"Best" lists by nature stir up controversy: all art is subjective, of course, so nothing is better than anything else (except "Girls" is worse than everything).
But since everyone's having a conniption about the New York Times list of the 100 Best TV Shows of the 21 Century -- the reason media outlets print them to begin with -- I figured I would look to see how many shows I'd actually heard of.
It's about the 21st century, after all -- no "Mary Tyler Moore" or "The Bob Newhart Show" -- and here's what I found:
I've never seen a single episode of "Breaking Bad" (1), "The Wire" (2), "Succession" (4) or "Game of Thrones" (6), and have never heard of "Atlanta" (10).
I briefly tried to watch:
7. "Veep": Selina Meyer sticks her foot in her mouth/does something inappropriate and wackiness ensues. (Yawn.) I've heard it gets way better, but I didn't have the patience -- perhaps because I have never gotten over Julia Louis-Dreyfus's winning the Emmy over Lisa Kudrow in "The Comeback" ... for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
8. "30 Rock": On paper, this should be my favorite show of the century, but Tina Fey is horribly miscast (as herself), and I find the rapid-fire dialogue of things no two people in the history of the world have ever said to each other intolerable. (I feel like it ruined a generation of TV writers, who have been trying to emulate it ever since.) A smart friend also mentioned that the show "hasn't aged well," so that's another strike against it. (Also not a big fan of Tracy Morgan or fat Alec Baldwin.)
34. "Schitt's Creek": I remember when this was one of three streaming-only shows and it was kind of what people watched only because there was nothing else left. Then it suddenly became "the" show -- but again, I tried and found it to be a low-rent "Arrested Development" knockoff. Like "Veep," however, I heard it got better, but similarly I didn't have the patience. (You shouldn't have to work that hard to be entertained.)
Have never seen a single episode of any of these:
31. "Survivor"
53. "Stranger Things"
54. "Downton Abbey"
61. "RuPaul's Drag Race"
77. "Modern Family"
99. "Gilmore Girls"
Here's what I do know:
3. "Mad Men": Brilliant, and I want to get Damian to watch it now.
5. "Fleabag": Sublime, but I do find it a little apples and oranges to compare, say, shows with 200 episodes with ones that have ... 12.
10. "Curb Your Enthusiasm": Recently rewatched and somehow it was even funnier than the first time.
11. "The Office" (U.S.): Very funny, and I finally watched the post-Carell seasons and those too were great.
12. "Arrested Development": Hilarious. Never got into any of the reboot attempts, but who knows?
13. "Girls": Intolerable, and I dreaded every second of it.
14. "Friday Night Lights": God, I loved this. Due for a rewatch -- still trying to make the whole "It isn't actually about football, it's about the people" case for Damian.
15. "Six Feet Under": Had a rewatch in recent years to introduce Damian to it, and I still can't believe how much I love it.
16. "The Office" (U.K.): Wonderfully uncomfortable.
21. "The White Lotus": Have loved every season so far!
23. "The Comeback": My feelings about this are widely known!
26. "Black Mirror": Damian picks episodes he thinks I will like -- I'm not a big science-fiction guy -- and each one has blown me away!
33. "Enlightened": Only recently discovered it, and it might be Top 5 for me! "YES, Amy. It was the speech."
40. "Adolescence": I was completely engrossed but ultimately didn't give it a second thought when it ended.
41. "Louie": Groundbreakingly good.
42. "Hacks": Was always surprised by how good it was.
46. "Broad City": Started with a bang, but boy did it end with a whimper or two.
50. "Parks and Recreation": This could be the prototype for my eventually liking "Veep" and "Schitt's Creek": I watched the first couple of episodes, and it was frankly embarrassing watching Amy Poehler do this feeble Michael Scott impersonation, which didn't even make sense since she was actually Tracy Flick, not incompetent. But obviously the creators knew something had to be fixed, so while all the cool kids knew how good the show had become, I ignored it for a decade-plus. In the end, we watched it and loved it!
55. "Insecure": Loved it even if I could only understand a portion of what was being said(!).
59. "PEN15": One of the most clever shows ever -- cut short by Covid.
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67. "The Handmaid's Tale": I enjoyed the first season, but there was no way I was going to suffer through that abuse with new stuff that wasn't even from the book. We're already living in fascist times -- why put yourself through more as "entertainment"?
76. "Somebody Somewhere": Proof that these lists are dumb -- this should be WAY HIGHER.
78. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": The longest-running show of all time, and it's still better than everything else on TV. I'd probably put this at No. 1, and I only discovered it last year.
82. "Better Things": Started with a bang, but then Pamela Adlon started to buy her own hype and things went off the rails to the point that I stopped watching. Maybe one day I will try to pick up where I left off.
88. "Dexter": I enjoyed this for a season or two but then felt it had made its point.
89. "Baby Reindeer": Uncomfortable TV at its darkest.
91. "Catastrophe": I LOVED this show and have been following Sharon Horgan religiously and looking at photos of Rob Delaney ever since.
Tell me how wrong I am about everything in the comments!
