When Better Call Saul was announced in 2013, fans asked how Vince Gilligan and company could pull off a prequel about a beloved Breaking Bad character best known for providing slimy legal advice and comic relief. By the time the show concluded this year, the only question being asked was whether Better Call Saul had managed to eclipse its legendary precursor. Bolstered by a lovable ensemble cast and Alvarez's distinctive brand of humor, "English Teacher" received a near-perfect reception from critics.
The source material is Emily St. John Mandel’s novel of the same name, and that came out in 2014. In short, I promise this isn’t a COVID show, it’s just coincidentally the tale of a pandemic that causes the collapse of global civilization. Netflix, which has had a rough movie guide year financially and creatively, has just one entry on our list.
Even amidst the dawn of streaming, CBS’ NCIS managed to prove that some people do prefer to watch their scripted series the traditional way. The crime procedural — which is 20 seasons in, so far — reached a 13.5 average. While the race for this year’s winner was close, there is no other choice for the top slot than the impeccable, intricate and intriguing Shōgun. The show — which was originally meant to be a limited series but has since been renewed for Season 2 at FX and Hulu — is immediately gripping in its first episode, demanding the attention of the audience in ways few shows know how to do these days.
Andor is a tense, slow-burn thriller set in the Star Wars universe that follows Cassian Andor as he stumbles into the rebellion and begins to understand what it means to resist tyranny. With its grounded tone and richly layered storytelling, the series reveals how everyday people become revolutionaries. Easily one of the best TV series of 2025 (check out our review of the final three-episode arc here). The shows on this list represent a diverse range of genres, time periods, and storytelling styles, highlighting the evolution and influence of television. From gritty dramas like “The Sopranos” to cultural juggernauts like “Friends” and “Game of Thrones,” these series have earned their places in history as landmarks of entertainment.
Below, check out what Reelgood says are all the streaming TV series making the most waves right now. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of television, “The Sopranos” explores the complex life of mob boss Tony Soprano as he struggles to balance his criminal empire with his personal and family life. Groundbreaking in its exploration of anti-heroes, the show redefined TV dramas with its depth, moral ambiguity, and cinematic quality. Back in June, when we published our ranking of the best shows of the year so far, it felt wholly plausible that our end-of-year list wouldn’t look much different.
After a strange encounter with an alleged former coworker, protagonist Mark (Adam Scott) and his department coworkers (played by John Turturro, Zach Cherry, and Britt Lower) begin to untangle a web of dark secrets about what's really going on within their workplace. Bridget Everett stars in "Somebody Somewhere" as Sam, a 40-something who struggles to rediscover her identity while living in her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, which she returned to in order to care for her late sister. With the help of fellow soul searchers Fred (Murray Hill) and Joel (Jeff Hiller), Sam navigates coming back home, finding her voice, and finding community. After a nearly three-year hiatus, Sam Levinson's HBO drama "Euphoria" returned for another aesthetically pleasing season of questionable teen debauchery. Zendaya won a second Emmy award for her portrayal of Rue, a high schooler battling drug addiction. The Atlantic's Shirley Li noted that "in the disarray of Season 2, [the show's] sense of nihilism is magnified."
There were 600 original scripted shows airing on broadcast, cable and streaming in 2022 alone. That it was already hard enough to list the 50 best shows of last year is a luxury problem. We’re living through the greatest era of television content ever, and that’s fantastic, but it makes listing very challenging. Back in April, THR‘s team of intrepid film critics got together and ranked the 50 best films of the 21st century so far, delivering a list that was fascinating, head-scratching and packed with cinematic greatness. Like all well-conceived lists, it offered room for enthusiastic agreement and virulent disagreement — as well as a guarantee that any title you had yet to see was surely worth checking out.
Runner-Up: House of the Dragon Season 2
Having successfully examined money (who has it, who doesn’t, who needs it, who doesn’t) in Hawaii during Season One of “The White Lotus,” writer, director, and showrunner Mike White traveled to Sicily for the series’ second installment to explore sexual mores. As it is with humans in real life, sex means something different to everyone staying at the White Lotus. For sex worker Lucia (a wonderful Simona Tabasco in a breakout role) and her aspiring singer friend Mia (Beatrice Grannò), sex is a means to a financial end.
Netflix
Season 3 earned a 100% Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score, with Pajiba's Isabel Parigi writing that "the final season of 'Derry Girls' did not disappoint and surely solidifies the show's place in television history." Whether you’re fascinated by the lives and creative processes of chefs or you’re just enthralled by grade-A eye candy, you might want to add Chef’s Table to your watch list. Each hour-long documentary episode profiles a famous chef from around the world (including Nancy Silverton, Dan Barber, and Enrique Olvera), tracking their path to culinary greatness and exploring their food, lovingly filming dishes in gorgeous detail. The Great British Bake Off (GBBO to those in the know) has been a huge hit on UK television for years, but American audiences can now watch it on Netflix. In this feel-good competition show (known here as The Great British Baking Show in the US due to Pillsbury's ownership of the term “bake off”), amateur bakers pit their skills against daunting challenges like exotic breads, chocolate soufflé, and even wedding cake.
Lindsay Lohan Says ‘Count My Lies’ TV Role Is First Time She Doesn’t Have a Romantic Interest: “So Refreshing”
In Season 2, the duo's relationship grows even more complicated as Deborah decides to take her new stand-up show on the road. "Our Flag Means Death" has been praised for its LGBTQ+ representation, including the inclusion of a nonbinary character played by Jim Jimenez and the lack of queerbaiting when it comes to Stede and Blackbeard's relationship. Film School Rejects' Valerie Ettenhofer wrote, the show "stands above its contemporaries in the rising tide of scammer-centric shows… largely because of Seyfried's performance and the series' no-frills execution." "The Dropout" star Amanda Seyfried won an Emmy for her portrayal of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Based on the ABC News-produced podcast of the same name, the Hulu miniseries recounts the rise and fall of Holmes, who tricked investors into believing that Theranos technology could complete full blood tests using a drop or two of blood.
After helming the stunning “ronny/lily” in Season Two, he returned for multiple episodes in Season Three, including the amazing “710N,” which featured a bike chase sequence that felt inspired by the early work of the Coen brothers. Soap opera Days of Our Lives premiered on November 8, 1965, and ran until 2022 on NBC. The streamer announced on March 15 this year that DOOL has been renewed for two more seasons. The series’ enduring appeal could be attributed to reinvention, as cast members cycled in and out and the storylines — amnesia, love triangles, murder, mental health issues, assault, mobsters, and other soapy mayhem — reached ever-fantastical heights. The series is set in the fictional city of Salem, Illinois, and focuses on the Brady and Horton families. Seinfeld had a monster finale, called “The Finale,” with a 41.3 Nielsen rating and a 58 share with an estimated 75 million viewers.
Then, in 2021, he rocked TV fans with The White Lotus, an ensemble drama (and quasi-murder-mystery) that gave audiences the escape we needed and went on to sweep the Emmys. At the turn of the century, the ratings belonged to the late Regis Philbin and his American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Tuesdays were the most successful night for the game show, on which it achieved an average of 18.6 during its first run on ABC. After more than 50 years since it debuted on CBS, 60 Minutes remains one of the most renowned and most-watched primetime news programs on television — especially when political scandals are involved, for instance. In fact, it had the honor of being called the most-watched program on television for a given season a good number of times, such as between 1979 and 1980 with a ratings average of 28.4.