Top 25 Drama TV shows of all time
This is not a finished list as far as the order. The top 10 is in order but I'm in the process of watching some of the shows in this list. Also, shows that have only been on the air for one season can't rank as high as others with several seasons.
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- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsDrama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorVince GilliganStarsBryan CranstonAaron PaulAnna GunnA chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
- CreatorTerence WinterStarsSteve BuscemiKelly MacdonaldMichael ShannonAn Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
- CreatorGraham YostStarsTimothy OlyphantNick SearcyJoelle CarterEnforcing his own brand of justice, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a strong-willed, quiet law-man haunted by his past, returns to his native town to see that justice is served to those in need.
- CreatorFrank DarabontStarsAndrew LincolnNorman ReedusMelissa McBrideSheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.
- CreatorMatthew WeinerStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserA drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.
- CreatorNic PizzolattoIssa LópezStarsVince VaughnColin FarrellRachel McAdamsAnthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
- CreatorJoseph WeisbergStarsKeri RussellMatthew RhysKeidrich SellatiAt the height of the Cold War, two Russian agents pose as the average American couple, complete with family.
- CreatorDavid BenioffD.B. WeissStarsEmilia ClarkePeter DinklageKit HaringtonNine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.
- CreatorBeau WillimonStarsKevin SpaceyMichel GillRobin WrightA Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.
- CreatorVince GilliganPeter GouldStarsBob OdenkirkRhea SeehornJonathan BanksThe trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill in the years leading up to his fateful run-in with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
- CreatorGlenn KesslerTodd A. KesslerDaniel ZelmanStarsGlenn CloseRose ByrneTate DonovanA law school graduate becomes the protégée of a successful high-stakes litigator.Damages had the best season one of any show in television history. Every season was not as good as the one prior but still an elite show.
- CreatorRemi AubuchonRonald D. MooreStarsEric StoltzEsai MoralesPaula MalcomsonTwo families, the Graystones and the Adamas, live together on a peaceful planet known as Caprica, where a startling breakthrough in artificial intelligence brings about unforeseen consequences.
- CreatorTed GriffinStarsDonal LogueMichael Raymond-JamesLaura AllenEx-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth partners with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack, in an unlicensed private investigation business.
- CreatorJustin ZackhamStarsHolt McCallanyStacy KeachCatherine McCormackA former heavyweight boxing champion struggles to find his identity after retiring from the ring.
- CreatorElwood ReidBjörn SteinMeredith StiehmStarsDemián BichirDiane KrugerThomas M. WrightTwo detectives work together to take down a serial killer operating on both sides of the Texas-Chihuahua border.
- CreatorNoah HawleyStarsBilly Bob ThorntonMartin FreemanAllison TolmanVarious chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
- CreatorHoward GordonGideon RaffCraig WrightStarsAdam RaynerJennifer FinniganAshraf BarhomAn unassuming American family is drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation.
- CreatorCraig SilversteinStarsJamie BellHeather LindSamuel RoukinA Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.
- CreatorCameron PorsandehStarsBilly CampbellKyra ZagorskyMark GhaniméA team of scientists are thrust into a potentially life-or-death situation when they arrive in the Arctic to secretly investigate what could be an outbreak of a strange disease in a secluded international research facility.
- CreatorChristopher CantwellChristopher C. RogersStarsLee PaceScoot McNairyMackenzie DavisFollows some players in the 80s technological revolution that lead to information society.
- CreatorJames Manos Jr.StarsMichael C. HallJennifer CarpenterDavid ZayasHe's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
- CreatorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoNew Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
- CreatorDavid MilchStarsTimothy OlyphantIan McShaneMolly ParkerA show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
- CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickAn idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
- CreatorDamon LindelofTom PerrottaStarsJustin TherouxAmy BrennemanChristopher EcclestonThree years after the disappearance of 2% of the global human population, a group of people in a small New York community try to continue their lives while coping with the tragedy of the unexplained nature of the event.
- CreatorTravis FickettTerry MatalasStarsAaron StanfordAmanda SchullNoah BeanFollows the journey of a time traveler from the post-apocalyptic future who appears in present day on a mission to locate and eradicate the source of a deadly plague that will nearly destroy the human race.
- CreatorLisa JoyJonathan NolanStarsEvan Rachel WoodJeffrey WrightEd HarrisAt the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, waits a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonRonald D. MooreStarsEdward James OlmosMary McDonnellJamie BamberWhen an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
- CreatorBrian KoppelmanDavid LevienAndrew Ross SorkinStarsPaul GiamattiDamian LewisMaggie SiffNew money means no mercy as Mike Prince takes the Axe Capital throne. Chuck Rhoades is convinced no one should have that much wealth - or power. As all the players seek out new alliances, only one thing's for certain - wealth means war.
- CreatorJoe PenhallStarsJonathan GroffHolt McCallanyAnna TorvIn the late 1970s, two FBI agents broaden the realm of criminal science by investigating the psychology behind murder and end up getting too close to real-life monsters.
- CreatorJesse ArmstrongStarsNicholas BraunBrian CoxKieran CulkinThe Roy family is known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. However, their world changes when their father steps down from the company.
- CreatorRon FitzgeraldRolin JonesStarsMatthew RhysJuliet RylanceChris ChalkIn booming 1932 Los Angeles, a down-and-out defense attorney takes on the case of a lifetime.
- CreatorMark GatissSteven MoffatStarsBenedict CumberbatchMartin FreemanUna StubbsThe quirky spin on Conan Doyle's iconic sleuth pitches him as a "high-functioning sociopath" in modern-day London. Assisting him in his investigations: Afghanistan War vet John Watson, who's introduced to Holmes by a mutual acquaintance.
- CreatorDavid FarrStarsTom HiddlestonHugh LaurieElizabeth DebickiThe night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle.
- StarsOscar IsaacNatalie PaulCarla QuevedoNick Wasicsko takes office as mayor of Yonkers in 1987 and has to face the issue of building public housing in the white, middle-class side of town.