My 10 Favorite TV Shows of All Time
The quarantine is probably the best time for streaming services all over the world and I, as a long-time binge-watcher, thought I’d share my favorite TV shows of all times: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Thriller and even Sci-Fi make an appearance!
I found lots and lots of great shows over the years and thanks to my OCD I kept a well-written list of my favorite ones – it wasn’t easy to narrow my listicle down to my 10 favorite ones, but here they are!
#10 SATC | Desperate Housewives | Girls
The last spot goes to a tie of the three shows Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives and Girls. They all have a lot of things in common but just as many that distinguish them from another. These three series, all showing the lives and sex lives of strong female characters were once boundary-breaking and even though some aspects of them didn’t age well are still a fun watch.
#9 Broad City (Comedy)
Just like Girls and Sex and the City, Broad City features strong women living their best lives in NYC. Broad City, however, is very different from the other shows because there is barely any continuous storyline. This might sound like a bad thing but works great over the course of the seasons. Broad City, like no other show before, was able to capture the zeitgeist of the millenial generation while always staying fresh and relevant. A big TV moment that viewers will probably never forget – even though nothing really happened.
#8 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Comedy, Dramedy, Musical)
I could tell you a million reasons why I love Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, starting with the fact that I don’t enjoy musicals but LOVED this musical-inspired comedy show. It follows Rebecca Bunch who becomes slightly obsessive over her ex-boyfriend and moves around the state to be closer to him. Only problem: He already has a girlfriend and Rebecca’s many underlying issues don’t make things any easier. Everytime she has a problem one of the incredible witty and smart musical numbers start that are integrated into the story perfectly. If you’re scared to try it out, have a look at my picks for the best songs featured on the show first!
#7 Scandal (Drama, Thriller)
If you enjoyed Shonda Rhimes’ How to Get Away with Murder, you’ll likely love the arguably better-constructed Scandal too! The TV show follows professional “problem solver” Olivia Pope while she handles every possible imaginable scandle around the US president and her private clients. Long before House of Cards hit the TVs, Scandal portrayed everything that is wrong in poilitics as well as the interpersonal intrigues happening behind the scenes.
#6 Young & Hungry (Comedy)
Chef cook Gabbie Diamond is beyond broke and on the job hunt. She aces her interview for tech-multimillionaire Josh and as a celebration sleeps with him. The corny start of this comedy show hits off one of my most beloved feelgood TV moments with characters so bold and outspoken, you can’t help but fall in love with them. The show is fast-paced and might scare more mature viewers but if you stay open to the experience, Young & Hungry can truly warm your hearts and delivers laugh after laugh in literally every episode. Easy TV!
#5 Younger (Comedy)
When 40-year old Liza goes on the job-hunt after taking a hiatus due to her pregnancy, nobody in New York wants to hire her on an entry-level position. At a bar, twenty-something hunk Josh (aka the wonderful Nico Tortorella) flirts with her, assuming she is around his age. After Liza asks her friend Maggie “What are they putting in the drinks there and how can we get it in the drinking water?”, she comes up with an insane but devious plan: Get a make-over and trick everyone into thinking she’s actually in her twenties. This show stems from the creators of Sex and the City but is much smarter than the original in tackling important issues like ageism while always staying laugh-out-loud-funny.
#4 UnReal (Drama, Dramedy)
Girl-Bosses Rachel and Quinn unite behind the scenes of TV show The Bachelor to produce the contestants of the Show as they please. What seems to be a ludacris show idea actually stems from the mind of an ex-producer of the American bachelor and provides insightful and dramatic views on how reality TV is being made. UnReal sometimes feels like it depicts the pure evil that only money and fame can bring out in people but also asks important questions of mental health, family issues and modern dating. A tip for everyone who loves and hates reality TV!
#3 Mr. Robot (Thriller, Action)
Mr. Robot is like a modern Fight Club with computers! Hacker Elliot (Rami Malek) wants to stop the invisible hand (metaphorically speaking for the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the super-rich) that controls everyone. So, he makes a coup of devaluating all modern currency. His group FSOCIETY gets to know what power the Illuminati of the world truly hold over the people and how they control everything. Even life and death? While Elliot struggles with mental health and addiction, Mr. Robot builds up bigger and bigger than you’d ever imagine from the first season and explodes in a finale I can wholeheartedly only describe with one of the words I hate the most: epic.
#2 The OA (Mystery, Sci-Fi, Coming-of-Age)
The OA (title photo for this post) revolves around Prairie, who disappeared seven years prior to resurfacing with unexplained scars on her back. In addition, Prairie was blind when she disappeared, but upon her return, she can see again. In the hospital, she recognizes her parents only by their voices. Later on, she says that the interesting story is not how she regained her sight, but how she lost it in the first place. The OA is a wondrously beautiful work of art: moving and strange, edgy and different. It’s not for everyone but I would advise everyone to try, simply because of how deeply The OA moved me and showed me things I have never seen in any other TV show. Unfortunately, The OA is probably never going to get finished (two seasons have aired, five would’ve been planned) but watching these first two seasons on Netflix is definitely worth it!
#1 You’re the Worst (Dramedy, Comedy)
I don’t even know how to put into words how much love I have for genre and boundary-breaking Comedy hit You’re the Worst. Highly underrated in Europe it is the funniest, realest TV show I have seen in my days. It follows a couple of characters who call each other ‘the worst’ and over the course of five seasons, the viewer gets to decide who actually is the worst of them all. The characters feel fresh and unused, the jokes are dark and twisted, the conceptual episodes are highly intriguing and alongside many funny moments, the show tackles important psychological and societal issues starting with season 2. This is the one show I recommend to literally anyone asking for streaming advice and I’d suggest you put it on your list too. You won’t regret it!
Was your favorite TV show part of my list?
Canceled too early
The following shows are brilliant but there was just too little content to put them in my Top 10:
- Angel from Hell (Comedy)
- The other Two (Comedy)
- The Catch (Action, Drama)
- The Mick (Comedy)
- Looking (Gay Dramedy)
- Tuca and Bertie (Adult Animated Comedy)*
- Scream Queens (Trash Comedy Horror)*
* It’s been rumored that Tuca and Bertie and Scream Queens may get another season in the future.
Honorable Mentions
The following TV shows didn’t make the cut but sure as hell are worth having a look at too:
- Grace and Frankie (Comedy)
- Good Girls (Dramedy)
- Death Note (Anime, Mystery)
- Fleabag (Comedy, Dramedy)
- How to Get Away with murder (Thriller)
- The End of the Fucking World (Dramedy)
BenLeander
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