The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

Travis ClarkJun 23, 2020, 23:43 IST

"Breaking Bad" (Season 5).AMC

"Breaking Bad" and "The Sopranos" are some of the most acclaimed shows of all time.
We broke down quality TV by seasons and ranked the best TV seasons of all time based on Metacritic reviews.

The most critically acclaimed TV shows in history have earned their praise by repeatedly producing innovative and memorable seasons.

Shows like "The Wire," "Breaking Bad," and "The Sopranos" consistently won over critics, and their best seasons have set a standard for what great television should look like.

More recent shows like "Fleabag," "Atlanta," and "Better Call Saul" have broken into this elite group, as well.

To find out which series have been the most influential, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the all-time best TV seasons, which ranks shows by their composite critical reception.

John Lynch contributed to an earlier version of this story.

Check out the 50 best TV-show seasons of all time, according to critics:

50. "The Americans" (Season 3)

49. "The Staircase" 2018 (season 1)

Netflix

48. "Halt and Catch Fire" (Season 4)

AMC

47. "Better Call Saul" (season 5)

AMC

46. "The Shield" (Season 1)

45. "Mad Men" (Season 4)

AMC

44. "The Americans" (Season 6)

43. "The Larry Sanders Show" (Season 3)

HBO

42. "Bleak House" (Season 1)

BBC

41. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (Season 3)

HBO

40. "Louie" (Season 4)

39. "Deadwood" (Season 2)

HBO

38. "The Office: UK" (Season 2)

BBC

37. "The Americans" (Season 5)

36. "Louie" (Season 3)

35. "Transparent" (Season 2)

Amazon

34. "Battlestar Galactica" (Season 3)

Sci-Fi

33. "Game of Thrones" (Season 4)

HBO

32. "Better Things" (season 3)

31. "Homicide: Life on the Street" (Season 1)

NBC

30. "The Wire" (Season 2)

HBO

29. "The Americans" (Season 4)

28. "The Staircase" 2004 (season 1)

Canal

27. "Enlightened" (Season 2)

HBO

26. "Catastrophe" (Season 3)

Amazon

25. "Planet Earth II" (season 1)

BBC

24. "Fargo" (Season 2)

23. "Fleabag" (Season 2)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote and stars on Amazon's "Fleabag." Amazon

22. "Better Things" (Season 2)

21. "The Sopranos" (Season 6)

HBO

20. "Breaking Bad" (Season 4)

AMC

19. "O.J.: Made in America" (season 1)

ESPN Films

18. "Twin Peaks" (Season 1)

Showtime

17. "Homeland" (Season 2)