One Man's Opinion On The 10 Best TV Shows Of All-Time | Bobby Burack
At this time of year, there's usually a debate about the best television show of the year. Sometimes the debate becomes contentious. People get mad online over the conversation.
But not this year. It is almost universally agreed upon that the final season of Succession was the best TV show of 2023.
You will get no argument from me.
So, we thought it'd be more fun to rank the best television shows of all time. Is Succession one of them?
Perhaps. You will have to read our full list to find out.
Send us your ranking of the 10 best shows of all-time @burackbobby_.
10. Better Call Saul
I am not a fan of prequels. Or sequels. Yet Better Call Saul is both. And it's excellent.
No, BCS is not better than Breaking Bad, its predecessor. But the fact it is even a debate proves Saul's worthiness.
The idea of building a series around the kooky, corrupt lawyer was initially met with resistance from fans.
Today, it's hard to imagine a Breaking Bad universe without the additions of Better Call Saul, in both the prequel and sequel timelines.
9. Succession
Yes, Succession is in the top 10.
Showrunner Jesse Armstrong understood the most basic fact of television: it's about the characters; not the plot.
The finale of Succession was anticlimactic. But it didn't matter.
Think about it: you never actually cared about who succeeded Logan as head of Waystar RoyCo. You just wanted to be along for the journey and the inevitable fall.
And you were.
The sign of a great show is when viewers are both satisfied with the ending but continue to hold out hope that the end might not be as final as we are led to believe.
Succession accomplished that.
8. Seinfeld
Sitcoms don't regularly rank among the greats. Seinfeld is the exception.
To this day, no none can quite explain what makes Seinfeld work. It is, as George would say, "a show about nothing."
Perhaps that's what makes the series such a joyous watch.
And let's be honest, we all have some Jerry, George, or Elaine in us. Some of you might even have some Kramer.
7. Deadwood
When you Western-ize The Sopranos, you get Deadwood.
With all due respect to Al Swearengen, the alluring town of Deadwood is the best character in the series.
Despite the lack of technology, running water, and safety -- you can't help but watch Deadwood and wish you could be there.
At least for a few days...
HBO unfortunately canceled the show after its third season in 2006. But Deadwood returned for a near-two-hour film in 2019.
The ending was, honestly, satisfying.
6. Mad Men
While a slow burn and not ideal for binging, Mad Men has the bragging right for never putting forth a bad episode.
Not a single one.
Somehow, Jon Hamm's performance as Don Draper is underrated. It was that good.
Most guys won't admit this, but trust me, if they could be any TV character -- it would be Don.
5. Game of Thrones
Look, I get it.
The final season wasn't good. It was rushed. The finale didn't do fans or the characters the justice they deserved after a decade.
But Thrones was a phenomenon. Thrones embodied the Reddit era of television viewing.
Americans treated Game of Thrones as if it were a sport.
We watched the show live and together. We reacted the next day with interpretations, predictions, theories, and complaints.
We planned our weekends around watching Game of Thrones. N
No show has since filled that void.
4. The Wire
Some readers might say The Wire is too low. It's quite common for critics to list the series as No. 1.
I get the argument. The show felt real. Sometimes, too real.
Seasons 3 and 4 are among the best seasons of television ever produced. Even the final season, objectively the series' weakest, was no worse than an 8 out of 10.
Alas, Stringer died too early.
3. The Leftovers
The Leftovers is certainly the most obscure series on the list. It did not experience the commercial success of the others.
Though it should have.
Creator Damon Lindelof righted the wrongs he committed with Lost. And there were many.
The Leftovers is deep. It forces you to question your faith, belief, and hope.
In the end, the series argues that no one is truly the same in the face of losing a loved one. But we all, eventually, experience this unrelenting pain and must find comfort in knowing that while we suffer, those we lost might be no longer.
2. Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad made binge-watching cool.
And staying up way too late to see how Walter and Jesse worked their way out of another daunting corner.
I'm not so sure Netflix would be Netflix today if it weren't for the show taking on a second life post-finale.
Breaking Bad was the most fun I had watching a TV show. Unlike most series on this list, the ending was superb.
1. The Sopranos
Show creator David Chase perfected the art of episodic drama with the creation of Tony Soprano.
There are only a few shows that one can re-watch with the same level of intrigue as the first time.
Did he die? Did he survive? What happened after the screen faded to black? The fact that you still care, 16 years later, proves my point.
The Sopranos gets better with time.
Send us your ranking of the 10 best shows of all-time @burackbobby_.