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Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (2016)

From time-capsule sitcoms to cutting-edge Peak-TV dramas — the definitive ranking of the game-changing small-screen classics

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  • Created October 16, 2022 by
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The Sopranos

1999

New 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.

The Wire

2002

Follows one single drug and homicide investigation throughout the length of an entire season. Centered on the drug culture of inner-city Baltimore, the series' storyline unfolds from the points of view of both the criminals lording the streets and the police officers determined to bring them down.

Breaking Bad

2008

When Walter White, a chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live, he chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime with the intent to secure his family's financial security.

Mad Men

2007

In 1960s New York, alpha male Don Draper struggles to stay on top of the heap in the high-pressure world of Madison Avenue advertising firms. Aside from being one of the top ad men in the business, Don is also a family man, the father of young children.

Seinfeld

1989

The "show about nothing" is a sitcom landmark, with comic Jerry and his three sardonic friends finding laughs in both the mundane and the ridiculous.

The Simpsons

1989

Set in Springfield, the average American town, the show focuses on the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, as well as a virtual cast of thousands. Since the beginning, the series has been a pop culture icon, attracting hundreds of celebrities to guest star. The show has also made name for itself in its fearless satirical take on politics, media and American life in general.

The Twilight Zone

1959

The Twilight Zone was a popular American anthology series. The series was a collection of various tales that range from the tragic to the comedic. They may be scary or just thought-provoking. Most episodes have unexpected endings and a moral lesson. But, no matter what, it's "a journey into a wondrous land, whose boundaries are that of the imagination."

Saturday Night Live

1975

Each week, a famous guest host appears in sketches and parodies alongside a roster of up-and-coming comedians. A popular musical guest, short films, and Weekend Update - a recurring satirical newscast - form the backbone of one of the most influential and culturally significant TV shows in history.

All in the Family

1971

Legendary and controversial series focused on conservative working stiff Archie Bunker fighting the tide of social change and dealing with flighty wife Edith, daughter Gloria and left-leaning son-in-law Michael Stivic.

The Daily Show

1996

Jon Stewart and The Daily Show news team cover the biggest headlines of the day.

Freaks and Geeks

1999

Two unique groups of teenagers deal with life in high school during the 1980s. Lindsay Weir rebels and begins hanging out with a crowd of burnouts, the "freaks," while her brother Sam Weir navigates a different part of the social universe with his nerdy friends, the "geeks."

Game of Thrones

2011

Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and the icy horrors beyond.

Late Night With David Letterman

1982

David Letterman hosted this popular late-night comedy/talk-show. Often, Dave would go on location or to the phone lines to play pranks. Some famous features of the show include the "Top Ten" lists and "Stupid Pet Tricks" (complete with slow-mo). Fans of the show will also remember Dave's use of unusual camera placements (Sky-Cam, Guest-Cam, etc.) and Dave's supporting cast (Paul Shaffer, Chris Elliott, Larry Bud Melman). Many famous guests and bands appeared on the show.

The Larry Sanders Show

1992

Comic Garry Shandling draws upon his own talk show experiences to create the character of Larry Sanders, a paranoid, insecure host of a late night talk show. Larry, along with his obsequious TV sidekick Hank Kingsley and his fiercely protective producer Artie, allows Garry Shandling and his talented writers to look behind the scenes and to show us a convincing slice of behind the camera life.

The West Wing

1999

A glimpse into presidential politics in the nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration. These interesting characters have humor and dedication that touches the heart while the politics that they discuss touch on everyday life.

M*A*S*H

1972

The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean war. With little help from the circumstances they find themselves in, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable.

Twin Peaks

1990

The body of a young girl is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. Eccentric FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul. Season 3 - also known as Twin Peaks: The Return - is set 25 years after the events of Seasons 1 and 2.

Star Trek

1966

Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, who is assisted by First Officer Mr. Spock, from the planet Vulcan, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. With a determined crew, the Enterprise encounters Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, tribbles and genetic supermen led by Khan Noonien Singh. Their mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

2000

An unscripted series that brings the off-kilter comic vision of Larry David, who plays himself in a parallel universe in which he can’t seem to do anything right, and, by his standards, neither can anyone else.

Cheers

1982

Sam, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in Boston. Somewhat snobby, beautiful and intelligent Diane -- forced to become a waitress when her fiance jilts her -- constantly bickers with Sam. Eventually, they fall in love. Several wacky characters make the bar their home-away-from-home, including sarcastic waitress Carla, beer-loving Norm and Boston letter carrier Cliff.

The Office

2001

A mockumentary about life in a mid-sized suboffice paper merchants in a bleak British industrial town, where manager David Brent thinks he's the coolest, funniest, and most popular boss ever. He isn't. That doesn't stop him from embarrassing himself in front of the cameras on a regular basis, whether from his political sermonizing, his stand-up 'comedy', or his incredibly unique dancing. Meanwhile, long-suffering Tim longs after Dawn the engaged receptionist and keeps himself sane by playing childish practical jokes on his insufferable, army-obsessed deskmate Gareth. Will the Slough office be closed? Will the BBC give David a game show? Will Tim and Dawn end up with each other? And more importantly, will Gareth realize what a hopeless prat he is?

Louie (2010)

2010

Louis C.K. stars as a fictionalized version of himself- a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two daughters in New York City.

Deadwood

2004

In the Black Hills Indian Cession, the town of Deadwood is a settlement violating treaty obligations; a violent and uncivilized outpost that attracts outlaws and entrepreneurs, ex-soldiers and racketeers, Chinese laborers, prostitutes, city slickers and gunfighters.

Friday Night Lights

2006

In Dillon, Texas, high school football brings the community together as the drama of small town life threatens to tear it apart.

Veep

2012

A look into American politics, revolving around former Senator Selina Meyer who finds being Vice President of the United States is nothing like she expected and everything everyone ever warned her about.

Friends

1994

Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing and Phoebe Buffay are six 20 something year-olds, living off one another in the heart of New York City. Over the course of ten years, this average group of buddies goes through massive mayhem, family trouble, past and future romances, fights, laughs, tears and surprises as they learn what it really means to be a friend.

Arrested Development

2003

Level-headed son Michael Bluth takes over family affairs after his father is imprisoned. But the rest of his spoiled, dysfunctional family are making his job unbearable.

The X-Files

1993

`The truth is out there,' and FBI agents Scully and Mulder seek it in this sci-fi phenomenon about their quest to explain the seemingly unexplainable. Their strange cases include UFO sightings, alien abductions and just about anything else paranormal.

Monty Python's Flying Circus

1969

And now for something completely different: Monty Python's Flying Circus was simply the most influential comedy program television has ever seen. Five Englishmen, all working under the constraints of conventional TV shows such as The Frost Report (for which the five Englishmen wrote), gathered together with an expatriate American in the spring of 1969 to break the rules. The result, first airing on BBC-1 on October 5, 1969, has influenced countless future men and women in the media and comedy since.

The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson

1962

Late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson, including guest interviews and musical performances.

Sesame Street

1969

On a special inner city street, the inhabitants, human and muppet, teach preschool subjects with comedy, cartoons, games, and songs.

I Love Lucy

1951

Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.

South Park

1997

South Park is an animated series featuring four boys who live in the Colorado town of South Park, which is beset by frequent odd occurrences. The show grew out of a short film that Trey Parker and Matt Stone created called The Spirit of Christmas, and has become an award-winning show that is a unique blend of humor and satire.

30 Rock

2006

Liz Lemon, the head writer of a live variety program's life is turned upside down when brash new network executive Jack Donaghy interferes with her show, bringing the wildly unpredictable Tracy Jordan into the cast. Now its up to Liz to manage the mayhem and still try to have a life.

My So-Called Life

1994

"My So-Called Life" is a realistic mid-nineties teen drama series that takes a look at a 15 year-old girl and her trials and tribulations with being a teenager and dealing with friends, guys, parents and school.

Law & Order

1990

A blended police procedural and courtroom drama which employs a two-part approach: The first half of each episode focuses on NYPD homicide detectives investigating a crime—often derived from a real-life headline—and apprehending a suspect. The second half takes place in the courtroom, with the district attorney prosecuting the defendant.

Orange Is the New Black

2013

Piper Chapman is a public relations executive with a career and a fiance when her past suddenly catches up to her. In her mid-30s she is sentenced to spend time in a minimum-security women's prison in Connecticut for her association with a drug runner 10 years earlier. Forced to trade power suits for prison orange, Chapman makes her way through the corrections system and adjusts to life behind bars, making friends with the many eccentric, unusual and unexpected people she meets.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1997

In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. Buffy Summers is The Chosen One, the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to fight the vampires. With the help of her close friends, Willow, Xander, and her Watcher Giles she balances slaying, family, friendships, and relationships.

Lost

2004

After their plane, Oceanic Air flight 815, tore apart whilst thousands of miles off course, the survivors find themselves on a mysterious deserted island where they soon find out they are not alone.

The Shield

2002

The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.

The Honeymooners

1955

The Honeymooners, one of the most influential situation comedy television series in American history, depicts the sincere attempts of two men attempting to better their lives, and the ensuing frustrations when their schemes to strike it rich inevitably backfire.

NYPD Blue

1993

The gritty details of life as a member of a New York City police unit.

The Americans (2013)

2013

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.

Columbo

1968

A Los Angeles homicide detective, Lieutenant Columbo, uses his humble ways and shrewd demeanor to ferret out even the most careful criminals.

Battlestar Galactica (2003)

2005

In a distant part of the universe, a civilization of humans live on planets known as the Twelve Colonies. In the past, the Colonies have been at war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons. 40 years after the first war the Cylons launch a devastating attack on the Colonies. The only military ship that survived the attack takes up the task of leading a small fugitive fleet of survivors into space in search of a fabled refuge known as Earth.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

1970

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was one of the most literate, realistic, and enduring situation comedies of the 1970s. Mary Richards was the idealized single career woman. She had come to Minneapolis after breaking up with a man she had been dating for four years. Ambitious, and looking for new friends, she moved into an older apartment building and went to work as an assistant producer of the local news show on television station WJM-TV. In her early 30s, Mary symbolized the independent woman of the 1970s.

The Rockford Files

1974

Emmy® winner James Garner stars as the offbeat Jim Rockford, an ex-con-turned-private-investigator who would rather fish than fight but whose instinct on closed cases is more golden than his classic Pontiac Firebird. From his mobile home in Malibu, this wisecracking private eye takes you on the cases of the lost and the dispossessed, chasing down seemingly long-dead clues in the sun-baked streets and seamy alleys of Los Angeles.

The Office (US)

2005

A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.

Taxi

1978

Taxi's success was due to its excellent writing, Burrows's award-winning directing using his innovative four-camera technique, and its largely unknown but talented cast. Danny DeVito's Louie DePalma soon became one of the most despised men on television--possibly the most unredeemable and worthless louse of a character ever to reside on the small screen. Andy Kaufman's foreign mechanic Latka Gravas provided over-the-top comedy within an ensemble emphasizing subtle character humor.

ER

1994

ER follows the medical personnel and patients in the emergency room of Chicago's fictional County General Hospital. The doctors and nurses of County's ER confront the daily challenges of a busy urban hospital, including overcrowded waiting rooms, staffing shortages, and the impact of life-and-death decisions. While they teach the next generation of doctors, each must tackle the demands of their personal lives, at times unsuccessfully.

Fargo

2014

Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.

The Colbert Report

2005

Tune in to The Colbert Report, as Stephen Colbert gives his own take on the issues of the day, and more importantly, to tell you why everyone else's take is just plain wrong. The series is a variety/news show revolving around Colbert's TV persona, a parody of opinionated cable news personalities like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Joe Scarborough.

The Bob Newhart Show

1972

Bob Newhart is Dr. Robert Hartley, a Chicago psychologist living with his schoolteacher wife Emily. Complicating life for the serene, stammering doc was his neighbor, Howard, a flighty navigator; and Bob's coworkers, dentist Jerry and flippant receptionist Carol. The humor was gentle, sophisticated and, at times, wonderfully surreal.

The Muppet Show

1976

The Muppet Show is a British-American television program produced by puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on September 5, 1976, and five series were produced until March 15, 1981, lasting 120 episodes. The program shows a vaudeville- or music hall-style song-and-dance variety show, as well as glimpses behind the scenes of such a show. Kermit the Frog stars as a showrunner who tries to keep control of the antics of the other Muppet characters (and his temper), as well as keep the guest stars happy. The show was known for outrageous physical slapstick, sometimes absurdist comedy, and humorous parodies. Each episode also featured a human guest star. As the show's popularity rose, many celebrities were eager to perform with the Muppets on television and in film.

Six Feet Under

2001

A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.

24

2001

"24" is a TV thriller presented in "real time" with each minute of airtime that corresponds to a minute in the lives of the characters. "24" employs fast-paced and complex stories, and often contains unexpected plot twists. Though each day's events typically revolve around thwarting an impending terrorist attack, each season is made up of various interwoven story threads. These may run for just one hour, but more usually run over several hours. These typically involve investigations of leads on terrorists, tracking suspects, and averting attacks. The exact objective of the day evolves over the course of the season as the antagonists adapt, contingencies arise, and larger scale operations unfold.

Fawlty Towers

1975

Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.

Roots

1977

A historical portrait of American slavery, recounting the journey of one family and their will to survive and ultimately carry on their legacy despite hardship.

Hill Street Blues

1981

This groundbreaking and award-winning NBC crime drama provided a very realistic view into the lives of the dedicated cops and detectives of an urban police station. From January 1981 to August 1986, the show ran on Thursdays at 10/9 Central, with occasional repeats on Saturdays at 10/9 Central. From August 1986 to August 1987 first-run episodes aired Tuesdays at 10/9 Central.

Beavis and Butt-Head

1993

Beavis and Butt-head are high school students whose lifestyles revolve around TV, junk food (usually nachos), shopping malls, heavy metal music, and trying to "score with chicks". Each show contains short cartoons centering on the duo who live in the fictitious town of Highland, Texas. The episodes are broken up by short breaks in which Beavis and Butt-head watch and make fun of music videos.

Your Show of Shows

1950

Welcome to the Your Show of Shows guide at TV Tome. First Telecast:February 25, 1950 Last Telecast:June 5, 1954 153 Total Episodes (Black + White) Sid Caeser and Imogene Coca starred on this influental variety program. Nielsen Ratings: (Top 25 or better) # 4 in the 1950-1951 Season # 8 in the 1951-1952 Season # 19 in the 1952-1953 Season Broadcast History on NBC Feb. 1950-June 1954...Sat. 9-10:30 PM

Sex and the City

1998

The narrative of the show focuses on Carrie Bradshaw and her three best friends, Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York and Samantha Jones. The women discuss their sexual desires and fantasies, and their travels in life, love and lesbianism. The show often depicts frank discussions about romance and sexuality, features a short montage of interviews of people living in New York City.

The Wonder Years

1988

The Wonder Years tells the story of Kevin Arnold facing the trials and tribulations of youth while growing up during the 1960s. Told through narration from an adult Kevin, Kevin faces the difficulties of maintaining relationships and friendships on his enthralling journey into adulthood.

Chappelle's Show

2003

"Chappelle's Show" takes comedian Dave Chappelle's own personal joke book and brings it to life, with episodes consisting of sketches, man-on-the-street pieces, and pop culture parodies introduced by Dave in a stand-up format in front of a studio audience. Chappelle's unique point-of-view on the world provides a hilarious, defiant and sometimes dangerous look at American culture, including music, movies, television, advertising, current events, and everyday life situations.

Happy Days

1974

A nostalgic comedy set in 1950s Milwaukee centered on the squeaky-clean Cunningham family and their relationship with Fonzie, a motorcycle-riding Casanova who became a pop-culture phenomenon during the show's heyday in the 1970s.

Downton Abbey

2010

Downton Abbey depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

The Odd Couple

1970

Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy? This TV adaptation of Neil Simon's classic play deserves its place among the best-known and funniest sitcoms of the 1970s.

The State

1994

The State was a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993 and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience. The cast consisted of 11 twenty-something comedians (Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter and David Wain) who created, acted, wrote, directed, and edited the show.

The Ed Sullivan Show

1955

From 1949 until its cancelation in 1971, the show ran on CBS every Sunday night from 8–9 p.m. E.T., and is one of the few entertainment shows to have run in the same weekly time slot on the same network for more than two decades. (During its first season, it ran from 9–10 p.m. E.T.) Virtually every type of entertainment appeared on the show; opera singers, popular artists, songwriters, comedians, ballet dancers, dramatic actors performing monologues from plays, and circus acts were regularly featured. The format was essentially the same as vaudeville, and although vaudeville had died a generation earlier, Sullivan presented many ex-vaudevillians on his show. Seasons 1-8 can be found listed under the series "Toast of the Town".

Roseanne

1988

Explore life, death and everything in between through the relatable, hilarious and brutally honest lens of the working-class Conner household, which is located in the drab, fictional exurb of Langford, Illinois. With the inimitable Roseanne Barr at its epicenter as the family's matriarch, the series tackles current issues with fresh stories and even more laughs. Roseanne is joined by her husband, Dan, and their children, D.J., Darlene and Becky. Roseanne's warm, but neurotic, sister Jackie rounds out the core of the family.

Mr. Show

1995

Mr. Show was the insanely funny, critically loved but HBO-loathed sketch comedy that ran on the channel for 4 years from 1995-1998. The show was created, executive produced, written and starred comics/writers Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. The show also starred Tom Kenny, Jill Talley and John Ennis. Featured performers/writers included Paul F. Tompkins, Jerry Minor, B.J. Porter, Scott Aukerman, Brian Posehn, and Jay Johnston. Featured performers included Mary-Lynn Rajskub, Brett Paesal, and Sarah Silverman. The show has spawned a movie based on popular character Ronnie Dobbs in Run Ronnie Run. Bob's wife, Naomi Odenkirk, has compiled everything you could ever want to know about the show in her wonderful book, Mr. Show: What Happened.

Girls

2012

The assorted humiliations, disasters and rare triumphs of four very different twenty-something girls: Hannah, an aspiring writer; Marnie, an art gallery assistant and cousins Jessa and Shoshanna.

Transparent

2014

Mort gathers his three adult kids – Ali, Sarah and Joshua – for a talk about the future, but everyone is shocked to learn that it’s not a financial inheritance at stake, but rather the complex legacy of a secret life as a trans woman. Everyone’s relationship – to the world, themselves, each other, through the lens of boundaries, intimacy, sex and gender – is about to change.

The Ren & Stimpy Show

1991

The show revolves around the lives of an angry, insane chihuahua named Ren Höek and his brain-dead "eediot" sidekick cat, Stimpy. Together the duo have lots of bizarre and outrageous adventures accompanied by George Liquor, Mr. Horse, Powdered Toast Man, Muddy Mudskipper, Mr. and Mrs. Pipe, Mrs. Buttloaf, and Svën Höek.

American Crime Story

2016

An award-winning anthology series that examines some of America's most famous crimes. Each season is presented as a self-contained mini-series following unrelated true events.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

1993

"Keep Cool My Babies!" Smart-alecky, ribald and whimsical, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" rose to become a critical darling and dorm favorite after a rocky start in 1993. There are many recurring characters (including Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Vomiting Kermit, Eyeballs O'Shaughnessy, NASCAR-driving gun-toting Jesus, Masturbating Bear) and comedy bits (including New State Quarters, What in the World, Celebrity Survey, Actual Items, Conan Hates My Homeland) that entertain us night after night. New episodes air Tuesday through Friday, with reruns on Mondays and occasional breaks where reruns air all week long. It airs weekdays at 12:37 a.m. ET/PT. (Simulcast in HDTV) Next-day encores air on CNBC at 7pm ET.

The Walking Dead

2010

The world we knew is gone. An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.

Thirtysomething

1987

When thirtysomething debuted in 1987 it was attacked by some critics as being a self-indulgent examination of the minutiae of yuppie life. Before the first season was over, some of those same critics were covering their tracks by calling it "the most improved show on television." Producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz had teamed up before on Family and would go on to create My So-Called Life, Relativity and Once and Again. Often using feature-film techniques, their brand of what could be called "reality" television tackled not only the small subjects, but the big ones too, all the way from life to death, as they followed their characters on the road from the idealism of youth to the search for security and responsibility as they glided toward middle age.

In Living Color

1990

In Living Color is a American variety sketch-comedy television series created, starred, written, and executive produced by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the program ran on the FOX Network from 1990 to 1994. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions, in association with 20th Century Fox Productions. The series was a huge success as it won an Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series" in 1990 and gained international prominence after airing a special live episode as a counterprogram for Super Bowl XXVL, earning the show very high ratings

The Fugitive

1963

Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), wrongly accused of murdering his wife, escapes custody while on the road to prison and must elude the police to continue his quest to find the real killer.

Dallas

1978

The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.

The Jeffersons

1975

A black couple, headed up by opinionated loud-mouth George Jefferson, moves from a modest Queens neighborhood to deluxe apartment in Manhattan's ritzy East Side.

House of Cards (US)

2013

Ruthless and cunning, Congressman Francis Underwood and his wife Claire stop at nothing to conquer everything. It penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex and corruption in modern D.C.

Real Time with Bill Maher

2003

Each week Bill Maher surrounds himself with a panel of guests which include politicians, actors, comedians, musicians and the like to discuss what's going on in the world.

The Real World

1992

The aim is to unite people from different backgrounds and find a common ground.

Good Times

1974

The Evans family scratches and survives in their tough South Side Chicago ghetto. Esther Rolle and John Amos star as parents Florida and James, with "dyn-o-mite" breakout comedy star Jimmie Walker as J.J., the oldest of the three Evans children.

Doctor Who

1963

The Doctor, a mysterious traveller in space and time, travels in his ship, the TARDIS. The TARDIS can take him and his companions anywhere in time and space. Inevitably he finds evil at work wherever he goes...

Doctor Who (2005)

2005

The Doctor is an alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels through all of time and space in the TARDIS. The Doctor has a long list of friends and companions who have shared journeys along the way. Instead of dying, the Doctor is able to “regenerate” into a new body, taking on a new personality with each regeneration.

Party Down

2009

"Party Down" follows a Los Angeles catering team - a sextet of Hollywood wannabes stuck working for tips while hoping for their "big break." Each episode of this half-hour comedy finds the hapless catering team working a new event - and inevitably getting tangled up with the colorful guests and their absurd lives.

Homeland

2011

A bipolar CIA operative becomes convinced a prisoner of war has been turned by al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil.

The Dick Van Dyke Show

1961

Considered to be one of television's classics, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" centers on the personal and professional lives of Rob Petrie, a writer for the fictional "Alan Brady Show". The non-stop laughs revolved around Rob's relationships with with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell and Sally Rogers, and producer Mel Cooley. At home, we also got to chuckle (and sometimes cry) over Rob's antics involving his wife, son, and neighbors.

Broad City

2014

Broad City follows two women throughout their daily lives in New York City, making the smallest and mundane events hysterical and disturbing to watch all at the same time.

American Idol

2002

The smash reality series showcases wannabe pop stars competing for a record deal by crooning for a panel of judges. The judges review a performer's talent (or lack thereof), and at-home viewers then vote for their favorite potential star. The show helped launch the careers of such artists as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

1989

In the not-too-distant future, various test subjects are held captive by mad scientists and evil villains aboard the Satellite of Love, where they are forced to watch cheesy B-grade movies with the help of their robot friends: Cambot, Gypsy, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot.

Jeopardy!

1984

This classic game show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of questions. After an 11 year run on NBC daytime, the show resurfaced in a modified format in 1978 and then came back in syndication in 1984, where it continues to enjoy long-term success.

Key & Peele

2012

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele examine life in a provocative and irreverent way through a combination of filmed sketches and live stage segments.

Gunsmoke

1955

Marshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in the rough and tumble Dodge City.

Portlandia

2011

Sketch comedy starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, based on the oddball characters and settings of Portland, Oregon.

The Golden Girls

1985

Four previously married women live together in Miami, sharing their various experiences together and enjoying themselves despite hard times.

Oz

1997

OZ is set deep inside the Oswald Maximum Security Prison, in an experimental unit known as Emerald City. Em City focuses on prisoner rehabilitation over public retribution. There's one set of rules from the outside looking in, and another once you're inside. Every group - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorizes their mutual enemies.

Eastbound & Down

2009

Relief Pitcher Kenny Powers was poised to rule the Big Leagues, but two things got in his way: his fading fastball and his insufferable personality. After a spectacular career flame-out, Kenny came home to Shelby, NC and picked up a job as a substitute gym teacher (mostly so his brother Dustin would stop threatening to kick him out). He's spent every moment since then cashing in the last of his dying fame while plotting his inevitable comeback...one beer at a time.