cross-post from: https://lemmy.world/post/32413125

👋 Hi everyone!

💡 A while ago I came across some post on reddit where someone ranked the top-50 TV shows using aggregated ratings from multiple sources — and I got really inspired. Hats off to the original for the inspiration and idea.

After hundreds of hours of data transfer, I expanded the idea into a list of 100 must-see TV shows (no animation/documentaries), based on data from 20+ rating platforms like IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Letterboxd, TMDB, Kinopoisk, Douban, and more (full list below).

🌎 The goal was to create a ranking that’s as close to objective as possible by combining scores from diverse international platforms — to equally represent critics, casual viewers, and different cultural perspectives across many countries.

To ensure quality and avoid outliers, I only included shows with at least 25,000 IMDb ratings. I tried to make a list of series with a broader audience in mind, which is probably why older shows didn’t make the final top. They tend to get less attention and fewer ratings from modern viewers, though some definitely deserve an “Honorable Mention.”

  • (You’ll find the shows that almost made the cut listed at the bottom of the table.)*

I’ve thought about this a lot and eventually came to this conclusion: if I didn’t filter by popularity at all, the list might end up with a bunch of random series that got, say, 85 points from 100 people. Instead, I gave preference to shows that scored around 83 points but from 300+ people - a stronger consensus. But still series that scored 75 points from 10,000 people wouldn’t necessarily make the list just because of the volume

⚖️ To add some balance, I also included a popularity score as one of the metrics — but kept its weight relatively low (just 1 out of 25 metrics). This metric was only applied within the top-100 to give more popular series a slight edge in their final positioning, while still ensuring rating quality remained the primary factor. Even shows with below-average popularity scores (as low as 65 points) could still make the cut if their ratings were outstanding enough.

For any missing ratings — which happened when a show had no data on a specific site — I used the average rating of the top-140 shows on that platform. This ensured that underrated or lesser-known series weren’t unfairly penalized due to lack of data.

If you’re wondering why your favorite show didn’t make the list — 99% chance it’s because it scored lower across aggregated ratings or didn’t have enough ratings compared to top-100 shows. There’s a 1% chance I genuinely missed it somehow, but given how deep I went into this, that’s pretty unlikely.

Hope you’ll find this list interesting or maybe even discover a few new shows to watch. Would love to hear your thoughts!

📊** [Sources used]**

IMDb, IMDb Episodes Rating (W2WTV and Ratingraph), TMDB, Metacritic, Kinopoisk, Rotten Tomatoes, Serializd, JustWatch, Filmaffinity, Reelgood, Criticker, TasteDive, Taste.io, Simkl, Trakt, TV Time, Allocine, Filmweb, Myshows, Douban

🔎 Text version:

Click
  1. Breaking Bad – 92.28
  2. Chernobyl – 91.80
  3. Band of Brothers – 90.76
  4. The Wire – 90.40
  5. The Sopranos – 90.28
  6. Better Call Saul – 89.12
  7. Game of Thrones – 88.88
  8. Sherlock – 88.04
  9. Fleabag – 87.40
  10. Succession – 87.28
  11. Severance – 87.16
  12. Fargo – 86.80
  13. Peaky Blinders – 86.76
  14. The Office (2005) – 86.76
  15. The Queen’s Gambit – 86.44
  16. Mindhunter – 86.44
  17. The Pitt – 86.44
  18. Dark – 86.24
  19. Stranger Things – 85.92
  20. Narcos – 85.88
  21. When They See Us – 85.88
  22. House M.D. – 85.80
  23. Shōgun (2024) – 85.68
  24. Mad Men – 85.48
  25. Mare of Easttown – 85.44
  26. Twin Peaks – 85.40
  27. Andor – 85.40
  28. Freaks and Geeks – 85.32
  29. Ted Lasso – 85.28
  30. The Penguin – 85.24
  31. Firefly – 85.24
  32. The Boys – 84.96
  33. The Haunting of Hill House – 84.92
  34. Atlanta – 84.92
  35. Friends – 84.84
  36. Black Mirror – 84.76
  37. Daredevil – 84.76
  38. Big Little Lies – 84.64
  39. The Last Kingdom – 84.64
  40. Downton Abbey – 84.60
  41. The Night Of – 84.56
  42. Rome – 84.56
  43. True Detective – 84.52
  44. The Crown – 84.52
  45. Boardwalk Empire – 84.52
  46. Silicon Valley – 84.44
  47. Hannibal – 84.36
  48. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 84.36
  49. Mr. Robot – 84.32
  50. The Bear – 84.20
  51. The Shield – 84.20
  52. Six Feet Under – 84.16
  53. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 84.08
  54. The Mandalorian – 83.96
  55. Fallout – 83.92
  56. Parks and Recreation – 83.88
  57. This Is Us – 83.88
  58. Broadchurch – 83.84
  59. The Expanse – 83.80
  60. Unbelievable – 83.80
  61. Heartstopper – 83.76
  62. The Last of Us – 83.68
  63. Shameless (2011) – 83.68
  64. The Pacific – 83.68
  65. 1883 – 83.68
  66. What We Do in the Shadows – 83.64
  67. Battlestar Galactica (2004) – 83.64
  68. Sons of Anarchy – 83.56
  69. Anne with an E – 83.56
  70. Community – 83.40
  71. Normal People – 83.36
  72. Curb Your Enthusiasm – 83.32
  73. Lost – 83.28
  74. Black Bird – 83.28
  75. Vikings – 83.24
  76. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – 83.24
  77. Slow Horses – 83.24
  78. Dexter – 83.16
  79. Modern Family – 83.08
  80. Barry – 83.04
  81. Peacemaker – 82.92
  82. The Good Place – 82.80
  83. Person of Interest – 82.80
  84. The Leftovers – 82.80
  85. Seinfeld – 82.68
  86. Banshee – 82.64
  87. Adolescence – 82.52
  88. Orphan Black – 82.52
  89. Maid – 82.52
  90. Suits – 82.48
  91. Fringe – 82.32
  92. The Newsroom – 82.32
  93. Doctor Who – 82.24
  94. The IT Crowd – 82.20
  95. House of Cards – 82.16
  96. Ozark – 82.12
  97. One Piece (2024) – 81.92
  98. Yellowstone – 81.84
  99. Scrubs – 81.76
  100. Cobra Kai – 81.72

📜 Histogramma:

  • 1986–1990: 2
  • 1991–1995: 1
  • 1995–2000: 2
  • 2001–2005: 13
  • 2006–2010: 13
  • 2011–2015: 24
  • 2016–2021: 30
  • 2021–2025: 16

Honorable Mentions (Almost Made the Main List): Pride and Prejudice (1995), Line of Duty, Happy Valley, The Twilight Zone (1959), The Chosen, Fawlty Towers, The Bridge (2011), It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Mr Inbetween, The Knick, Peep Show, Deadwood, Olive Kitteridge, SKAM (2015), The Americans, This Is Going to Hurt, Wayne, Oz, Justified, Halt and Catch Fire.

⁉️ If anyone’s interested in what the ranking** would look like without any influence from popularity** (i.e. broader audience appeal), here’s the list. Let me know if you think it’s better - maybe I’ll make this the main one.

Click
  1. Breaking Bad – 92.00
  2. Chernobyl – 91.63
  3. Band of Brothers – 90.92
  4. The Wire – 90.75
  5. The Sopranos – 90.33
  6. Better Call Saul – 88.88
  7. Game of Thrones – 88.42
  8. Sherlock – 87.67
  9. Fleabag – 87.67
  10. Succession – 87.29
  11. The Pitt – 87.29
  12. Severance – 87.13
  13. Fargo – 86.75
  14. The Office (2005) – 86.58
  15. Peaky Blinders – 86.58
  16. When They See Us – 86.50
  17. Mindhunter – 86.46
  18. The Queen’s Gambit – 86.21
  19. Freaks and Geeks – 86.13
  20. Dark – 86.08
  21. Shōgun (2024) – 85.96
  22. Narcos – 85.92
  23. Pride and Prejudice – 85.83
  24. Line of Duty – 85.79
  25. Mare of Easttown – 85.71
  26. House M.D. – 85.67
  27. Atlanta – 85.63
  28. Andor – 85.63
  29. Happy Valley – 85.54
  30. Firefly – 85.54
  31. Twin Peaks – 85.50
  32. The Penguin – 85.50
  33. Stranger Things – 85.42
  34. The Twilight Zone (1959) – 85.33
  35. Ted Lasso – 85.29
  36. Mad Men – 85.17
  37. The Chosen – 85.17
  38. The Last Kingdom – 85.13
  39. Fawlty Towers – 85.13
  40. Rome – 85.08
  41. Downton Abbey – 85.04
  42. The Shield – 85.00
  43. Silicon Valley – 85.00
  44. The Bridge – 85.00
  45. Boardwalk Empire – 85.00
  46. The Night Of – 85.00
  47. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 84.88
  48. The Haunting of Hill House – 84.88
  49. Big Little Lies – 84.79
  50. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay – 84.75
  51. The Crown – 84.71
  52. Mr Inbetween – 84.71
  53. Six Feet Under – 84.67
  54. The Knick – 84.63
  55. Peep Show – 84.63
  56. Daredevil – 84.58
  57. Deadwood – 84.58
  58. The Boys – 84.54
  59. Olive Kitteridge – 84.54
  60. SKAM – 84.54
  61. The Americans – 84.50
  62. Friends – 84.46
  63. Broadchurch – 84.46
  64. This Is Going to Hurt – 84.46
  65. Wayne – 84.42
  66. Heartstopper – 84.38
  67. Unbelievable – 84.38
  68. Oz – 84.38
  69. This Is Us – 84.33
  70. 1883 – 84.33
  71. Black Mirror – 84.29
  72. Justified – 84.29
  73. The Bear – 84.29
  74. Battlestar Galactica (2004) – 84.25
  75. Hannibal – 84.25
  76. The Pacific – 84.25
  77. What We Do in the Shadows – 84.21
  78. True Detective – 84.17
  79. Anne with an E – 84.17
  80. The Expanse – 84.17
  81. Parks and Recreation – 84.13
  82. Friday Night Lights – 84.13
  83. Dopesick – 84.13
  84. Mr. Robot – 84.08
  85. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 84.08
  86. Curb Your Enthusiasm – 84.08
  87. Slow Horses – 83.96
  88. Pose – 83.96
  89. Fallout – 83.92
  90. Black Bird – 83.92
  91. Halt and Catch Fire – 83.92
  92. Normal People – 83.88
  93. Shameless (2011) – 83.75
  94. Gomorrah – 83.67
  95. The Mandalorian – 83.58
  96. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – 83.58
  97. Sons of Anarchy – 83.58
  98. The West Wing – 83.54
  99. Community – 83.50
  100. Louie – 83.50

If you have a Reddit account, could you share this list there? I’ve been unfairly blocked in my every new account, so I can’t post it myself. I’d really appreciate it if more people could see this ranking! 👀

  • Railcar8095@lemmy.world
    31·
    1 hour ago

    Kobra Kai being there means the list is bad and can be fully ignored. Even at position 100.

    Edit: Scrubs is 99??? Even considering the non existing 9th season it should be much higher

  • idunnololz@lemmy.world
    5·
    6 hours ago

    How did Bojack horseman not make the list. I swear that show had amazing ratings. I would also personally place it very high on this list.

    Edit: Oh I saw the comment that said animated shows are not included.

  • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
    6·
    7 hours ago

    Silicon Valley beat scrubs and seinfeld. It wasn’t bad, but Scrubs and Seinfeld were masterpieces of the sitcom genre. They had significant cultural impact and were what people were talking about the next day. Silicon Valley was pretty good. I occasionally remember that I watched it, or most of it, idk if I finished because it didn’t leave that level of impact.

    Wait, I just noticed it has Dexter above the Good Place. What the actual fuck. Like I was a fan when Dexter was airing (until the last season when I stopped a few episodes in), but it was pretty good. The Good Place was one of the most impactful and well made television shows I’ve ever watched. I laughed, I cried, I thought, I craved shrimp, and years later I still reference it because of how good it is.

  • BigDaddySlim@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    10 hours ago

    Better Call Saul AFTER Breaking Bad?? What is this chicanery???

    Reasons BCS is superior to BB: 1.) no Skyler singing happy birthday scene 2.) see #1

    Jokes aside BB is phenomenal don’t get me wrong, but BCS goes so much deeper in character development, performances and world building. The top rated episode is rated as high as it is for a reason. I literally jumped in shock from it. I’ll admit, when it was coming out up through the end of season 3, I felt it was a cash grab sequel and didn’t vibe with it. I stopped watching for a few years until the hype around season 6 exploded online so I gave it another go and boy am I glad I did.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      4·
      7 hours ago

      Also, Saul is fundamentally likable in a way Walt isnt. He’s a shitty person too, but he’s a rapscallion with a heart of bronze, as you watch hoping he’ll trade it up for gold but knowing that’s not how this story goes.

  • SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    31·
    8 hours ago

    My main feeling looking at this ranking gives is of a location, gender, and race bias in reviews and reviers. I can’t really add sexuality to that because, really, there’s not much media that takes it into account full stop.

    Many of the favourites people are talking about in this thread have little appeal to others outside their own demographic. That’s not a bad thing, but it does mean series like High Potential, Deadloch, or even classics like Fresh Prince, don’t get a look in.

    It’s also ammunition for people who want to remove representation of women and minorities from popular culture.

    • Skavau@piefed.socialMEnglish
      5·
      4 hours ago

      High Potential and Deadlock don’t have anywhere near the average rating and amount of votes to get near a list like this.

      Also I would argue The Queen’s Gambit, When They See Us, Shogun, Mrs Maisel, Anne With An E, Normal People, Maid, Unbelievable, Atlanta, This Is Us, Heartstopper, Mare of Easttown - all present on this list, are all exceptions to your claim as either being female-led, or having notable progressive themes and/or a heavily minority cast.

      • SharkWeek@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        1·
        26 minutes ago

        Thank you for a well reasoned counter-argument, all very good points … I specifically thought of the last couple of series I really enjoyed that had atypical representation (namely, non-neurotypical and Aboriginal lead roles) that specifically weren’t on the list, but that I personally enjoyed far far more than most of those on the list in the part I did look through … I didn’t read the whole lot.

        To put it another way, women make up 52% of the world’s population, but are not in lead roles of 52% of the series listed … again, from the part I read.

        • Skavau@piefed.socialMEnglish
          1·
          2 minutes ago

          To be clear, those are not the only examples of female led shows in that list.

          Do you consider Fallout or The Last of Us as examples? I didn’t list thoset shows because as franchises they obviously have a much larger male audience, but if you are going purely by lead… then it also counts. And many others.

          I also realise I missed “Big Little Lies” and Fleabag.

  • iMastari@lemmy.world
    4·
    10 hours ago

    Great list! To be honest, I am surprised that The Expanse is so far down the list (59). I am going to check out the ones higher on the list that I have not watched yet. Thanks!

  • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    11 hours ago

    Also not one Star Trek made it here.

    Lmao I’m glad I got my answer so I don’t have to bother asking. Does DS9 or TNG make the list when you don’t filter for general audiences because these are some of the most iconic shows out there even ~30 years after they stopped airing

  • hOrni@lemmy.world
    723·
    23 hours ago

    The title is misleading. This is a list of the top 100 best rated shows. I wouldn’t call Friends a show everybody must tee before they die. Also not one Star Trek made it here.

    • kratoz29@lemmy.zip
      3·
      12 hours ago

      I wouldn’t call Friends a show everybody must tee before they die. Also not one Star Trek made it here.

      And that is why we have opinions, I wouldn’t have included Star Trek in a watch before to die list ;)

    • Ashtear@lemmy.zip
      3·
      13 hours ago

      DS9 would probably make the list if it were reviewed today. It’s the most like prestige TV out of old Trek (at least the later seasons).

    • mshooky@lemmy.worldOP
      109·
      17 hours ago

      sorry, I was going for a bit of a clickbait title 😅 btw, Star Trek: The Next Generation is the closest - it’s ranking at #183

      I hear you - and honestly, I didn’t expect the title to be that off-putting. It was meant as a fun nod to the classic ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ format, which is popular and widely used. I thought it would give the list a familiar and engaging vibe. That said, I get that it might come across as too definitive or clickbaity, especially since the list is based on aggregated ratings. So I’ve gone ahead and changed the title to better reflect the data-driven nature of the post. Thank you!

      • Trapped In America@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        105·
        23 hours ago

        Star Trek: The Next Generation is the closest - it’s ranking at #183 This list just lost all of its credibility. DS9 and Voyager are clearly better shows.

          • Trapped In America@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
            41·
            21 hours ago

            Seasons 4+ of Voyager (after the Kazon, Kes, etc.) is some of the best Trek ever made.

            SNW feels like Nickelodeon trying to make a Star Trek show.

            Fite me.

            • verdigris@lemmy.ml
              6·
              20 hours ago

              SNW isn’t great but ranking TNG below VOY is not a take anyone is going to agree with lol…

              Regardless of the storytelling, the characters in VOY are just so much less likeable than in TNG or DS9. They’re fine, but only Janeway feels like an all-time Star Trek great.

              • Trapped In America@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                3·
                20 hours ago

                The Doctor was great too, he’s easily on my list of Top 10 Trek Characters.

                But yeah, the rest of characters were really immature (B’Elanna, Kes and Neelix especially). Whereas in DS9 and TNG everyone in the main cast is a seasoned professional. I think it’s the same reason Wesley got so much hate back in the day.

              • Ashtear@lemmy.zip
                1·
                14 hours ago

                Not even just bad, some-of-the-worst-Trek-ever-made bad is sprinkled in there. Season 2 is dire.

              • Trapped In America@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                1·
                19 hours ago

                Not everything about them is bad. It just really takes off after they get through the Kazon and Kes story arcs. Their encounters with the Borg, Species 8472, etc. are all really good. Not to mention Seven of Nine.

                The Season 3 time travel episodes (Future’s End: 1 & 2) are really good IMO.

        • mshooky@lemmy.worldOP
          5·
          22 hours ago

          respect your opinion and honestly, it’s not really something worth arguing about, since there’ll always be people who feel the opposite. that said, if we’re just looking at the ratings, Star Trek: The Next Generation does come out higher - and it also has a slightly larger fanbase worldwide. but again, it’s all subjective in the end, thank you!

  • vaguerant@fedia.io
    27·
    23 hours ago

    The Penguin is the #30 show you must see before you die? Holy recency bias, Batman!

  • verdigris@lemmy.ml
    141·
    20 hours ago

    Sherlock and Game of Thrones shouldn’t even be on this list, much less top 10… GoT for it’s absolutely abysmal ending (the whole last season is pretty shit), which basically ruins the rest of the show as well, and Sherlock because it’s absolute dogshit. Seriously, it’s like the opposite of what a mystery show is supposed to be; it actively gaslights viewers and makes fun of them for trying to solve the mysteries in the show, while not actually giving you the information you need. Watch hbomberguy’s video on it for an exhaustive takedown, but tl;dr the show does not deserve your time or attention.

    • Pulptastic@midwest.socialEnglish
      1·
      2 hours ago

      The first 5 seasons of GoT more than makes up For the shitty ending. If we pretend 6-8 don’t exist, 1-5 are still well worth watching.

    • Karjalan@lemmy.world
      3·
      5 hours ago

      Second that for both of them.

      I’d argue you could say the first 4 seasons of GoT are must watch, 5 and 6 are decent, have some amazing plot points and some painful ones. You could definitely skip those 2, but I think I’d still say up to season 6 deserves to be in the top 100.

      Season 7 and 8 pulls it right the fuck out of there though. Devastatingly bad.

  • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
    14·
    22 hours ago

    Bonkers that curb your enthusiasm is so low on the list. And that’s not the only bonkers aspect to the list… It’s proof that popularity isn’t a great metric.

    • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
      2·
      9 hours ago

      Seriously. While some shows might be amazing the first watch, shows like Curb can be enjoyed endlessly on repeat.

    • mshooky@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      21 hours ago

      yeah, sadly no metric is perfect. I actually included a version of the list without the popularity factor, and Curb your enthusiasm ended up even lower there - a lot of niche shows took over the top spots. I did my best to strike a balance, and this is what I landed on

      • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
        2·
        21 hours ago

        Gotcha. I am more understanding about curb actually so maybe that’s not the best example. Six feet under has a wider appeal and deserved SUCH a higher ranking than it got imo

        • mshooky@lemmy.worldOP
          1·
          21 hours ago

          could be, yeah, but it’s impossible to make everyone happy with a list like this, so…