In my last post, yesterday, I broke down how I think about television and shows on TV. That did not include what’s popular nor, what wins awards or what everyone insists you “have to watch.” It was built with what actually earns its place based on consistency, ambition, character work, and long‑term payoff.
That was the framework.
What follows isn’t a highlight reel as mentioned in my previous blog (My TV Taste, Explained). It’s the full list. The complete ranking of everything that I have remembered that I’ve watched, tiered from *S down to D. What you will find below is what my TV taste looks like when it’s fully applied in rank form.
What Changes When You See the Full List
It’s easy to agree with philosophy in theory but it’s much more difficult when it forces you to confront where things actually land.
Because here’s the reality:
- Some widely respected shows don’t crack my top tier
- Some controversial shows land much higher than people expect
- Entire genres cluster together in ways that make my bias obvious
The Gap Between S and Everything Else
Looking at the full rankings, one thing becomes very clear and that is that S‑tier is small for a reason. Those shows aren’t just “really fantastically good.” They’re the ones that hold up under pressure and over time. The ones that don’t collapse in later seasons. The ones where character decisions actually matter and aren’t reset for convenience.
At the very top, you see the same names I called out before:
- Breaking Bad
- Better Call Saul
- Dexter (OG and revival)
- The Walking Dead (at its peak and best spin‑offs)
A‑Tier Is Where Most “Great TV” Actually Lives
One of the biggest takeaways from the full list is how crowded A‑tier is as that is where most people’s “favorites” land. Being on the A list is not an insult because does translate to awesome.
A‑tier is strong TV:
- Shows that are compelling, rewatchable, and often better than average
- Shows that might have one weak season, one safe stretch, or one missed opportunity
- Shows that you respect… but don’t obsess over
This is where things like 24, Homeland, Mad Men, The Queen’s Gambit, and Sherlock sit as awesome, but not untouchable.
Patterns You Can’t Miss
When you look at the full list, a few trends become obvious:
1. I Reward Risk: Shows that swing big, even if they don’t land perfectly, rank higher than safe, predictable hits.
2. Character > Concept: If the characters don’t evolve in a meaningful way, the show drops, no matter how good the premise is.
3. Comedy Has the Steepest Drop‑Off: Plenty of comedies start strong. Very few stay sharp long enough to climb tiers.
4. I Don’t Grade on a Curve: Older shows don’t get bonus points for being first. Newer shows don’t get bonus points for being polished.
Why This List Exists at All
This isn’t about convincing anyone to agree with me; it’s about being open and sharing my thoughts.
If I say I value the items below, then the rankings have to reflect that.
- character arcs over shock value
- payoff over hype
- ambition over safety
Final Thought
The full list doesn’t change my philosophy, it tests it and it proves something I said in the first blog still holds: Some shows earn permanence and most don’t.
- Television is everywhere
- New series drop constantly
- Everyone has a recommendation
Time is limited, so the list below is how I decide what actually deserves to consume mine.
| Rank | Tier | Show |
| 1 | *S | Breaking Bad |
| 2 | *S | Dexter (2006 start – OG) |
| 3 | *S | The Walking Dead |
| 4 | *S | The X-Files (OG) |
| 5 | *S | Better Call Saul |
| 6 | *S | Stranger Things |
| 7 | *S | Suits |
| 8 | *S | Game of Thrones |
| 9 | *S | Westworld (Modern) |
| 10 | *S | Ozark |
| 11 | *S | The Ones Who Live (Walking Dead) |
| 12 | *S | The X-Files (Reboot) |
| 13 | *S | Monk |
| 14 | *S | The Boys |
| 15 | *S | The Office |
| 16 | *S | Halt and Catch Fire |
| 17 | *S | Black Mirror |
| 18 | *S | Lost |
| 19 | *S | Walking Dead Daryl Dixon |
| 20 | *S | The Marvelous Mrs Mazel |
| 21 | *S | House |
| 22 | *S | Lost in Space (Modern) |
| 23 | *S | The OA |
| 24 | *S | Chuck |
| 25 | *S | Parks and Recreation |
| 26 | *S | Dexter Resurrection (2025 start) |
| 27 | A | 24 |
| 28 | A | Bosch |
| 29 | A | 30 Rock |
| 30 | A | MythBusters |
| 31 | A | Homeland |
| 32 | A | 3rd Rock from the Sun |
| 33 | A | This Is Us |
| 34 | A | Wednesday |
| 35 | A | Community |
| 36 | A | Fringe |
| 37 | A | American Horror Story |
| 38 | A | Hunter x Hunter |
| 39 | A | The Big Bang Theory |
| 40 | A | MacGyver (OG) |
| 41 | A | Dead City (Walking Dead) |
| 42 | A | House of the Dragon |
| 43 | A | Hannibal |
| 44 | A | The Blacklist |
| 45 | A | Person of Interest |
| 46 | A | Reacher |
| 47 | A | Malcolm in the Middle |
| 48 | A | The Umbrella Academy |
| 49 | A | Entourage |
| 50 | A | Quantum Leap |
| 51 | A | Schitt’s Creek |
| 52 | A | The Mandalorian |
| 53 | A | The IT Crowd |
| 54 | A | Talamazca |
| 55 | A | The Americans |
| 56 | A | Justified |
| 57 | A | House of Cards |
| 58 | A | The Strain |
| 59 | A | Mad Men |
| 60 | A | Young Sheldon |
| 61 | A | Prison Break |
| 62 | A | Superstore |
| 63 | A | Our Planet |
| 64 | A | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
| 65 | A | Planet Earth II |
| 66 | A | Planet Earth |
| 67 | A | Earth 2 |
| 68 | A | Preacher |
| 69 | A | The Queen’s Gambit |
| 70 | A | Sherlock |
| 71 | A | The A-Team |
| 72 | A | NCIS |
| 73 | A | Stargate SG-1 |
| 74 | A | CSI: Crime Scene Investigations |
| 75 | A | The Last of Us |
| 76 | A | Eastbound & Down |
| 77 | A | Dexter Original Sin (2024 start) |
| 78 | A | That ’70s Show |
| 79 | B | Knight Rider |
| 80 | B | Brooklyn Nine-Nine |
| 81 | B | Hawaii Five-O (Modern) |
| 82 | B | Money Heist |
| 83 | B | Lucifer |
| 84 | B | How I Met Your Mother |
| 85 | B | The Expanse |
| 86 | B | Home Improvement |
| 87 | B | Law & Order |
| 88 | B | The Blue Planet |
| 89 | B | Black-ish |
| 90 | B | Loki |
| 91 | B | WandaVision |
| 92 | B | Miami Vice |
| 93 | B | Sanford and Son |
| 94 | B | Monty Python’s Flying Circus |
| 95 | B | Sex and the City |
| 96 | B | That Girl |
| 97 | B | Sons of Anarchy |
| 98 | B | Two and a Half Men (OG) |
| 99 | B | The West Wing |
| 100 | B | The Untouchables |
| 101 | B | Veep |
| 102 | B | The Munsters |
| 103 | B | Friends |
| 104 | B | Vikings |
| 105 | B | In Living Color |
| 106 | B | Happy Days |
| 107 | B | The Jeffersons |
| 108 | B | The Wire |
| 109 | B | Married… with Children |
| 110 | B | Mork & Mindy |
| 111 | B | Cheers |
| 112 | B | Two and a Half Men (Reload) |
| 113 | B | Beverly Hills, 90210 |
| 114 | B | The Shield |
| 115 | B | The Rookie |
| 116 | B | Whose Line Is It Anyway? |
| 117 | B | The Benny Hill Show |
| 118 | B | Will & Grace |
| 119 | B | Orange Is the New Black |
| 120 | B | Gilligan’s Island |
| 121 | B | Squid Game |
| 122 | B | Leave It to Beaver |
| 123 | C | Archer |
| 124 | C | The Little Rascals |
| 125 | C | Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| 126 | C | Charlie’s Angels (OG) |
| 127 | C | The Golden Girls |
| 128 | C | Charlie’s Angels (Refresh) |
| 129 | C | Criminal Minds |
| 130 | C | Frasier |
| 131 | C | Gilmore Girls |
| 132 | C | True Blood |
| 133 | C | The Odd Couple |
| 134 | C | Futurama |
| 135 | C | WKRP in Cincinnati |
| 136 | C | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air |
| 137 | C | Everybody Loves Raymond |
| 138 | C | Seinfeld |
| 139 | C | The Beverly Hillbillies |
| 140 | C | Hawaii Five-O (OG) |
| 141 | C | Starsky & Hutch |
| 142 | C | The Punisher |
| 143 | C | Dexter New Blood (2021 start) |
| 144 | C | King of the Hill |
| 145 | C | Ally McBeal |
| 146 | C | Life on Mars |
| 147 | C | Lost in Space (B&W) |
| 148 | C | Mission Impossible |
| 149 | C | NYPD Blue |
| 150 | C | Grey’s Anatomy |
| 151 | C | Golden Girls |
| 152 | C | The Addams Family (B&W) |
| 153 | C | Family Guy |
| 154 | C | The Six Million Dollar Man (OG) |
| 155 | C | The Three Stooges |
| 156 | C | The Twilight Zone |
| 157 | C | Three’s Company |
| 158 | C | Scrubs |
| 159 | C | Wonder Woman |
| 160 | D | Laverne & Shirley |
| 161 | D | Battlestar Galactica |
| 162 | D | Bewitched |
| 163 | D | Coach |
| 164 | D | Diff’rent Strokes |
| 165 | D | Dragnet |
| 166 | D | Full House |
| 167 | D | I Dream of Jeannie |
| 168 | D | I Love Lucy |
| 169 | D | Inspector Gadget |
| 170 | D | Roseanne |