The 20 best television shows of all time
by des-kilbane | created - 18 Oct 2012 | updated - 18 Oct 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Wire (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
Stars: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 377,055
2. The Sopranos (1999–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
Stars: James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli
Votes: 470,449
3. Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)
50 min | Drama
Five unemployed men would do anything just to have a job in Thatcher's Britain.
Stars: Michael Angelis, Bernard Hill, Alan Igbon, Peter Kerrigan
Votes: 1,575
4. The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1998)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
A comedic behind the scenes look at a late night talk show.
Stars: Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, Wallace Langham, Rip Torn
Votes: 9,377
5. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,091
6. Forbrydelsen (2007–2012)
TV-MA | 57 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Police detective Sarah Lund investigates difficult cases with personal and political consequences.
Stars: Sofie Gråbøl, Morten Suurballe, Lars Mikkelsen, Bjarne Henriksen
Votes: 30,168
7. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy
The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.
Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle
Votes: 78,755
8. Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook
Votes: 215,246
9. Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge (1994–1995)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy
Alan Partridge hosts his own chat show on the BBC. He insults and belittles almost all of his guests and is humiliated by the rest.
Stars: Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front, Patrick Marber, Steve Brown
Votes: 6,847
10. The Fugitive (1963–1967)
TV-PG | 51 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A doctor, wrongly convicted for a murder he didn't commit, escapes custody and must stay ahead of the police to find the real killer.
Stars: David Janssen, William Conrad, Barry Morse, Paul Birch
Votes: 4,682
11. Green Acres (1965–1971)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A New York City attorney and his wife attempt to live as genteel farmers in the bizarre community of Hooterville.
Stars: Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Tom Lester, Pat Buttram
Votes: 7,627
12. SpongeBob SquarePants (1999– )
TV-Y7 | 23 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
The misadventures of a talking sea sponge who works at a fast food restaurant, attends a boating school, and lives in an underwater pineapple.
Stars: Tom Kenny, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown
Votes: 111,260
13. Borgen (2010–2022)
TV-14 | 58 min | Drama
A political drama about a prime minister's rise to power, and how power changes a prime minister.
Stars: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Søren Malling, Lisbeth Wulff
Votes: 29,895
14. The Flintstones (1960–1966)
TV-G | 26 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The misadventures of two modern-day Stone Age families, the Flintstones and the Rubbles.
Stars: Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl, Bea Benaderet
Votes: 40,986
15. The High Chaparral (1967–1971)
PG | 60 min | Western
The Cannon family runs the High Chaparral Ranch in the Arizona Territory in 1870s.
Stars: Leif Erickson, Cameron Mitchell, Henry Darrow, Linda Cristal
Votes: 2,402
16. Police Squad! (1982)
TV-PG | 24 min | Comedy, Crime
Sight gags, puns and non-sequiturs abound bumbling Sgt. Det. Lt. Frank Drebin and his colleagues at Police Squad solve various puzzling cases.
Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Alan North, Ed Williams, William Duell
Votes: 20,626
17. Glenroe (1983–2001)
30 min | Drama
A weekly drama serial telling the lives of the people who live in the Wicklow village of Glenroe. The series, which started in 1983, quickly shot to the top of the Irish TV charts, and remained there until the show ended in 2001.
Stars: Geraldine Plunkett, Emmet Bergin, Mick Lally, Robert Carrickford
Votes: 130
18. The Simpsons (1989– )
TV-14 | 22 min | Animation, Comedy
The satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner
Votes: 435,581
19. The Singing Detective (1986)
70 min | Drama, Musical, Mystery
Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
Stars: Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, Joanne Whalley, David Ryall
Votes: 4,806
20. Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993)
TV-PG | 29 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Gromit butts heads with a mysterious penguin lodger, who hatches a sinister scheme involving the ex-NASA Techno Trousers that have been modified by Wallace for walkies.
Director: Nick Park | Stars: Peter Sallis, Peter Hawkins
Votes: 57,377
21. The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971–2018)
45 min | Music
Contemporary music show featuring live performances and interviews with an emphasis on album acts.
Stars: Bob Harris, Anne Nightingale, David Hepworth, Mark Ellen
Votes: 241
22. Our Friends in the North (1996)
TV-MA | 623 min | Drama, History
Drama examining the politics and change across Britain from the Sixties to the Nineties seen through the varying fortunes of four friends.
Stars: Christopher Eccleston, Mark Strong, Gina McKee, Daniel Craig
Votes: 2,368
23. The World at War (1973–1974)
TV-PG | 50 min | Documentary, History, War
A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II.
Stars: Laurence Olivier, Averell Harriman, Anthony Eden, Albert Speer
Votes: 28,868
24. Beavis and Butt-Head (1993–2011)
TV-14 | 15 min | Animation, Comedy, Music
Animated MTV series about two teenage heavy-metal music fans who occasionally do idiotic things because they're bored. For them, everything is "cool" or "sucks."
Stars: Mike Judge, Kristofor Brown, Dale Revo, Tracy Grandstaff
Votes: 34,236
25. The Forsyte Saga (1967)
50 min | Drama, Romance
The extended Forsyte family lives a more-than-pleasant upper-middle-class life in Victorian and later Edwardian England. The two central characters are Soames Forsyte and his cousin Jolyon ... See full summary »
Stars: Eric Porter, Margaret Tyzack, Nyree Dawn Porter, Kenneth More
Votes: 1,116
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