The Best TV Shows Of The Past 20 Years

Ranker Community

Updated July 16, 2024 1.4M views 302 items

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2.5M votes

145.1K voters

315 reranks

Voting Rules

Vote up the best series that have aired new episodes since 2003.

Latest additions: Wallander, Man v. Food

Most divisive: How I Met Your Mother

Over 145.1K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Greatest TV Series 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.

1
74,705 votes
Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn
2
77,385 votes
Game of Thrones
Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey
3
42,686 votes
The Sopranos
James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco
4
42,071 votes
Stranger Things
Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown
5
18,093 votes
The Boys
Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr
6
50,700 votes
The Office
Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski
7
28,372 votes
Vikings
Katheryn Winnick, Moe Dunford, Josefin Asplund
8
50,280 votes
The Big Bang Theory
Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco
9
44,764 votes
House
Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard, Omar Epps
10
28,551 votes
Sons of Anarchy
Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Kim Coates

11
38,966 votes
Dexter
Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, C.S. Lee
12
42,920 votes
The Simpsons
Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright
13
42,873 votes
Walking Dead
Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan
14
51,108 votes
Friends
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow
15
36,679 votes
Sherlock
Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Andrew Scott
16
38,974 votes
South Park
Trey Parker, Matt Stone
17
23,255 votes
The Mandalorian
Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito
18
13,922 votes
Ozark
Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz
19
31,895 votes
Supernatural
Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins
20
34,432 votes
Family Guy
Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green

21
17,360 votes
Better Call Saul
Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando
22
19,459 votes
Criminal Minds
Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness
23
30,704 votes
That '70s Show
Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher
24
28,853 votes
Futurama
Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio
25
24,402 votes
Modern Family
Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell
26
26,993 votes
Scrubs
Zach Braff, Donald Faison, John C. McGinley
27
32,446 votes
How I Met Your Mother
Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders
28
22,937 votes
Parks & Recreation
Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman
29
13,010 votes
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews
30
8,617 votes
Planet Earth
David Attenborough, Sigourney Weaver, Thomas Anguti Johnston

31
19,054 votes
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady
32
6,549 votes
Schitt's Creek
Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Annie Murphy
33
15,692 votes
MythBusters
Jon Lung, Brian Louden
34
4,717 votes
Planet Earth II
Sir David Attenborough
35
26,435 votes
Lost
Naveen Andrews, Nestor Carbonell, Emilie de Ravin
36
11,784 votes
Lucifer
Tom Ellis, Lauren German, DB Woodside
37
15,996 votes
American Horror Story
Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton, Taissa Farmiga
38
18,176 votes
The Wire
Dominic West, John Doman, Frankie R. Faison
39
15,775 votes
Malcolm in the Middle
Jane Kaczmarek, Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz
40
6,642 votes
The Last Kingdom
Alexander Dreymon, Emily Cox, Timothy Innes

41
19,925 votes
Doctor Who
Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, John Bishop
42
15,081 votes
Law and Order SVU
Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Kelli Giddish
43
13,550 votes
Bones
Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, T.J. Thyne
44
8,675 votes
Shameless
William H. Macy, Jeremy Allen White, Cameron Monaghan
45
6,411 votes
The Punisher
Jon Bernthal, Ben Barnes, Amber Rose Revah
46
11,062 votes
Prison Break
Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Sarah Wayne Callies
47
16,355 votes
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Danny DeVito, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson
48
7,078 votes
Westworld
Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris
49
13,705 votes
NCIS
Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Brian Dietzen
50
9,631 votes
Daredevil
Charlie Cox, Elodie Yung, Deborah Ann Woll

51
12,196 votes
Chapelle's Show
Dave Chappelle, Donnell Rawlings, Neal Brennan
52
8,976 votes
Downton Abbey
Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter
Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle
53
12,670 votes
True Blood
Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell
54
11,228 votes
Orange Is the New Black
Taylor Schilling, Natasha Lyonne, Uzo Aduba
55
8,199 votes
The Blacklist
James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff, Hisham Tawfiq
56
10,303 votes
My Name Is Earl
Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Jaime Pressly
57
7,235 votes
True Detective
Mahershala Ali, Stephen Dorff, Carmen Ejogo
58
8,035 votes
Rick and Morty
Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Sarah Chalke
59
10,296 votes
Sesame Street
Fran Brill, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Ryan Dillon
60
10,730 votes
24
Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Cherry Jones

Schitt's Creek