The 25 best TV shows of the last 25 years have been revealed

Some serious binge watches on the way!

We imagine this list of the 25 best TV shows of the last 25 years will cause even more arguments than the recently revealed 25 best movies of the last 25 years list did.

Similarly to that movie list, Rotten Tomatoes contacted the full list of their approved Tomatometer critics, and asked them to choose, in no particular order, their five best TV shows of the last 25 years, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the review aggregate website, which launched in August 1998.

For us, there are some glaringly obvious misses from the list: 30 Rock, Black Mirror, Orange is the New Black, Barry, The Good Place, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Veep, Mare of Easttown, and loads more immediately spring to mind.

And unlike the Top 25 Movies list, the entries are almost entirely American. Aside from Fleabag, there is no sign of an international productions such as Peep Show, Squid Game, The Thick of It, Gomorrah, Happy Valley, Derry Girls, Sherlock, The Killing, Call My Agent, Line of Duty, Prisoners of War, Catastrophe… even The Great British Bake Off should be in with a shout!

The full breakdown of the top 25 best TV shows of the last 25 years can be found here, but here they are along with their original Rotten Tomatoes score:

1. Breaking Bad – 96%
2. The Sopranos – 92%
3. The Wire – 94%
4. Mad Men – 94%
5. Succession – 95%
6. The Leftovers – 91%
7. Game of Thrones – 88%
8. Twin Peaks: The Return – 94%
9. Lost – 86%
10. Six Feet Under – 81%
11. Fleabag – 100%
12. Ted Lasso – 90%
13. Better Call Saul – 98%
14. Bojack Horseman – 93%
15. Curb Your Enthusiasm – 92%
16. Atlanta – 98%
17. Stranger Things – 92%
18. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 90%
19. The US Office – 81%
20. The West Wing – 81%
21. The Americans – 96%
22. Parks and Recreation – 93%
23. Arrested Development – 75%
24. Watchmen – 96%
25. Chernobyl – 95%

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