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Archive](https://theguardian.newspapers.com/) * [Coupons](https://discountcode.theguardian.com/) ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4000.jpg]] # The 100 best TV shows of the 21st century [Best culture of the 21st century](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/series/best-culture-of-the-21st-century-so-far) # The 100 best TV shows of the 21st century From left: Game of Thrones, Atlanta, The Killing, Fleabag, The Office. Where’s Mad Men? How did The Sopranos do? Does The Crown triumph? Can anyone remember Lost? And will Downton Abbey even figure? Find out here – and have your say * [We interview the No 1 show’s creator](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/16/david-chase-the-sopranos-best-tv-21st-century) * [21st-century box: TV writers on their best shows since 2000](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/16/21st-century-box-tv-writers-on-their-best-shows-since-2000) by <https://www.theguardian.com/profile/kate-abbott>, <https://www.theguardian.com/profile/hannah-j-davies>, <https://www.theguardian.com/profile/gwilym-mumford>, <https://www.theguardian.com/profile/phil-harrison>and<https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jack-seale> Main image: From left: Game of Thrones, Atlanta, The Killing, Fleabag, The Office. Mon 16 Sep 2019 01.00 EDT Last modified on Tue 17 Sep 2019 * [Share on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb) * [Share on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw) * [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmailto:?subject=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_link|Share via Email]] 1,679 1679 [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comments|2,814]] ## 100 ## **I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out** **of Here!** (2002-) Crocodile penis eating in the outback with Ant and Dec didn’t exactly sound appealing, but this long-running reality series pushed the genre to entertaining new heights. ## 99 ## **Life on Mars** (2006-07) The Beeb’s Bowie-referencing, time-travelling cop show invigorated the genre – and introduced one of the great British TV characters in the form of the swaggering, sweary Gene Hunt. ## 98 **The Mighty Boosh** (2004-07) Some loathed its quirky outlook, but there was no disputing the imagination of Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt’s sticky-back-plastic comedy, full of memorable grotesques and endlessly quotable skits. ## 97 **The Shadow Line** (2011) Containing next-to-no hand-holding, Hugo Blick’s sprawling drama plunged you into a world of crime and corruption as Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christopher Eccleston investigated the same murder from different sides of the detective/criminal divide. ## 96 ## **Broad City** (2014-19) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-2|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__The_100_best_TV_shows_of_the_21st_century__1800.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-2%23img-2&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F90c6dc64f03ab5da4794f12c6c4d70119575d525%2F77_0_1800_1080%2F1800.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-2%23img-2><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-2%23img-2&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F90c6dc64f03ab5da4794f12c6c4d70119575d525%2F77_0_1800_1080%2F1800.jpg> Yassss kweens ... Broad City. Photograph: Comedy Central Abbi and Ilana’s adventures around New York City gave us five years of japes and scrapes, phone wigs and Bingo Bronson – plus the most moving depiction of the mutual neediness of friendship in TV history. Yass kweens! ## 95 ## **The Trip** (2010-) Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon somehow convinced first the BBC, then Sky, to let them dine in Europe’s best restaurants while doing Michael Caine impressions. Even more amazingly, that vanity project became one of the funniest shows of this decade. ## 94 ## **Skins** (2007-13) [Euphoria](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/06/euphoria-review-zendaya-rue-sex-drugs-teen-drama-skins) may be the teen show of the moment, but a decade before it this drama was pushing boundaries for adolescent behaviour on TV. Yet crucially – and unlike so many shows of its ilk – it never talked down to the audience it depicted. ## 93 ## **RuPaul’s Drag Race** (2009-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-3|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2560.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-3%23img-3&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fe90a9e68b3805e65e234d438102751608bd480d2%2F0_0_2560_1536%2F2560.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-3%23img-3><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-3%23img-3&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fe90a9e68b3805e65e234d438102751608bd480d2%2F0_0_2560_1536%2F2560.jpg> Serving realness ... RuPaul’s Drag Race. Photograph: Logotv The perfect show for queens with charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, [RuPaul](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/rupaul) has been serving realness and throwing shade since 2009. ## 92 **Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace** (2004) “Blood? Blood. Blood! And bits of sick.” The dictionary definition of cult viewing, Matthew Holness’s spoof of shonky British horror barely made a dent when it aired, but has since become regarded as a modern classic. ## 91 **Silicon Valley** (2014-) Mike Judge’s genius comedy about the travails of a motley gang of developers mercilessly sends up the world of tech bros … and yet everyone from Mark Zuckerberg to Google founder Sergey Brin are superfans. ## 90 **24** (2001-10) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-4|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2200.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-4%23img-4&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F633e221097edab0f1c3d5166a8a8d3a070d236c6%2F0_51_2200_1320%2F2200.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-4%23img-4><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-4%23img-4&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F633e221097edab0f1c3d5166a8a8d3a070d236c6%2F0_51_2200_1320%2F2200.jpg> In thrilling real-time ... 24. Photograph: Fox The longest day of Jack Bauer’s life became the most gripping TV drama of the 00s, as the hard-nosed CTU agent tried to stop terrorists, turncoat colleagues and even the odd treacherous president in thrilling real-time. ## 89 **The L Word** (2004-09) The shamelessly soapy and explicit LGBT drama about Bette, Shane and their impossibly glam leather-vest-clad gang in Los Angeles. ## 88 **Justified** (2010-15) The first and finest of a wave of modern small-screen westerns, this elegant Elmore Leonard adaptation was stocked full of memorable characters and dizzying dialogue. ## 87 ## **The Leftovers** (2014-17) Daring and dumbfounding, Damon Lindelof’s drama about survivors of a rapture-like event threw everything into its three acclaimed seasons, from homicidal cults to a mass orgy on a boat. ## 86 ## **Fresh Meat** (2011-16) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-5|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3000.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-5%23img-5&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F586b362311b7b79d09510c51330047f1216302cd%2F0_159_3000_2021%2F3000.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-5%23img-5><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-5%23img-5&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F586b362311b7b79d09510c51330047f1216302cd%2F0_159_3000_2021%2F3000.jpg> Winning comedy ... Fresh Meat. Photograph: Ray Burmiston About as accurate a depiction of the debauchery, alienation and awkwardness of student life as it’s possible to imagine, this winning comedy-drama introduced us to one of the century’s true style icons in the form of the sensational Vod. ## 85 **Gogglebox** (2013-) Why would anyone watch someone else watching telly? The answer soon became clear with this brilliantly executed reality show, which introduced viewers to a host of hilarious, not to mention surprisingly TV-literate, families. ## 84 ## **Looking** (2014-16) Andrew Haigh’s cruise through the San Francisco gay scene skipped the LGBT lesson-learning in favour of a thrillingly human relationship drama. ## 83 ## **Buffy the Vampire Slayer** (1997-2003) A ropey B-movie was reimagined as a brilliant subversion of fantasy tropes in Joss Whedon’s beloved series, which introduced the world to a feminist pop icon in Sarah Michelle Gellar’s teen slayer. ## 82 ## **Strictly Come Dancing** (2004-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-6|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4300.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-6%23img-6&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fd558a99c701198668daa595fb22fb10382797d20%2F0_214_4300_2580%2F4300.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-6%23img-6><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-6%23img-6&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fd558a99c701198668daa595fb22fb10382797d20%2F0_214_4300_2580%2F4300.jpg> Glitterati ... Strictly Come Dancing. Photograph: BBC/Guy Levy The celebrity ballroom dance competition that quickstepped on to our screens in 2004 and has made our lives more fab-u-lous by the year. Glitterati, assemble! ## 81 ## **Gavin and Stacey (2007-10)** The well lush Anglo-Welsh sitcom about Gav’n’Stace, Nessa and Smithy that became a BBC phenomenon then propelled James Corden to global stardom. Catch up with them again in a special this Christmas. Bang tidy. ## 80 ## **Veep** (2012-19) Julia Louis-Dreyfus served as perfectly shambolic fictional foil to the real-life disaster that is US politics, in a Stateside companion piece to [The Thick of It](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-thick-of-it). ## 79 ## **Halt and Catch Fire** (2014-17) The thrilling 80s computer-whiz drama that landed in the [Mad Men](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/mad-men-tv-series) slot on AMC, but never got the fanbase it deserved. ## 78 **Freaks and Geeks** (1999-2000) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-7|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3000.1.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-7%23img-7&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F3d07c2d4649fac9dae9fb944dee98842b2392a1a%2F0_162_3000_1801%2F3000.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-7%23img-7><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-7%23img-7&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F3d07c2d4649fac9dae9fb944dee98842b2392a1a%2F0_162_3000_1801%2F3000.jpg> Impeccable ... Freaks and Geeks. Photograph: NBC/Getty Judd Apatow’s impeccable cult show about the Bionic Woman-loving nerds and burnouts, disco dancers and Dungeon Masters of McKinley High in 1980 that was canned after just one short season. ## 77 ## **The Shield** (2002-08) A key part, alongside the Sopranos, [The Wire](https://www.theguardian.com/media/wire) and Deadwood, of the golden age of antihero drama, this thriller about likable – and utterly corrupt – cops broke new ground for bold, risk-taking television. ## 76 ## **A Very English Scandal** (2018) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-8|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4781.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-8%23img-8&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F4d1425189ff263718cf2f65c7c3f9c274a93b868%2F0_79_4781_3098%2F4781.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-8%23img-8><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-8%23img-8&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F4d1425189ff263718cf2f65c7c3f9c274a93b868%2F0_79_4781_3098%2F4781.jpg> Rollicking ... A Very English Scandal. Photograph: Kieron McCarron/BBC/Blueprint Television Ltd Hugh Grant was on rollicking form as the Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe on trial for conspiring to murder his young lover, Norman Scott (Ben Whishaw). As Thorpe would say, “a very heaven”. ## 75 ## **It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia** (2005-) Inarguably the most gleefully offensive show on this list, the sitcom about the despicable owners of a Philly dive bar is also one of the most consistent: each of its 13 seasons features a truckload of laugh-out-loud moments. ## 74 ## **The Inbetweeners** (2008-10) The show that launched a thousand cries of “ooh friends” remains one of the most enjoyable sitcoms of the past decade, with its relatable tale of four suburban normies negotiating sixth form. ## 73 **Spiral** (2005-) Frequently compared to The Wire, this French crime saga offered a forensic view of France’s justice system, albeit with enough twists and turns to keep fans totally hooked. ## 72 ## **Planet Earth** (2006 and 2016) Groundbreaking doesn’t even begin to describe this globe-straddling documentary epic, which for the first time showed the world’s wildlife in gleaming HD. A decade later, with death-defying iguanas, [its sequel](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/12/planet-earth-iis-most-mindblowing-moments) wowed us all over again. ## 71 ## **Lost** (2004-10) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-9|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3000.2.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-9%23img-9&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fdc1e781aad8bff5ee5cc2292d24926d9cf96b0c9%2F0_189_3000_2211%2F3000.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-9%23img-9><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-9%23img-9&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fdc1e781aad8bff5ee5cc2292d24926d9cf96b0c9%2F0_189_3000_2211%2F3000.jpg> Bonkers ... Lost. Photograph: Allstar/ABC/Sportsphoto Ltd From the murderous black smoke to the button that had to be pushed every 108 minutes to save the world, this was the bonkers plane-crash drama that got us all going in the 00s. ## 70 ## **Shameless** (2004-13) All hail Frank Gallagher and his magnificent Mancunian ne’er-do-wells! Paul Abbott’s drama might have dragged on a little too long but at its best it provided a refreshing burst of authentically working-class TV comedy-drama. ## 69 ## **The Good Place** (2016-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-10|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3000.4.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-10%23img-10&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F4b55859e95173f9267d300df14f6570866b00c83%2F0_29_3000_1800%2F3000.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-10%23img-10><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-10%23img-10&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F4b55859e95173f9267d300df14f6570866b00c83%2F0_29_3000_1800%2F3000.jpg> A heavenly sitcom ... The Good Place. Photograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Another heavenly sitcom from Mike Schur (The US Office, Parks and Recreation), this series about a miscreant mistakenly sent to a paradisiacal afterlife managed to combine philosophical questions, jaw-dropping twists and a deluge of gags. ## 68 ## **Band of Brothers** (2001) Steven Spielberg’s supersized second world war epic expanded the horizons – and budgets – of prestige TV. ## 67**Borgen** (2010-13) Proof that Scandinavian drama doesn’t have to be about glowering detectives, this Danish political saga followed glowering politicians instead. Still, it was never less than engrossing and boasted a fascinating figure in glass ceiling-battering prime minister Birgitte Nyborg. ## 66 ## **Inside No 9** (2014-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-11|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4284.1.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-11%23img-11&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F1dfb4cac41ea22c00d67306999f228dee06eb38a%2F0_143_4284_2570%2F4284.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-11%23img-11><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-11%23img-11&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F1dfb4cac41ea22c00d67306999f228dee06eb38a%2F0_143_4284_2570%2F4284.jpg> Dizzying ... Inside No 9. Photograph: BBC/Sophie Mutevelian Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s anthology series continues to amaze, each episode delivering a dizzyingly inventive horror-comedy one-off. Everyone has their favourite, but the Sheridan Smith-starring 12 Days of Christine might just be the show’s masterpiece. ## 65 ## **Flight of the Conchords** (2007-09) A true TV original, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s musical comedy about a hopeless New Zealand band floundering in NYC combined stoner comedy and inescapably earwormy songs to utterly charming effect. ## 64 ## **Six Feet Under** (2001-05) Alan Ball’s profound drama about the Fisher family and their funeral home was gloriously moving and unnerving, and made us tackle our own mortality head-on. ## 63 **Show Me** **a Hero** (2015) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-12|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__5120.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-12%23img-12&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fac8395ba453f1600b46c6c7606c30c89ceddcd1b%2F0_339_5120_3074%2F5120.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-12%23img-12><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-12%23img-12&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fac8395ba453f1600b46c6c7606c30c89ceddcd1b%2F0_339_5120_3074%2F5120.jpg> Masterful ... Winona Ryder in Show Me a Hero. Photograph: Paul Schiraldi/HBO David Simon was on typically masterful form in this epic about the housing crisis in 80s Yonkers that was tragically underwatched. ## 62 ## **Succession** (2018-) The newest show on our list, Jesse Armstrong’s comedy-drama about a dysfunctional media dynasty already feels like a modern classic, full of magnificently malignant characters and devastating one-liners. ## 61 ## **State of Play** (2003) Far better than the glossy film adaptation that followed it, Paul Abbott’s taut, twisty corruption drama felt like the perfect political thriller for the New Labour age. And no, we didn’t just like it because the heroes were journos! ## 60 **Sherlock** (2010-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-13|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4284.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-13%23img-13&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff9cf8c6f52ef07bc328f25590c1d46ce9253eb7b%2F0_138_4284_2570%2F4284.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-13%23img-13><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-13%23img-13&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff9cf8c6f52ef07bc328f25590c1d46ce9253eb7b%2F0_138_4284_2570%2F4284.jpg> Pure event television ... Sherlock. Photograph: BBC/Hartswood Films/Robert Viglasky The Baker Street reboot that made us all step inside Benedict Cumberbatch’s mind palace. At its best, few shows could match it in terms of pure event television. ## 59 **Wolf Hall** (2015) Mark Rylance cemented his status as one of the greatest living actors with this performance as Thomas Cromwell in a sumptuous prestige TV take on Hilary Mantel’s historical doorstop. ## 58 **Orange** **Is the New Black** (2013-19) [Jenji Kohan](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/30/orange-is-the-new-black-jenji-kohan-friends-interview) revolutionised television for ever with her gripping women’s prison drama about Piper, Poussey, Taystee and the Litchfield Penitentiary inmates. ## 57 ## **Sex and the City** (1998-2004) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-14|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3616.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-14%23img-14&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fd4e1387be1d74f4e96a06cc23b286f33ed3b0012%2F0_82_3616_2169%2F3616.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-14%23img-14><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-14%23img-14&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fd4e1387be1d74f4e96a06cc23b286f33ed3b0012%2F0_82_3616_2169%2F3616.jpg> Cosmos all round! ... Sex and the City. Photograph: HBO “I’m dating a guy with the funkiest tasting spunk.” Faced so recently with the movie SATC2: Calamity in Abu Dhabi, it can be easy to forget just how hilarious and refreshingly candid Samantha, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte were when they first graced our screens. ## 56 ## **The Jinx** (2015) The best of the glut of prestige true-crime programmes that have emerged in recent years, this forensic docuseries about Robert Durst, the estate heir accused of murder, featured one of the most jaw-dropping final moments of TV ever. ## 55 **Utopia** (2014) Six years on, we’re still wincing at the thought of _that_ eyeball scene, but Dennis Kelly’s conspiracy thriller about an apocalypse-predicting graphic novel was more than just ultraviolence: gorgeously shot and endlessly beguiling, it remains like nothing else on TV. ## 54 **Parks and Recreation** (2009-15) Twenty minutes a week of pure optimism, this Amy Poehler-starring sitcom about a fizzingly enthusiastic civil servant somehow did the miraculous: it made local government seem fun. ## 53 ## **Black Books** (2000-04) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-15|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1536.1.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-15%23img-15&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fed9beea76d178f4c7eaae9e52bdac3d4f066eb55%2F0_0_1536_959%2F1536.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-15%23img-15><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-15%23img-15&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fed9beea76d178f4c7eaae9e52bdac3d4f066eb55%2F0_0_1536_959%2F1536.jpg> Delightfully silly ... Black Books. Photograph: Channel 4 No contest in the award for the most misanthropic character of the century: Dylan Moran wins hands down for his bile-flecked bookshop owner Bernard Black in this delightfully silly sitcom. ## 52 **The Good Fight** (2017-) Like its predecessor [The Good Wife](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-good-wife) but dialled up to 11, this is the most daring legal drama of them all – with gobsmacking plots about #MeToo monsters, Donald’s pee-pee tape and Melania’s bid to get a stealthy divorce. ## 51 ## **Patrick Melrose** (2018) An extraordinary self-flagellating performance by Benedict Cumberbatch as a drug-dependent aristocrat anchored this superb adaptation of Edward St Aubyn’s semi-autobiographical novels. Surely the finest portrayal of addiction ever seen on TV. ## 50 ## **Downton Abbey** (2010-15) This was TV drama as comfort blanket: at a time of austerity, Julian Fellowes’s country house epic offered elegantly realised solace in the homilies of the past. If the plotting felt formulaic, the performances were entirely convincing – from Maggie Smith’s dowager countess Violet Crawley to Jim Carter’s impossibly decorous butler Carson, everyone knew their place. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/26/downton-abbey-christmas-special-review-glorious-fantasy-britain-comes-to-an-end)_. ## 49 ## **Insecure** (2016-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-16|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2652.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-16%23img-16&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F01bd695b04beec6f093b4d3c7d242d3e888b8787%2F0_129_2652_1591%2F2652.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-16%23img-16><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-16%23img-16&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F01bd695b04beec6f093b4d3c7d242d3e888b8787%2F0_129_2652_1591%2F2652.jpg> One of the biggest web-to-screen hits to date ... Insecure. Photograph: HBO [Issa Rae](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/13/issa-rae-interview-insecure-little) started her acting career with a web series called [The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/issa-rae-insecure-misadventures-of-awkward-black-girl-hbo-tv-comedy). While popular, Rae was able to have her seat at the table for real with [Insecure](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/aug/12/issa-rae-television-show-insecure-black-people). A show about black female friendship and relationships that isn’t filtered through a white gaze and doesn’t play into tired stereotypes, this HBO series refuses to compromise on authenticity, and, despite changing viewing habits, has proved one of the biggest web-to-screen hits to date. **HJD** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/07/insecure-review-hbo-issa-rae)_. ## 48 ## **Better Call Saul** (2015-) The Breaking Bad prequel, centred on a ducking, diving lawyer called Jimmy McGill who will one day become Saul Goodman, is an entirely different drama – albeit exploring the same theme of what actions people are willing to take when their American dreams refuse to come true. A supremely measured character piece that has steadily improved as its central tragedy has materialised. **JS** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/feb/17/better-call-saul-review-touching-jimmy-pool-saul-mall)_. ## 47 ## **Nathan Barley** (2005) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-17|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1996.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-17%23img-17&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F8f6fe083644f4374a111d2c22741266e285a22cf%2F6_0_1996_1198%2F1996.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-17%23img-17><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-17%23img-17&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F8f6fe083644f4374a111d2c22741266e285a22cf%2F6_0_1996_1198%2F1996.jpg> Deeply prescient ... Nathan Barley. Photograph: Channel 4 In 2005, Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris’s twatcom seemed oddly dated – a satire of a cultural moment that had already passed. But time has rendered it deeply prescient: Barley occupied a perfectly sealed echo chamber of self-conscious idiocy, and he self-branded furiously, long before social media came for our souls. Before there were hipsters, Nathan and his fellow self-facilitating media nodes were already keeping it Mencap. **PH** _[Read the review.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/sep/20/box-set-club-nathan-barley)_ ## 46 ## **Doctor Who** (2005-) ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2083.jpg]] ## Read more [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/info/2016/sep/02/sign-up-for-the-guardian-documentaries-update|]] The revitalised Doctor Who occupies its rightful position in the TV firmament: rarely the best show in any week or year but always there, always changing, always offering fodder for analysis, arguments and lists. Jodie Whittaker’s arrival as the first female Tardis-jockey maintained the show’s record of refreshing itself just when its relevance threatens to wane – and with so much goodwill behind it, its standout episodes are still a celebratory shared experience. **JS** _[Read the review.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/oct/07/doctor-who-review-great-jodie-whittaker-debuts-in-new-series-with-hearts-and-soul)_ ## 45 ## **The Bridge** (2011-18) None more noir but containing flashes of unexpected humour, this was one of the more impressive of the bleak dramas that flooded out of Scandinavia. The bridge of the title was the Øresund, which connected Sweden and Denmark and led to multinational cooperation on a murder enquiry. Step forward ill-matched cops Martin Rohde and more interestingly Saga Norén, a brilliant but bizarre investigator unlike any maverick TV detective ever seen. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jun/30/the-bridge-season-four-finale-review)_. ## 44 ## **The Crown** (2016-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-18|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3600.1.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-18%23img-18&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F85158d2ce9d2b801d6a417ebb591b68c0c64ec13%2F0_188_3600_2160%2F3600.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-18%23img-18) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-18%23img-18&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F85158d2ce9d2b801d6a417ebb591b68c0c64ec13%2F0_188_3600_2160%2F3600.jpg) A plush indulgence ... The Crown. Photograph: Robert Viglasky/AP Filigree telly, with every painstakingly staged scene a plush indulgence – but Netflix’s more-or-less true story of the British royal family has enough grit to make it more than just a luxury. [Claire Foy](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/sep/29/claire-foy-my-anxiety-was-a-tool-to-survive)’s steely Elizabeth II introduced a fine study of people unsure how to live lives made extraordinary by huge privilege and indistinct power. **JS** _[Read the review.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/04/the-crown-review-netflix-100m-gamble-on-the-queen-pays-off-royally)_ ## 43 ## **The Americans** (2013-18) Terminally overlooked in favour of flashier, flimsier fare, Joe Weisberg’s tale of suburban subterfuge rewarded the few who did tune in with six seasons of gorgeous, slow-burning drama. Real-life husband and wife [Matthew Rhys](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/31/matthew-rhys-favourite-tv) and Keri Russell convinced as a pair of Russian spies playing house in picket-fence 80s America, struggling with notions of loyalty, fidelity and family. The show’s finale, which shifts between toe-curling tension and devastating poignancy, should be regarded as one for the ages. **GM** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/30/secrets-lies-new-cold-war-how-the-americans-became-topical)_. ## 42 ## **South Park** (1997-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-19|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2849.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-19%23img-19&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F77d726425830a091aadd1cccca7e0dd9ae54618d%2F0_427_2849_1709%2F2849.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-19%23img-19) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-19%23img-19&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F77d726425830a091aadd1cccca7e0dd9ae54618d%2F0_427_2849_1709%2F2849.jpg) A gleeful dismantling of the American dream … South Park. Photograph: Allstar/Comedy Central/Sportsphoto A starburst of fantastically inventive offence, [Trey Parker and Matt Stone](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/mar/07/south-park-matt-stone-trey-parker-stick-of-truth-video-game)’s crude animation combined grotesque hilarity with a deceptively serious purpose. South Park was both a gleeful dismantling of the American dream and a laser-guided exploration of the tender spots where freedom of speech and liberal sensitivities collide. As such, it has proved surprisingly prescient; many of America’s current cultural fault lines first became apparent here. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/south-park-season-20-finale-trolls)_. ## 41 ## **Friday Night Lights** (2006-11) A tender, truthful look at the beating heart of small-town America, shone through the prism of one of its most engrained institutions: high school football. It had us all rooting for the Dillon Panthers, for Coach Taylor and Tami Taylor, quarterback Matt Saracen, cocky running back Smash Williams, badboy fullback Tim Riggins, endlessly lovable nerd Landry Clarke and Tyra Collette, the town’s only anti-football fanatic. We followed them for every triumph and every touchdown, all the while screaming at our screens: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” **KA** ## 40 ## **The Power of Nightmares** (2004) Arriving in 2004, when US president George W Bush was becoming almost as much of a concern as Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, [Adam Curtis](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2015/jan/04/adam-curtis-bitter-lake-documentary-iplayer)’s startling documentary series explored the shockingly congruent aims of fundamentalist Islam and American neo-conservatism. Equally striking was Curtis’s trademark style, all logical provocations and uncanny juxtapositions; it’s historical documentary as polemical art installation. **PH** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/oct/15/broadcasting.bbc)_. ## 39 ## **The Good Wife** (2009-16) The audacious legal drama took on a ripped-from-the-headlines case every week, tackling everything from fake news to election tampering, police racism and the terrors of surveillance culture. It responded so staggeringly fast to events that it sometimes felt too real. But it was also a rare drama that focused on women – rounded, complex, great, flawed, wonderful women – from the eponymous Alicia Florrick, who moved so far beyond the pained good wife of the opening episode, standing by her man through a humiliating sex scandal, to Diane Lockhart, the barnstorming firebrand in fabulous jewellery ([one of the most glorious characters of the century](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/may/17/diane-lockhart-the-good-fight-in-praise-of)). An exciting, exhilarating slap in the face to the very end. **KA** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/30/the-good-wife-review-legal-drama-breezes-bechdel-test)_. ## 38 ## **Detectorists** (2014-17) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-20|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4281.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-20%23img-20&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fcd5273c095c4056e02cd9574ae3d4030062368e0%2F0_0_4281_2856%2F4281.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-20%23img-20) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-20%23img-20&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fcd5273c095c4056e02cd9574ae3d4030062368e0%2F0_0_4281_2856%2F4281.jpg) Profound ... Detectorists. Photograph: BBC/Channel X/Chris Harris What initially appeared to be a charming muse on the lives of two eccentric metal-detecting hobbyists soon revealed itself to be something more profound. [Mac](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/25/mackenzie-crook-the-detectorists-new-series)[kenzie Crook](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/25/mackenzie-crook-the-detectorists-new-series)’s labour of love was very funny, but it became ever more moving and thought-provoking. It was underpinned by a deep but open-minded and inclusive respect for our collective past, and animated by one of the most sweetly convincing friendships in television history. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/nov/09/detectorists-review-third-series-tender-comedy-men-middle-age-metal-detecting)_. ## 37 ## **Brass Eye: Paedogeddon** (2001) Even viewers familiar with Chris Morris’s [original 1997 current affairs satire](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/30/brass-eye-at-20-still-chris-morris-at-his-hysterical-gobsmacking-best) raised a few startled eyebrows at Brass Eye’s one-off return in 2001. Morris plunged into what, at the time, was one of the most emotive issues in British life – press coverage of paedophiles – and steamrollered every taboo he could get his teeth into inside half an hour. [Newspapers howled](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jul/30/channel4.broadcasting2), [commentators pontificated](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jul/31/media.television), [politicians blustered](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/jan/31/politics.labourparty) – and perhaps that was the point. **PH **_[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/30/brass-eye-at-20-still-chris-morris-at-his-hysterical-gobsmacking-best)._ ## 36 ## **The Great British Bake Off** (2010-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-21|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__6002.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-21%23img-21&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fcc4e787fac65812cdf503dbee06a72e02cceae83%2F500_1275_6002_3602%2F6002.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-21%23img-21) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-21%23img-21&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fcc4e787fac65812cdf503dbee06a72e02cceae83%2F500_1275_6002_3602%2F6002.jpg) An autumn staple … The Great British Bake Off. Photograph: Phil Fisk/The Observer With reality TV shifting from catty to comforting in recent times, both the BBC and Channel 4 have enjoyed the sweet smell of success with Bake Off. [Mel and Sue](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/18/bake-off-mel-sue-bbc-punk-rock-stewart-lee)’s exodus was a blow to its softly-softly charm and [Prue Leith](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/apr/13/prue-leith-life-on-a-plate-stabbed-a-chef-in-manhood) is a more straight-talking judge than [Mary Berry](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/mary-berry). But 10 series in, the amateur baking contest is still an autumn staple. As with most long-running reality shows, there’s still a sense of familiarity despite some changes; this year’s series features its [youngest ever set of contestants](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2019/aug/20/bring-back-val-in-praise-of-bake-offs-older-bakers-this-years-missing-ingredient). **HJD** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/27/the-great-british-bake-off-review-sweet-relief-in-these-trying-times)_. ## 35 ## **This is England** (2010-15) The characters introduced in [Shane Meadows](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/may/05/shane-meadows-interview-the-virtues-stephen-graham-trauma)’s 2007 film of the same name have acquired a vibrant small-screen life of their own. No wonder: they’re incredibly resonant – they depict the kinds of British lives that are rarely explored at all, let alone with such tenderness and wisdom. We’ve taken This is England’s characters to our hearts but the series also functions as a parallel history of our country, warts and all. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/feb/04/next-box-set-this-is-england-shane-meadows)_. ## 34 ## **Catastrophe** (2015-19) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-22|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2835.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-22%23img-22&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fbdfa1e6f48cda2a1c5113882635f515faff8ec19%2F0_183_2835_1702%2F2835.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-22%23img-22) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-22%23img-22&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fbdfa1e6f48cda2a1c5113882635f515faff8ec19%2F0_183_2835_1702%2F2835.jpg) A hardcore sitcom classic ... Catastrophe. Photograph: Mark Johnson/Channel 4 [Rob Delaney](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/shortcuts/2016/dec/28/carrie-fisher-catastrophe-loved-her-rob-delaney) and [Sharon Horgan](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/oct/30/tv-industry-boys-club-catastrophe-star-sharon-horgan) made their comedy great by never playing safe. At first it was a filthy gutbuster about a careless sexfest; then it frankly faced the grim reality of parenthood without losing its dirty grin. Finally, killing their darling just before it could flag, the pair delivered [one of the best TV endings ever](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/13/catastrophe-rob-delaney-sharon-horgan-greatest-tv-ending-since-the-sopranos). A hardcore sitcom classic. **JS** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/12/catastrophe-finale-review-the-end-of-a-gloriously-monstrous-era)_. ## 33 ## **Big Brother** (2000-2018) The recent [10th anniversary of Jade Goody’s death](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/09/jade-goody-scorned-celebrity-big-brother-britain-class-prejudice) sparked much conversation around the original lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key-for-a-bit reality show. Big Brother was in many ways one of the most heinous shows ever broadcast, from [“Nasty Nick](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jun/06/bigbrother-reality-tv)[” Bateman](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jun/06/bigbrother-reality-tv) fleeing the country to escape the tabloids to Kinga’s wine bottle and [Shilpa-gate](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/jan/18/bigbrother.raceintheuk). But it was also a show that would change TV – and our concept of celebrity – for ever. **HJD **_[Read more here.](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/05/farewell-big-brother-show-changed-tv)_ ## 32 ## **The Office (US)** (2005-13) Cross-continent reboots are notoriously rubbish. But when they evolve beyond by-the-numbers remakes and find an identity of their own, they can become excellent. A case in point: The Office US (originally subtitled “An American Workplace”) found its feet once it stopped trying to be Gervais Part Two and instead established its own perpetually bored protagonists, led by Michael Scott, [Steve Carell](https://www.theguardian.com/film/stevecarell)’s self-proclaimed “world’s best boss”. **HJD** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/may/08/us-tv-the-office)_. ## 31 ## **Blue Planet** (2001/2017) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-23|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4664.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-23%23img-23&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fbf07b167edf2e40eb8438072491b89a36817e9f9%2F0_0_4664_2623%2F4664.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-23%23img-23) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-23%23img-23&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fbf07b167edf2e40eb8438072491b89a36817e9f9%2F0_0_4664_2623%2F4664.jpg) Natural psychedelia … Blue Planet. Photograph: Screen Grab/BBC It would be easy to take [David Attenborough](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/david-attenborough)’s startling odysseys into the natural world for granted. But technological developments have only increased their wonder, while the exponential destruction of the environment has lent them a polemical edge. Attenborough’s two Blue Planet series have presented more mindblowing, naturally occurring psychedelia – long, strange trips into beautiful but inhospitable realms previously unexplored (and all-too-often degraded) by humanity. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/oct/29/blue-planet-ii-review-extraordinary-brilliant-bird-eating-fish-dolphins-otters)_. ## 30 ## **Killing Eve** (2018-) Few shows in TV history have scythed on to the screen with as much elan as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s spy v spy thriller, which arrived with dialogue as impossibly sharp and cool as the European locations and [Jodie Comer](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/02/jodie-comer-everyones-favourite-psychopath-is-back-in-killing-eve-season-two)’s [couture costumes](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/22/dressed-to-kill-why-obsessed-with-clothes-on-tv). The death dance between Comer’s psychopath and [Sandra Oh](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/06/sandra-oh-killing-eve-golden-globes-host)’s coiled-spring MI5 nerd means each episode has a handful of outlandish payoffs that other dramas spend whole seasons working towards. **JS** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/sep/15/kiling-eve-review-spy-series-phoebe-waller-bridge-fleabag-writer-feminist-credentials)_. ## 29 ## **Spaced** (1999-2001) It might have ended back in 2001 but [Simon Pegg](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/jul/09/simon-pegg-alcoholic-addiction-rehab-fatherhood-tom-cruise), [Edgar Wright](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/17/edgar-wright-baby-driver-oldest-idea-biggest-hit) and [Jessica Hynes](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/13/jessica-hynes-actor-q-and-a-interview)’s flatshare sitcom can stake a legitimate claim as the most influential comedy of this millennium: its quick cuts, genre parodies and geek humour have been adopted by everything from Community to Preacher. Yet for all the Star Wars homages, Spaced was, at its heart, a terrific character comedy, boasting a cracking cast that included [Mark Heap](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/02/mark-heap-plays-jeeves-perfect-nonsense-pg-wodehouse)’s tortured artist Brian and Julia Deakin’s formidable, chianti-powered landlady Marsha. **GM** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2009/sep/24/spaced-pure-comedy-gold)_. ## 28 ## **The Killing** (2007-12) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-24|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__5000.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-24%23img-24&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fb19af3b83f0d55ecabdbc8cdfecae6b4f3d403b0%2F0_188_5000_3001%2F5000.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-24%23img-24) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-24%23img-24&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fb19af3b83f0d55ecabdbc8cdfecae6b4f3d403b0%2F0_188_5000_3001%2F5000.jpg) One of the great TV enigmas ... Sarah Lund in The Killing. Photograph: NBC/Sportsphoto/Allstar Tracking a single murder case across 20 hours of subtitled drama might have seemed a hard sell. But this Danish procedural had a secret weapon in detective Sarah Lund ([Sofie Gråbøl](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/08/sofie-grabol-interview-house-that-jack-built-lars-von-trier)). [Lund’s knitwear](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/10/sarah-lund-jumper-copyright-the-killing) became an unlikely totem of the show, but the real appeal was Gråbøl’s remarkable performance. Over three gripping seasons, Lund told us everything and nothing about herself, becoming one of the great TV enigmas. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/dec/20/the-killing-next-box-set)_. ## 27 ## **Transparent** (2014-19) Amazon has struggled to get its TV originals right, but it made a perfect start with this mercurial, millennial dramedy. The plaudits for breaking new ground by centring on a transgender character were deserved, and no TV show before or since has handled diversity of gender and sexuality so assuredly. On top of all that is a seriously funny look at people failing to turn fluid modern adulthood into happiness. **JS** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/26/transparent-review-the-best-thing-on-tv-at-the-moment)_. ## 26 ## **Red Riding Trilogy** (2009) Set in the Ripper-plagued Yorkshire of the 1970s, [David Peace](https://www.theguardian.com/books/david-peace)’s original novels are strewn with feverish internal monologues. Adapting them for television was always likely to prove tricky. However, this trilogy rose to the challenge superbly, drawing on the diverse but complementary visions of three different directors (Julian Jarrold, James Marsh and Anand Tucker) and a host of superb performances to bring the era unnervingly to life. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2009/mar/05/red-riding-david-peace)_. ## 25 ## **The Handmaid’s Tale** (2017-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-25|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2711.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-25%23img-25&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fe74fe5458030fe4a2b9503e13e27f32d66acb825%2F0_31_2711_1627%2F2711.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-25%23img-25) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-25%23img-25&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fe74fe5458030fe4a2b9503e13e27f32d66acb825%2F0_31_2711_1627%2F2711.jpg) Remarkable ... Elisabeth Moss as Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale. Photograph: Sophie Giraud/Hulu Arriving on our screens with almost eerie timeliness three months into the Trump presidency, this adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel serves as a helpful reminder that, if we’re not careful, things could get even more like Gilead. The show’s patriarchal hellscape, where the chaste culture of kept women sits uneasily next to the machine guns and combat gear of the men doing the keeping, is terrifyingly well-realised, while [Elisabeth Moss](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/elisabeth-moss) delivers a remarkable performance as Offred, the Handmaid who dreams of blowing it up. **GM** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/apr/26/the-handmaids-tale-tv-show-hulu-review)_. ## 24 ## **The Daily Show with Jon Stewart** (1999-2015) Wise-ass but frequently just plain wise, [Jon Stewart](https://www.theguardian.com/media/video/2019/jun/11/shameful-jon-stewarts-emotional-testimony-to-congress-over-inaction-for-911-responders-video) was a broadcasting natural with such range that he was equally convincing whether presenting [a show in the aftermath of 9/11](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jun/11/jon-stewart-demands-congressional-action-for-911-responders-they-did-their-jobs-do-yours) or excoriating Chicago’s fondness for deep-pan pizza. For more than a decade, he was a unique and persuasive liberal voice in American affairs; we shudder to imagine what he would have made of the current US political situation. **PH **_[Read more here.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/aug/05/jon-stewart-daily-show-pushed-american-satire-forward)_ ## 23 ## **Black Mirror** (2011-) Ambition is probably Charlie Brooker’s best quality as a writer: he had the balls to start his sci-fi anthology with an episode about the prime minister being forced to violate a pig, then took the chance to take Black Mirror global by shifting from Channel 4 to Netflix. Now [every new helping of his dystopia is event telly](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/31/black-mirror-the-five-best-episodes-so-far), drawing in A-list talent and, with one-offs such as the interactive [Bandersnatch](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jan/01/black-mirror-bandersnatch-review-charlie-brooker-netflix-tv-of-tomorrow-is-now-here), continuing to push at the medium’s limits. **JS **_[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/05/black-mirror-season-five-review-charlie-brooker-miley-cyrus)._ ## 22 ## **Twin Peaks: The Return** (2017) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-26|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3600.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-26%23img-26&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff2c55bed906c3b32a820f3b07746b97501ad1444%2F0_103_3600_2160%2F3600.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-26%23img-26) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-26%23img-26&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff2c55bed906c3b32a820f3b07746b97501ad1444%2F0_103_3600_2160%2F3600.jpg) Thrillingly baffling ... Twin Peaks: The Return. Photograph: Suzanne Tenner/Showtime No one knew what to expect from the reappearance, after nearly 30 years, of [David Lynch’s mystery drama](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/sep/06/twin-peaks-was-this-the-long-perfect-goodbye-from-david-lynch). From its first frame to its soul-rending primal scream of a conclusion, The Return proved thrillingly baffling, full of indelible images (nuclear explosions, demonic cockroaches, David Bowie as a giant kettle) and dizzying dream logic. At the centre of the chaos was [Kyle MacLachlan](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/24/kyle-maclachlan-this-much-know), radiating previously untapped levels of magnificence as both the valiant Agent Cooper and his breathtakingly evil doppelganger. **GM **_[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/22/twin-peaks-review-david-lynch-reboot-will-baffle-and-irk-even-hardcore-fans)_**.** ## 21 ## **Arrested Development** (2003-19) The [underwhelming Netflix reboot of Mitch Hurwitz’s comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/15/arrested-development-bows-out-on-a-low-lumbering-zombie-netflix), about a dysfunctional and in retrospect vaguely Trumpian dynasty, shouldn’t detract too much from the legacy of its brilliant first three seasons, which raised the bar for intricate, intelligent sitcommery. Such was the density of references, callbacks and gags that Arrested Development proved to be that rare thing – a show that became funnier on repeated viewings. **GM **_[Read more here.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/16/when-good-tv-goes-bad-arrested-developments)_ ## 20 ## **OJ: Made in America** (2016) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-27|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1504.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-27%23img-27&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F94c3579f7f8e9784710a112e5b0cbdc2615f516d%2F0_0_1504_902%2F1504.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-27%23img-27) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-27%23img-27&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F94c3579f7f8e9784710a112e5b0cbdc2615f516d%2F0_0_1504_902%2F1504.jpg) A startling treatise on race and celebrity ... OJ: Made in America. Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex/Shutterstock It was the story of a US footballer, accused of murder and subsequently acquitted. But it was so much more besides. Over seven compelling hours, Ezra Edelman pulled back from his immediate subject by homing in on its minutiae. [Exploring the context of OJ Simpson’s rise and fall](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/24/oj-made-in-america-espn-review), Edelman constructed a startling treatise on race, gender, celebrity and capitalism itself. The result was an alternative history of modern America. **PH **_[Read the review.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/04/oj-made-in-america-ezra-edelman)_ ## 19 ## **The Vietnam War** (2017) More like a [definitive historical document than a TV series](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/16/ken-burns-vietnam-war-documentary-john-mccain). While Vietnam remains a scab at which America is compelled to pick, this panorama by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick feels like the last word. Beginning decades before the war and following its echoes up to the present day, the series plunged into the quagmire, illuminating the horror for all to see but concluded with threads of humanity reclaimed from the carnage. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/sep/26/the-vietnam-war-review-a-complex-story-made-immediately-comprehensible)_. ## 18 ## **Girls** (2012-17) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-28|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__5120.1.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-28%23img-28&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F009adddcc18c214f0b1d50ca635d55c3f48f2176%2F0_89_5120_3324%2F5120.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-28%23img-28) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-28%23img-28&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F009adddcc18c214f0b1d50ca635d55c3f48f2176%2F0_89_5120_3324%2F5120.jpg) Out of control ... Girls. Photograph: Sky For all its problems (and there were many, from a lack of diversity to [Lena Dunham](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/03/lena-dunham-were-doing-the-girls-movie)’s impressive propensity for foot-in-mouth moments), Girls changed the half-hour sitcom for the better. Originally billed as an updated Sex and the City, it grew into something more troubled and more troubling, bringing the best of mumblecore to the small screen via a spaghetti-slurping, often half-naked antihero (Dunham’s Hannah Horvath), who proved as relatable as she was entirely out of control. **HJD **_[Read more here.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/04/how-lena-dunham-show-girls-turned-tv-upside-down)_ ## 17 ## **Deadwood** (2004-6) [David Milch’s unique, picaresque western](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/aug/14/deadwood-is-the-best-drama-hbo-has-ever-made-it-must-be-revived) earned its spurs in the early stages of the HBO TV gold-rush. But it was more singular and ornery than any of its contemporaries. Milch created a universe that was simultaneously recognisable and utterly alien – then peopled it with extraordinary characters such as Ian McShane’s Al Swearengen. Sacred, profane and well deserving of its [glorious feature-length resolution](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/30/deadwood-the-movie-review-brutal-beautiful-farewell-for-a-tv-classic) this year. **PH **_[Read more here.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/aug/14/deadwood-is-the-best-drama-hbo-has-ever-made-it-must-be-revived)_ ## 16 ## **Nighty Night** (2004-5) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-29|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1786.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-29%23img-29&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F77e77a530bfa3f59d5c2d70e8dd3adea2c45b0af%2F0_194_1786_1371%2F1786.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-29%23img-29) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-29%23img-29&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F77e77a530bfa3f59d5c2d70e8dd3adea2c45b0af%2F0_194_1786_1371%2F1786.jpg) Monstrous ... Nighty Night. Photograph: BBC/Babycow [Julia Davis’s Jill Tyrell](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jun/17/julia-davis-nighty-night-comedy-heroes) is the most grotesque comedy creation in living memory. Jill responded to her husband’s cancer diagnosis by attempting to break up the marriage next door, then staging an exceptionally excruciating mock funeral for her spouse (who had recovered but been forcibly committed to a hospice) and trying to seduce a 12-year-old. An absolute monster and an absolute masterpiece of provocation and bad taste. **PH **_[Read the review.](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/nov/13/nighty-night-box-set-review-julia-davis)_ ## 15 ## **The West Wing** (1999-2006) [Aaron Sorkin](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/19/the-newsroom-is-aaron-sorkin-threatening-to-bring-back-his-worst-show)’s sparky, witty and (some would say excessively) [erudite political drama](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/may/23/west-wing-show-seventeen-people-tv-analysis) achieved the impossible: it made niche US legislation, from lame-duck sessions to filibusters, utterly compelling. Plus it gave us the most popular president in US history, Josiah “Jed” Bartlet. Fans must watch it now and weep into their fake newspaper at the Trumpian state of things. There were certain missteps (the patronising 9/11 episode, we’re looking at you), but this was TV that showed America it is possible to hope for better, even the best, from the leader of the free world. **KA **_[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/22/west-wing-netflix-friends-binge-watching-nostalgia)_**.** ## 14 ## **Curb Your Enthusiasm** (2000-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-30|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4368.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-30%23img-30&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F48806867b79d438314d5b24302b5e152044780ff%2F0_209_4368_2621%2F4368.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-30%23img-30) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-30%23img-30&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F48806867b79d438314d5b24302b5e152044780ff%2F0_209_4368_2621%2F4368.jpg) Deeply meta ... Curb Your Enthusiasm. Photograph: HBO Was [Larry David](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/sep/16/larry-david-curb-your-enthusiasm-series-nine) ever wrong? Frequently. But you could usually just about sympathise with his wrongness and understand his arrival in a variety of hideous scrapes. In a sitcom that was both deeply meta (David was playing a constructed but also deconstructed version of himself) and proudly traditional (it overflowed with sight-gags and classic setups), the comedy of excruciation reached its peak. **PH** _[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/oct/03/curb-your-enthusiasm-review-if-it-aint-woke-dont-fix-it)_. ## 13 ## **Line of Duty** (2012-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-31|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4284.2.jpg]]]] [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-31%23img-31&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fec15c60013ba00a7449955b2ffe1afd322750132%2F0_150_4284_2570%2F4284.jpg) [Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-31%23img-31) [Pinterest](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-31%23img-31&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fec15c60013ba00a7449955b2ffe1afd322750132%2F0_150_4284_2570%2F4284.jpg) A new standard in small-screen tension ... Line of Duty. Photograph: Aiden Monaghan/BBC/World Productions Rarely has a drama [demanding such commitment from viewers](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/series/line-of-duty-episode-by-episode) captured the popular imagination to this extent. It’s testimony to the excellence of [Jed Mercurio](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/aug/12/jed-mercurio-bodyguard-line-of-duty-keeley-hawes)’s writing but mainly to masterful central performances from Martin Compston, [Vicky McClure](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/15/vicky-mcclure-interview-line-of-duty-i-am-nicola) and Adrian Dunbar who, as anti-corruption unit AC12, represent a still point around which all manner of police malfeasance swirls. Line of Duty’s interrogation scenes have set a new standard in small-screen tension and release. **PH** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/23/it-makes-you-go-oh-my-god-how-line-of-duty-broke-the-laws-of-police-shows)_. ## 12 ## **30 Rock** (2006-13) Still badly underrated, [Tina Fey’s sitcom](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/oct/04/30-rock-tina-fey-final-season) rendering of her experiences inside the US TV machine was a fiery take on the tension between creative types and money men, the latter embodied by an all-timer performance from Alec Baldwin as an insane network exec. But it was as cynical about comedians as it was suits, the result being [a joke machine with few limits on its satire](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/jan/31/tina-fey-30-rock-funniest-scenes) or its silliness. **JS** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/feb/07/30rockisthebestshowonte)_. ## 11 ## **Happy Valley** (2014-) A corrective to the cliche-ridden and frequently blokey police procedurals that dominated the first two decades of this century, [Sally Wainwright’s slice of Yorkshire noir](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/23/best-tv-of-2014-no-1-happy-valley) pulsated with poignant realness. In [Sarah Lancashire’s stoic sergeant Catherine Cawood](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/may/15/sarah-lancashire-actor-coronation-street), it found a true heroine for our times, resourceful, funny and empathetic. A good thing too, because the world Wainwright constructed around her – full of death, addiction and desperate poverty – was almost overwhelmingly, authentically bleak. **GM **_[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jun/03/happy-valley-end-of-series-tv-review-mark-lawson)._ #### Share your story #### Share your thoughts Tell us about your favourite TV show from the last two decades and what it means to you. You can get in touch by filling in the form below and we'll feature a selection in our journalism. Thank you for your contribution Hide Your name How old are you? Where do you live? What is your favourite TV show from the last 19 years? Tell us why you love it so much and what it means to you Can we publish your response? Yes, entirely Yes, but please keep me anonymous No, this is information only Email address (Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.) 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[Terms and conditions](https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) ## 10 ## **Atlanta** (2016-) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-32|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3000.3.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-32%23img-32&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fa69205c5a73cd2d60d48c160fbb2846d5f29bb8c%2F0_261_3000_1801%2F3000.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-32%23img-32><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-32%23img-32&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fa69205c5a73cd2d60d48c160fbb2846d5f29bb8c%2F0_261_3000_1801%2F3000.jpg> All-out weirdness ... Atlanta. Photograph: Alamy [Donald Glover’s foray into dramedy](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/atlanta-donald-glover-show-example-young-black-writers-creative-tv) fizzes with pop-culture callbacks, political subtext and dark lols, following underachieving Earn, wannabe rapper cousin Paper Boi and their black millennial peers. Its best episodes are the ones where racial conflict meets all-out weirdness, among them Helen – in which Earn feels thoroughly adrift at a Germanic festival – and Teddy Perkins, the Shining-inspired, Get Out-style tale of Darius’s (Lakeith Stanfield) trip to pick up a piano from a mysterious hermit. **HJD** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jun/23/donald-glover-atlanta-robbin-season)_. ## 9 ## **Peep Show** (2003-15) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-33|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2736.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-33%23img-33&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F4ba81b5cf986f78f1736dbd69db9e972d68f4ec3%2F0_0_2736_1922%2F2736.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-33%23img-33><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-33%23img-33&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F4ba81b5cf986f78f1736dbd69db9e972d68f4ec3%2F0_0_2736_1922%2F2736.jpg> Always, hilariously, an inch over the boundary of good taste ... Peep Show. Photograph: Angus Young/Channel 4 The king of 00s sitcoms: formally innovative, with its point-of-view filming and audible inner monologues, and unflinching in how it used that format to be disgustingly honest about diseased male minds. A textbook contrasting duo in careless Jez and cowardly Mark gave [writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/nov/07/peep-show-sam-bain-jesse-armstrong]) the platform for greatness, and the quality barely dipped across nine seasons. Peep Show was always, hilariously, an inch over the boundary of good taste. **JS** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/apr/16/peepshowisthebestcomedyo)_. ## 8 ## **Fleabag** (2016-19) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-34|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4242.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-34%23img-34&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fa34043621851fc0ed832dfe83cd3bd488f259d4c%2F0_238_4242_2545%2F4242.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-34%23img-34><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-34%23img-34&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fa34043621851fc0ed832dfe83cd3bd488f259d4c%2F0_238_4242_2545%2F4242.jpg> Classic British awkwardness ... Fleabag. Photograph: Luke Varley/BBC/Two Brothers When [Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag arrived on stage](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/aug/21/fleabag-edinburgh-festival-2013-review) in London some six years ago, critics had their doubts (one even commented “I doubt if this material will spin off into a long-running radio or television series”). How wrong they were: as well as [returning to the stage for a sold-out run this year](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/aug/29/fleabag-stage-theatre-show-phoebe-waller-bridge), Fleabag’s [two-series TV run](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/20/fleabag-posh-girl-television) saw Waller-Bridge infuse the nascent sadcom genre with classic British awkwardness, encompassing grief, family breakdown and, of course, Obama-themed masturbation. **HJD** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/08/farewell-fleabag-the-most-electrifying-devastating-tv-in-years)_. ## 7 ## **Game of Thrones (**2011-19) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-35|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__The_100_best_TV_shows_of_the_21st_century__1800.2.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-35%23img-35&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fcb9c33d25f10de252e9c712759e87d1088196c0d%2F109_0_1800_1080%2F1800.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-35%23img-35><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-35%23img-35&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Fcb9c33d25f10de252e9c712759e87d1088196c0d%2F109_0_1800_1080%2F1800.jpg> Thrills and blood spills ... Game of Thrones. Photograph: HBO Despite the widespread calls by superfans to [rewrite the entire last series](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/24/game-of-thrones-season-8-remake-hbo), from Daenerys’ descent into madness to Starbucksgate, Game of Thrones remains the biggest show of the century so far. Even Ed Sheeran sitting by a fire singing a ditty about hands of gold can’t irreparably dent its reputation. And it did come up with the goods throughout its eight-year reign: from the thrills and blood spills to the men baked in pies and the best battles ever seen on the small screen, [right through to Cleganebowl](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/19/game-of-thrones-betting-guide-who-will-live-who-will-die-who-will-get-it-on). Only [The Winds of Winter book](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/10/game-of-thrones-george-rr-martin-the-winds-of-winter-interview) will spare us all from Westeros withdrawal. **KA** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/may/20/game-of-thrones-was-this-the-cheesiest-ending-in-tv-history)_. ## 6 ## **The Office (UK)** (2001-03) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-36|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__The_100_best_TV_shows_of_the_21st_century__1800.1.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-36%23img-36&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff2e51d22927fc0c57d16ef15a678d16c05f3583f%2F0_0_1800_1168%2F1800.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-36%23img-36><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-36%23img-36&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff2e51d22927fc0c57d16ef15a678d16c05f3583f%2F0_0_1800_1168%2F1800.jpg> Two decades on, people are still making pale imitations ... The Office. Photograph: BBC/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar It didn’t invent the mockumentary, but [Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/apr/12/artsfeatures)’s debut was so stylistically confident it defined swathes of the comedy that followed its 2001 premiere: two decades on, people are still making pale imitations. Its creators haven’t topped it either but with time, their casting decisions look as extraordinary as their scripts. It’s hard to fathom now that Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook and Gervais himself were all then relative unknowns. **JS** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/apr/01/favourite-tv-show-the-office-ricky-gervais-david-brent)_. ## 5 ## **Breaking Bad** (2008-13) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-37|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3356.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-37%23img-37&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F5aafc730e644cf226efd238c6c4e9963694a1525%2F138_139_3356_2014%2F3356.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-37%23img-37><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-37%23img-37&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F5aafc730e644cf226efd238c6c4e9963694a1525%2F138_139_3356_2014%2F3356.jpg> Depraved descent … Breaking Bad. Photograph: Frank Ockenfels/AMC The show that arguably killed off the antihero drama: nothing since has been able to top the [depraved descent made by Walter White](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/30/breaking-bad-series-finale-tv-review) (a never-better [Bryan Cranston](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/18/bryan-cranston-i-was-walter-white-a-life-in-parts-breaking-bad)), from milquetoast chemistry teacher to meth overlord, and few have dared to try. Yet as grimly engrossing as White’s transformation was, what kept us returning to Vince Gilligan’s low-key epic was [Aaron Paul](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/10/aaron-paul-eye-in-the-sky-breaking-bad)’s performance as his reluctant partner in crime, Jesse Pinkman, whose frayed humanity shone through the moral murk like a beacon. **GM** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jan/20/breaking-bad-10-years-on-tv-is-still-in-walter-whites-shadow)_. ## 4 ## **The Thick of It** (2005-12) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-38|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2043.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-38%23img-38&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff3836e5e328c4e18155ec73aeb2062e56b398de9%2F0_40_2043_1330%2F2043.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-38%23img-38><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-38%23img-38&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2Ff3836e5e328c4e18155ec73aeb2062e56b398de9%2F0_40_2043_1330%2F2043.jpg> Scabrous … The Thick of It. Photograph: BBC/Mike Hogan/BBC The craven, idiotic likes of Peter Mannion and Nicola Murray would be paragons of probity and wisdom in today’s parliamentary landscape. But at the time, [Armando](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/15/armando-iannucci-the-death-of-stalin-hear-me-out-interview) [Iannucci](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/15/armando-iannucci-the-death-of-stalin-hear-me-out-interview)’s [scabrous comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/oct/25/thick-of-it-bbc-political-satire-ends) felt like an indictment of everything wrong with the spin and cynicism of British politics. Luckily, it was also hilarious, mainly thanks to the inventive invective of Peter Capaldi’s ferocious “Iago with a BlackBerry” Malcolm Tucker. **PH** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/dec/21/thick-of-it-tv-programme-of-2012)_. ## 3 ## **Mad Men** (2007-15) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-39|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2000.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-39%23img-39&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F6dd35ff7173d9effd6c1ff79f63e4f439bc6f3f4%2F0_46_2000_1308%2F2000.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-39%23img-39><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-39%23img-39&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F6dd35ff7173d9effd6c1ff79f63e4f439bc6f3f4%2F0_46_2000_1308%2F2000.jpg> A masterwork ... Mad Men. Photograph: BBC/AMC The sex! The swagger! The suits! Matthew Weiner’s Madison Avenue masterwork went down with all the smooth, smoky allure of one of Don Draper’s copious Old-Fashioneds. But by spanning the entire 60s, showing the mammoth social shifts in an ad agency in minute detail – from the advent of the Pill and second-wave feminism to the rise of hippies and the dropping of LSD – it became more than just the tale of one mystery man and compulsive philanderer come good: it was a meditation on how modern America came to be made, one iconic advert at a time. **KA** ## 2 ## **The Wire** (2002-08) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-40|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2079.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-40%23img-40&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F7889fca13a88183f5f1eaf2c0bfa3f3b96bd7373%2F0_0_2079_1355%2F2079.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-40%23img-40><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-40%23img-40&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F7889fca13a88183f5f1eaf2c0bfa3f3b96bd7373%2F0_0_2079_1355%2F2079.jpg> TV wrenched from the soul ... The Wire. Photograph: BBC/HBO Along with [The Sopranos](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jun/08/the-sopranos-10-years-since-it-finished-its-still-the-most-masterful-show-ever), [David Simon and Ed Burns’s Baltimore crime saga](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/06/the-wire-10-years-on-we-tore-the-cover-off-a-city-and-showed-the-american-dream-was-dead) showed that small-screen entertainment could be anything it aspired to be: polemical, panoramic, funny, tragic or all of those things at once. Beautifully written and performed, this was both TV as high art and TV wrenched from the soul. To this day, it’s an exemplar of a certain brand of intelligent, ambitious and uncompromising television. **PH** _[Read more here](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jul/20/television.irvinewelsh)_. ## 1 ## **The Sopranos** (1999-2007) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#img-41|![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1536.jpg]]]] <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-41%23img-41&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F2d0921a4cf1404c32cb51d6a218e81a19229a56e%2F0_3_1536_922%2F1536.jpg><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw%26page%3Dwith%3Aimg-41%23img-41><http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?description=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3Fpage%3Dwith%3Aimg-41%23img-41&media=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.guim.co.uk%2F2d0921a4cf1404c32cb51d6a218e81a19229a56e%2F0_3_1536_922%2F1536.jpg> Mobsters arguing over Tupperware … The Sopranos. Photograph: E4 It is hard to fathom now, but when Tony Soprano first slumped into an armchair in his psychiatrist Dr Melfi’s office, TV was still largely looked down upon. The slogan for the Sopranos’ broadcaster – ‘It’s not TV, it’s HBO’ – felt telling in its dismissiveness, as if making a television programme was something to be ashamed about. [The Sopranos](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-sopranos) changed all that. When it first aired, some were quick to dismiss it as just another mob drama. But David Chase took a [cleaver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhN9McMQFLk) to the conventions and cliches of the gangster epic. Its Family wasn’t some pinstripe-clad crew swaggering down Brooklyn back alleys, but a tragicomic rabble reigning over the unprepossessing suburbs of New Jersey. It was a world populated by fragile and petty people, arguing over Tupperware like Paulie Walnuts or ordering a hit over rumours about their bedroom activities like Uncle Junior. And its protagonist was a hulking, ferocious don beset by panic attacks and cowed by his far more ferocious mother. And what a protagonist! Here was a man who would break off from his daughter’s college open day to brutally murder an informant, and we were supposed to if not actively root for him, at least follow him into the abyss. Yet follow him we did, because of the qualities that moved him beyond the mobster stereotype. From the off, this was a show with bigger thoughts in mind: the downfall of the white working class, Jungian psychoanalysis, shifting sexual politics and the eternal question of [whether an interior decorator could kill 16 Czechoslovakians](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziap4hpYfU8). And it played with form with the eagerness of Tony tucking into some ‘gabagool’, staging Godot-like one-acters in the Pine Barrens and devoting entire episodes to the fever-dream musings of a comatose Tony. The Sopranos hastened TV’s transformation into a medium where intelligence, experimentation and depth were treasured. Critics still put it at the top of best of lists like this one. Fevered conversations are still had online about the show’s symbolic use of eggs, ducks and teeth, and of course that rug-pull of an ending. For anyone currently making TV, the show stands as something to aspire to, perhaps even better. That is easier said than done, of course. Plenty of programmes have come at the boss, but none has managed to carry out a successful hit. **GM** This article was amended on 17 September 2019 to clarify that Lynn Novick co-created The Vietnam War with Ken Burns. Topics * [Best culture of the 21st century](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/series/best-culture-of-the-21st-century-so-far) * [Drama](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/drama) * [TV comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/comedy) * [Comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/comedy) * [TV streaming](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tv-streaming) * [Documentary](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/documentary) * [I'm a Celebrity ...](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/i-m-a-celebrity) * [features](https://www.theguardian.com/tone/features) * <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_fb> * <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_tw> * [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmailto:?subject=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_link|]] * <http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&title=The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century> * <http://www.pinterest.com/pin/find/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century> * [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlwhatsapp://send?text=%22The%20100%20best%20TV%20shows%20of%20the%2021st%20century%22%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_wa|]] * [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlfb-messenger://share?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%3FCMP%3Dshare_btn_me&app_id=180444840287|]] * <https://syndication.theguardian.com/automation/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century&type=article&internalpagecode=6535715> ## Editorially independent, open to everyone We chose a different approach — will you support it? [Find out more](https://support.theguardian.com/us/subscribe/digital?acquisitionData=%7B%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_OTHER%22%2C%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22campaignCode%22%3A%22shady_pie_open_2019%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22shady_pie_open_2019%22%7D&INTCMP=shady_pie_open_2019) ## [View all comments >](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e) ## comments This discussion is closed for comments. Guardian Pick Pointless should definitely be on this list. The IT Crowd is a lot better than several of the comedies on here too. Dare I say on here that quite a lot of Top Gear was a fair bit than, say, The Mighty Boosh. It had its issues but when it was good it was very good. [Jump to comment](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159360) ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__101702999.png]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159360) Guardian Pick Very happy to see The Thick of It so high. Its third series was pretty much perfect. [Jump to comment](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159144) ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159144) Guardian Pick Most of my favourites are here but the glaring omission is Battlestar Galactica. Quite shocked to see that overlooked. The League of Gentlemen is conspicuous by its absence too. [Jump to comment](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159276) ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__11688410.png]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159276) Guardian Pick Bojack Horseman is the most human show I've seen in a long time. And it hasn't even got many humans in it. Dexter was mostly brilliant too. Rick and Morty could sneak into this list too. [Jump to comment](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159129) ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159129) [2](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=2) [3](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=3) [4](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=4) … [next](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=2) Loading comments… [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/p/c8x8e|Trouble loading?]] Due to the large number of comments, they are being shown 100 per page. ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__13014931.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158808|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133158925) How precious. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133158925) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133158925&quote=Surreal99%20commented%3A%20%22How%20precious.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22How%20precious.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133158925) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133158925|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158808|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159229) Nope, should be 3) Curb Your Enthusiasm 2) The Simpsons 1) The Sopranos. The Wire and Fleabag should be on the 100 worst list. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159229) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159229&quote=Mungo%20Jerry%20commented%3A%20%22Nope%2C%20should%20be%203%29%20Curb%20Your%20Enthusiasm%202%29%20The%20Simpsons%201%29%20The%20Sopranos.%20The%20Wire%20and%20Fleabag%20should%20be%20on%20the%20100%20worst%20list.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Nope%2C%20should%20be%203)%20Curb%20Your%20Enthusiasm%202)%20The%20Simpsons%201)%20The%20Sopranos.%20The%20Wire%20and%20Fleabag%20should%20be%20on%20the%20...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159229) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159229|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__17712182.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159229|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159315) The Simpsons has been dreadful since c. 1998.. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159315) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159315&quote=SonnyDay%20commented%3A%20%22The%20Simpsons%20has%20been%20dreadful%20since%20c.%201998..%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22The%20Simpsons%20has%20been%20dreadful%20since%20c.%201998..%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159315) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159315|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__18527062.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158822|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160248) Yeah, The Sopranos greatness only grows with each passing year. Just a seminal piece of work. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160248) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160248&quote=HellHoundOnMyTrail%20commented%3A%20%22Yeah%2C%20The%20Sopranos%20greatness%20only%20grows%20with%20each%20passing%20year.%20Just%20a%20seminal%20piece%20of%20work.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Yeah%2C%20The%20Sopranos%20greatness%20only%20grows%20with%20each%20passing%20year.%20Just%20a%20seminal%20piece%20of%20work.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160248) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160248|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158822|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162080) Due to ill health preventing me from working, I've had the chance to watch all of the Sopranos back to back. To say I was stunned would be an understatement. The last episode was nerve shreddingly brilliant. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162080) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162080&quote=shoname%20commented%3A%20%22Due%20to%20ill%20health%20preventing%20me%20from%20working%2C%20I%27ve%20had%20the%20chance%20to%20watch%20all%20of%20the%20Sopranos%20back%20to%20back.%20To%20say%20I%20was%20stunned%20would%20be%20an%20understatement.%20The%20last%20episode%20was%20nerve%20shreddingly%20brilliant.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Due%20to%20ill%20health%20preventing%20me%20from%20working%2C%20I%27ve%20had%20the%20chance%20to%20watch%20all%20of%20the%20Sopranos%20back%20to%20back.%20To...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162080) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133162080|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158822|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162099) Any list with The Wire, The Office, Black Mirror and others that are this list, is not a list worthy of it's name. The Wire is massively overhyped, as was the The Office as is Black Mirror. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162099) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162099&quote=Gelion%20commented%3A%20%22Any%20list%20with%20The%20Wire%2C%20The%20Office%2C%20Black%20Mirror%20and%20others%20that%20are%20this%20list%2C%20is%20not%20a%20list%20worthy%20of%20it%27s%20name.%20%20The%20Wire%20is%20massively%20overhyped%2C%20as%20was%20the%20The%20Office%20as%20is%20Black%20Mirror.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Any%20list%20with%20The%20Wire%2C%20The%20Office%2C%20Black%20Mirror%20and%20others%20that%20are%20this%20list%2C%20is%20not%20a%20list%20worthy%20of%20it%27s%20na...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162099) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133162099|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158843|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159196) I agree completely that Six Feet Under is one of the best TV shows ever made. I was also tickled to see Nighty Night in the top 20. What a hoot. If this list was compiled by a US journalist, I think Nighty Night would have been omitted, and Six Feet Under would be in the top 10- I have had a look at all the top 100 lists The Guardians has released. In top 100 films, 'Under the Skin' was in the top 5. I had never seen it. I obtained a copy to see how good it was.... I want those two hours back please, and I will not be pursuing any further curiosity I have regarding these lists. It is all subjective really. But the pretentiousness levels throughout all lists they compile just astounds me. They did a write up about the film 'JoJo Rabbit' today, after it won the audience voting award at the Toronto film festival. In the article, after referring to numerous critics praising it, the author made a point that the Guardian too had praised it, "awarding it two stars" /out of five. I guess they will jump on its band wagon now too. Wherever the wind blows is seemingly good enough for them....... [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159196) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159196&quote=atsrkwtskarjq46%20commented%3A%20%22I%20agree%20completely%20that%20Six%20Feet%20Under%20is%20one%20of%20the%20best%20TV%20shows%20ever%20made.%20I%20was%20also%20tickled%20to%20see%20Nighty%20Night%20in%20the%20top%2020.%20What%20a%20hoot.%20If%20this%20list%20was%20compiled%20by%20a%20US%20journalist%2C%20I%20think%20Nighty%20Night%20would%20have%20been%20omitted%2C%20and%20Six%20Feet%20Under%20would%20be%20in%20the%20top%2010-%20I%20have%20had%20a%20look%20at%20all%20the%20top%20100%20lists%20The%20Guardians%20has%20released.%20In%20top%20100%20films%2C%20%27Under%20the%20Skin%27%20was%20in%20the%20top%205.%20I%20had%20never%20seen%20it.%20I%20obtained%20a%20copy%20to%20see%20how%20good%20it%20was....%20I%20want%20those%20two%20hours%20back%20please%2C%20and%20I%20will%20not%20be%20pursuing%20any%20further%20curiosity%20I%20have%20regarding%20these%20lists.%20It%20is%20all%20subjective%20really.%20But%20the%20pretentiousness%20levels%20throughout%20all%20lists%20they%20compile%20just%20astounds%20me.%20They%20did%20a%20write%20up%20about%20the%20film%20%27JoJo%20Rabbit%27%20today%2C%20after%20it%20won%20the%20audience%20voting%20award%20at%20the%20Toronto%20film%20festival.%20In%20the%20article%2C%20after%20referring%20to%20numerous%20critics%20praising%20it%2C%20the%20author%20made%20a%20point%20that%20the%20Guardian%20too%20had%20praised%20it%2C%20%22awarding%20it%20two%20stars%22%20%2Fout%20of%20five.%20I%20guess%20they%20will%20jump%20on%20its%20band%20wagon%20now%20too.%20Wherever%20the%20wind%20blows%20is%20seemingly%20good%20enough%20for%20them.......%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22I%20agree%20completely%20that%20Six%20Feet%20Under%20is%20one%20of%20the%20best%20TV%20shows%20ever%20made.%20I%20was%20also%20tickled%20to%20see%20Nighty%20...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159196) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159196|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159196|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159231) <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/15/jojo-rabbit-hitler-comedy-wins-top-toronto-award> <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/09/jojo-rabbit-review-scarlett-johansson-lifts-smug-hitler-comedy> [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159231) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159231&quote=atsrkwtskarjq46%20commented%3A%20%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffilm%2F2019%2Fsep%2F15%2Fjojo-rabbit-hitler-comedy-wins-top-toronto-award%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffilm%2F2019%2Fsep%2F09%2Fjojo-rabbit-review-scarlett-johansson-lifts-smug-hitler-comedy%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffilm%2F2019%2Fsep%2F15%2Fjojo-rabbit-hitler-comedy-wins-top-toronto-award%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegu...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159231) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159231|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159196|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159633) Yes, subjectivity is key when considering lists of this nature. It's great that we can comment though, it makes it easier to swallow. Last year's top 50 list of shows of the year omitted some excellent TV. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159633) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159633&quote=kenw3%20commented%3A%20%22Yes%2C%20subjectivity%20is%20key%20when%20considering%20lists%20of%20this%20nature.%20It%27s%20great%20that%20we%20can%20comment%20though%2C%20it%20makes%20it%20easier%20to%20swallow.%20Last%20year%27s%20top%2050%20list%20of%20shows%20of%20the%20year%20omitted%20some%20excellent%20TV.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Yes%2C%20subjectivity%20is%20key%20when%20considering%20lists%20of%20this%20nature.%20It%27s%20great%20that%20we%20can%20comment%20though%2C%20it%20makes...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159633) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159633|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158879|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159602) 90's [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159602) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159602&quote=GreenFigures%20commented%3A%20%2290%27s%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%2290%27s%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159602) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159602|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4668107.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158879|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161415) I thought the newer Battlestar Galactica would have made the list, excellent series. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161415) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161415&quote=Arahan01%20commented%3A%20%22I%20thought%20the%20newer%20Battlestar%20Galactica%20would%20have%20made%20the%20list%2C%20excellent%20series.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22I%20thought%20the%20newer%20Battlestar%20Galactica%20would%20have%20made%20the%20list%2C%20excellent%20series.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161415) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133161415|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__12076378.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159602|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161533) ER ran over the millennium- that was deemed ok for Buffy. If not, Grey’s. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161533) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161533&quote=neilpost%20commented%3A%20%22ER%20ran%20over%20the%20millennium-%20that%20was%20deemed%20ok%20for%20Buffy.%20If%20not%2C%20Grey%E2%80%99s.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22ER%20ran%20over%20the%20millennium-%20that%20was%20deemed%20ok%20for%20Buffy.%20If%20not%2C%20Grey%E2%80%99s.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161533) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133161533|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158890|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159342) Speak for yourself. Twin Peaks is too good for lists like this. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159342) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159342&quote=Sammylove%20commented%3A%20%22Speak%20for%20yourself.%20Twin%20Peaks%20is%20too%20good%20for%20lists%20like%20this.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Speak%20for%20yourself.%20Twin%20Peaks%20is%20too%20good%20for%20lists%20like%20this.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159342) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159342|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__14133666.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158890|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159784) It was a masterpiece, you just don’t have the correct eyes. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159784) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159784&quote=SonofMonsterMagnet%20commented%3A%20%22It%20was%20a%20masterpiece%2C%20you%20just%20don%E2%80%99t%20have%20the%20correct%20eyes.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22It%20was%20a%20masterpiece%2C%20you%20just%20don%E2%80%99t%20have%20the%20correct%20eyes.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159784) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159784|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159784|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160007) Are you ironically mimicking a Lynch fan or is that what you actually think? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160007) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160007&quote=Chickaboo%20commented%3A%20%22Are%20you%20ironically%20mimicking%20a%20Lynch%20fan%20or%20is%20that%20what%20you%20actually%20think%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Are%20you%20ironically%20mimicking%20a%20Lynch%20fan%20or%20is%20that%20what%20you%20actually%20think%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160007) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160007|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158909|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159842) Game of Thrones must've been spectacular on your smart watch. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159842) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159842&quote=SepticIsle%20commented%3A%20%22Game%20of%20Thrones%20must%27ve%20been%20spectacular%20on%20your%20smart%20watch.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Game%20of%20Thrones%20must%27ve%20been%20spectacular%20on%20your%20smart%20watch.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159842) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159842|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158909|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160203) 'Bruh' is insufferable even if used ironically [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160203) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160203&quote=Odysseus1978%20commented%3A%20%22%27Bruh%27%20is%20insufferable%20even%20if%20used%20ironically%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22%27Bruh%27%20is%20insufferable%20even%20if%20used%20ironically%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160203) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160203|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1467460.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133160203|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161024) Innit! [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161024) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161024&quote=Pagey%20commented%3A%20%22Innit%21%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Innit!%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161024) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133161024|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158926|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159337) Exactly. And no Les Bureau des Legendes!!!!!!!!!!! [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159337) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159337&quote=MarthaDunnstock%20commented%3A%20%22Exactly.%20And%20no%20Les%20Bureau%20des%20Legendes%21%21%21%21%21%21%21%21%21%21%21%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Exactly.%20And%20no%20Les%20Bureau%20des%20Legendes!!!!!!!!!!!%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159337) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159337|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158926|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159354) And The Bridge is only no. 45??? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159354) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159354&quote=tonywmdblair%20commented%3A%20%22And%20The%20Bridge%20is%20only%20no.%2045%3F%3F%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22And%20The%20Bridge%20is%20only%20no.%2045%3F%3F%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159354) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159354|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158926|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159547) Well this list is written for an English audience so yes, most of it is English. Why would you have foreign language tv shows that no one has seen?? There are some Nordic noir shows in the list because they where quite popular in the UK. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159547) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159547&quote=Gary%20%20Fenton%20commented%3A%20%22Well%20this%20list%20is%20written%20for%20an%20English%20audience%20so%20yes%2C%20most%20of%20it%20is%20English.%20Why%20would%20you%20have%20foreign%20language%20tv%20shows%20that%20no%20one%20has%20seen%3F%3F%20There%20are%20some%20Nordic%20noir%20shows%20in%20the%20list%20because%20they%20where%20quite%20popular%20in%20the%20UK.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Well%20this%20list%20is%20written%20for%20an%20English%20audience%20so%20yes%2C%20most%20of%20it%20is%20English.%20Why%20would%20you%20have%20foreign%20lan...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159547) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159547|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158971|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159114) 90s. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159114) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159114&quote=tenbenson%20commented%3A%20%2290s.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%2290s.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159114) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159114|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158971|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159166) Frasier? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159166) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159166&quote=Liminal%20commented%3A%20%22Frasier%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Frasier%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159166) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159166|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2901654.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133158971|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159274) They wanted to include it, but they couldn’t get the spelling right. It’s for the same reason that people always awkwardly mumble when they talk about Brendon Fraser. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159274) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159274&quote=KeithTaylor%20commented%3A%20%22They%20wanted%20to%20include%20it%2C%20but%20they%20couldn%E2%80%99t%20get%20the%20spelling%20right.%20%20It%E2%80%99s%20for%20the%20same%20reason%20that%20people%20always%20awkwardly%20mumble%20when%20they%20talk%20about%20Brendon%20Fraser.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22They%20wanted%20to%20include%20it%2C%20but%20they%20couldn%E2%80%99t%20get%20the%20spelling%20right.%20%20It%E2%80%99s%20for%20the%20same%20reason%20that%20people%20alwa...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159274) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159274|Report]] <https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/10430203> [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133158998) This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our [community standards](http://www.theguardian.com/community-standards). Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see [our FAQs](http://www.theguardian.com/community-faqs). ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159015|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159292) I'm genuinely amazed they didn't put Fleabag at no.1 - I thought this list thing was bound to be an elaborate vehicle the purpose of which was to tell us, in case we missed it the first two hundred times, how utterly groundbreaking and epoch-making Fleabag is. Now I learn it's apparently not quite as good as Mad Men - another show the G had an inexplicably massive hard-on for. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159292) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159292&quote=lissendis%20commented%3A%20%22I%27m%20genuinely%20amazed%20they%20didn%27t%20put%20Fleabag%20at%20no.1%20-%20I%20thought%20this%20list%20thing%20was%20bound%20to%20be%20an%20elaborate%20vehicle%20the%20purpose%20of%20which%20was%20to%20tell%20us%2C%20in%20case%20we%20missed%20it%20the%20first%20two%20hundred%20times%2C%20how%20utterly%20groundbreaking%20and%20epoch-making%20Fleabag%20is.%20Now%20I%20learn%20it%27s%20apparently%20not%20quite%20as%20good%20as%20Mad%20Men%20-%20another%20show%20the%20G%20had%20an%20inexplicably%20massive%20hard-on%20for.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22I%27m%20genuinely%20amazed%20they%20didn%27t%20put%20Fleabag%20at%20no.1%20-%20I%20thought%20this%20list%20thing%20was%20bound%20to%20be%20an%20elaborate%20v...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159292) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159292|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159292|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159388) Are you really? I can’t even comprehend how anyone could think Fleabag to be better than Sopranos or The Wire? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159388) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159388&quote=Franczeska%20commented%3A%20%22Are%20you%20really%3FI%20can%E2%80%99t%20even%20comprehend%20how%20anyone%20could%20think%20Fleabag%20to%20be%20better%20than%20Sopranos%20or%20The%20Wire%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Are%20you%20really%3FI%20can%E2%80%99t%20even%20comprehend%20how%20anyone%20could%20think%20Fleabag%20to%20be%20better%20than%20Sopranos%20or%20The%20Wire%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159388) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159388|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3538250.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159015|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159453) They might as well have left the number off and just made a list of titles. Whoever compiled the list must have used a tombola. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159453) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159453&quote=wutheringshite%20commented%3A%20%22They%20might%20as%20well%20have%20left%20the%20number%20off%20and%20just%20made%20a%20list%20of%20titles.%20Whoever%20compiled%20the%20list%20must%20have%20used%20a%20tombola.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22They%20might%20as%20well%20have%20left%20the%20number%20off%20and%20just%20made%20a%20list%20of%20titles.%20Whoever%20compiled%20the%20list%20must%20have...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159453) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159453|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159024|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159120) that's recency bias. As they would say on the famous gameshow "it's good but not quite right" [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159120) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159120&quote=galactikus%20commented%3A%20%22that%27s%20recency%20bias.%20As%20they%20would%20say%20on%20the%20famous%20gameshow%20%22it%27s%20good%20but%20not%20quite%20right%22%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22that%27s%20recency%20bias.%20As%20they%20would%20say%20on%20the%20famous%20gameshow%20%22it%27s%20good%20but%20not%20quite%20right%22%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159120) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159120|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159024|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159157) Fleabag is possibly the most overrated show ever/ How it gets in the top ten, when Flight of the Conchords is at number 65, is beyond me. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159157) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159157&quote=Liminal%20commented%3A%20%22Fleabag%20is%20possibly%20the%20most%20overrated%20show%20ever%2F%20How%20it%20gets%20in%20the%20top%20ten%2C%20when%20Flight%20of%20the%20Conchords%20is%20at%20number%2065%2C%20is%20beyond%20me.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Fleabag%20is%20possibly%20the%20most%20overrated%20show%20ever%2F%20How%20it%20gets%20in%20the%20top%20ten%2C%20when%20Flight%20of%20the%20Conchords%20is%20a...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159157) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159157|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159157|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159252) Because Phoebe Waller. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159252) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159252&quote=MyHandle04%20commented%3A%20%22Because%20Phoebe%20Waller.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Because%20Phoebe%20Waller.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159252) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159252|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159040|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159414) Gomorrah is indeed a masterpiece. The fact it’s not included at all is a shameful embarrassment for a “reliable” information source. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159414) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159414&quote=hooops%20commented%3A%20%22Gomorrah%20is%20indeed%20a%20masterpiece.%20The%20fact%20it%E2%80%99s%20not%20included%20at%20all%20is%20a%20shameful%20embarrassment%20for%20a%20%E2%80%9Creliable%E2%80%9D%20information%20source.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Gomorrah%20is%20indeed%20a%20masterpiece.%20The%20fact%20it%E2%80%99s%20not%20included%20at%20all%20is%20a%20shameful%20embarrassment%20for%20a%20%E2%80%9Creliable...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159414) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159414|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159040|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159589) Agree with Chernobyl, not been gripped to a tv show like that in a long time. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159589) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159589&quote=Gary%20%20Fenton%20commented%3A%20%22Agree%20with%20Chernobyl%2C%20not%20been%20gripped%20to%20a%20tv%20show%20like%20that%20in%20a%20long%20time.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Agree%20with%20Chernobyl%2C%20not%20been%20gripped%20to%20a%20tv%20show%20like%20that%20in%20a%20long%20time.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159589) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159589|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__15948484.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159414|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159746) One of these seasons it will break through, become excrutiatingly popular and every Tom, Dick and Harriet will be overnight Gomorrah 'superfans'. So in one way I'm still quite content that it's still under the radar. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159746) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159746&quote=DietBoke%20commented%3A%20%22One%20of%20these%20seasons%20it%20will%20break%20through%2C%20become%20excrutiatingly%20popular%20and%20every%20Tom%2C%20Dick%20and%20Harriet%20will%20be%20overnight%20Gomorrah%20%27superfans%27.%20So%20in%20one%20way%20I%27m%20still%20quite%20content%20that%20it%27s%20still%20under%20the%20radar.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22One%20of%20these%20seasons%20it%20will%20break%20through%2C%20become%20excrutiatingly%20popular%20and%20every%20Tom%2C%20Dick%20and%20Harriet%20will%20...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159746) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159746|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2770906.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159090|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133164306) Everyone knows that’s number 1 so they realised there’s no point including it. Like when you can bet on who wins the Premier League when you exclude Man City. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133164306) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133164306&quote=PadraigOHooligan%20commented%3A%20%22Everyone%20knows%20that%E2%80%99s%20number%201%20so%20they%20realised%20there%E2%80%99s%20no%20point%20including%20it.%20Like%20when%20you%20can%20bet%20on%20who%20wins%20the%20Premier%20League%20when%20you%20exclude%20Man%20City.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Everyone%20knows%20that%E2%80%99s%20number%201%20so%20they%20realised%20there%E2%80%99s%20no%20point%20including%20it.%20Like%20when%20you%20can%20bet%20on%20who%20win...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133164306) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133164306|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133164306|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133179337) This season? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133179337) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133179337&quote=HappyValley%20commented%3A%20%22This%20season%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22This%20season%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133179337) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133179337|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__17712182.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159094|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159333) There’s dream sequences, and then there’s dream sequences... [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159333) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159333&quote=SonnyDay%20commented%3A%20%22There%E2%80%99s%20dream%20sequences%2C%20and%20then%20there%E2%80%99s%20dream%20sequences...%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22There%E2%80%99s%20dream%20sequences%2C%20and%20then%20there%E2%80%99s%20dream%20sequences...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159333) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159333|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2044908.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159333|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159412) Isn't there one where a fish talks to him? \*grimace emoji\* [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159412) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159412&quote=umlaut%20commented%3A%20%22Isn%27t%20there%20one%20where%20a%20fish%20talks%20to%20him%3F%20%2Agrimace%20emoji%2A%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Isn%27t%20there%20one%20where%20a%20fish%20talks%20to%20him%3F%20*grimace%20emoji*%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159412) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159412|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159094|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159460) I really don't get the love for the Wire, even after all this time. It's the most cringey, cliche-ridden kind of show, couldn't finish an entire episode. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159460) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159460&quote=Mungo%20Jerry%20commented%3A%20%22I%20really%20don%27t%20get%20the%20love%20for%20the%20Wire%2C%20even%20after%20all%20this%20time.%20It%27s%20the%20most%20cringey%2C%20cliche-ridden%20kind%20of%20show%2C%20couldn%27t%20finish%20an%20entire%20episode.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22I%20really%20don%27t%20get%20the%20love%20for%20the%20Wire%2C%20even%20after%20all%20this%20time.%20It%27s%20the%20most%20cringey%2C%20cliche-ridden%20kind%20o...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159460) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159460|Report]] <https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/4154381> [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159098) Downtown Abbey in the top 100 really!! So many better period dramas that were not an add for the Conservative Party. I see this list leans more on popularity than quality though it almost makes up for it by including Black Books. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159098) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159098&quote=janetteB%20commented%3A%20%22Downtown%20Abbey%20in%20the%20top%20100%20really%21%21%20So%20many%20better%20period%20dramas%20that%20were%20not%20an%20add%20for%20the%20Conservative%20Party.%20I%20see%20this%20list%20leans%20more%20on%20popularity%20than%20quality%20though%20it%20almost%20makes%20up%20for%20it%20by%20including%20Black%20Books.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Downtown%20Abbey%20in%20the%20top%20100%20really!!%20So%20many%20better%20period%20dramas%20that%20were%20not%20an%20add%20for%20the%20Conservative%20P...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159098) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159098|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__15800004.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159100|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159237) Maybe they know something that we don't? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159237) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159237&quote=asparagusnextleft%20commented%3A%20%22Maybe%20they%20know%20something%20that%20we%20don%27t%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Maybe%20they%20know%20something%20that%20we%20don%27t%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159237) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159237|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159237|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160922) Iran. US. Trump. Nukes. Putin. China. We will be out of the EU by October 31st because, afaik, devastated nuclear wastelands that were once US bomber bases are not really viable EU members. Hence the Guardian's best of 21st Century lists right now. It is the last chance its got. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160922) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160922&quote=WattaPalaver%20commented%3A%20%22Iran.%20US.%20Trump.%20Nukes.%20Putin.%20China.%20%20We%20will%20be%20out%20of%20the%20EU%20by%20October%2031st%20because%2C%20afaik%2C%20devastated%20nuclear%20wastelands%20that%20were%20once%20US%20bomber%20bases%20are%20not%20really%20viable%20EU%20members.%20Hence%20the%20Guardian%27s%20best%20of%2021st%20Century%20lists%20right%20now.%20It%20is%20the%20last%20chance%20its%20got.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Iran.%20US.%20Trump.%20Nukes.%20Putin.%20China.%20%20We%20will%20be%20out%20of%20the%20EU%20by%20October%2031st%20because%2C%20afaik%2C%20devastated%20nucl...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160922) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160922|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159101|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159361) Yeh, how can they not list Broadchurch? [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159361) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159361&quote=bleacher1%20commented%3A%20%22Yeh%2C%20how%20can%20they%20not%20list%20Broadchurch%3F%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Yeh%2C%20how%20can%20they%20not%20list%20Broadchurch%3F%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159361) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159361|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2527026.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159101|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133167161) In - Leftovers Halt and catch fire Bin - Fleabag Girls [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133167161) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133167161&quote=antonyJ%20commented%3A%20%22In%20-%20Leftovers%20Halt%20and%20catch%20fire%20%20Bin%20-Fleabag%20Girls%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22In%20-%20Leftovers%20Halt%20and%20catch%20fire%20%20Bin%20-Fleabag%20Girls%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133167161) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133167161|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159106) Fair. Take the rest of the day off. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159106) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159106&quote=tenbenson%20commented%3A%20%22Fair.%20Take%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20day%20off.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Fair.%20Take%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20day%20off.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159106) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159106|Report]] <https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/10056908>[[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159129|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159137) Forgot another one: Ozark. Pleasantly surprised at how good this Netflix drama is. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159137) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159137&quote=iamatractorboy%20commented%3A%20%22Forgot%20another%20one%3A%20Ozark.%20Pleasantly%20surprised%20at%20how%20good%20this%20Netflix%20drama%20is.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Forgot%20another%20one%3A%20Ozark.%20Pleasantly%20surprised%20at%20how%20good%20this%20Netflix%20drama%20is.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159137) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159137|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2103668.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159129|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159299) Bojack is brilliant; funny, surreal and can often bring a tear to the eye. Dexter was great but perhaps peaked at Season 4, the it all went a bit crap. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159299) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159299&quote=ID4081984%20commented%3A%20%22Bojack%20is%20brilliant%3B%20funny%2C%20surreal%20and%20can%20often%20bring%20a%20tear%20to%20the%20eye.%20Dexter%20was%20great%20but%20perhaps%20peaked%20at%20Season%204%2C%20the%20it%20all%20went%20a%20bit%20crap.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Bojack%20is%20brilliant%3B%20funny%2C%20surreal%20and%20can%20often%20bring%20a%20tear%20to%20the%20eye.%20Dexter%20was%20great%20but%20perhaps%20peaked%20...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159299) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159299|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2901654.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159129|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159350) Bojack, Rick & Morty and Archer should all be on the list. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159350) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159350&quote=KeithTaylor%20commented%3A%20%22Bojack%2C%20Rick%20%26%20Morty%20and%20Archer%20should%20all%20be%20on%20the%20list.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Bojack%2C%20Rick%20%26%20Morty%20and%20Archer%20should%20all%20be%20on%20the%20list.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159350) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159350|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__4438226.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159136|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159875) Great spot - how on earth has that not made it?! [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159875) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159875&quote=JimboBrennan%20commented%3A%20%22Great%20spot%20-%20how%20on%20earth%20has%20that%20not%20made%20it%3F%21%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Great%20spot%20-%20how%20on%20earth%20has%20that%20not%20made%20it%3F!%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159875) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159875|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__14133666.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159136|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159893) Good shout. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159893) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159893&quote=SonofMonsterMagnet%20commented%3A%20%22Good%20shout.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Good%20shout.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159893) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159893|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159875|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159961) They needed room for better shows like "I'm a Celebrity", obviously [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159961) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159961&quote=humanbychance%20commented%3A%20%22They%20needed%20room%20for%20better%20shows%20like%20%22I%27m%20a%20Celebrity%22%2C%20obviously%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22They%20needed%20room%20for%20better%20shows%20like%20%22I%27m%20a%20Celebrity%22%2C%20obviously%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159961) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159961|Report]] <https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/1108286>[[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159144|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133164180) It was excellent But I though the Office was superior. Best British show of past 20 years. Possibly best UK comedy ever. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133164180) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133164180&quote=franciscat%20commented%3A%20%22It%20was%20excellentBut%20I%20though%20the%20Office%20was%20superior.%20Best%20British%20show%20of%20past%2020%20years.%20Possibly%20best%20UK%20comedy%20ever.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22It%20was%20excellentBut%20I%20though%20the%20Office%20was%20superior.%20Best%20British%20show%20of%20past%2020%20years.%20Possibly%20best%20UK%20come...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133164180) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133164180|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159144|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133173635) Just rewatched all of it over the last few weeks. First two series are okay, more political than funny. But, as you said, the third series is brilliant. The fourth also has is seriously good. You can definitely tell when Iannucci (an unsung genius who's responsible for some of the best, most ground-breaking shows in the last 25 or so years) left Veep and it went down hill. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133173635) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133173635&quote=DavePup%20commented%3A%20%22Just%20rewatched%20all%20of%20it%20over%20the%20last%20few%20weeks.%20First%20two%20series%20are%20okay%2C%20more%20political%20than%20funny.%20But%2C%20as%20you%20said%2C%20the%20third%20series%20is%20brilliant.%20The%20fourth%20also%20has%20is%20seriously%20good.%20You%20can%20definitely%20tell%20when%20Iannucci%20%28an%20unsung%20genius%20who%27s%20responsible%20for%20some%20of%20the%20best%2C%20most%20ground-breaking%20shows%20in%20the%20last%2025%20or%20so%20years%29%20left%20Veep%20and%20it%20went%20down%20hill.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Just%20rewatched%20all%20of%20it%20over%20the%20last%20few%20weeks.%20First%20two%20series%20are%20okay%2C%20more%20political%20than%20funny.%20But%2C%20as...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133173635) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133173635|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159151|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160137) It's a great show :) Yes but Louis Ck needs to be punished a little more [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160137) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160137&quote=Florian%20K%20commented%3A%20%22It%27s%20a%20great%20show%20%3A%29Yes%20but%20Louis%20Ck%20needs%20to%20be%20punished%20a%20little%20more%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22It%27s%20a%20great%20show%20%3A)Yes%20but%20Louis%20Ck%20needs%20to%20be%20punished%20a%20little%20more%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160137) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160137|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__14482590.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159151|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160823) I agree. Its a truly brilliant show. Though it does now feel a little like all the beautifully nuanced material on human behaviour and foibles is less the work of a flawed, insightful artist and more like red flag waving from a psychopath. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160823) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160823&quote=Jack%20Caramac%20commented%3A%20%22I%20agree.%20Its%20a%20truly%20brilliant%20show.%20Though%20it%20does%20now%20feel%20a%20little%20like%20all%20the%20beautifully%20nuanced%20material%20on%20human%20behaviour%20and%20foibles%20is%20less%20the%20work%20of%20a%20flawed%2C%20insightful%20artist%20and%20more%20like%20red%20flag%20waving%20from%20a%20psychopath.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22I%20agree.%20Its%20a%20truly%20brilliant%20show.%20Though%20it%20does%20now%20feel%20a%20little%20like%20all%20the%20beautifully%20nuanced%20material...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160823) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160823|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__3207830.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133160823|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133167439) Psychopath? Steady on.. Louie is a masterpiece, regardless of anybody’s pearl-clutching reassessment. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133167439) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133167439&quote=JackChinaski%20commented%3A%20%22Psychopath%3F%20Steady%20on..%20Louie%20is%20a%20masterpiece%2C%20regardless%20of%20anybody%E2%80%99s%20pearl-clutching%20reassessment.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Psychopath%3F%20Steady%20on..%20Louie%20is%20a%20masterpiece%2C%20regardless%20of%20anybody%E2%80%99s%20pearl-clutching%20reassessment.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133167439) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133167439|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159173|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159681) No I don't either, it puts me off the show and I think you miss important little parts of the show your watching. Even though the show could be very good I never enjoy watching shows with subtitles. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159681) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159681&quote=Gary%20%20Fenton%20commented%3A%20%22No%20I%20don%27t%20either%2C%20it%20puts%20me%20off%20the%20show%20and%20I%20think%20you%20miss%20important%20little%20parts%20of%20the%20show%20your%20watching.%20Even%20though%20the%20show%20could%20be%20very%20good%20I%20never%20enjoy%20watching%20shows%20with%20subtitles.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22No%20I%20don%27t%20either%2C%20it%20puts%20me%20off%20the%20show%20and%20I%20think%20you%20miss%20important%20little%20parts%20of%20the%20show%20your%20watchin...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159681) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159681|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159681|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160371) But then you’re excluding yourself from being able to watch loads of amazing programmes - Deutschland 83, the Bridge, Engrenages.. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160371) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160371&quote=JacobJones%20commented%3A%20%22But%20then%20you%E2%80%99re%20excluding%20yourself%20from%20being%20able%20to%20watch%20loads%20of%20amazing%20programmes%20-%20Deutschland%2083%2C%20the%20Bridge%2C%20Engrenages..%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22But%20then%20you%E2%80%99re%20excluding%20yourself%20from%20being%20able%20to%20watch%20loads%20of%20amazing%20programmes%20-%20Deutschland%2083%2C%20the%20B...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160371) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160371|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1467460.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159173|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161175) The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing are there. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161175) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161175&quote=Pagey%20commented%3A%20%22The%20Bridge%2C%20Borgen%20and%20The%20Killing%20are%20there.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22The%20Bridge%2C%20Borgen%20and%20The%20Killing%20are%20there.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161175) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133161175|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1442376.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159174|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159297) Coffers must be low. This kid of stuff is guaranteed click bait. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159297) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159297&quote=jonnypanic%20commented%3A%20%22Coffers%20must%20be%20low.%20This%20kid%20of%20stuff%20is%20guaranteed%20click%20bait.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Coffers%20must%20be%20low.%20This%20kid%20of%20stuff%20is%20guaranteed%20click%20bait.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159297) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159297|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159297|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159575) Here we go again. Clickbait is a story that doesn’t deliver on a deceptive or hyperbolic headline. These lists are here because people enjoy reading them, alongside the wide variety of other stuff the Guardian does. They are not clickbait. They are “things people are interested in”. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133159575) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159575&quote=Nndroid%20commented%3A%20%22Here%20we%20go%20again.%20Clickbait%20is%20a%20story%20that%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20deliver%20on%20a%20deceptive%20or%20hyperbolic%20headline.%20These%20lists%20are%20here%20because%20people%20enjoy%20reading%20them%2C%20alongside%20the%20wide%20variety%20of%20other%20stuff%20the%20Guardian%20does.%20They%20are%20not%20clickbait.%20They%20are%20%E2%80%9Cthings%20people%20are%20interested%20in%E2%80%9D.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Here%20we%20go%20again.%20Clickbait%20is%20a%20story%20that%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20deliver%20on%20a%20deceptive%20or%20hyperbolic%20headline.%20These%20lists%20...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133159575) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133159575|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__10624182.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159174|]] [2d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160288) Have you read the headlines lately? Its the distraction we need to have. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133160288) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160288&quote=Rosebud67%20commented%3A%20%22Have%20you%20read%20the%20headlines%20lately%3F%20Its%20the%20distraction%20we%20need%20to%20have.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Have%20you%20read%20the%20headlines%20lately%3F%20Its%20the%20distraction%20we%20need%20to%20have.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133160288) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133160288|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__2379938.gif]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159175|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161335) It has dated quite poorly, but it should make the top ten for its influence alone. Has one show made its way to the heart of such a large fraction of a generation (even if its only that small generation between Gen X and the millennials) before or since? It was also one f the first modern genre shows to do the season long story arc thing. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133161335) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161335&quote=Sudders%20commented%3A%20%22It%20has%20dated%20quite%20poorly%2C%20but%20it%20should%20make%20the%20top%20ten%20for%20its%20influence%20alone.%20Has%20one%20show%20made%20its%20way%20to%20the%20heart%20of%20such%20a%20large%20fraction%20of%20a%20generation%20%28even%20if%20its%20only%20that%20small%20generation%20between%20Gen%20X%20and%20the%20millennials%29%20before%20or%20since%3F%20It%20was%20also%20one%20f%20the%20first%20modern%20genre%20shows%20to%20do%20the%20season%20long%20story%20arc%20thing.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22It%20has%20dated%20quite%20poorly%2C%20but%20it%20should%20make%20the%20top%20ten%20for%20its%20influence%20alone.%20Has%20one%20show%20made%20its%20way%20to...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133161335) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133161335|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1059424.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133159175|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162205) I agree, but arguably it's best years were in the late 90s. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162205) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162205&quote=CaptainBlack%20commented%3A%20%22I%20agree%2C%20but%20arguably%20it%27s%20best%20years%20were%20in%20the%20late%2090s.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22I%20agree%2C%20but%20arguably%20it%27s%20best%20years%20were%20in%20the%20late%2090s.%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162205) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133162205|Report]] ![[100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century__1339564.png]] [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#comment-133161335|]] [1d ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162652) Bit like the original Star Trek the original sets and special effects were always dated... But the dialogue, the arcs, the equal handedness when treating male and female characters, it is still a classic. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/133162652) Share <https://www.facebook.com/dialog/share?app_id=180444840287&href=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162652&quote=Clariana%20commented%3A%20%22Bit%20like%20the%20original%20Star%20Trek%20the%20original%20sets%20and%20special%20effects%20were%20always%20dated...%20But%20the%20dialogue%2C%20the%20arcs%2C%20the%20equal%20handedness%20when%20treating%20male%20and%20female%20characters%2C%20it%20is%20still%20a%20classic.%22>[Share on Twitter Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Bit%20like%20the%20original%20Star%20Trek%20the%20original%20sets%20and%20special%20effects%20were%20always%20dated...%20But%20the%20dialogue%2C%20th...%22&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscussion.theguardian.com%2Fcomment-permalink%2F133162652) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/discussion/report-abuse/133162652|Report]] [2](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=2) [3](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=3) [4](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=4) … [next](https://www.theguardian.com/discussion/p/c8x8e?page=2) Reason (optional) Email (optional) [Sign in](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?INTCMP=DOTCOM_COMMENTS_SIGNIN_RECOMM) or [create your Guardian account](https://profile.theguardian.com/register?INTCMP=DOTCOM_COMMENTS_REG_RECOMM) to recommend a comment ## [Most popular](https://www.theguardian.com/most-read/tv-and-radio) * [Film](https://www.theguardian.com/us/film) * [Books](https://www.theguardian.com/books) * [Music](https://www.theguardian.com/music) * [Art & design](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign) * [TV & radio](https://www.theguardian.com/us/tv-and-radio) * [Stage](https://www.theguardian.com/stage) * [Classical](https://www.theguardian.com/music/classicalmusicandopera) * [Games](https://www.theguardian.com/games) * [News](https://www.theguardian.com/us) * [Opinion](https://www.theguardian.com/us/commentisfree) * [Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/us/sport) * [Culture](https://www.theguardian.com/us/culture) * [Lifestyle](https://www.theguardian.com/us/lifeandstyle) * [About us](https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) * [Contact us](https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) * [Complaints & corrections](https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) * [SecureDrop](https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) * [Work for us](https://workforus.theguardian.com/) * [Privacy policy](https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) * [Cookie policy](https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) * [Terms & conditions](https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) * [Help](https://www.theguardian.com/help) * [All topics](https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) * [All writers](https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) * [Digital newspaper archive](https://theguardian.newspapers.com/) * [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) * [Twitter](https://twitter.com/guardian) * [Advertise with us](https://advertising.theguardian.com/us/advertising) * [Guardian Labs](https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) * [Search jobs](https://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs?INTCMP=NGW_FOOTER_US_GU_JOBS) * [Dating](https://soulmates.theguardian.com/?INTCMP=soulmates_us_web_footer) * [Discount Codes](https://discountcode.theguardian.com/) Support The Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers [Contribute](https://support.theguardian.com/us/contribute?INTCMP=footer_support_contribute&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_FOOTER%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22footer_support_contribute%22%2C%22referrerPageviewId%22%3A%22k0o82jm4esbkfp9b1v3s%22%2C%22referrerUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%22%7D) [Subscribe](https://support.theguardian.com/us/subscribe?INTCMP=footer_support_subscribe&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_FOOTER%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22footer_support_subscribe%22%2C%22referrerPageviewId%22%3A%22k0o82jm4esbkfp9b1v3s%22%2C%22referrerUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2019%2Fsep%2F16%2F100-best-tv-shows-of-the-21st-century%22%7D) [[moz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.htmlmoz-extension://41f58d72-1d17-47d2-aed7-f6bd70916a57/iframe_stub.html#top|Back to top]] © 2019 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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