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Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 50 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (So Far) (www.hollywoodreporter.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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There were 600 original scripted shows airing on broadcast, cable and streaming in 2022 alone. That it was already hard enough to list the 50 best shows of last year is a luxury problem. We’re living through the greatest era of television content ever, and that’s fantastic, but it makes listing very challenging. It’s likely that we excluded at least five of your favorite shows ever. We apologize.

We had to start with parameters. We agreed that any show that had episodes airing after Dec. 31, 1999, was eligible for consideration, even if that show first premiered in the 20th century. That meant, for example, that The Sopranos was eligible, but only for the five seasons that aired from 2000 on. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was eligible, but it lost three and a half seasons. You get the idea.

The next parameter was harder to set and entailed more bickering. We decided that while the volume of available international television has expanded exponentially in the streaming era, it’s hard to feel like we’ve seen a representative output of, say, the Korean TV industry. To avoid claiming authority based on such a limited sample, we decided to restrict the list to English-language options. (That said, we collectively urge everybody to watch HBO’s My Brilliant Friend.)

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order): America to Me, Arrested Development, Bob’s Burgers, The Good Wife, The Great British Bake-Off, Happy Valley, Harley Quinn, It’s a Sin, Justified, The Office (U.S.), Sense8, Somebody Somewhere, This Country, Up, Watchmen

The list of 50 was as follows:

    1. 'Sex and the City' (HBO, 1998-2004)
    1. 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (Nickelodeon, 2005-2008)
    1. 'South Side' (Comedy Central and Max, 2019-2022)
    1. 'Vida' (Starz, 2018-2020)
    1. 'The Underground Railroad' (Amazon Prime, 2021)
    1. 'The Crown' (Netflix, 2016-present)
    1. 'The Leftovers' (HBO, 2014-2017)
    1. 'Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown' (CNN, 2013-2018)
    1. 'Station Eleven' (HBO Max, 2021)
    1. 'Beef' (Netflix, 2023)
    1. 'Insecure' (HBO, 2016-2021)
    1. 'The Deuce' (HBO, 2017-2019)
    1. 'Band of Brothers' (HBO, 2001)
    1. 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' (The CW, 2015-2018)
    1. 'The Shield' (FX, 2002-2008)
    1. 'Chernobyl' (HBO, 2019)
    1. 'Jane the Virgin' (The CW, 2014-2019)
    1. 'Orange Is the New Black' (Netflix, 2013-2019)
    1. 'Veep' (HBO, 2012-2019)
    1. 'Fleabag' (BBC Three and Amazon Prime Video, 2016-2019)
    1. 'Game of Thrones' (HBO, 2011-2019)
    1. 'Broad City' (Comedy Central, 2014-2019)
    1. 'How To With John Wilson' (HBO, 2020-2023)
    1. 'Parks and Recreation' (NBC, 2009-2015)
    1. 'Battlestar Galactica' (Sci-Fi/Syfy, 2003-2009)
    1. 'Review' (Comedy Central, 2014-2017)
    1. 'I May Destroy You' (BBC One and HBO, 2020)
    1. 'Survivor' (CBS, 2000-present)
    1. 'Better Things' (FX, 2016-2022)
    1. 'Deadwood' (HBO, 2004-2006)
    1. 'Peep Show' (2003-2015, Channel 4)
    1. 'Rectify' (SundanceTV, 2013-2016)
    1. 'Friday Night Lights' (NBC and The 101 Network, 2006-2011)
    1. 'Halt and Catch Fire' (AMC, 2014-2017)
    1. 'Breaking Bad' (AMC, 2008-2013)
    1. 'Atlanta' (FX, 2016-2022)
    1. 'Enlightened' (HBO, 2011-2013)
    1. '30 for 30' (ESPN, 2009-present)
    1. 'The Americans' (FX, 2013-2018)
    1. 'The Daily Show' (Comedy Central, 1996-present)
    1. 'BoJack Horseman' (Netflix, 2014-2020)
    1. 'Freaks and Geeks' (NBC, 1999-2000)
    1. 'Girls' (HBO, 2012-2017)
    1. 'Better Call Saul' (AMC, 2015-2022)
    1. 'Reservation Dogs' (FX/Hulu, 2021-2023)
    1. 'The Wire' (HBO, 2002-2008)
    1. '30 Rock' (NBC, 2006-2013)
    1. 'Succession' (HBO, 2018-2023)
    1. 'The Sopranos' (HBO, 1999-2007)
    1. 'Mad Men' (AMC, 2007-2015)
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There definitely seems to be some recency bias in the shows that were picked, and I certainly don't agree with the placement on most of the shows on the list; but I think it goes without saying these are all strong shows.

The shows I was personally happy to see get a shout out were South Side, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and Atlanta. Though I was not surprised to see Atlanta get recognized, I was surprised to see the other three get the recognition they deserve.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I was surprised to see the other three get the recognition they deserve.

I had the same thought about: Peep Show, Halt and Catch Fire, and Better Things.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Of these I've watched 8 completely:

  • Battlestar Galactica.
  • Parks and Rec.
  • 30 Rock.
  • Chernobyl.
  • Game of Thrones.
  • Deadwood.
  • Halt and Catch Fire.
  • Bojack Horseman

6 others I've started and gave up on part way through:

  • The Last Airbender.
  • Atlanta.
  • Better Call Saul.
  • Breaking Bad.
  • Veep.
  • Reservation Dogs.

Of the rest, half of them I've never even heard of.

I guess I don't have good taste in TV?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

When it comes to taste in entertainment, there is very little that can be considered objective. I, myself, know several of these shows by reputation as being great but have no interest in watching them. (For example, I've heard Peep Show is phenomenal, but I do not enjoy cringe humor; and I've never been able to get into Game of Thrones.)

Based on what you've watched in the past, I might recommend South Side or Insecure off the list. They're both classic sitcoms with South Side reminding me a lot of Parks and Rec (it is not a mockumentary, though). Insecure feels more like the evolution of spiritual sequel to Girlfriends. Insecure is a little further from your previously watched list than South Side, but they're both pretty solid sitcoms.

I have also heard recommendations for Fleabag and Broad City as comedies but I haven't seen enough of them to confirm if they'd work for you.

In terms of prestige dramas, I've heard great things about I May Destroy You but I have not watched it since I'm not personally huge on dramas.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Seams to be pretty heavily biased toward popular tv-ma original dramas.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Wild to see Mad Men as #1…

My personal, and very biased, list has a lot of similarities but some odd misses

Top shows

  1. The Wire
  2. Bojack Horseman
  3. Patriot
  4. The Americans
  5. Better Off Ted
  6. Arrested Development
  7. Pushing Daisies
  8. Gravity Falls

Honorable Mentions

  1. Over the garden wall
  2. Luther
  3. Friday Night Lights
  4. The Queen’s Gambit
  5. GLOW
  6. Mindhunter
  7. Sports Night
  8. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  9. Atlanta
  10. The Bear
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

🤖 I'm a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles:

Click here to see the summaryLike all well-conceived lists, it offered room for enthusiastic agreement and virulent disagreement — as well as a guarantee that any title you had yet to see was surely worth checking out.

That makes it even easier for us to justify our own stab at the same project: Why rank the best TV shows of the past 24 years — which isn’t even a quarter of a century — right now?

Whether you call it a golden age (or platinum, or your metal of choice), expand the boundaries of John Landgraf’s “Peak TV” well beyond its actual definition or just employ the #TooMuchTV hashtag, there’s little doubt that the television landscape on Dec. 31, 1999, has almost no resemblance to what the kids are watching on their iWatches today.

We decided that while the volume of available international television has expanded exponentially in the streaming era, it’s hard to feel like we’ve seen a representative output of, say, the Korean TV industry.

When you have partisans of stately costume dramas and wonky multi-part political documentaries and CBS multicam sitcoms all making their cases, things can get heated.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order): America to Me, Arrested Development, Bob’s Burgers, The Good Wife, The Great British Bake-Off, Happy Valley, Harley Quinn, It’s a Sin, Justified, The Office (U.S.), Sense8, Somebody Somewhere, This Country, Up, Watchmen

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