Entertainment The Best Shows Currently on the Air  

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Originally by Ranker Community
913.3k votes 43.8k voters 631.2k views 186 items

List Rules Only shows on TV right now - including series that are on hiatus or seasonal breaks.

What are the best shows currently on the air? Some of the entries on this list are without question among the greatest TV shows of all time. Fortunately for us, they haven't been canceled, and they're still thrilling us with great drama, hilarious comedy, and outstanding storylines. However, some of these great shows are ending in 2018. Which TV show that's airing right now is the best? That's for you to decide, with your votes. Be sure to add any of your current favorite TV shows that aren't listed, too. You can also re-rank this list any way you like!

If you had to choose just a few top shows airing today, which currently airing TV programs do you believe are the best? Several outstanding premium cable original programs are among the most popular shows on this list, including HBO's Game of Thrones, Showtime's Homeland, and AMC's The Walking Dead. Netflix is also home to some of these titles, including House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. Many of these are also the highest rated tv shows according to critics and audience polls. 

Hopefully, all of these great shows, from old favorites like Modern Family to newer hits like Better Call Saul, will remain on the air for years to come. But even if some shows end too soon, the greats will till be remembered as some of the best TV shows of recent memory, don't you think?

list ordered by

1
15,085 7,625
Game of Thrones is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
HBO Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011) is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin. Nine noble ...more

2
10,950 9,521
The Walking Dead is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
AMC The Walking Dead (A&E, 2010) is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed by Frank Darabont, based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie ...more

3
8,546 6,456
Sherlock is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
British Broadcasting Corporation Sherlock is a British television crime drama that presents a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it ...more

4
9,477 9,385
The Big Bang Theory is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
CBS The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head ...more

5
7,288 7,836
Modern Family is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
American Broadcasting Company Modern Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009, which follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family, all of whom live in suburban Los Angeles. ...more

6
4,190 1,752
Stranger Things is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Netflix Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016) is an American science fiction-horror web television series created by The Duffer Brothers. When a young boy (Noah Schnapp) disappears, his mother (Winona Ryder), ...more

7
9,060 6,252
Outlander is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
MarciaComoletti added Starz Outlander is a British-American television drama series based on the historical time travel Outlander series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Created by Ronald D. Moore and produced by Left Bank ...more

8
6,500 7,059
The Simpsons is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Fox Broadcasting Company The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by the ...more

9
6,496 6,562
Supernatural is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
The WB Television Network, The CW Television Network Supernatural (The CW, 2005) is an American fantasy horror television series created by Eric Kripke. Two brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), follow their father's ...more

10
6,387 6,989
South Park is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Comedy Central South Park (Comedy Central, 1997) is an American adult animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. In the small town of South Park, four boys get caught up in all sorts of bizarre ...more

11
4,771 5,883
Doctor Who is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC America, BBC One Doctor Who (BBC, 2005) is a British science-fiction television show created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer ...more

12
4,838 3,845
Vikings is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
TammyLRogers added History Vikings (History, 2013) is a historical drama television series created by Michael Hirst. A farmer (Travis Fimmel) rises to fame by successful raids into England, and eventually becomes a ...more

13
4,034 3,722
Better Call Saul is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
MattSchwarck added Better Call Saul (A&E, 2015) is an American television drama series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, and a spinoff prequel of Breaking Bad. The trials and tribulations of lawyer, ...more

14
5,461 5,484
Orange Is the New Black is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Orange Is the New Black is an American comedy-drama series created by Jenji Kohan and first released on Netflix on July 11, 2013. The series, produced by Tilted Productions in association with ...more

15
5,349 6,029
Family Guy is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Fox Broadcasting Company Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; ...more

16
4,686 4,852
House of Cards is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
CalebStevens added Netflix House of Cards is an American political drama television series developed and produced by Beau Willimon. It is an adaptation of the BBC's mini-series of the same name and is based on the novel ...more

17
5,444 5,780
American Horror Story is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
FX American Horror Story (FX, 2011) is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. An anthology series centering on different characters and locations, ...more

18
4,758 5,474
Arrow is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
CW Arrow is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg, based on the DC Comics character. Five years after being stranded on a hostile ...more

19
3,027 2,198
Daredevil is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
edward-donner added Netflix Daredevil (Netflix, 2015) is an American web television series created for Netflix by Drew Goddard, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) ...more

20
4,562 4,681
Criminal Minds is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
A&E, CBS Criminal Minds is an American police-procedural television program that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based ...more

21
2,095 1,328
Westworld is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Westworld (HBO, 2016) is an American science fiction western thriller television series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, and based on the 1973 film. In a technologically advanced Wild ...more

22
4,365 3,490
The Flash is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
The CW The Flash (The CW, 2014) is an American superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character. CSI Barry Allen (Grant ...more

23
4,790 5,351
NCIS is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
CBS NCIS is an American police procedural drama television series, revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts investigations ...more

24
3,443 3,445
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
udontneedtoknowmyname added Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or simply Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., is an American television series created for ABC by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, based on the Marvel ...more

25
3,584 3,371
Gotham is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
FOX Gotham (Fox, 2014) is an American drama television series developed by Bruno Heller, based on the DC Comics characters from the Batman franchise. The story behind Detective James Gordon's (Ben ...more

26
3,179 5,099
Homeland is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Showtime Homeland is an American political thriller television series developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series Hatufim, which was created by Gideon Raff. The series stars ...more

27
3,628 3,720
The Blacklist is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
dennis-sedgwick added NBC The Blacklist is an American crime drama television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. Raymond "Red" Reddington, a former U.S Navy officer turned high-profile ...more

28
3,584 4,427
It's Always Sunny in Philadelp... is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
FX It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX, 2005) is an American television sitcom created by Rob McElhenney. The series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins ...more

29
3,123 3,452
Law & Order: Special Victims U... is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
NBC Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural, legal, crime drama television series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced. In the style of the ...more

30
3,425 4,474
Archer is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
FX Archer (FXX, 2009) is an American adult animated black spy sitcom created by Adam Reed. The adventures and mishaps of secret agent Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and his colleagues, who are ...more

31
2,844 4,222
Elementary is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
CBS Elementary is an American drama series that presents a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. The series was created by Robert Doherty and stars Jonny Lee ...more

32
2,013 1,778
Jessica Jones is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
MarylyleMcCue added Jessica Jones (Netflix, 2015) is an American web television series created by Melissa Rosenberg, based on the Marvel Comics character. Following the tragic end of her brief superhero career, ...more

33
2,669 3,169
Shameless is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Showtime Shameless is an American television comedy-drama which airs on Showtime. This remake of the award-winning British series is set in Chicago's Canaryville neighborhood on the South Side, although ...more

34
2,377 2,725
Fargo is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Fargo (FX, 2014) is an American black comedy drama anthology television series created by Noah Hawley, and inspired by the 1996 film. Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and wrong doings ...more

35
2,864 3,145
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
AbbyHaslem added Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 2013) is an American police television sitcom created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), an immature but talented NYPD detective in Brooklyn's ...more

36
2,066 1,973
The 100 is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
petra-r- added The 100 (The CW, 2014) is an American post-apocalyptic science fiction drama television series developed by Jason Rothenberg, loosely based on the book by Kass Morgan. 97 years after a nuclear ...more

37
2,452 3,113
True Detective is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
LanaYoshii added HBO True Detective (HBO, 2014) is an American anthology drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto. Each season focuses on detectives investigating violent offences.

38
1,618 1,457
Lucifer is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Lucifer (Fox, 2016) is an American fantasy police procedural comedy-drama television series. It features a character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg taken from the comic ...more

39
3,098 3,725
Suits is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
USA Network Suits is a USA Network legal drama created by Aaron Korsh that stars Patrick J. Adams as Michael "Mike" Ross and Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter. The first episode debuted on June 23, ...more

40
2,992 3,358
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
NBC Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show that aired weeknights at 12:35 am Eastern/11:35 pm Central on NBC in the United States. The hour-long show, which premiered on ...more

41
2,692 4,420
The Daily Show is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Comedy Central The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 1999) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program. Described as a fake news program, the show draws its comedy and satire from recent news ...more

42
1,621 1,751
Mr. Robot is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
petra-r- added Mr. Robot (USA Network, 2015) is an American drama–thriller television series created by Sam Esmail. Elliot (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer and hacker who suffers from social anxiety ...more

43
2,105 2,439
Last Week Tonight with John Ol... is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
surag added HBO Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO, 2014) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show takes a satirical look at ...more

44
2,456 3,387
Saturday Night Live is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
NBC Saturday Night Live is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, ...more

45
2,481 3,203
Bob's Burgers is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
sebbzor added Fox Broadcasting Company Bob's Burgers is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Belchers—parents Bob and Linda, and their children Tina, Gene, ...more

46
1,921 2,305
Rick and Morty is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
kuzronk added Adult Swim, Cartoon Network Rick and Morty (Adult Swim, 2013) is an American adult animated science-fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. Cynical mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his fretful, easily ...more

47
2,372 3,495
American Dad! is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
Fox Broadcasting Company American Dad! is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman for the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox. American Dad! is the first ...more

48
2,571 3,713
Grey's Anatomy is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
American Broadcasting Company Grey's Anatomy is an American medical soap opera television series that premiered on American Broadcasting Company as a mid-season replacement on March 27, 2005. The series has aired eleven ...more

49
1,649 2,322
Fear the Walking Dead is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
AMC This show is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson. A dysfunctional, blended family must reinvent themselves by learning new ...more

50
2,010 2,731
How to Get Away with Murder is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list The Best Shows Currently on the Air
American Broadcasting Company This television show is an American drama television series created by Peter Nowalk. A law professor (Viola Davis) at a prestigious Philadelphia university and five of her students become ...more