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Ruzzfeed: TV Series GOATs

updated taste

What are my fav series of all time?

I judge a series in its entirety - it has to stick the landing with a satisfying conclusion. It’s not enough to just start with a flashy mysterious premise or with some amazing character arcs that can’t believably resolve (GoT…sigh).

Genres mostly pre-filled from TMDB as a hint. Tap “about” for a spoiler-free one-liner on anything, and/or see my random brief notes. I am by no means a critic; they’re just the kind of things I hear myself saying when sharing recommendations with folks.

The GOATs

# Show Genre About Notes
1 The Wire poster The Wire2002
genre

Crime, Drama

about

A novelistic portrait of Baltimore, told season by season through the drug trade, the docks, city hall and the schools.

notes

moving, funny, educational, timeless. Any hype you've heard is justified.

2 Dark poster Dark2017
genre

Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery

about

A child's disappearance in a small German town unearths a mystery that binds four families across generations.

notes

such a satisfyingly woven mystery; the less you know before you start watching, the better.

3 The Capture poster The Capture2019
genre

Crime, Drama, Mystery

about

A soldier cleared of a war crime walks free — into an investigation where the video evidence stops adding up.

notes

first season in particular is an exquisite thriller, but the whole premise is just so topical and fascinating, and the writers aren't afraid of taking you to uncomfortable places with it.

4 Severance poster Severance2022
genre

Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

Office workers surgically split their memories between work and home, until one of them starts asking why.

notes

technically unfinished I think, but so stylish and unsettling and funny that it's already on the list. Thoroughly, uniquely engrossing.

5 Years & Years poster Years & Years2019
genre

Drama, War & Politics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

One Manchester family's lives ripple across fifteen years of political, technological and personal upheaval in near-future Britain.

notes

I keep wanting to talk about this show so much because it's such a firehose of fascinating and provocative commentary on where the world is heading, from so many angles. Almost feels like a multi-part Black Mirror story, in the best way.

6 Breaking Bad poster Breaking Bad2008
genre

Drama, Crime

about

A terminal diagnosis pushes a mild-mannered chemistry teacher into the meth business, with a former student as partner.

notes

superb slow burning drama that wratchets up the tension and emotional investment to sublime levels by the time you hit the later seasons. IYKYK.

7 Luther poster Luther2010
genre

Crime, Drama, Mystery

about

A brilliant, haunted London detective matches wits with twisted killers while skating his own moral edge.

notes

just ignore the movie that came out a few years after the series. The series is just so deliciously dark and gritty. Idris at his best since the Wire imo.

8 Mad Men poster Mad Men2007
genre

Drama

about

The ad men and women of 1960s Madison Avenue sell the American dream while quietly rewriting themselves.

notes

You think it's about the men, but it's really about Peggy. So epicly quotable and enjoyably acted; a very satisfying opera that goes way deeper than the few episodes might suggest

9 Chernobyl poster Chernobyl2019
genre

Drama

about

A taut dramatization of the 1986 nuclear disaster, and of the people ordered to clean up an invisible catastrophe.

notes

Incredibly moving, educational, epic. The truth of it aches.

10 Top Boy poster Top Boy2019
genre

Crime, Drama, Action & Adventure

about

Two men climb the ladder of East London's drug trade as the ground keeps shifting beneath them.

notes

amazing

11 I May Destroy You poster I May Destroy You2020
genre

Drama

about

After a night out leaves her with fragmented memories, a young London writer pieces together what happened to her — and what consent really means.

notes

You can't really binge this. Expect it to spark conversations. Powerful stuff.

12 Succession poster Succession2018
genre

Drama, Comedy

about

Three squabbling siblings orbit a media-mogul father, each jockeying for a throne he won't vacate.

notes

Amazing writing, amazing performances, so cringe and funny too.

13 The White Lotus poster The White Lotus2021
genre

Comedy, Drama, Mystery

about

Guests and staff at a luxury resort discover that paradise has sharp edges, with a new destination each season.

notes

hilarious, uncomfortable, great acting, great writing

14 True Detective poster True Detective2014 · S1
genre

Drama, Mystery

about

Two mismatched Louisiana detectives spend nearly two decades circling a single, strange murder.

notes

moody, great writing, even better acting

15 Fleabag poster Fleabag2016
genre

Comedy, Drama

about

A sharp-tongued Londoner narrates her own unravelling straight to camera, fourth wall and all.

notes

Hilarious and moving at the same time. So so so rewatchable.

16 Mr. Robot poster Mr. Robot2015
genre

Crime, Drama

about

A lonely cybersecurity engineer is recruited by an anarchist collective that wants to erase the world's debt.

notes

stylish, weird, mesmerising, great cast

17 Bodyguard poster Bodyguard2018
genre

Crime, Drama, War & Politics, Mystery

about

A war veteran turned protection officer is assigned to a home secretary whose politics he despises.

notes

Such a tight, well produced miniseries - gripping.

18 Beef poster Beef2023 · S1
genre

Comedy, Drama

about

A road-rage encounter between a failing contractor and a flourishing business owner metastasizes into all-out war.

notes

Funny, poignant writing, well executed.

19 The Day of the Jackal poster The Day of the Jackal2024
genre

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery

about

An elite assassin and the intelligence officer chasing him play a continent-spanning game of cat and mouse.

notes

I love a good cat & mouse thriller. This one was immensely satisfying and Lashana Lynch shines in particular - on-screen representation matters!

20 Devs poster Devs2020
genre

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Mystery

about

A programmer digs into her boyfriend's disappearance at a quantum-computing lab.

notes

Another great mystery where the less you know the better going in. Really ejoyable storytelling

21 Stranger Things poster Stranger Things2016
genre

Action & Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

When a boy vanishes in 1980s Indiana, his friends uncover government secrets and something monstrous next door.

notes

It's hard to pull off an ensemble cast across many seasons but the results are amazing when you do. Charming and surprisingly grim-watching at times but ultimately very entertaining.

22 All Her Fault poster All Her Fault2025
genre

Mystery, Crime

about

A mother arrives to collect her son from a playdate — and the woman at the door has no idea who she is.

notes

Great performances for a moody, winding, tense mystery. Sarah Snook (post-succession), earning her place in my will-watch-it-if-she's-in-it bucket of actors.

23 Narcos poster Narcos2015 · Escobar era
genre

Crime, Drama

about

The rise of the Medellín cartel, told from both sides of the DEA's pursuit of Escobar.

notes

There's something really cool about how real-life photos are interspersed with the dramatic retelling of Escobar's notoriety!

24 Adolescence poster Adolescence2025
genre

Drama, Crime

about

Across four single-take hours, a 13-year-old's arrest for the murder of a classmate ripples out through his family, his school and the investigation.

notes

Poignant, gripping, tense.

Feel-good Runner-ups

Show Genre About Notes
Brooklyn Nine-Nine poster Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013
genre

Comedy, Crime

about

An immature but brilliant detective and his deadpan new captain anchor the chaos of a Brooklyn precinct.

notes

nothing but net. Literally no bad episodes.

Parks and Recreation poster Parks and Recreation2009
genre

Comedy

about

A relentlessly optimistic bureaucrat drags her small Indiana town toward greatness, one park at a time.

notes

takes a while to find its feet but then the characters flesh out to be a hilarious ensemble.

Shrinking poster Shrinking2023
genre

Drama, Comedy

about

A grieving therapist starts saying exactly what he thinks to his clients, professional ethics be damned.

notes

wholesome AF, and somehow self-ware about it without being annoyhing. Also I could watch Jessica Williams all day.

Crashing poster Crashing2016
genre

Comedy, Drama

about

Twentysomethings squat as “property guardians” in a disused London hospital, muddling through adulthood together.

notes

very, very funny modern British comedy

Rick and Morty poster Rick and Morty2013
genre

Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

An alcoholic genius scientist drags his anxious grandson across dimensions, mostly to everyone's detriment.

notes

densely packed with wild, fun concepts and characters

Archer poster Archer2009
genre

Comedy, Action & Adventure, Animation

about

A world-class spy with world-class personal problems sends up the intelligence business one mission at a time.

notes

silly, charming, comfortingly consistent

South Park poster South Park1997
genre

Comedy, Animation

about

Four Colorado boys lurch from one absurd civic crisis to the next, offending absolutely everyone along the way.

notes

Rediscovering the later seasons as an adult, they're so good at tackling the current newscycle with savage absurdity. Feels like watching a good standup set most times - you giggle and then end up having a really poignant conversation / shower thought later.

Peaky Blinders poster Peaky Blinders2013
genre

Drama, Crime

about

A razor-capped Birmingham crime family sharpens itself into an empire between the wars.

notes

Basically Jason Bourne but if he was from Birmingham. Formulaic, but pleasingly so - you know the blinders will win, but the joy is in trying to guess how. Also some great performances

Sherlock poster Sherlock2010
genre

Crime, Drama, Mystery

about

A modern-day Sherlock Holmes solves London crimes at the speed of his own deductions, with Watson blogging it all.

notes

fun mysteries, charmingly produced.

Cowboy Bebop poster Cowboy Bebop1998
genre

Animation, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

Bounty hunters with unresolved pasts drift through a jazzy, melancholy solar system, one session at a time.

notes

You can save some time Shazamming each episode and just search for the soundtrack, but it's pretty delightful to immerse yourself in such a an intense aesthetic. I've been told to ignore the live-action adaptation, and I did.

Community poster Community2009
genre

Comedy

about

A disbarred lawyer's comeback plan leads to a quirky community college study group he never expected to love.

Active Potential Additions (i.e. still going)

Show Genre About Notes
Paradise poster Paradise2025
genre

Crime, Drama

about

A mystery-thriller set in an idyllic town where nothing is quite what it seems.

notes

come for the murder mystery, stay for the unusual premise?

The Agency poster The Agency2024
genre

Drama, Mystery

about

A covert agent is pulled back to London HQ and ordered to abandon the lover he left behind, just as a mole hunt closes in.

notes

modern espionage thriller with an unusual focus on the mental toll of being a good spook (originally based on the French Le Bureau that reportedly stuck the landing after 5 seasons so that bodes well for the time investment so far)

The Diplomat poster The Diplomat2023
genre

Drama, War & Politics

about

A career diplomat becomes US ambassador to the UK and finds international crises easier to manage than her marriage.

notes

another current drama/thriller with some very funny moments

Industry poster Industry2020
genre

Drama

about

Young graduates fight to survive the pressure cooker of a prestigious London investment bank.

notes

felt like a guilty pleasure at first because the first season is a bit trashy but each subsequent season has been better and better

Honorable Mentions

Show Genre About Notes
The OA poster The OA2016
genre

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Drama

about

A blind woman returns after a seven-year disappearance with her sight restored and an impossible story to tell.

notes

heartbreakingly cancelled after the most fascinating and trippy journey you can imagine. Cult following, for good reason. Would be on course for top spot if it was still around.

Y: The Last Man poster Y: The Last Man2021
genre

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama

about

In a world where every mammal with a Y chromosome suddenly dies, one man and his pet monkey are left behind.

notes

cancelled after 1 season but you should read the source graphic novel! Ambitious premise to adapt but I was enjoying the attempt.

Killing Eve poster Killing Eve2018
genre

Crime, Drama

about

A bored security officer and a chic international assassin become obsessed with catching each other.

notes

strong start, meh finish, but that start is amazing.

House of Cards poster House of Cards2013
genre

Drama

about

A passed-over politician and his equally ruthless wife claw their way toward power, breaking the fourth wall on the way.

notes

started so well but was foiled by Kevin Spacey being outed as a menace before the final season could wrap properly so it ends a bit meh.

Still on the to-watch list (don't @me)

Show Genre About Notes
Better Call Saul poster Better Call Saul2015
genre

Crime, Drama

about

The slow transformation of a struggling lawyer into Saul Goodman, years before Walter White walks into his life.

The Sopranos poster The Sopranos1999
genre

Crime, Drama

about

A New Jersey mob boss juggles family life and the family business, with a therapist on the side.

Pluribus poster Pluribus2025
genre

Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from a happiness that's spreading.

Silo poster Silo2023
genre

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama

about

Ten thousand people live in a giant underground silo under rules they believe keep them safe — until someone starts asking what's outside.


Anthologies

Not strictly a series in the same sense but too good to not be mentioned as recommendations - firmly in the less-you-know-the-better camp imo; better to just let yourself be taking for a ride through the gallery of storytelling:

Show Genre About Notes
Black Mirror poster Black Mirror2011
genre

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Mystery

about

Standalone near-future stories where technology twists ordinary life just one degree too far.

Love, Death & Robots poster Love, Death & Robots2019
genre

Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

about

A rotating anthology of animated shorts spanning horror, sci-fi and comedy, each from a different studio.

Show links and poster art via The Movie Database (TMDB).