The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME

"First, I apologize. I know I left some of your favorite shows off this list. How do I know that? Because I left some of my favorite shows off this list. The happy and unfortunate fact is that there are far more than 100 great shows, and more created every year. Lists are incredibly important: they are how we define what matters to us, what we want entertainment and art to do, what we expect of our culture."

—TIME TV critic James Poniewozik

Video

How I Chose The List

Adding to this list would be easy; taking shows off is the tricky part. How did I settle on this list? I set a few guidelines...

Talk Back

What is your all-time favorite TV show?

Which films should have been included and weren't? Did we leave off any of your favorites? Were any shows on the list more influential than others? Tell us what you think

Blogs

Tuned In

TIME's TV critic James Poniewozik blogs daily on all visual media. Join the discussion here

A - F

From Abbott and Costello to Friends

G - M

From General Hospital to Mystery Science Theater 3000

N - S

From The Odd Couple to Survivor

T - Z

From Taxi to Your Show of Shows

100 Best Movies

Presenting the 100 best films as chosen by TIME's movie critics Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel

All-TIME 100 Albums

A list of the greatest and most influential records ever by Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light

100 Best Novels

TIME critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present

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