The 100 greatest TV shows according to critics might not accurately reflect the opinions of everyday people, but a breakdown of best and fairest based on IMDb audience ratings is bound to resemble something a little more democratic.
By far the most fascinating insight about IMDb’s list involves the Top 10. While you’ll find the usual suspects such as Breaking Bad and 3/4 of HBO’s most vaunted releases in Band of Brothers, Chernobyl, The Wire, and The Sopranos, the other half are titles you probably didn’t expect.
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Avatar: The Last Airbender aside, we have BBC’s Planet Earth II and Planet Earth starring David Attenborough in #1 and #2 respectively with its 2017 follow-up Blue Planet II and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey also occupying positions among the higher end of IMDb’s overall rankings.
While the viewing quality of the latter half has never been in doubt, nor has old man Attenborough’s ability to bring the entertainment value, I suppose the reason it defies expectations is due to the fact we never really consider documentaries within the realm of “television.” Especially as the era of streaming steadily shifts both audience and industry away from the concept of “television” and steadily towards the broad umbrella of “content.”
Here are the best TV shows as of 2022 according to IMDb.
The 100 Greatest TV Shows Of All Time (According To IMDb)
- Planet Earth II (2016) – 9.4
- Breaking Bad (2008) – 9.4
- Planet Earth (2006) – 9.4
- Band of Brothers (2001) – 9.4
- Chernobyl (2019) – 9.3
- The Wire (2002) – 9.3
- Blue Planet II (2017) – 9.2
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) – 9.2
- Cosmos (2014) – 9.2
- The Sopranos (1999) – 9.2
- Our Planet (2019) – 9.2
- Cosmos (1980) – 9.2
- Game of Thrones (2011) – 9.1
- Rick and Morty (2013) – 9.1
- The World at War (1973) – 9.1
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009) – 9.1
- The Last Dance (2020) – 9.0
- Life (2009) – 9.0
- Sherlock (2010) – 9.0
- The Twilight Zone (1959) – 9.0
- Vietnam War (2017) – 9.0
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992) – 9.0
- Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) – 9.0
- Arcane (2021) – 8.9
- The Blue Planet (2001) – 8.9
- Attack on Titan (2013) – 8.9
- The Office (2005) – 8.9
- Firefly (2002) – 8.9
- Human Planet (2011) – 8.9
- Frozen Planet (2011) – 8.9
- Death Note (2006) – 8.9
- Only Fools and Horses (1981) – 8.9
- True Detective (2014) – 8.9
- The American Civil War (1990) – 8.9
- Hunter x Hunter (2011) – 8.9
- The Beatles: Get Back (2021) – 8.9
- Seinfeld (1989) – 8.9
- Sahsiyet (2018) – 8.9
- Dekalog (1989) – 8.9
- Fargo (2014) – 8.9
- Better Call Saul (2015) – 8.9
- Clarkson’s Farm (2021) – 8.9
- Cowboy Bebop (1998) – 8.9
- Nathan for You (2013) – 8.8
- Gravity Falls (2012) – 8.8
- When They See Us (2019) – 8.8
- Friends (1994) – 8.8
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014) – 8.8
- TVF Pitchers (2015) – 8.8
- Africa (2013) – 8.8
- Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009) – 8.8
- Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1969) – 8.8
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005) – 8.8
- Taskmaster (2015) – 8.8
- Das Boot (1985) – 8.8
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) – 8.8
- Fawlty Towers (1975) – 8.8
- Pride and Prejudice (1995) – 8.8
- The West Wing (1999) – 8.8
- Freaks and Geeks (1999) – 8.8
- Leyla ile Mecnun (2011) – 8.7
- Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) – 8.7
- Twin Peaks (1990) – 8.7
- Black Mirror (2011) – 8.7
- Narcos (2015) – 8.7
- BoJack Horseman (2014) – 8.7
- Chappelle’s Show (2003) – 8.7
- Dragon Ball Z [ENG] (1989) – 8.7
- Succession (2018) – 8.7
- Dragon Ball Z [JAP] (1989) – 8.7
- I, Claudius (1976) – 8.7
- South Park (1997) – 8.7
- Rome (2005) – 8.7
- Peaky Blinders (2013) – 8.7
- One Piece (1999) – 8.7
- Ted Lasso (2020) – 8.7
- Six Feet Under (2001) – 8.7
- Oz (1997) – 8.7
- Kota Factory (2019) – 8.7
- Over the Garden Wall (2014) – 8.7
- As If (2021) – 8.7
- Dark (2017) – 8.7
- The Mandalorian (2019) – 8.7
- Arrested Development (2003) – 8.7
- Steins;Gate (2011) – 8.7
- One Punch Man: Wanpanman (2015) – 8.7
- The Boys (2019) – 8.7
- The Simpsons (1989) – 8.7
- House M.D. (2004) – 8.7
- The Shield (2002) – 8.7
- Stranger Things (2016) – 8.7
- Battlestar Galactica (2004) – 8.6
- Fleabag (2016) – 8.6
- Downton Abbey (2010) – 8.6
- Invincible (2021) – 8.6
- Mad Men (2007) – 8.6
- Gullak (2019) – 8.6
- Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai (2004) – 8.6
- Vinland Saga (2019) – 8.6
- House of Cards (2013) – 8.6
Side note: more anime than we anticipated, that’s for sure.
Side note II: the gulf between AMC’s Breaking Bad (#2) and prequel series Better Call Saul (#41) definitely shouldn’t be that large.
