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- All 43 notable FX original TV shows, ranked from worst to best by critics - from 'Atlanta' to 'The Americans'
All 43 notable FX original TV shows, ranked from worst to best by critics - from 'Atlanta' to 'The Americans'
43. "Saint George"
42. "Testees"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2008
Metacritic score: 37
In this show, two guys act as subjects in a testing facility for extra cash, but the comedic premise didn't help its chances of not getting canceled.
41. "Dirt"
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2007-2008
Metacritic score: 40
Courtney Cox plays a tabloid reporter trying to dig up celebrity secrets, but the show couldn't dig up an audience, and was canceled after two seasons.
40. (TIE) "Chozen"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2014
Metacritic score: 44
The animated comedy follows a gay white rapper as he's released from prison and reevaluates his life.
40. (TIE) "Partners"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2014
Metacritic score: 44
Kelsey Grammar and Martin Lawrence starred in this comedy about two lawyers, but even that power duo couldn't keep it on the air.
38. (TIE) "Anger Management"
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2012-2014
Metacritic score: 44
Loosely based on the film starring Adam Sandler, Charlie Sheen stepped into the role this time of a former pro baseball player seeing a therapist.
37. "Unsupervised"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2012
Metacritic score: 46
"Unsupervised," even as an animated teenage comedy, couldn't establish itself as a must-watch and was canceled after one season.
36. "Married"
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2014-2015
Metacritic score: 52
The series follows two people trying to save their marriage, but the series itself couldn't be salvaged.
35. "The Bastard Executioner"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2015
Metacritic score: 55
This political sword-and-sandals drama, about a warrior knight who is forced back into a conflict after putting down his sword, could be seen as trying to cash in on the success of "Game of Thrones." It didn't work.
34. "The Comedians"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2015
Metacritic score: 57
Even with Billy Crystal starring, and Josh Gad coming off the success of "Frozen," this comedy only lasted one season.
33. "The League"
Number of seasons: 7
Years aired: 2009-2015
Metacritic score: 57.5
The series started out on FX and eventually moved to FXX in its later seasons, and focuses on a group of friends in a fantasy football league.
32. "Tyrant"
Number of seasons: 3
Years aired: 2014-2016
Metacritic score: 59
"Tyrant," despite poor reviews, lasted three seasons. The son of a Middle Eastern dictator living in America returns to his country, but is roped into political intrigue when his father dies.
31. "Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll"
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2015-2016
Metacritic score: 60
After "Rescue Me" ended, Denis Leary attempted to find further FX success in this lackluster drama about a washed up, drug-addicted rock performer who tries to get back into the spotlight.
30. (TIE) "Snowfall"
Number of seasons: 1 (renewed for second season)
Years aired: 2017-present
Metacritic score: 62
Set during the crack cocaine epidemic in 1980s Los Angeles, "Snowfall" has been renewed for a second season despite sub-par reviews for its first.
30. (TIE) "Wilfred"
Number of seasons: 4
Years aired: 2011-2014
Metacritic score: 62
Based on an Australian series about a man who befriends a dog (who he sees as a man in a dog suit), it found new life in its final season on FXX.
28. "The Strain"
Number of seasons: 4
Years aired: 2014-2017
Metacritic score: 66.7
A vampire virus breaks out in New York. The series ended last year with season 4.
27. "Taboo"
Number of seasons: 1 (renewed for second season)
Years aired: 2017-present
Metacritic score: 67
Tom Hardy's weird period drama set in 1800s London will return for a second season on FX in the U.S. and BBC1 in the U.K.
26. "The Riches"
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2007-2008
Metacritic score: 68.5
Minnie Driver starred in this drama about a family of outlaws who hide in plain sight in a suburban town.
25. "Thief"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2006
Metacritic score: 71
This mini-series followed Andre Braugher as a thief who is an expert in heists but a failure in his personal life.
24. (TIE) "Nip/Tuck"
Number of seasons: 6
Years aired: 2003-2010
Metacritic score: 72
Ryan Murphy's drama focused on two plastic surgeons, played by Julian McMahon and Dylan Walsh, whose differing lives put them at odds — one a family man, the other a bachelor.
24. (TIE) "The Bridge"
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2013-2014
Metacritic score: 72
Based on a Scandinavian series, two detectives work together to investigate a serial killer.
22. "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2018
Metacritic score: 74
The second installment in Ryan Murphy's anthology series "American Crime Story" isn't getting rave reviews like its predecessor, "The People v. O.J. Simpson," but that was hard to live up to.
21. (TIE) "Legit
Number of seasons: 2
Years aired: 2013-2014
Metacritic score: 75
The Jim Jeffries comedy, in which Jim Jeffries plays a dramatized version of himself, moved to FXX in its second season, but wasn't renewed for more.
21. (TIE) "Terriers"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2010
Metacritic score: 75
"Terriers," about two friends who open their own investigative agency, gained a small but loyal following during its one-season run, but unfortunately didn't survive past that.
19. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
Number of seasons: 12 (renewed for season 13 on FXX)
Years aired: 2005-present
Metacritic score: 75.2
"Always Sunny" is FX's (now on FXX) longest-running series, and one of the longest running live-action comedies of all time.
18. "Baskets"
Number of seasons: 3
Years aired: 2016-present
Metacritic score: 75.5
Zach Galifianakis plays Chip Baskets, a guy trying to fulfill his dream of being a professional clown. It's currently in its third season.
17. "Sons of Anarchy"
Number of seasons: 7
Years aired: 2008-2014
Metacritic score: 76.1
Ron Perlman and Charlie Hunnam starred in this crime drama centered around a lawless motorcycle gang in a fictional California town.
16. "American Horror Story"
Number of seasons: 7 (renewed for eighth season)
Years aired: 2011-present
Metacritic score: 77.5
Ryan Murphy's anthology series tackles various horror tropes throughout its semi-connected seasons, such as a haunted house, a witch coven, a carnival freak show, and cults.
15. "Archer"
Number of seasons: 7 (renewed through season 10 on FXX)
Years aired: 2009-present
Metacritic score: 78.3
The animated spy-spoof has been renewed for three more seasons on FXX, so it's not going away any time soon.
14. "Damages"
Number of seasons: 5
Years aired: 2007-2012
Metacritic score: 78.8
A no-nonsense attorney played by Glenn Close takes a law school graduate played by Rose Byrne under her wing during a custody trial for her granddaughter.
13. (TIE) "Lights Out"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2011
Metacritic score: 79
Holt McCallany can be seen now in Netflix's "Mindhunter," but in 2011, he starred in one season of FX's "Lights Out," in which he plays a former heavyweight boxing champion.
13. (TIE) "You're the Worst"
Number of seasons: 4 (renewed for fifth season on FXX)
Years aired: 2014-present
Metacritic score: 79
Two people terrible at relationships must navigate other people while consistently being pulled back to each other. Its fifth and final season will air this year.
11. "Feud: Bette and Joan"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2017
Metacritic score: 81
The first season of Ryan Murphy's anthology series "Feud," which highlights famous rivalries, focused on the escalating tension between actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.
10. "Legion"
Number of seasons: 1 (Second season premieres in April)
Years aired: 2017-present
Metacritic score: 82
Based on a Marvel Comics X-Men character created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz, the trippy Noah Hawley adaptation returns April 3 for a second season.
9. "Rescue Me"
Number of seasons: 7
Years aired: 2004-2011
Metacritic score: 84
Denis Leary portrayed a self-destructive firefighter in post-9/11 New York.
8. "Justified"
Number of seasons: 6
Years aired: 2010-2015
Metacritic score: 87.1
Timothy Olyphant plays a marshall whose old-school ways get him reassigned to his economically struggling hometown in Kentucky.
7. "Louie"
Number of seasons: 5
Years aired: 2010-2015
Metacritic score: 87.4
Louis C.K.'s "Louie," and C.K.'s humor, can be looked back on in an entirely different sense in the aftermath of sexual misconduct allegations made against the actor and comedian in November.
6. "Better Things"
Number of seasons: 2 (renewed for third season)
Years aired: 2016-present
Metacritic score: 88
Pamela Adlon's series where she plays a struggling actress trying to raise a family was co-created by Louis C.K. But the show stands on its own without him, and will be returning this year.
5. "The Shield"
Number of seasons: 7
Years aired: 2002-2008
Metacritic score: 88.5
Michael Chiklis played a Los Angeles cop willing to bend the rules in a police department full of dirty officers.
4. "The Americans"
Number of seasons: 5 (The sixth and final season premieres this month)
Years aired: 2013-2018
Metacritic score: 89.4
Two Russian spies — played by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys — attempt to balance their dangerous work with raising a family in America.
3. (TIE) "Fargo"
Number of seasons: 3 (fourth season expected in 2019)
Years aired: 2014-present
Metacritic score: 90
Noah Hawley's anthology series based on the 1996 film is expected to return in 2019, though no details have been revealed.
3. (TIE) "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story"
Number of seasons: 1
Years aired: 2015
Metacritic score: 90
Ryan Murphy's first installment of the "American Crime Story" anthology series — which tells the story behind the infamous O.J. Simpson murder trial — swept the 2016 Emmys. It can now be binge-watched on Netflix.
1. "Atlanta"
Number of seasons: 2 (second season currently airing)
Years aired: 2016-present
Metacritic score: 93.5
Donald Glover's hit dramedy recently returned with "Atlanta: Robbin' Season," its second season. It currently airs on FX on Thursdays at 10 p.m.
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