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

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show

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Burns and Allen's vaudeville-to-screen transition was one of the first comedies that could properly be called a sitcom, as opposed to a string of funny bits. But it also presaged the form-breaking experiments of decades later, as Burns "broke the fourth wall" to comment on the action directly to the audience. Like the racist caricature of Jack Benny's manservant Rochester, Allen's scatterbrained wife—all together now, "Good night, Gracie!"—can be hard to take today. But as a performer, Allen was every bit Burns' comic equal, and she gave her persona enough verve and canniness to suggest that Gracie was ditzy like a fox.