Must-See TV Shows
by z-echaniz | created - 16 Feb 2011 | updated - 17 Feb 2011 | PublicFirst dramas, then comedies. I don't think a drama and a comedy can be compared when listed by priority.
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1. Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook
Votes: 215,280
2. Six Feet Under (2001–2005)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.
Stars: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose
Votes: 149,313
3. Mad Men (2007–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama
A 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.
Stars: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones
Votes: 260,397
4. Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A 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.
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt
Votes: 2,134,277
5. Dexter (2006–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, James Remar
Votes: 765,314
6. The Good Wife (2009–2016)
TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Alicia Florrick has been a good wife to her husband, a former state's attorney. After a very humiliating sex and corruption scandal, he is behind bars. She must now provide for her family and returns to work as a litigator in a law firm.
Stars: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Josh Charles, Matt Czuchry
Votes: 82,661
7. Skins (2007–2013)
TV-MA | 46 min | Drama
The story of a group of British teens who are trying to grow up and find love and happiness despite questionable parenting and teachers who would rather be friends (and lovers) than authority figures.
Stars: Kaya Scodelario, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Dempsie, Hannah Murray
Votes: 93,063
8. The L Word (I) (2004–2009)
TV-MA | 50 min | Drama, Romance
Follows the lives and loves of a small, close-knit group of lesbian women living in Los Angeles as well as the friends and family members that either support or loathe them.
Stars: Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner
Votes: 28,737
9. Misfits (2009–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A group of young offenders doing community service gets struck by lightning during a storm and start to develop superpowers.
Stars: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Joe Gilgun, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha
Votes: 107,280
10. Damages (2007–2012)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A law school graduate becomes the protégée of a successful high-stakes litigator.
Stars: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan, Zachary Booth
Votes: 31,591
11. United States of Tara (2009–2011)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A woman struggles to find a balance between her dissociative identity disorder and raising a dysfunctional family.
Stars: Toni Collette, John Corbett, Rosemarie DeWitt, Keir Gilchrist
Votes: 25,161
12. Nip/Tuck (2003–2010)
TV-MA | 44 min | Drama
Two plastic surgeons--one a dedicated family man and one an unscrupulous playboy--strive to maintain their business whilst having to work their way through numerous hardships ranging from personal to clients with criminal connections.
Stars: Dylan Walsh, Julian McMahon, Joely Richardson, John Hensley
Votes: 58,634
13. Desperate Housewives (2004–2012)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighborhood after the mysterious suicide of a neighbor.
Stars: Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria
Votes: 139,687
14. Weeds (2005–2012)
TV-MA | 28 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
When a suburban mother turns to dealing marijuana in order to maintain her privileged lifestyle after her husband dies, she finds out just how addicted her entire neighborhood already is.
Stars: Mary-Louise Parker, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Kevin Nealon
Votes: 117,334
15. Pushing Daisies (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A pastry chef with the power to bring dead people back to life solves murder mysteries with his resurrected childhood sweetheart, a cynical private investigator, and a lovesick waitress.
Stars: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Jim Dale
Votes: 59,547
16. Motivos personales (2005)
70 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Natalia is a journalist whose husband is unfairly accused of murder with terrible consequences. Natalia will not rest until she finds out who is to blame for her misery.
Stars: Lydia Bosch, Marta Calvó, Daniel Freire, Pedro Casablanc
Votes: 240
17. Sherlock (2010–2017)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The 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.
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves
Votes: 997,457
18. Lost (2004–2010)
TV-14 | 5,445 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.
Stars: Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly
Votes: 594,796
19. 7 vidas (1999–2006)
50 min | Comedy
David awakens after an 18-year coma to find himself in a completely different world.
Stars: Amparo Baró, Gonzalo de Castro, Blanca Portillo, Anabel Alonso
Votes: 1,509
20. Friends (1994–2004)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
Follows the personal and professional lives of six twenty to thirty year-old friends living in the Manhattan borough of New York City.
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc
Votes: 1,087,489
21. True Blood (2008–2014)
TV-MA | 55 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse encounters a strange new supernatural world when she meets the mysterious Bill Compton, a southern Louisiana gentleman and vampire.
Stars: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten
Votes: 260,019
22. 30 Rock (2006–2013)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
Liz Lemon, head writer of the sketch-comedy show "TGS with Tracy Jordan", must deal with an arrogant new boss and a crazy new star while trying to run a successful television show without losing her mind.
Stars: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer
Votes: 131,948
23. Modern Family (2009–2020)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three different, but related, families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.
Stars: Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell
Votes: 483,108
24. How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)
TV-14 | 4,576 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A father recounts to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.
Stars: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris
Votes: 728,191
25. The IT Crowd (2006–2013)
TV-14 | 25 min | Comedy
The comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss and their grifting supervisor Jen, a rag-tag team of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.
Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, Matt Berry
Votes: 164,316
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