Top 25 Dramatic TV shows and TV series of the 21st Century.
by mastersandbastards | created - 24 Oct 2022 | updated - 2 weeks ago | PublicBest television show of recent memory.
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1. Band of Brothers (2001)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, History, War
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
Stars: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor
Votes: 527,856
2. 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: 2,286,845
3. Deadwood (2004–2006)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif
Votes: 117,743
Not even the shortcomings of the 3rd and final season could keep this one out of the top five. It also helped that HBO made a wonderful Deadwood movie to help wrap it up nicely more than a decade later.
4. Rome (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon
Votes: 185,510
5. The Pacific (2010)
TV-MA | 53 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The Pacific Theatre of World War II, as seen through the eyes of several young Marines.
Stars: James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Ashton Holmes
Votes: 130,184
6. Generation Kill (2008)
TV-MA | 10 min | Drama, War
A Rolling Stone reporter, embedded with The 1st Recon Marines chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003.
Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen, Jon Huertas
Votes: 59,249
7. The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
TV-MA | 57 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
Stars: Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser
Votes: 288,589
8. John Adams (2008)
TV-14 | 71 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett, Stephen Dillane
Votes: 36,658
9. True Detective (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch
Votes: 657,106
10. Carnivàle (2003–2005)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
During the Great Depression, an Oklahoma farm boy and a charismatic minister learn that they are key players in a proxy war being fought between Heaven and Hell.
Stars: Michael J. Anderson, Adrienne Barbeau, Clancy Brown, Debra Christofferson
Votes: 46,887
11. Legion (2017–2019)
TV-MA | 1,316 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
David Haller is a troubled young man diagnosed as schizophrenic, but after a strange encounter he discovers special powers that will change his life forever.
Stars: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin
Votes: 97,274
You have to love weird and esoteric to enjoy this one. It's a comic book story that is nothing like DC or MCU of today. Much more effort placed in good story telling than special effects and gadgetry. Nonetheless the effects used are pretty good. Don't watch it for realism; you won't find that in any DC or MCU properties.
12. The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Set against a backdrop of war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart.
Stars: Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen, Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Atwell
Votes: 33,127
13. Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
Stars: Steve Buscemi, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham
Votes: 203,240
14. Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
A gangster family epic set in 1900s England, centering on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby.
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle, Helen McCrory
Votes: 650,644
15. Justified (2010–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Enforcing his own brand of justice, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a strong-willed, quiet law-man haunted by his past, returns to his native town to see that justice is served to those in need.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts
Votes: 118,850
16. Yellowstone (2018– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Western
A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
Stars: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley
Votes: 221,102
17. The Tudors (2007–2010)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History, Romance
A dramatic series about the reign and marriages of King Henry VIII.
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Anthony Brophy, James Frain
Votes: 81,257
18. 1883 (2021–2022)
TV-MA | 56 min | Drama, Western
The post-Civil war generation of the Dutton family travels to Texas, and joins a wagon train undertaking the arduous journey west to Oregon, before settling in Montana to establish what would eventually become the Yellowstone Ranch.
Stars: Tim McGraw, Sam Elliott, Faith Hill, Isabel May
Votes: 116,417
19. The Borgias (2011–2013)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, History
In the fifteenth century, Pope Alexander VI tries to control all power in Italy with the help of his several sons, through murder, intrigue, war, and marriage alliances.
Stars: Jeremy Irons, François Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, Peter Sullivan
Votes: 53,964
20. The Last Kingdom (2015–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, History
As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred--born a Saxon but raised by Vikings--seeks to claim his ancestral birthright.
Stars: Alexander Dreymon, Eliza Butterworth, Arnas Fedaravicius, Mark Rowley
Votes: 165,892
21. Vikings (2013–2020)
TV-MA | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Vikings transports us to the brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Viking warrior and farmer who yearns to explore--and raid--the distant shores across the ocean.
Stars: Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgård, Alexander Ludwig, Georgia Hirst
Votes: 583,491
22. Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt
Votes: 2,138,994
23. The Wire (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
Stars: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce
Votes: 377,927
24. Reign (2013–2017)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama
Mary, Queen of Scots, faces political and sexual intrigue in the treacherous world of the French court.
Stars: Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, Celina Sinden, Torrance Coombs
Votes: 54,419
25. Arn: The Knight Templar (2007)
R | 139 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Arn, the son of a high-ranking Swedish nobleman, is educated in a monastery and sent to the Holy Land as a knight templar to do penance for a forbidden love.
Director: Peter Flinth | Stars: Joakim Nätterqvist, Sofia Helin, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Nyqvist
Votes: 23,178
Way underrated due to its low budget and European production, but it was cogent and told a nice story.
26. The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
TV-MA | 55 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry hires a young American nanny to care for his orphaned niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with the chef Owen, groundskeeper Jamie and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose.
Stars: Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Amelia Eve, T'Nia Miller
Votes: 128,050
27. Six Feet Under (2001–2005)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.
Stars: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose
Votes: 149,544
28. The Returned (2012–2015)
TV-MA | 418 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
In a small French mountain town where everyone knows each other, the dead begin to inexplicably return as if their death never happened. Forcing the townsfolk to confront their difficult past as they seek to understand this phenomenon.
Stars: Anne Consigny, Clotilde Hesme, Frédéric Pierrot, Céline Sallette
Votes: 21,328
29. The Fades (2011)
55 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Paul has apocalyptic dreams, and sees spirits of the dead called The Fades. He must stop them before they destroy humanity.
Stars: Lily Loveless, Tom Ellis, Daniel Kaluuya, Iain De Caestecker
Votes: 7,018
30. TURN: Washington's Spies (2014–2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, History, War
A Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.
Stars: Jamie Bell, Heather Lind, Samuel Roukin, Daniel Henshall
Votes: 23,450
31. Jack Ryan (2018–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Up-and-coming CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, is thrust into dangerous field assignments.
Stars: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Abbie Cornish
Votes: 175,705
32. Reacher (2022– )
TV-MA | 50 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Itinerant former military policeman Jack Reacher solves crimes and metes out his own brand of street justice. Based on the novels by Lee Child.
Stars: Alan Ritchson, Maria Sten, Malcolm Goodwin, Willa Fitzgerald
Votes: 212,122
33. Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates
Votes: 323,756
Started loosing steam after season 4. In real life, they would never make out of season 1 alive. But it was a fun watch for the first four seasons.
34. Better Call Saul (2015–2022)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama
The trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill in the years leading up to his fateful run-in with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks, Patrick Fabian
Votes: 648,430
35. Barbarians (2020–2022)
TV-MA | 569 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Torn between the mighty empire that raised him and his own tribal people, a Roman officer's conflicted allegiances lead to an epic historical clash.
Stars: Laurence Rupp, Jeanne Goursaud, David Schütter, Florian Schmidtke
Votes: 30,301
This one is on its way down with the most recent season.
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