ Just Shoot Me!
★ Mad About You
★ Frasier
★ Roseanne
★ Murphy Brown
★ The Wonder Years
★ Living Single
★ The Nanny
★ Modern Family
★ Parks and Recreation
★ The League
★ It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
★ Scrubs
★ Curb Your Enthusiasm
★ Everybody Hates Chris
★ The Honeymooners
★ All in the Family
★ Raising Hope
★ Two and a Half Men
★ The Big Bang Theory
Crime/Suspense/Thriller
The Wire
Cast: Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba, Frankie Faison, Larry Gilliard, Jr., Wood Harris, Deirdre Lovejoy, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Andre Royo, Sonja Sohn, Chris Bauer, Paul Ben-Victor, Clarke Peters, Amy Ryan, Aidan Gillen, Jim True-Frost, Robert Wisdom, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, J. D. Williams, Michael K. Williams, Corey Parker Robinson, Reg E. Cathey, Chad L. Coleman, Jamie Hector, Glynn Turman, Clark Johnson, Tom McCarthy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Neal Huff, Jermaine Crawford, Tristan Wilds, Michael Kostroff, Michelle Paress, Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
Created By: David Simon
Breaking Bad
“You clearly don’t know who you’re talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No! I am the one who knocks!”
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks
Created By: Vince Gilligan
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
“From the point of view of the criminal expert, London has become a singularly uninteresting city.”
Cast: Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Edward Hardwicke, Colin Jeavons, Eric Porter, Rosalie Williams
Created By: Michael Cox
Dexter
“Blood. Sometimes it sets my teeth on edge, other times it helps me control the chaos.”
Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Desmond Harrington, C.S. Lee, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, James Remar, Julie Benz, Erik King
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
“Amazing how the sight of blood can clear a room.”
Cast: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Jorja Fox, Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Paul Guilfoyle, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Louise Lombard, Wallace Langham, Lauren Lee Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Liz Vassey, David Berman, Ted Danson, Elisabeth Shue
Created By: Anthony E. Zuiker
The Sopranos
Cast: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco, Steven Van Zandt
Created By: David Chase
Murder, She Wrote
“There are three things you can never have enough of in life, Lieutenant: chocolate, friends and the theatre.”
Cast: Angela Lansbury, William Windom, Ron Masak, Tom Bosley
Created by: Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link
Sherlock
“Sorry, gotta dash, I think I left my riding crop in the mortuary.”
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Mark Gatiss, Rupert Graves, Andrew Scott, Una Stubbs, Louise Brealey
Created By: Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss
Criminal Minds
“The irrationality of a thing is not an argument of its existence, rather, a condition of it.”
Cast: Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson, Lola Glaudini, Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, A. J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, Paget Brewster, Joe Mantegna
Created By: Jeff Davis
Midsomer Murders
“Natural causes, Tom. Makes a change for Midsomer, but there you go. Can’t have everything.”
Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Jason Hughes, Fiona Dolman, Tamzin Malleson
Created By: Caroline Graham
Some critically acclaimed TV shows from the crime or thriller genre are given below:
★ Under Cover
★ Oz
★ Homeland
★ The Shield
★ The Killing
★ Luther
★ Prison Break
★ Agatha Christie’s Poirot
★ Prime Suspect
★ Life on Mars
★ Crime Story
★ Cold Case
★ NYPD Blue
★ The Mentalist
★ Supernatural
★ Castle
★ Pretty Little Liars
★ Veronica Mars
★ The Closer
★ Law & Order
★ Damages
★ Alias
★ X-Files
★ Numb3rs
★ 24
★ New York Undercover
★ Southland
★ NCIS
★ Spooks
★ 21 Jump Street
★ Without a Trace
★ Sons of Anarchy
★ Justified
★ Wiseguy
★ Bones
★ The Fugitive
★ Nikita
★ Miami Vice
★ Revenge
★ Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Reality TV/Talk Show
Larry King Live
Host/Presented By: Larry King
Created By: Larry King
Hollywood Squares
“Peter Marshall: Paul, why do Hell’s Angels wear leather?
Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.”
Host/Presented By: Peter Marshall (1966-1981), Jon Bauman (1983-1984), John Davidson (1986-1989), Tom Bergeron (1998-2004), Peter Rosenberg (2012-present)
Created By: Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley
The Price Is Right
“The one of you who bids nearest to the actual retail price of your own showcase without going over will win it. But if you’re the winner and are $250 or less away from the price of your showcase, we’ll have the pleasure of giving you *both* showcases!”
Host/Presented By: Bob Barker (1972-2007), Drew Carey (2007-present)
Created By: Bob Stewart, Mark Goodson, Bill Todman
The Oprah Winfrey Show
“Your future’s so bright it burns my eyes.”
Host/Presented By: Oprah Winfrey
Created By: Oprah Winfrey
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
“He’s the kind of guy you don’t know is drunk until you see him sober.”
Host/Presented By: Jay Leno
Criss Angel Mindfreak
Host/Presented By: Criss Angel
Created By: Criss Angel
Survivor
“I’ve played this game four times. Do these guys not realize that? I can pretty much predict what these guys are going to do and say before they do it.”
Host/Presented By: Jeff Probst
Created By: Charlie Parsons
The Amazing Race
“No one said winning a million dollars would be easy.”
Host/Presented By: Phil Keoghan
Created By: Elise Doganieri, Bertram van Munster
American Idol
“I never want to hear that song again. I cannot stand it. I’m allergic to it.”
Judges: Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Ellen Degeneres, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler
Created By: Simon Fuller
America’s Next Top Model
“You don’t look at her and think ‘top model’ off the bat, but by the second glance you see, wow, she’s got it.”
Judges: Tyra Banks, Kelly Cutrone, Rob Evans, Janice Dickinson, Kimora Lee Simmons, Nigel Barker, Nolé Marin, J. Alexander, Paulina Porizkova, André Leon Talley
Created By: Tyra Banks
Some critically acclaimed TV shows from the reality TV and game or talk show genre are given below:
★ The Buzz
★ The Tyra Banks Show
★ The Bachelor
★ Keeping Up with the Kardashians
★ The Real World
★ 19 Kids and Counting
★ Big Brother
★ The Bachelorette
★ The Biggest Loser
★ The Apprentice
★ Jon & Kate Plus 8
★ The Surreal Life
★ Dancing with the Stars
★ Intervention
★ American Chopper
★ The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
★ Jimmy Kimmel Live!
★ Conan
★ The Late Late Show
★ Real Time with Bill Maher
★ Chelsea Lately
★ MasterChef
★ MasterChef Australia
★ 16 and Pregnant
★ Bad Girls Club
★ Deadliest Catch
★ Jersey Shore
★ Wife Swap
★ Man vs. Wild
★ Face Off
★ 30 Days
★ Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
★ Man v. Food
★ Jackass
★ Punk’d
★ Destination Truth
Drama
The West Wing
Cast: Rob Lowe, Alan Alda, Stockard Channing, Moira Kelly, Kristin Chenoweth, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Mary McCormack, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Jimmy Smits, Martin Sheen
Created By: Aaron Sorkin
Game of Thrones
“Winter is coming.”
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Kit Harington, Sean Bean
Developed By: David Benioff, D. B. Weiss
Chicago Hope
“Well here’s an extremely radical thought…shouldn’t the issue be what the patient has to gain?”
Cast: Mandy Patinkin, Héctor Elizondo, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Barbara Hershey, Christine Lahti, Peter Berg, Mark Harmon, Thomas Gibson, Rocky Carroll, Adam Arkin, Lauren Holly, Jayne Brook, E. G. Marshall
Created By: David E. Kelley
Six Feet Under
“You’re in my will, I’m in yours. We basically are married, even if the law refuses to recognize it. But then again, I refuse to recognize most of the Bush Administration. I guess it all evens out.”
Cast: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Mathew St. Patrick, Rachel Griffiths, Jeremy Sisto, James Cromwell, Justina Machado
Created By: Alan Ball
Deadwood
“Separate rooms, I’ll arrange that by tomorrow, but today I can’t fix it, unless you kill a guest.”
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, John Hawkes, Jim Beaver, Brad Dourif, Paula Malcomson, William Sanderson, Kim Dickens, Robin Weigert, Dayton Callie, W. Earl Brown, Powers Boothe, Keith Carradine
Created By:David Milch
Mad Men
Cast: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Jared Harris, Bryan Batt, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, Maggie Siff, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Paré, Christopher Stanley, Jay R. Ferguson, Robert Morse, John Slattery
Created By: Matthew Weiner
The Good Wife
“People aren’t mean. They’re just polite liars.”
Cast: Julianna Margulies, Matt Czuchry, Archie Panjabi, Graham Phillips, Makenzie Vega, Alan Cumming, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski
Created By: Robert King, Michelle King
Friday Night Lights
“Gentlemen, the hopes and dreams of an entire town are riding on your shoulders. You may never matter again in your life as much as you do right now.”
Cast: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Gaius Charles, Zach Gilford, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, Scott Porter, Aimee Teegarden, Michael B. Jordan, Matt Lauria, Jurnee Smollett, Madison Burge, Grey Damon
Created By: Peter Berg
Boardwalk Empire
“We’ve been on the road for 18 hours. I need a bath, some chow and then you and me sit down and we talk about who dies.”
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Michael Kenneth Williams, Anthony Laciura, Paul Sparks, Jack Huston, Bobby Cannavale, Gretchen Mol
Created By: Terence Winter
ER
“I’m a doctor and nothing gets in the way of that. Nothing.”
Cast: Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield, Noah Wyle, Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies, Gloria Reuben, Laura Innes, Maria Bello, Alex Kingston, Kellie Martin, Paul McCrane, Goran Visnjic, Michael Michele, Erik Palladino, Ming-Na, Maura Tierney, Sharif Atkins, Mekhi Phifer, Parminder Nagra, Linda Cardellini, Shane West, Scott Grimes, John Stamos, David Lyons, Angela Bassett
Created by: Michael Crichton
Some critically acclaimed TV shows from the drama genre are given below:
★ Lassie
★ Medic
★ Fireside Theater
★ The United States Steel Hour
★ Ben Casey
★ Mr. Novak
★ Slattery’s People
★ NET Playhouse
★ Run for Your Life
★ Judd, for the Defense
★ Marcus Welby, M.D.
★ Family
★ Lou Grant
★ China Beach
★ Thirtysomething
★ The Westerner
★ I’ll Fly Away
★ Gunsmoke
★ The Practice
★ Homefront
★ Lost
★ Northern Exposure
★ Grey’s Anatomy
★ House, M.D.
★ Big Love
★ Downton Abbey
★ The Newsroom
★ One Tree Hill
★ Rome
★ Smash
★ Band of Brothers
★ Gilmore Girls
Of course this list is bound to spark off a lot of debates with stuff like why I didn’t include this show and how ‘X’ show is way better than any one which I have mentioned in here. But hey, then again we all have our favorites, don’t we? You can let us know which are the best TV shows according to you, in the comments section below.
