“Breaking Bad” (Season 5).
AMC
- “Breaking Bad” and “The Sopranos” are some of the most acclaimed shows of all time.
- We broke down quality TV by seasons and ranked the best TV seasons of all time based on Metacritic reviews.
- Recent shows like Hulu’s “Pen15” and FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows” made the cut.
The most critically acclaimed TV shows in history have earned their praise by repeatedly producing innovative and memorable seasons.
Shows like “The Wire,” “Breaking Bad,” and “The Sopranos” consistently won over critics, and their best seasons have set a standard for what great television should look like.
More recent shows like “Fleabag,” “Atlanta,” and “Better Call Saul” have broken into this elite group, as well.
To find out which series have been the most influential, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the all-time best TV seasons, which ranks shows by their composite critical reception. We excluded TV specials that were on Metacritic’s original list.
John Lynch contributed to an earlier version of this story.
The 50 best TV-show seasons of all time, according to critics:
50. “Better Call Saul” (season 5)
AMC
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.7/10
49. “The Shield” (Season 1)
FX
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.3/10
48. “Mad Men” (Season 4)
AMC
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.0/10
47. “The Americans” (Season 6)
FX
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.2/10
46. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 3)
HBO
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 7.5/10
45. “Bleak House” (Season 1)
BBC
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 9.0/10
44. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Season 3)
HBO
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.8/10
43. “Louie” (Season 4)
FX
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.7/10
42. “Pen15” (Season 2)
Lara Solanki/Hulu
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 7.3/10
41. “City So Real” (Season 1)
NatGeo
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 4.4/10
40. “Deadwood” (Season 2)
HBO
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 9.1/10
39. “The Office: UK” (Season 2)
BBC
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.9/10
38. “The Americans” (Season 5)
FX
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.4/10
37. “Louie” (Season 3)
FX
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.8/10
36. “Transparent” (Season 2)
Amazon
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 6.6/10
35. “Battlestar Galactica” (Season 3)
Sci-Fi
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 9.1/10
34. “Game of Thrones” (Season 4)
HBO
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 9.2/10
33. “Better Things” (Season 3)
FX
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.2/10
32. “Homicide: Life on the Street” (Season 1)
NBC
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.7/10
31. “The Wire” (Season 2)
HBO
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 9.0/10
30. “The Americans” (Season 4)
FX
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 9.0/10
29. “The Staircase” 2004 (Season 1)
Canal
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 6.7/10
Netflix added more episodes to this original version, which Metacritic counted as two seasons.
28. “Enlightened” (Season 2)
HBO
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 7.6/10
27. “Catastrophe” (Season 3)
Amazon
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.1/10
26. “Planet Earth II” (Season 1)
BBC
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.4/10
25. “Fargo” (Season 2)
FX
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.3/10
24. “Fleabag” (Season 2)
Amazon
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.7/10
23. “Better Things” (Season 2)
FX
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 7.4/10
22. “The Sopranos” (Season 6)
HBO
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.9/10
21. “Breaking Bad” (Season 4)
AMC
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.5/10
20. “What We Do in the Shadows” (Season 3)
Russ Martin/FX
Matacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.1/10
19. “O.J.: Made in America” (Season 1)
ESPN Films
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.0/10
18. “Twin Peaks” (Season 1)
Showtime
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.3/10
17. “Homeland” (Season 2)
Showtime
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.3/10
16. “America to Me” (Season 1)
Starz
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 5.6/10
15. “The Sopranos” (Season 3)
HBO
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 9.4/10
14. “Atlanta” (Season 2)
FX
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 8.1/10
13. “Blue Planet II” (Season 1)
AMC Networks
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 8.2/10
12. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 5)
HBO
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 6.0/10
11. “The Sopranos” (Season 2)
HBO
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 9.3/10
10. “The Wire” (Season 4)
HBO
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 9.5/10
9. “The Wire” (Season 3)
HBO
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 9.4/10
8. “The Leftovers” (Season 3)
HBO
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 9.1/10
7. “The Office: UK” (Season 1)
BBC
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 8.6/10
6. “The Office: UK” (Season 3)
BBC
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 8.5/10
5. “Breaking Bad” (Season 5)
Ursula Coyote/AMC
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 9.6/10
4. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 6)
HBO
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 5.5/10
3. “Murder One” (Season 1)
ABC
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 6.2/10
2. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 4)
HBO
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 5.8/10
1. “Rectify” (Season 4)
SundanceTV
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 8.6/10