Top Ten Tuesday: Best Television Shows Of All-Time

The show deserves some breathing room, but with the masterpiece Game of Thrones complete, now is a good time to go over the best television series of all-time.

 

10. Fargo (2014- )

 

 

Anthology series have become increasingly popular in television, and FX leads the way with several of them—including Fargo as the best of the bunch. Noah Hawley created the show based off the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name, and the first three seasons have gone into different time periods but are set similarly in a snowy, frigid Midwest. Billy Bob Thronton in the lead as the terrifying villain Lorne Malvo in Season 1 is the show’s highlight to this point, but every season has had strong performances from an excellent cast including the likes of Ewan McGregor, Ted Danson, and Martin Freeman. Fargo is a dark comedy-crime drama, and it’s funny moments are laugh-out-loud good, while the crime moments are legit. Fargo is still in its run (Chris Rock is set to star in Season 4), so it could move up or down among the best TV shows ever depending on how it ends—but it’s good that Hawley doesn’t seem like he’d stretch the series out just to keep it on the air.

 

9. Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)

 

 

Centered around a fictional character—Atlantic City politician-turned-gangster Nucky Thompson—but sprinkled with real-life characters such as Arnold Rothstein, Al Capone, and “Lucky” Luciano, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire put viewers into the life of the Prohibition Era. The show starts with an interesting mentor-protégé angle involving Nucky and Jimmy Darmody, but the dynamics continuously changed in Atlantic City and America throughout the series, and the relationships between all the well-acted characters also changed—mostly to the benefit or expense of the main character. Boardwalk Empire had a strong lead (Steve Buscemi) similar to some of the other top shows of all-time, and it delivered action, drama, and superb cinematography for five seasons.

 

8. Better Call Saul (2015- )

 

 

The other series that’s still on the air and is currently in the top ten television shows of all-time is AMC’s Better Call Saul. A prequel to Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul focuses on the transformation of Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman (played by Bob Odenkirk), with some familiar faces from the original series. Also, Kim Wexler (played by Rhea Seehorn) is an in-depth character that could stand alone without being involved with the popular Breaking Bad character—another spin-off series could probably work with her. Better Call Saul probably has two more seasons before its conclusion, but it’d be a surprise if the series isn’t considered one of the best when it’s over.

 

7. The Americans (2013-2018)

 

 

FX’s The Americans is a period drama set during the Cold War between the United States and the USSR, so it was filled with plenty of peril and espionage. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings gave A+ performances as they posed as Americans that were actually Russian spies for six seasons, and their portrayals gave an inside look at what life was probably really like for spies back in the 1980s. Also, the costumes and scenery were perfect for the period, and The Americans accurately contrasted life in America with life in Russia.

 

6. Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014)

 

 

The third and final FX show to make the top ten, Sons of Anarchy followed the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (better known as SAMCRO) and the life of Jax Teller. Sons of Anarchy has a small-town feel that gets you hooked from the start, but the story stretches to include law enforcement, drug cartels, and other motorcycle clubs. Series creator Kurt Sutter based Sons of Anarchy on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and there’s explosive action to go along with a well-crafted story.

 

5. The Wire (2002-2008)

 

 

The top seven is all in the mix, but these next four shows all really have strong arguments for the No. 2 or No. 3 spot. HBO’s The Wire gives an incredibly accurate depiction of life in Baltimore, but it never gets boring—partly because the focus shifts from season to season as five different themes are hit throughout the series: illegal drug trade, the working class, politics, the school system, and media. Because the show was true to life, anything could happen, with no main character necessary to carry the series. That said, Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters), and Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) were among the standouts of a top-notch cast.

 

4. The Sopranos (1999-2007)

 

 

HBO classic The Sopranos did focus mostly on one character, as the great James Gandolfini played New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano. Gandolfini was simply extraordinary as Tony, but the entire ensemble was amazing and believable. While not as accurate as The Wire, by most accounts The Sopranos gave a solid representation of the mob today. David Chase’s series was long considered the gold standard in television, and many people might still feel that way over a decade after the final episode.

 

3. Mad Men (2007-2015)

 

 

Missing out on Mad Men was probably the biggest mistake HBO has ever made, as the show became an undeniable classic that helped lift AMC into a channel that creates serious drama television. Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner was an executive producer on The Sopranos, so he had a front-row seat to see an all-time show being created. Ad man Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm) can carry the story, but the secondary characters like Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), Roger Sterling (John Slattery), Peter Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), and Betty Draper (January Jones) had scenes and plotlines just as interesting. There’s not much action, so it says something that a show primarily set in the 1960s was able to keep viewers engaged for 92 episodes by delving into characters and relationships. Mad Men gets a boost for their flawless incorporation of events and music from the time period, along with holiday- and event-themed episodes.

 

2. Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

 

 

AMC had quite the one-two punch of series to start in 2007 and 2008, as Breaking Bad first aired the year after Mad Men’s debut. Some might believe Breaking Bad starts too slow, but the series follows a cancer-battling high school chemistry teacher that becomes the most feared drug kingpin in the country, and from the end of Season 3 through the conclusion of the series, it’s simply spectacular. Bryan Cranston as Walter White is one of the most stunning acting jobs ever, and Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman is arguably even better. There’s drama, suspense, and heart-pounding moments that leave you in shock.

 

1. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

 

 

The criticism of Game of Thrones’ final season has gone too far, as Season 8 stayed true to the characters that have been built up for most of the last decade while tying up the vast, colossal story as well as possible. The universe in Game of Thrones is astonishing, and the show was arguably the best action, drama, political, and suspense series all at the same time—while operating in a realistic setting (with fantasy as a secondary theme in the background) where anything can happen, as the show has shown multiple times. Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) are just a handful of an ensemble it’s difficult to imagine being any better, and showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss—with the help of George R.R. Martin and his A Song of Ice And Fire books—helped lead the way for the best television series ever.