According to a massive poll of experts, cultural critics, and TV makers, the best television series of the 21st century to date is … Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad.
That was the final outcome of this poll conducted by The New York Times. According to the outlet, they received responses from “more than 500 people” on the 10 best series that have premiered on TV since January of 2000. (The Sopranos was inelligible as it actually debuted on HBO in the winter of 1999.) The respondents, per the Times, included Elisabeth Moss, Adam Scott, Bryan Cranston, Rose Byrne, Colman Domingo and Jason Bateman, and showrunners like Damon Lindelof, Lena Dunham, Lena Waithe and Noah Hawley.
Their collective #1 pick on the final top 100 was Breaking Bad, the AMC series about a cancer-ridden chemistry teacher who turns to drug dealing to ensure his family will be taken care of financially after he’s gone. The show, starring Bryan Cranston as Walter White and Aaron Paul as his protégé Jesse Pinkman, aired from 2008 and 2013 over the course of five seasons. It later spawned a film continuation, El Camino, and a spinoff show, Better Call Saul, focused on the shady lawyer character played on Breaking Bad by Bob Odenkirk. (Better Call Saul landed at #27 on the Times top 100 list.)
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Here is the Times’ top 10 list from their list of the best TV of the 21st century:
- Breaking Bad
- The Wire
- Mad Men
- Succession
- Fleabag
- Game of Thrones
- Veep
- 30 Rock
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Atlanta
A few other notable titles on the list: The Office came in at #11 (the U.K. version of The Office landed a few spots behind at #16), Andor was #32, Watchmen was #39, and Twin Peaks: The Return held the #47 spot.
You can peruse the New York Times’ full top 100 list of the best TV shows of the 21st century, and make your own ballot, at their website.
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky