It may be hard for many to believe, but we are now 25 years into the 21st Century, and it’s time to pause and consider what has been a transformative period in modern media. Since 2000, the internet has reached almost every corner of the globe, social media has overthrown governments, and over 88% of Americans are subscribed to at least one streaming service. A technology that was a pipe dream on Dec. 31, 1999. In this context, the television industry experienced the explosion of the “Peak TV” era, which gave rise to a goldmine of new programs and gifted voices. Many have referred to it as the second Golden Age of television, and while it’s effectively over, it pushed episodic television to unexpected new heights. And many of those new creations have made The Playlist’s list of the Greatest Television programs of the 21st Century, so far.

READ MORE: The Best TV Shows and Mini-Series Of The Decade [2010s]

Before we jump into the first 25 selections, a few caveats on how this list was determined. First, to be considered, at least half of the series episodes needed to have aired after January 1, 2000. Second, reality competition series, reality programs, docuseries, and news and information series were considered. Third, one or two great seasons did not take precedence over subsequent floundering installments in a program’s ranking. Yes, consistency is key (so, take a moment to think before you get upset about where your favorite show is on the list). Moreover, we will include a significant honorable mention list after the top 25 portion of the list is posted next week.

Look for no. 75-51 tomorrow, no. 50-26 on Monday and the final selections on Tuesday.

Without further delay, let’s start with an unexpected gem that could have only been greenlit at the height of the Peak TV explosion…

No. 100 – “Broad City”
Premiere Date: January 22, 2014 (5 seasons)
Hulu
Based on their original web series, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson’s “Broad City” may not have broken the mold when it came to New York City-set comedy series, but it certainly came close. Playing fictional versions of. themselves, Ilana and Abbi, respectively, the pair navigate love and career aspirations through their 20s through a very distinct comedic lens. There is a ton of hilarious spoofing of gym culture, web employers, and just the existential angst of being a struggling twentysomething (we particularly love the episode where they almost rent an apartment in a Senior Citizen’s complex). The UCB vets were assisted by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, who just went on to make, y’know, “Hacks.”

No. 99 – “Pen15”
Premiere Date: February 8, 2018 (2 seasons)
Hulu
Maya Erkshine and Anna Konkle should not have been able to play 13-year-old versions of themselves in this groundbreaking comedy. It simply shouldn’t have worked. Especially when the co-creators and stars were both (double-checks) 32 years old at the time. Unlike other programs that cast twentysomething and even a few early thirtysomethings to play teenagers, Erkshine and Konkle pulled off hilarious and moving performances opposite real middle schoolers. The result was a miraculous 25 episodes that captured the inherent awkwardness of puberty, the importance of childhood friendships, and that moment when adolescence fades. We should have gotten one more season, but you’ll hear someone reminisce about this wonder for decades to come.

No. 98 – “Shameless”
Premiere Date: January 9, 2011 (11 seasons)
Showtime
While adapted from a British series of the same name, this quintessential American dramedy charted its own distinctively American course. The Showtime program centered on Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy), an often unemployed alcoholic and, at times, drug addict, trying to parent his six offspring on the South Side of Chicago. His eldest, Fiona (Emmy Rossum), is essentially raising her siblings on her own. From foster homes to teenage pregnancy to sex addiction to spousal abuse (and much more), “Shameless” was a microcosm of working-class America. There may have been some bumpy moments over its decade-long existence, but it was a textbook snapshot of the times. It showcased the impressive talents of not only Macy and Rossum but also Jeremy Allen White.

No. 97 – “Glee”
Premiere Date: May 19, 2009 (6 seasons)
FOX
High School students singing and dancing? Putting on musicals and dealing with the inherent drama of being a teenager? That’s nothing new, but an entire show that is an actual musical? Where the characters, in the context of a competing Glee club, cover recognizable songs to push the story forward? Sometimes, five to six songs in less than an hour? Now, that was something unique, and the Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan monstrosity had that in spades. The show’s tone may have been textbook Murphy over-the-top at times, but when the cast sang, it was often irresistable. It also put a spotlight on teenage LGBTQ+ issues on network TV (still uncommon in 2009), and tackled racism and disabled rights. It was also one of the biggest talent factories this side of the Disney Channel, with main cast members Darren Criss and Alex Newell both winning Tony Awards, and Lea Michelle saving a pricey Broadway revival.

No. 96 – “Weeds”
Premiere Date: August 8, 2005 (8 seasons)
Showtime
You may not believe this, but there was a time when marijuana was illegal and, frankly, scandalous. Recreational cannabis is still not lawful in 26 states, but, for the most part, is much more socially accepted than it was 20 years ago when Jenji Kohan’s “Weeds” debuted. Over the show’s almost decade long run, suburban widow Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise-Parker) found herself becoming an underground pot dealer, facing off against drug lords, then working for them, smuggling drugs across the border, spending years in jail, falling in love with a corrupt Mexican mayor, surviving an assassination attempt, and making one questionable decision after another. Nancy demonstrates the best and worst of us over eight seasons, but Louise Parker makes you root for her even when the series takes massive narrative leaps (and it takes many). It’s one reason its fans still clamor for a reboot to this day.

No. 95 – “Killing Eve”
Premiere Date: April 8, 2018 (4 seasons)
BBC America
A thriller that started with an absolute bang, “Killing Eve” is the textbook example of a legendary series that couldn’t stick the landing in the finale episode and, arguably, season (hence barely making the top 100). The intriguing premise begins with a stellar Sandra Oh portraying Eve, a bored analyst for the British Intelligence agency MI5 who becomes part of a secret division of MI6 on the hunt for a renowned assassin, Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer in a firecracker turn. Complicating their lives is the organization known as The Twelve, which Villanelle works for, and continues to traumatize Eve’s life. Their pair’s romantic obsession with each other sparks the series, especially the first two seasons. Keeping that sexual tension going for multiple seasons, with no on-screen consummation, was no easy feat. But it was fun while it lasted.

No. 94 – “Damages”
Premiere Date: July 24, 2007 (5 seasons)
FX, DirectTV’s Audience Network
Deliciously playing with nonlinear storylines, “Damages” chronicled the frenemy relationship and twists and turns between an established power lawyer, Patty (Glenn Close), and, initially, a newbie lawyer looking to make a name for herself, Ellen (Rose Byrne). Throughout the series, the pair’s relationship became more fractured as Ellen realizes how manipulative and unscrupulous her “mentor” truly is. Beyond the fantastic performances by Close and Byrne, the New York-based series featured a plethora of incredible regulars and guest stars, including Ted Danson, Tate Donovan, Chris Messina, Janet McTeer, William Hurt, Timothy Olyphant, Martin Short, Lily Tomlin, Marcia Gay Harden, Campbell Scott, John Goodman, Dylan Baker, and Ryan Phillippe. Frankly, “Damages” was a series that was ahead of its time, barely surviving five seasons after a last-minute save by DirecTV. If it debuted on Apple TV or Netflix today, it would be a smash.

No. 93 – “Top of the Lake”
Premiere Date: March 18, 2013 (2 seasons)
Sundance Channel
Jane Campion and Gerard Lake’s first season was close to a cinematic masterpiece. A mystery centered on a missing 12-year-old New Zealand girl, who is somehow pregnant, and the visiting Sydney detective, Robin (Elisabeth Moss), in charge of finding her. A Queenstown, New Zealand native, Robin is revising her own trauma working on the case, and she battles a certain strain of inherent misogyny that isn’t always initially apparent. Campion’s direction is stellar while Moss, David Whenham, and Matt Mullan deliver impressive performances. The second season, “China Lake,” moved the proceedings to Sydney and got lost in storylines that veered toward melodrama, but that first go-around ? Superb.

No. 92 – “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Premiere Date: April 26, 2017 (6 seasons)
Hulu
Sometimes, timing is everything. When an episodic version of Marget Atwood’s 1985 seminal novel was greenlit in April 2016, neither creator Bruce Miller nor star Elisabeth Moss could have understood how prophetic it would be. A dystopian near future where women and minorities have seen their rights rolled back after a religious fundamental regime takes power became more believable after the, at the time, shocking election of Donald Trump as President in November 2016. The first season, which featured flashbacks to the slow groundswell of conservative influence before the coup, felt all too real. At the center of it all was Moss, in a career-defying performance as Handmaid “Offred,” a woman forced to act as a surrogate to a high-ranking government official against her will. As the series unfurled over six seasons, the narrative appeal began to wane, before ending with a “critical comeback” conclusion this spring. But those first two seasons and the glimmer of hope that Offred and the Handmaids could escape this authoritarian horror? That was something special indeed.