Best TV Shows Ever

by stewiec85 | created - 28 Jun 2011 | updated - 16 Jul 2011 | Public
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1. Mad Men (2007–2015)

TV-MA | 45 min | Drama

A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.

Stars: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones

Votes: 260,154

2. Law & Order (1990– )

TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

New York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.

Stars: Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Dennis Farina, Sam Waterston

Votes: 44,439

3. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999– )

TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

This series follows the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the New York City Police Department that investigate sexually related crimes.

Stars: Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, Dann Florek

Votes: 124,412

4. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–2011)

TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

This series focuses on the NYPD's Major Case Squad, a force of detectives who investigate high-profile cases, while also showing parts of the crime from the perpetrator's point of view.

Stars: Kathryn Erbe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jamey Sheridan, Courtney B. Vance

Votes: 27,839

5. Quantum Leap (1989–1993)

TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

During an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.

Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt, Dennis Wolfberg

Votes: 36,423

6. JAG (1995–2005)

TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama

The cases of Harmon Rabb, former Navy fighter pilot, and his fellow lawyers of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's office.

Stars: David James Elliott, Catherine Bell, Patrick Labyorteaux, John M. Jackson

Votes: 19,972

7. The X-Files (1993–2018)

TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.

Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis

Votes: 249,384

8. The District (2000–2004)

TV-14 | 44 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

Chief Jack Mannion becomes the police chief of Washington D.C. and cleans up the nation's capitol.

Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Roger Aaron Brown, Sean Patrick Thomas, Elizabeth Marvel

Votes: 1,768

9. The Guardian (2001–2004)

TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama

Nick Fallin is a hotshot lawyer working at his father's ultrasuccessful Pittsburgh law firm. Unfortunately, the high life has gotten the best of Nick.

Stars: Simon Baker, Alan Rosenberg, Raphael Sbarge, Dabney Coleman

Votes: 5,877

10. The Mentalist (2008–2015)

TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

A famous "psychic" outs himself as a fake, and starts working as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation so he can find "Red John", the madman who killed his wife and daughter.

Stars: Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman

Votes: 200,251

11. Leverage (2008–2012)

TV-PG | 42 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

A crew of high-tech crooks attempt to steal from wealthy criminals and corrupt businessmen.

Stars: Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf

Votes: 54,164

12. Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.

Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt

Votes: 2,130,965

13. Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014)

TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama

An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.

Stars: Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham

Votes: 202,943

14. The Borgias (2011–2013)

TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, History

In the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.

Stars: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan

Votes: 53,898

15. The Pretender (1996–2000)

TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

A specially gifted man, with the ability to instantly master any skill, escapes from a secret testing facility and travels the country taking on different jobs and helping strangers while hiding from his kidnappers.

Stars: Michael T. Weiss, Andrea Parker, Patrick Bauchau, Jon Gries

Votes: 17,074

16. The Philanthropist (2009)

TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

"The Philanthropist" chronicles the heroic adventures of a billionaire playboy-turned-vigilante/philanthropist. James Purefoy ("Rome") stars as Teddy Rist, a successful tycoon whose life is... See full summary »

Stars: James Purefoy, Neve Campbell, Michael Kenneth Williams, Lindy Booth

Votes: 1,550

17. Eli Stone (2008–2009)

TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone begins to see things, which leads him to discover a brain aneurysm. But his visions lead him to accept cases with little monetary gain but a lot of moral goodness.

Stars: Jonny Lee Miller, Natasha Henstridge, Loretta Devine, Matt Letscher

Votes: 10,896

18. House M.D. (2004–2012)

TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Mystery

Using a crack team of doctors and his wits, an antisocial maverick doctor specializing in diagnostic medicine does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way.

Stars: Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jesse Spencer

Votes: 511,958

19. 30 Rock (2006–2013)

TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy

Liz Lemon, head writer of the sketch-comedy show "TGS with Tracy Jordan", must deal with an arrogant new boss and a crazy new star while trying to run a successful television show without losing her mind.

Stars: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer

Votes: 131,863

20. Married... with Children (1987–1997)

TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy

Al is the quintessential working class dad. Peggy, his wife, always wants more from him. With their children, they go through the highs and lows of ordinary life.

Stars: Ed O'Neill, Christina Applegate, Katey Sagal, Amanda Bearse

Votes: 110,996

21. White Collar (2009–2014)

TV-PG | 40 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A white-collar criminal agrees to help the FBI catch other white-collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter, and conman.

Stars: Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, Tiffani Thiessen

Votes: 140,900

22. Early Edition (1996–2000)

TV-PG | 41 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

His name is Gary Hobson. He gets tomorrow's newspaper today. He doesn't know how. He doesn't know why. All he knows is when the early edition hits his doorstep, he has twenty-four hours to set things right.

Stars: Kyle Chandler, Shanesia Davis, Fisher Stevens, Billie Worley

Votes: 12,851

23. Shark (2006–2008)

TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Sebastian Stark is a well-known Los Angeles attorney who leaves his lucrative career defending wealthy criminals to be a prosecutor for the district attorney.

Stars: James Woods, Danielle Panabaker, Sophina Brown, Sarah Carter

Votes: 12,103

24. CSI: NY (2004–2013)

TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Forensic scientists and investigators of the New York City Police Department unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths.

Stars: Gary Sinise, Carmine Giovinazzo, Hill Harper, Eddie Cahill

Votes: 49,539

25. The Defenders (2010–2011)

60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

Two flashy Las Vegas defense attorneys go to the mat for their clients.

Stars: Jim Belushi, Jerry O'Connell, Jurnee Smollett, Tanya Fischer

Votes: 4,022

26. Seinfeld (1989–1998)

TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy

The continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.

Stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander

Votes: 350,788

27. Frasier (1993–2004)

TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy

Dr. Frasier Crane moves back to his hometown of Seattle, where he lives with his father and works as a radio psychiatrist.

Stars: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin

Votes: 95,319

28. Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005)

TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy

The comical everyday life of sports columnist Ray Barone and his dysfunctional family.

Stars: Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts

Votes: 77,071

29. Working (1997–1999)

30 min | Comedy

What do you do after graduating from university? Go to work. And that's exactly what Matt wants to do. He wants to climb the corporate ladder the old-fashioned way: by working.

Stars: Fred Savage, Maurice Godin, Yvette Freeman, Arden Myrin

Votes: 555

30. Monk (2002–2009)

TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

The series follows Adrian Monk, a brilliant former San Francisco detective, who now consults the police as a private consultant whilst battling with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Stars: Tony Shalhoub, Jason Gray-Stanford, Ted Levine, Traylor Howard

Votes: 87,598

31. NCIS (2003– )

TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Follows the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as they get to the bottom of criminal cases connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel.

Stars: David McCallum, Sean Murray, Mark Harmon, Brian Dietzen

Votes: 162,689

32. NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023)

TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama

NCIS's covert operations team go undercover to investigate cases involving terrorism and National Security.

Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, LL Cool J, Eric Christian Olsen

Votes: 57,496



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