The top 25. The big ones. The shows that should endure for decades onward. And, notably, these programs are not dominated by the era of Peak TV. No, they are the shows that showed the promise of prestige TV. What television could aspire to. (With a few post-2015 modern classics thrown in for good measure). Oh, and perhaps not so surprisingly, a significant portion of HBO’s library.
Once again, 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 and included. 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.
Before you jump into the top 25, feel free to review the initial 75 entries below.
The Greatest Television Programs of the 21st Century #100-76
The Greatest Television Programs of the 21st Century #75-51
The Greatest Television Programs of the 21st Century #51-26
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No. 25 – “Halt and Catch Fire”
Premiere Date: June 1, 2014 (4 seasons)
AMC
Perhaps the least-watched, most underrated and perhaps the most relatively obscure of all the series in our Top 25, “Halt & Catch Fire” was a fictionalized drama about the personal computer revolution of the 1980s, the early days of the internet, and the trio of visionary renegades trying to change the future through their ambitious visions of what technology could mean to our lives. Created by Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers, “Halt & Catch Fire” launched the career of Mackenzie Davis and further elevated incredible character actors Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy and Kerry Bishé—all of whom did some of the best work of their careers in this show. While not super flashy, “Halt & Catch Fire,” was well-composed and cinematic on a humanistic level; directors on the series included Juan José Campanella, Kimberly Peirce, Karyn Kusama, Jake Paltrow, Reed Morano, So Yong Kim. While initially formed by into the template of difficult, demanding anti-hero men doing daring things and pushing the envelope of technology, acceptable behavior, morals and ethics to do it (ala Steve Jobs)—Lee Pace’s character is a real complicated, challenging tyrant for the first few seasons—‘H&CF’ soon evolved to be a true ensemble effort and real humanist piece about the tragedy of trailblazers who had the right ideas as the wrong point in history. Poetically and ironically, Cantwell and Rogers flipped the script in the fourth and final season, practically pitched in a different key, which showed the women of the series, arguably, its true unsung innovators, but paid the personal costs of revolution all the same. – Rodrigo Perez

No. 24 – “Veep”
Premiere Date: April 22, 2012 (7 seasons)
HBO
After creating a seminal satire of the British government, “The Thick of It,” Armando Iannucci set his sights on America. Little did he or anyone involved with “Veep” realize how commonplace its over-the-top political scenarios would become during the first Trump administration, which began toward the end of its seven-season run. The Vice President in question is Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), the first female VP (in this timeline anyway), who is often looking out for her own best interests rather than what little responsibility her job entails or what the Oval Office will send her way. Often unable to stop Selina from public embarrassment is long-time and eyebrow-raisingly loyal assistant Gary (Tony Hale) and her chief of staff, Amy (Anna Chlumsky), who genuinely believes she’s smarter than anyone else in the room. Amy has an off-again, on-again relationship with Dan (Reid Scott), Selina’s communications deputy, and they both bond over their disdain for their peer Jonah (Timothy Simons), an aide in the president’s office whose career takes off in wild directions. Matt Walsh, Gary Cole, and Sam Richardson play the rest of Selina’s inner circle, who always seem a step behind whatever the fire that needs to be put out. Narratively creative, drenched with top-tier comedic timing that would make Aaron Sorkin envious, and a harbinger of a political era no one could anticipate was right around the corner, “Veep” was such a singular success you can’t imagine anyone attempting to remake it.

No. 23 – “Band of Brothers”
Premiere Date: Sept 9, 2001 (limited series)
HBO
There have been countless films and television programs about World War II, and 80 years later, nothing suggests this genre will fade away anytime soon. In 2001, as America reacted to the Sept. 11 attacks and found itself marching once again toward war, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg brought the story of the infamous “Easy Company,” a parachute infantry regiment in the U.S. Army deployed in the European theater. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 historical novel, the 10-episode series chronicled the soldiers training in Georgia to parachuting into Normandy to fighting off Nazis in Belgium to freeing a concentration camp near Landsberg. The show triumphantly depicted the horrors of war on both an epic and intimate scale, putting a face to the soldiers who died as the war raged on (most of the characters were based on real-life members of the company). The cast featured some famiiar faces (Neal McDonough, David Schwimmer), but mostly newcomers, including an eventual who’s who of British talent, who would make waves over the next few decades (Michael Fassbender, Damian Lewis, Dominic Cooper, Stephen Graham, James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Simon Pegg, Tom Hardy). “Band of Brothers” was just one story depicting the lies of the men who sacrificed themselves to take down fascism, but few programs have depicted the sacrifice the Greatest Generation made both on and off the battlefield so astutely as “Band of Brothers.”

No. 22 – “Chernobyl”
Premiere Date: May 6, 2019 (limited series)
HBO
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this stellar mini-series was that HBO greenlit it from Craig Mazin, who, at the time, was best known as a writer on “The Hangover” and “Scary Movie” franchises. A prestige dramatic thriller centered on the Chernobyl disaster and the mistakes made in attempting to minimize its consequences was not in his wheelhouse. HBO and, to be fair, co-financier SKY UK, knew better. Pulling primarily from Svetlana Alexievich’s nonfiction book “Voices from Chernobyl,” the tragedy is told from multiple perspectives, but Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) is the most prominent. A Soviet nuclear fusion expert sent to investigate the incident alongside Ministry top dog Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgård), they eventually discover that the catastrophe is the result of a design flaw ignored by the communist regime while the reactor was being built. As countless workers are unwittingly exposed to deadly forms of radiation attempting to stop the meltdown, the KGB’s only concern is keeping the government’s mistake a secret and blaming Anatoly Dyatlov (Paul Ritter), the Deputy Chief Engineer on duty, instead. Directed with top-notch tension by Johan Renck, Mazin’s scripts are not brilliant just because they capture the tragedy of the victims in the radiation zone, but also how they contextualize the man who gave up everything to ensure the truth came to light.

No. 21 – “The West Wing”
Premiere Date: Sept 22, 1999 (7 seasons)
NBC
Debuting at the tail end of the second Clinton Administration, an era of optimism as the millennium approached, “The West Wing” captivated audiences thanks to creator and co-showrunner Aaron Sorkin’s bullet-quick dialogue and long mastershots capturing the political shenanigans during a fictional American presidency. Set in an alternate timeline where Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) won’t run for re-election until 2002 (as opposed to 2000 or 2004), “The West Wing” chronicled six years of a democratic administration on television while the Bush administration took America to war in the real world. Sorkin guided the show to tackle a slew of major issues at the time, including gun control, gay rights, disabled rights, the war on terror, global genocide, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Chinese-Taiwan conflict, and White House administration scandals, just to name a few. The show made Sorkin a household name, at least with television fans, and Bartlet became a beloved character as the president most Americans wished was in power. The show also provided Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford with deserved spotlights, and its ensemble was rounded out by exemplary work from Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Dule Hill, and Janel Moloney.

No. 20 – “I May Destroy You”
Premiere Date: June 7, 2020 (limited series)
BBC, HBO
A lightning bolt of a second series from creator, writer, and star Michaela Coel, “I May Destroy You” is one of the most powerful and authentic accounts of sexual assault television has ever seen. Arabella (Coel) is a millennial pop culture icon after her first novel earned rave reviews and a big hit for her publisher. Her life takes a dramatic turn after she wakes up after a night out and about with her friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu). She knows she’s been drugged and raped, but her memories are fractured because of the trauma. As the story progresses over 12 episodes, Coel uses other moments in Arabella’s life and those of Terry and Kwame, who also suffer sexual assault, to tackle the inherent trauma with compassion and, bravely, pointed humor. Arabella may have lost everything, but she may have also found herself along the way.

No. 19 – “Better Call Saul”
Premiere Date: Feb 8, 2015 (6 seasons)
AMC
One of two prequels to make the top 25, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s “Breaking Bad” spin-off begins in the early 2000s, where Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), a former con man, attempts to remake his life as a public defender in New Mexico. Throughout six seasons, Jimmy’s ambitions, lack of approval from his more successful brother Chuck (Michael McKean), and inherent tendency for self-sabotage furthers his descent into a dangerous existence under the new guise of Saul Goodman. Featuring stellar performances by Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn as Jimmy’s love interest and (sometimes) moral compass, Kim, “Better Call Saul” is a portrait of a man whose past ultimately catches up with him. A tragedy that no charismatic smile or brilliant retort can avoid. And yes, some believe “Saul” was eventually a superior series to “Breaking.” We’re not sure it was quite there, but it was close.

No. 18 – “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Premiere Date: Oct 17, 1999 or Oct 15, 2000 (12 seasons)
HBO
Outside of a five-year break between 2012 and 2017, with 11 seasons over 24 years, is there any other single-camera comedy that chronicled the first quarter of the century more than Larry David’s “Curb”? Starring “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David as an exaggerated version of himself and packed with famous faces playing doing the same (Richard Lewis, Wanda Sykes, Ted Danson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rosie O’Donnell, Ben Stiller, Jon Hamm), “Curb” was an improvisational series, like the aforementioned NBC classic, that found laughs in some of the more mundane, every day situations. Except, David’s brash but charming personality often found him (or his friends played by Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove, and, sigh, Cheryl Hines) losing even when he was “winning.” Touching on real-life events such as Hurricane Katrina, Larry starring in a revival of “The Producers” (it was the hottest show on Broadway at the time), Larry receiveing an assassination order by the Supreme Ruler of Iran, or sexual harrasssment in the #MeToo era, among other topics, “Curb” demonstrated that no matter what the year or situation, a comedy of manners or misunderstandings never, ever gets old.