If you gathered 100 TV enthusiasts in a room and asked them to agree on the best show, you’d likely end up with 50 fans shouting one thing, 50 shouting another, and all 100 agreeing that they dislike you for even posing the question.
This scenario could apply to almost any online consensus attempt, but film and TV fans, arguably, are only second to sports fans in their inability to reach agreement.
When discussing the greatest TV shows of all time, there are simply too many passionate fans for any consensus list to be universally accepted.
There’s general agreement that Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Sopranos belong on such a list, but opinions differ on their rankings.
What about more recent shows like Succession, Fleabag, and Severance?
And where do comedies like The Office, Seinfeld, and Friends, some of the most popular shows ever, rank?
One attempt to create a ‘definitive’ list incorporated IMDb ratings, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and other aggregator sites.
As expected, this effort sparked even more debate.
You can see the list, which was shared to LADbible’s Facebook group Netflix Bangers, and try to identify what caused the most disagreements.
If you guessed everything, you’d be right.
Unsurprisingly, Breaking Bad claimed the top spot, while Game of Thrones’ final season significantly impacted its chances, placing it second.
The top five was rounded out by Chernobyl in third, The Sopranos in fourth, and Band of Brothers in fifth.
Notice anyone missing?
The fan who posted the list to Netflix Bangers wrote: “I was surprised to see The Wire down at #6 on the list of best shows of all time!”
Another group member commented: “The Wire is the greatest show of all time”.
As some debated the top rankings, others took issue with the entire makeup of the list.
One commenter stated: “Without The West Wing, Sons of Anarchy and Homeland, this list can’t be taken seriously.”
Another added: “How is [Sons Of Anarchy] not on this list?? that’s my #1 of all time, with Breaking Bad at 2”.
While I personally am still trying to process The Boys ranking higher than The Last Of Us, Mare of Easttown, and Lost, it’s clear you can’t please everyone.