My personal favourite tv shows (25 of them, roughly in order)
by death-wyvern | created - 14 Feb 2012 | updated - 14 Feb 2012 | PublicI'm basing my list off of compelling viewing - i.e. how hooked I was the first moment I saw any of it, or, in most cases - the very first episode of it.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 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: 58,600
Amazing drama that never stops, and makes me always question the moral flaws of each of the characters. Plus, some great antagonists when they put the effort in.
2. 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: 139,565
Perfect blend of comedy and drama
3. Smallville (2001–2017)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville, Kansas.
Stars: Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Kristin Kreuk
Votes: 137,896
It got depressing and silly after the 7th season, but was the first show I ever watched where I felt a really strong emotional connection to the main character.
4. Supernatural (2005–2020)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Two brothers follow their father's footsteps as hunters, fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds, including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.
Stars: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jim Beaver, Misha Collins
Votes: 482,361
It's purely the supernatural aspect that draws me in, plus the great mythology storylines that they do (most especially, The Apocalypse)
5. Prison Break (2005–2017)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A structural engineer installs himself in a prison he helped design, in order to save his falsely accused brother from a death sentence by breaking themselves out from the inside.
Stars: Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper
Votes: 578,568
Never ending tension. The final episode was the only thing I didn't like about it, plus Sara's alcoholism.
6. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,031
Something to make me laugh out loud to. No matter how many times I watch it!
7. The Vicar of Dibley (1994–2020)
TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy
A boisterous female minister comes to serve in an eccentricly conservative small town's church.
Stars: Dawn French, James Fleet, Trevor Peacock, Gary Waldhorn
Votes: 15,455
Equal funniest British comedy with Fawlty, in my opinion.
8. The Adventures of Tintin (1991–1992)
TV-Y7 | 30 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The adventures of the young reporter, his faithful dog and friends as they travel around the world on adventures.
Stars: Colin O'Meara, Thierry Wermuth, Christian Pelissier, Henri Labussière
Votes: 19,216
It's Tintin! And Snowy!
9. 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: 25,144
Toni Collete... need I say more? Great drama too - this shouldn't have been cancelled.
10. Shameless (2011–2021)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
A scrappy, feisty, fiercely loyal Chicago family makes no apologies.
Stars: Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, Ethan Cutkosky, Jeremy Allen White
Votes: 284,411
Best character-driven show around. EVER!
11. 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: 259,879
The cliffhangers at the end of every episode is what makes this so compelling. The third season was a bit of a bore though.
12. Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.
Stars: Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey
Votes: 2,280,026
13. 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: 82,595
Best dramatic legal series, in my opinion.
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: 117,272
Seaons 1, 2, 3 and 5 are brilliant. The rest is some of the worst tv I've ever seen.
15. Home Improvement (1991–1999)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Family
The daily trials and tribulations of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, a television show host raising three mischievous boys with help from his loyal co-host, loving wife, and eccentric neighbor.
Stars: Tim Allen, Earl Hindman, Taran Noah Smith, Zachery Ty Bryan
Votes: 49,062
My favourite comedy from the 90's
16. Teen Wolf (2011–2017)
TV-14 | 41 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
An average high school student and his best friend get caught up in some trouble causing him to receive a werewolf bite. As a result they find themselves in the middle of all sorts of dramas in Beacon Hills.
Stars: Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Dylan O'Brien, Linden Ashby
Votes: 163,027
Terrible effects, but the characterisations make it "nice" and relatable
17. The Big C (2010–2013)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
A suburban mother faces her cancer diagnosis while trying to find humor and happiness as well.
Stars: Laura Linney, Oliver Platt, Gabriel Basso, John Benjamin Hickey
Votes: 15,715
Not the strongest premise, but the characterisations and personal dramas make it interesting.
18. Fringe (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 46 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An F.B.I. agent is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
Stars: Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Jasika Nicole
Votes: 257,271
Smart, well-written sci-fi show that actually makes me think.
19. Sliders (1995–2000)
TV-PG | 60 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
A boy genius and his comrades travel to different parallel universes, trying to find their way back home.
Stars: Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies, Cleavant Derricks
Votes: 20,369
Oldie, but a goodie. Last two seasons were crap though.
20. Carnivàle (2003–2005)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
During the Great Depression, an Oklahoma farm boy and a charismatic minister learn that they are key players in a proxy war being fought between Heaven and Hell.
Stars: Michael J. Anderson, Adrienne Barbeau, Clancy Brown, Debra Christofferson
Votes: 46,825
This show just blew my mind with how bizarre it was.
21. Surface (2005–2006)
TV-14 | 60 min | Adventure, Drama, Mystery
A marine biologist, an insurance salesman and a teen-aged boy find their lives fundamentally changed by the emergence of a new, and often dangerous, species of sea life, while government agents work to keep the affair under wraps.
Stars: Lake Bell, Jay R. Ferguson, Carter Jenkins, Leighton Meester
Votes: 10,372
Shortlived show, but I thought it was brilliant and really well done.
22. The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Romance
A woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.
Stars: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg
Votes: 866,550
I have only actually like the latest season. It didn't grab me until recently, and backtracking doesn't work for me with this show.
23. Merlin (2008–2012)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
These are the brand new adventures of Merlin, the legendary sorcerer as a young man, when he was just a servant to young Prince Arthur on the royal court of Camelot, who has soon become his best friend, and turned Arthur into a great king and a legend.
Stars: John Hurt, Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Richard Wilson
Votes: 87,162
It's getting worse in quality, but the jokes are consistently funny.
24. Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When 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.
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis
Votes: 175,398
Believe it or not, this show irritated me for being too much about the people and not actually about SCI-FI!
25. Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A secret military team, SG-1, is formed to explore other planets through the recently discovered Stargates.
Stars: Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge
Votes: 101,260
I will always love the original movie best, and this is the most like it, so....
Tell Your Friends