The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years
This list of the best TV shows of the past 20 years represents the combined opinions of thousands of TV fans on what series have been the standouts of the past two decades. Anyone can vote on this list of the best TV shows of recent memory, making this list a truly trustworthy way to find the best recent(ish) TV show.
Including recent big-name shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, the best TV shows ever in the past 20 years feature the latest and greatest television series. Even older shows like Friends and That '70s Show have episodes that aired in the past two decades so there really is a wonderfully wide selection of great shows in recent memory. From sitcoms to dramas and animations to miniseries, this list has got them all.
What are the best TV shows of recent memory? Whether you're looking for the best TV shows to add to your Netflix queue or you just want to share your picks for the best TV series of the last two decades, this is the place to tune in to the tastes of TV fans around the world. Figure out what must-see TV you have to catch up on, find where your favorites rank, and cast your votes for the best television in recent history.
- 1Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown
- Premiered: July 15, 2016
- Genres: Drama,Horror,Science Fiction,Thriller
Mysteries unravel in a small Midwestern town involving supernatural forces. - 2Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey
- Premiered: April 17, 2011
- Genres: Drama,Fantasy
Noble families in the seven kingdoms of Westeros vie for control of the Iron Throne. - 3Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn
- Premiered: January 20, 2008
- Genres: Crime,Drama
A high-school chemistry teacher has a midlife crisis. - 4
Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers- Premiered: November 12, 2019
- Genres: Action,Adventure,Drama,Science Fiction
After the fall of the Galactic Empire, a lone gunfighter makes his way through the lawless galaxy. - 5Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins
- Premiered: September 13, 2005
- Genres: Drama,Fantasy,Horror
Two brothers battle evil forces. - 6Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Vinette Robinson
- Premiered: July 25, 2010
- Genres: Adventure,Crime,Drama
A contemporary spin on the novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring the peerless Sherlock Holmes. - 7Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski
- Premiered: March 24, 2005
- Genres: Comedy
Workers plod along at Dunder Mifflin's paper-supply company. - 8Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard, Omar Epps
- Premiered: November 16, 2004
- Genres: Drama,Mystery
A brilliant and acerbic diagnostician leads a team of specialists. - 9Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Kim Coates
- Premiered: September 3, 2008
- Genres: Crime,Drama
An outlaw motorcycle club is intent on protecting its sheltered California town. - 10Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio
- Premiered: March 28, 1999
- Genres: Animation,Comedy,Science Fiction
Accidentally frozen, a pizza delivery boy wakes up 1,000 years in the future. - 11Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan
- Premiered: 2010
- Genres: Drama,Horror,Science Fiction
In the years following a zombie apocalypse, survivors seek refuge in a world overrun by the dead. - 12James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco
- Premiered: January 10, 1999
- Genres: Crime,Drama
Tony Soprano tries to be a good family man and run the New Jersey mob. - 13Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco
- Premiered: September 24, 2007
- Genres: Comedy
A free-spirited beauty moves in next door to two physicists. - 14Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Rick Gomez
- Premiered: September 9, 2001
- Genres: Action,Adventure,Drama,War & Politics
The story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army. - 15Trey Parker, Matt Stone
- Premiered: August 13, 1997
- Genres: Animation,Comedy
The adventures of four boys who live in South Park, Colo. - 16Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green
- Premiered: January 31, 1999
- Genres: Animation,Comedy
The adventures of an eccentric family living in New England. - 17Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher
- Premiered: August 23, 1998
- Genres: Comedy
A close-knit group of young, eclectic friends approaches adulthood. - 18Zach Braff, Donald Faison, John C. McGinley
- Premiered: October 2, 2001
- Genres: Comedy
A doctor works at a hospital with unpredictable staffers and patients. - 19Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, C.S. Lee
- Premiered: October 1, 2006
- Genres: Crime,Drama
A forensics analyst moonlights as a serial killer. - 20Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow
- Premiered: September 22, 1994
- Genres: Comedy
Six friends living in New York hang out at a coffee bar. - 21Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady
- Premiered: July 16, 2013
- Genres: Comedy
Prompted by ideas from the audience, comics improvise sketches. - 22Katheryn Winnick, Moe Dunford, Josefin Asplund
- Premiered: March 3, 2013
- Genres: Action,Adventure,Drama,Drama
The adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. - 23Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright
- Premiered: December 17, 1989
- Genres: Animation,Comedy
Homer and Marge Simpson raise Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie in Springfield. - 24Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, Mitch Pileggi
- Premiered: September 10, 1993
- Genres: Drama,Science Fiction
FBI special agents probe cases involving phenomena that defy conventional explanations. - 25Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders
- Premiered: September 19, 2005
- Genres: Comedy
Through a series of flashbacks, Ted tells his kids how he met their mother.
