![]() Television technically goes back to 1928, when General Electric was testing their extremely early, 48-line TV system with a one-act play called The Queen's Messenger, but it arguably wasn't until Gunsmoke that the television drama had its first masterpiece. Excluding news, news-related programs, and shows specifically designed for young children, these are some of the best American television series of all time. Instead of lamenting what isn't presented here or where a certain title is located on the list, though, let's celebrate what is actually included. ![]() I Love Lucy, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Columbo, Veep, Deadwood, Friday Night Lights, Homicide: Life on the Street, The West Wing, Cheers, The Outer Limits, Star Trek: Next Generation, Batman: The Animated Series, Happy Days, All in the Family - every one of these shows deserve immense acclaim and have been important in staggering ways. There are quite literally more hours of television to watch than someone would have in numerous lifetimes (with the number of actually well-spent hours increasing yearly), so a viewer might as well watch the best of the best.Ī list like this is an invitation to get upset there are obviously countless TV shows which could be included here, because all of this is subjective. Are these series culturally significant, and do they give people a wider experience of the human condition, as well as being entertaining? Yes. Does a person need to watch these shows? No. Regardless, certain shows that have stood out from the ever-expanding televisual territories have done so through pure artistry, innovation, or cultural influence (or have simply perfected a traditional form), earning their prized positions in culture just as murals on the Santa Maria delle Grazie or athletic games in the Colosseum have in the past - they're what we as a society revolve around at their point in time, and what reflects us. Updated September 14, 2022: If you love both classic and modern television, you'll be happy to know that Matt Mahler has updated this list with additional content and entries. Now, with different new series like Squid Game and Mare of Easttown dominating the cultural landscape seemingly every week, keeping up with television can almost become a chore. Just as literary classics like Pride & Prejudice or The Grapes of Wrath can spend years on people's lists without them ever actually reading the literature, 'prestige' TV has become simultaneously treasured and laborious to the average viewer who used to just unwind after work with a sitcom. ![]() In the past few decades, television went from being seen as a detriment to intellectualism to becoming a new kind of literacy, at least in terms of the amount of time very smart people now spend watching screens.
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