The 25 Best TV Series

by scheidlerbarry | created - 12 May 2012 | updated - 10 Jan 2023 | Public

The Ultimate Litmus Test - What Series Do I Have to Own. In Chronological Order.

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1. 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: 872,255

2. 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: 138,768

This Series Just Kept Getting Better and Better.

3. Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001)

TV-PG | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Xena, a mighty Warrior Princess with a dark past, sets out to redeem herself. She is joined by small town bard, Gabrielle. Together they journey the ancient world and fight for the greater good against ruthless Warlords and Gods.

Stars: Lucy Lawless, Renée O'Connor, Ted Raimi, Kevin Smith

Votes: 48,936

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: 485,649

5. 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: 2,295,252

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)

TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy

A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.

Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head

Votes: 160,575

7. Lucifer (2016–2021)

TV-14 | 4,393 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

Lucifer Morningstar has decided he's had enough of being the dutiful servant in Hell and decides to spend some time on Earth to better understand humanity. He settles in Los Angeles - the City of Angels.

Stars: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D.B. Woodside

Votes: 357,731

8. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)

TV-PG | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

Stars: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Votes: 136,659

9. Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001)

TV-PG | 44 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

Stars: Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Robert Duncan McNeill

Votes: 77,740

10. Friends (1994–2004)

TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy, Romance

Follows the personal and professional lives of six twenty to thirty year-old friends living in the Manhattan borough of New York City.

Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc

Votes: 1,093,504

11. Firefly (2002–2003)

TV-14 | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin

Votes: 283,189

12. Charmed (1998–2006)

TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

Three Halliwell sisters discover that they are descendants of a line of good female witches and are destined to fight against the forces of evil, using their combined power of witchcraft known as the "Power of Three".

Stars: Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Brian Krause, Rose McGowan

Votes: 92,062

13. The X-Files (1993–2018)

TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.

Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis

Votes: 251,109

14. 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: 176,445

15. Friday Night Lights (2006–2011)

TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Sport

A drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.

Stars: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford, Aimee Teegarden

Votes: 72,879

16. Star Trek (1966–1969)

TV-PG | 50 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols

Votes: 93,349

17. Quantum Leap (1989–1993)

TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

During an experiment into time travel, a scientist finds himself trapped in the past, "leaping" into the lives of different people, sorting out their problems and changing history in hopes of getting back to his own life in the present.

Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt, Dennis Wolfberg

Votes: 36,654

18. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999)

TV-PG | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

In the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, the Federation space station Deep Space Nine guards the opening of a stable wormhole to the far side of the galaxy.

Stars: Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Cirroc Lofton, Alexander Siddig

Votes: 71,170

19. 24 (2001–2010)

TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.

Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert

Votes: 198,184

20. Picket Fences (1992–1996)

120 min | Crime, Drama, Family

An aging Sheriff tries to keep the peace in Rome, Wisconsin, a small town plagued by bizarre and violent crimes.

Stars: Kathy Baker, Tom Skerritt, Lauren Holly, Costas Mandylor

Votes: 5,157

21. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–1997)

TV-PG | 46 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

In addition to fighting evil, Superman has a burning romance with Lois Lane in both of his identities.

Stars: Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Lane Smith, K Callan

Votes: 26,559

22. 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: 259,026

23. The Walking Dead (2010–2022)

TV-MA | 45 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.

Stars: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan

Votes: 1,087,253

24. Alias (2001–2006)

TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

Sydney Bristow is an international spy recruited out of college, trained for espionage and self-defense.

Stars: Jennifer Garner, Ron Rifkin, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman

Votes: 55,059

25. Dark Angel (2000–2002)

TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

A group of genetically-enhanced children escape from a lab project. Years later we meet Max, one of the escapees who now works for a messenger service in the post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest.

Stars: Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, Richard Gunn, J.C. MacKenzie

Votes: 34,780



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