The pros and the fans agree on the big things
In September, The New York Times published its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, meaning shows that started airing after January 1, 2000. The paper determined the list based on a poll of actors, showrunners, creators, executives, and craftspeople working in TV. This was the professionals’ take.
Not long after, the Times published another list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, this time decided by over 100,000 readers. This is the fans’ take.
A qualification like “best” is obviously up to interpretation. But there are some interesting differences when you look at what shows the pros prefer versus the fans.
Fans like comedy more than the professionals
Although there’s a good number of differences between these two lists, they mostly don’t show up until further down. Near the top, fans and pros seem to agree on what the very best shows of the century are.
To compare, here’re the Top 10 shows as chosen by TV professionals…
Breaking Bad
The Wire
Mad Men
Succession
Fleabag
Game of Thrones
Veep
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Atlanta
…and here are the Top 10 shows as chosen by fans:
Breaking Bad
The Wire
Mad Men
Succession
Game of Thrones
Better Call Saul
The Office (US)
Fleabag
Arrested Development
Ted Lasso
Pros and fans agree that shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire, Mad Men, Succession, and Game of Thrones deserve recognition. Things get a little more interesting in the lower part of the top 10, but there’s agreement that the very best shows of the century tend to be high-end prestige dramas. And also Fleabag.
Although there are a couple comedies, like Veep and 30 Rock, that the professionals rank higher than the fans, overall the fans seem to prize comedy more than the pros. Shows like The Office, Arrested Development, Ted Lasso, Parks and Recreation,
Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, Community, Hacks, Modern Family, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are all ranked higher on the fans’ list than the professionals’. Also, the fans include several sitcoms that the pros leave off their list entirely, including Derry Girls, Shrinking, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Abbott Elementary, Scrubs, and Bob’s Burgers.
To be fair, the pros also include some comedies that the fans excluded, including Eastbound & Down, Louis, The Comeback, Key & Peele, Peep Show, and Chappelle’s Show. But overall, it seems like ordinary TV fans like to laugh more than TV professionals, and are more open to mainstream sitcoms.
What shows did the pros include that the fans didn’t?
It was interesting to look at the shows that appear on one list but not on the other. Here are all the shows that appear on the pros’ list but not on the fans’ list, starting with the highest rank and going to the lowest:
- I May Destroy You
- The Comeback
- Key & Peele
- Enlightened
- Happy Valley
- The Bureau
- Chapelle’s Show
- PEN15
- Peep Show
- The Thick of It
- Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
- Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
- The Shield
- Beef (Season 1)
- Squid Game
- How To With John Wilson
- Better Things
- Planet Earth
- Baby Reindeer
- Eastbound & Down
- Catastrophe
- The Night Of
- Halt and Catch Fire
- The OA
- Scandal
Perhaps predictably, the professionals tend to prefer shows that are a little more obscure than the fans, like The Comeback, Enlightened, and The Bureau. These selections give the list a something of a hipster quality, although there’s a lot of quality pics on here you may not have heard of. Perhaps they can become your next great binge.
Somewhat less predictably, the pros apparently like reality content more than the public in general; their list includes multiple shows hosted by Anthony Bourdain, the nature documentary series Planet Earth, and quirky docuseries How To With John Wilson.
What did the fans care about that the critics didn’t?
The fans’ list of exclusive shows is a little more accessible:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Derry Girls
- Shrinking
- Sherlock
- Dark
- The Big Bang Theory
- New Girl
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- Widow’s Bay
- Grey’s Anatomy
- How I Met Your Mother
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Pluribus
- Mindhunter
- Heated Rivalry
- Abbott Elementary
- Fargo (Season 1)
- Mr. Robot
- Scrubs
- Broadchurch
- The Walking Dead
- Big Little Lies
- The Expanse
- This Is Us
- Bob’s Burgers
In general, the shows here are better known than the ones the pros included, which makes sense; this is a list put together by ordinary TV fans, and they’re more likely to have seen what’s popular. It felt wrong for generational hit shows like The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory to be left off the critics’ list, so I’m glad they showed up here. I’m also happy that fantastic series like Mindhunter, The Expanse, and Dark got some attention.
There are far more ongoing shows on this list, including Pluribus, Widow’s Bay, and Shrinking. The ordinary TV fan lives in the now.
Shows I’m surprised that neither group included
Finally, there are some shows I was surprised to see didn’t show up on either list, either because they’re very good, are very influential, have a passionate fanbase, or all of the above:
- 24
- Black Sails
- The Boys
- Firefly
- Invincible
- Rick and Morty
- Rome
- Silicon Valley
- Spartacus
- Vikings
It’s also surprising that neither list includes any anime series, like Death Note or Attack on Titan, both of which were hugely successful. And despite churning out a lot of content over the past several years, none of the Marvel TV shows made it onto the lists.
Here’s to the rest of the 21st century
Are there other shows you think should have been represented? Anything you think is ranked too high or too low? We might as well discuss it while marking time until 2050 or thereabouts, when we can take the temperature of the TV industry again.
