BBC's The 100 Greatest TV Series of the 21st Century

BBC's The 100 Greatest TV Series of the 21st Century's icon

Created by beasterne.

Favorited 6 times, disliked 1 time, added to 12 watchlists.

October 18th, 2021: This year, it felt about time that we turned our attention to another art form: television. That's in part because TV has played such a crucial role in many of our lives over the past 18 months, when we have relied on it for information, entertainment, solace and inspiration in equal measure.

It felt like the right time to survey the television landscape because arguably it has been the defining art form of the past 21 years: where once, rightly or wrongly, it was largely patronised as cinema's younger, more rough-and-ready sibling, today its artistic credibility is unassailable, while the advent of streaming platforms has also given shows the ability to reach unprecedented global audiences all at once. And so, in order to mark TV's ascendancy, we have decided to ask the question: what are the greatest TV series of the 21st Century?

While in no way definitive, the answers we have collated are fascinating – and, we hope, will inspire TV lovers everywhere to both seek out titles they haven't seen before, and further reflect on and discuss ones they have. In total, 460 different series were voted for by 206 TV experts – critics, journalists, academics and industry figures – who came from 43 countries, from Albania to Uruguay. Of these voters, 100 were women, 104 were men, and two were non-binary. Each voter listed their 10 favourite TV series of the 21st Century, which we scored and ranked to produce the top 100 listed below. ---BBC Culture

Remove ads

Pssst, want to check out the BBC's The 100 Greatest TV Series of the 21st Century list in our new look?

Filter

  1. 1 new

    The Wire

    2002, in 2 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Mad Men

    2007, in 0 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Breaking Bad

    2008, in 0 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Fleabag

    2016, in 0 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Game of Thrones

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    I May Destroy You

    2020, in 0 top lists
    Check
  7. 7 new

    The Leftovers

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    The Americans

    2013, in 0 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    The Office

    2001, in 0 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Succession

    2018, in 0 top lists
    Check
  11. 11 new

    BoJack Horseman

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Six Feet Under

    2001, in 0 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Twin Peaks

    2017, in 4 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    Atlanta

    2016, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Chernobyl

    2019, in 2 top lists
    Check
  16. 16 new

    The Crown

    2016, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    30 Rock

    2006, in 0 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Deadwood

    2004, in 0 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Lost

    2004, in 0 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    The Thick of It

    2005, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Curb Your Enthusiasm

    2000, in 0 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Black Mirror

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Better Call Saul

    2015, in 0 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Veep

    2012, in 0 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Sherlock

    2010, in 0 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Watchmen

    2019, in 0 top lists
    Check
  27. 27 new

    Line of Duty

    2012, in 0 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Friday Night Lights

    2006, in 0 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Parks and Recreation

    2009, in 0 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Girls

    2012, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    True Detective

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Arrested Development

    2003, in 0 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    The Good Wife

    2009, in 0 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Bron/Broen

    2011 — a.k.a. The Bridge, in 0 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    Fargo

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    Downton Abbey

    2010, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Band of Brothers

    2001, in 1 top list Check
  38. 38 new

    The Handmaid's Tale

    2017, in 0 top lists
    Check
  39. 39 new

    The Office

    2005, in 0 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    Borgen

    2010, in 1 top list Check
  41. 41 new

    Schitt's Creek

    2015, in 0 top lists Check
  42. 42 new

    Peep Show

    2003, in 0 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    La casa de papel

    2017 — a.k.a. Money Heist, in 0 top lists
    Check
  44. 44 new

    Community

    2009, in 0 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    The Good Fight

    2017, in 0 top lists
    Check
  46. 46 new

    Homeland

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Grey's Anatomy

    2005, in 0 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    Inside No. 9

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
  49. 49 new

    Le Bureau des Légendes

    2015 — a.k.a. The Bureau, in 0 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    Halt and Catch Fire

    2014, in 0 top lists Check
Remove ads
Show all 102 movies

Last updated on Oct 25, 2021; source