Best TV of the 21st century

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Breakdown of the data

By genre

NY Times vs. Readers
51Drama49
43Comedy41
28Crime & Thriller28
12Sci-Fi & Fantasy18
11Period & War11
9Unscripted5
1Animation3

Many shows carry two genres, so these add up past 100. Genre tags are ours, not the Times'.

By platform

NY Times vs. Readers
32HBO Max26
24Netflix26
21Hulu24
9Peacock11
9Paramount+8
6AMC+4
3Apple TV7
3Disney+4
2Prime Video4
2BritBox2

US subscription services, October 2026. A show on two services counts twice.

By premiere year

NY Times vs. Readers
33
2000’00
34
2001’01
21
2002’02
31
2003’03
33
2004’04
66
2005’05
43
2006’06
12
2007’07
11
2008’08
65
2009’09
45
2010’10
45
2011’11
42
2012’12
56
2013’13
65
2014’14
44
2015’15
97
2016’16
37
2017’17
23
2018’18
43
2019’19
53
2020’20
66
2021’21
66
2022’22
23
2023’23
21
2024’24
24
2025’25
1
2026’26

Readers loved more

NY Times rank → readers' rank

  1. Gilmore Girls99→26+73
  2. Community97→30+67
  3. Ted Lasso75→10+65
  4. Modern Family77→34+43
  5. The Great British Baking Show85→42+43
  6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia78→38+40
  7. House95→55+40
  8. Parks and Recreation50→11+39
  9. Slow Horses62→23+39
  10. The Diplomat94→57+37

Readers cooled on

NY Times rank → readers' rank

  1. The Office (U.K.)16→95−79
  2. Adolescence40→80−40
  3. RuPaul's Drag Race61→100−39
  4. Atlanta10→47−37
  5. Insecure55→92−37
  6. Normal People49→84−35
  7. I Think You Should Leave57→91−34
  8. Black Mirror26→54−28
  9. Broad City46→74−28
  10. Watchmen39→62−23

Readers added

Not on the NY Times list · top 10 of 26

  1. Avatar: The Last AirbenderNo. 37
  2. Derry GirlsNo. 45
  3. ShrinkingNo. 56
  4. SherlockNo. 60
  5. DarkNo. 61
  6. The Big Bang TheoryNo. 64
  7. New GirlNo. 65
  8. Brooklyn Nine-NineNo. 69
  9. Widow's BayNo. 70
  10. Grey's AnatomyNo. 71

Readers left off

Not on the readers' list · top 10 of 26

  1. I May Destroy YouNo. 18
  2. The ComebackNo. 23
  3. Key & PeeleNo. 29
  4. EnlightenedNo. 33
  5. LouieNo. 41
  6. Happy ValleyNo. 45
  7. The BureauNo. 54
  8. Chappelle's ShowNo. 58
  9. PEN15No. 59
  10. Peep ShowNo. 60

Rankings and list names are from The New York Times (2026): the official list, the readers’ list, and their Instagram. The Times also offers a printable checklist. This is an independent companion, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Times. Genres and streaming services are our own additions, US subscription availability as of October 2026, and deals change, so every show also links to JustWatch.