---
title: "Ruzzfeed: TV Series GOATs"
date: 2026-10-01
description: "My top TV series of all time — ranked, linked to TMDB, filterable by genre, with brief notes"
tags: ["taste"]
canonical: "https://ruskinconstant.com/writing/ruzzfeed-tv-series-goats/"
---


import Show from "../../components/Show.astro";
import ShowTable from "../../components/ShowTable.astro";

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](https://www.themoviedb.org) 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.*

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<div class="genre-filter" role="group" aria-label="Filter the tables by genre"></div>
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{/* To add a show: drop a poster at public/images/tv/<slug>.jpg (w185), then add
one <Show /> line below — copy an existing row and tweak it. Rank renumbers by
hand; the genre filter picks up whatever you type in genres={[...]}. */}

<ShowTable heading="The GOATs" ranked>
  <Show rank={1} title="The Wire" year="2002" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1438-the-wire" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="A novelistic portrait of Baltimore, told season by season through the drug trade, the docks, city hall and the schools." note="moving, funny, educational, timeless. Any hype you've heard is justified."/>
  <Show rank={2} title="Dark" year="2017" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/70523-dark" genres={["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." note="such a satisfyingly woven mystery; the less you know before you start watching, the better."/>
  <Show rank={3} title="The Capture" year="2019" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/93166-the-capture" genres={["Crime", "Drama", "Mystery"]} about="A soldier cleared of a war crime walks free — into an investigation where the video evidence stops adding up." note="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."/>
  <Show rank={4} title="Severance" year="2022" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/95396-severance" genres={["Drama", "Mystery", "Sci-Fi & Fantasy"]} about="Office workers surgically split their memories between work and home, until one of them starts asking why." note="technically unfinished I think, but so stylish and unsettling and funny that it's already on the list. Thoroughly, uniquely engrossing."/>
  <Show rank={5} title="Years & Years" year="2019" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/87104-years-and-years" genres={["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." note="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." />
  <Show rank={6} title="Breaking Bad" year="2008" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1396-breaking-bad" genres={["Drama", "Crime"]} about="A terminal diagnosis pushes a mild-mannered chemistry teacher into the meth business, with a former student as partner." note="superb slow burning drama that wratchets up the tension and emotional investment to sublime levels by the time you hit the later seasons. IYKYK." />
  <Show rank={7} title="Luther" year="2010" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1426-luther" genres={["Crime", "Drama", "Mystery"]} about="A brilliant, haunted London detective matches wits with twisted killers while skating his own moral edge." note="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."/>
  <Show rank={8} title="Mad Men" year="2007" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1104-mad-men" genres={["Drama"]} about="The ad men and women of 1960s Madison Avenue sell the American dream while quietly rewriting themselves." note="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" />
  <Show rank={9} title="Chernobyl" year="2019" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/87108-chernobyl" genres={["Drama"]} about="A taut dramatization of the 1986 nuclear disaster, and of the people ordered to clean up an invisible catastrophe." note="Incredibly moving, educational, epic. The truth of it aches." />
  <Show rank={10} title="Top Boy" year="2019" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/93544-top-boy" genres={["Crime", "Drama", "Action & Adventure"]} about="Two men climb the ladder of East London's drug trade as the ground keeps shifting beneath them." note="amazing"/>
  <Show rank={11} title="I May Destroy You" year="2020" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/102619-i-may-destroy-you" genres={["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." note="You can't really binge this. Expect it to spark conversations. Powerful stuff." />
  <Show rank={12} title="Succession" year="2018" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/76331-succession" genres={["Drama", "Comedy"]} about="Three squabbling siblings orbit a media-mogul father, each jockeying for a throne he won't vacate." note="Amazing writing, amazing performances, so cringe and funny too." />
  <Show rank={13} title="The White Lotus" year="2021" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/111803-the-white-lotus" genres={["Comedy", "Drama", "Mystery"]} about="Guests and staff at a luxury resort discover that paradise has sharp edges, with a new destination each season." note="hilarious, uncomfortable, great acting, great writing"/>
  <Show rank={14} title="True Detective" year="2014 · S1" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/46648-true-detective" genres={["Drama", "Mystery"]} about="Two mismatched Louisiana detectives spend nearly two decades circling a single, strange murder." note="moody, great writing, even better acting" />
  <Show rank={15} title="Fleabag" year="2016" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/67070-fleabag" genres={["Comedy", "Drama"]} about="A sharp-tongued Londoner narrates her own unravelling straight to camera, fourth wall and all." note="Hilarious and moving at the same time. So so so rewatchable." />
  <Show rank={16} title="Mr. Robot" year="2015" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/62560-mr-robot" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="A lonely cybersecurity engineer is recruited by an anarchist collective that wants to erase the world's debt." note="stylish, weird, mesmerising, great cast"/>
  <Show rank={17} title="Bodyguard" year="2018" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/80307-bodyguard" genres={["Crime", "Drama", "War & Politics", "Mystery"]} about="A war veteran turned protection officer is assigned to a home secretary whose politics he despises." note="Such a tight, well produced miniseries - gripping." />
  <Show rank={18} title="Beef" year="2023 · S1" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/154385-beef" genres={["Comedy", "Drama"]} about="A road-rage encounter between a failing contractor and a flourishing business owner metastasizes into all-out war." note="Funny, poignant writing, well executed." />
  <Show rank={19} title="The Day of the Jackal" year="2024" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/222766-the-day-of-the-jackal" genres={["Drama", "Action & Adventure", "Mystery"]} about="An elite assassin and the intelligence officer chasing him play a continent-spanning game of cat and mouse." note="I love a good cat & mouse thriller. This one was immensely satisfying and Lashana Lynch shines in particular - on-screen representation matters!" />
  <Show rank={20} title="Devs" year="2020" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/81349-devs" genres={["Sci-Fi & Fantasy", "Drama", "Mystery"]} about="A programmer digs into her boyfriend's disappearance at a quantum-computing lab." note="Another great mystery where the less you know the better going in. Really ejoyable storytelling" />
  <Show rank={21} title="Stranger Things" year="2016" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/66732-stranger-things" genres={["Action & Adventure", "Mystery", "Sci-Fi & Fantasy"]} about="When a boy vanishes in 1980s Indiana, his friends uncover government secrets and something monstrous next door." note="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." />
  <Show rank={22} title="All Her Fault" year="2025" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/246386-all-her-fault" genres={["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." note="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." />
  <Show rank={23} title="Narcos" year="2015 · Escobar era" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/63351-narcos" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="The rise of the Medellín cartel, told from both sides of the DEA's pursuit of Escobar." note="There's something really cool about how real-life photos are interspersed with the dramatic retelling of Escobar's notoriety!"/>
  <Show rank={24} title="Adolescence" year="2025" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/249042-adolescence" genres={["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." note="Poignant, gripping, tense." />
</ShowTable>

<ShowTable heading="Feel-good Runner-ups">
  <Show title="Brooklyn Nine-Nine" year="2013" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/48891-brooklyn-nine-nine" genres={["Comedy", "Crime"]} about="An immature but brilliant detective and his deadpan new captain anchor the chaos of a Brooklyn precinct." note="nothing but net. Literally no bad episodes." />
  <Show title="Parks and Recreation" year="2009" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/8592-parks-and-recreation" genres={["Comedy"]} about="A relentlessly optimistic bureaucrat drags her small Indiana town toward greatness, one park at a time." note="takes a while to find its feet but then the characters flesh out to be a hilarious ensemble." />
  <Show title="Shrinking" year="2023" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/136311-shrinking" genres={["Drama", "Comedy"]} about="A grieving therapist starts saying exactly what he thinks to his clients, professional ethics be damned." note="wholesome AF, and somehow self-ware about it without being annoyhing. Also I could watch Jessica Williams all day."/>
  <Show title="Crashing" year="2016" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/65251-crashing" genres={["Comedy", "Drama"]} about="Twentysomethings squat as “property guardians” in a disused London hospital, muddling through adulthood together." note="very, very funny modern British comedy" />
  <Show title="Rick and Morty" year="2013" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/60625-rick-and-morty" genres={["Animation", "Comedy", "Sci-Fi & Fantasy"]} about="An alcoholic genius scientist drags his anxious grandson across dimensions, mostly to everyone's detriment." note="densely packed with wild, fun concepts and characters" />
  <Show title="Archer" year="2009" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/10283-archer" genres={["Comedy", "Action & Adventure", "Animation"]} about="A world-class spy with world-class personal problems sends up the intelligence business one mission at a time." note="silly, charming, comfortingly consistent" />
  <Show title="South Park" year="1997" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/2190-south-park" genres={["Comedy", "Animation"]} about="Four Colorado boys lurch from one absurd civic crisis to the next, offending absolutely everyone along the way." note="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." />
  <Show title="Peaky Blinders" year="2013" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/60574-peaky-blinders" genres={["Drama", "Crime"]} about="A razor-capped Birmingham crime family sharpens itself into an empire between the wars." note="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"/>
  <Show title="Sherlock" year="2010" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/19885-sherlock" genres={["Crime", "Drama", "Mystery"]} about="A modern-day Sherlock Holmes solves London crimes at the speed of his own deductions, with Watson blogging it all." note="fun mysteries, charmingly produced." />
  <Show title="Cowboy Bebop" year="1998" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/30991" genres={["Animation", "Action & Adventure", "Sci-Fi & Fantasy"]} about="Bounty hunters with unresolved pasts drift through a jazzy, melancholy solar system, one session at a time." note="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." />
  <Show title="Community" year="2009" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/18347-community" genres={["Comedy"]} about="A disbarred lawyer's comeback plan leads to a quirky community college study group he never expected to love." />

</ShowTable>

<ShowTable heading="Active Potential Additions (i.e. still going)" filterable={false}>
  <Show title="Paradise" year="2025" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/245927-paradise" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="A mystery-thriller set in an idyllic town where nothing is quite what it seems." note="come for the murder mystery, stay for the unusual premise?" />
  <Show title="The Agency" year="2024" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/219971-the-agency" genres={["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.">
    <p slot="note" class="note-body">modern espionage thriller with an unusual focus on the mental toll of being a good spook (originally based on the French <a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/62476-le-bureau-des-l-gendes">Le Bureau</a> that reportedly stuck the landing after 5 seasons so that bodes well for the time investment so far)</p>
  </Show>
  <Show title="The Diplomat" year="2023" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/203857-the-diplomat" genres={["Drama", "War & Politics"]} about="A career diplomat becomes US ambassador to the UK and finds international crises easier to manage than her marriage." note="another current drama/thriller with some very funny moments" />
  <Show title="Industry" year="2020" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/90812-industry" genres={["Drama"]} about="Young graduates fight to survive the pressure cooker of a prestigious London investment bank." note="felt like a guilty pleasure at first because the first season is a bit trashy but each subsequent season has been better and better" />
</ShowTable>

<ShowTable heading="Honorable Mentions" filterable={false}>
  <Show title="The OA" year="2016" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/69061-the-oa" genres={["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." note="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." />
  <Show title="Y: The Last Man" year="2021" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/86550-y-the-last-man" genres={["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.">
    <p slot="note" class="note-body">cancelled after 1 season but you should read the source <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y:_The_Last_Man">graphic novel</a>! Ambitious premise to adapt but I was enjoying the attempt.</p>
  </Show>
  <Show title="Killing Eve" year="2018" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/72750-killing-eve" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="A bored security officer and a chic international assassin become obsessed with catching each other." note="strong start, meh finish, but that start is amazing." />
  <Show title="House of Cards" year="2013" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1425-house-of-cards" genres={["Drama"]} about="A passed-over politician and his equally ruthless wife claw their way toward power, breaking the fourth wall on the way." note="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." />
</ShowTable>

<ShowTable heading="Still on the to-watch list (don't @me)" filterable={false}>
  {/* TODO: link a wishlist/watchlist here if you make one public (e.g. a TMDB list URL) */}
  <Show title="Better Call Saul" year="2015" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/60059-better-call-saul" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="The slow transformation of a struggling lawyer into Saul Goodman, years before Walter White walks into his life." />
  <Show title="The Sopranos" year="1999" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1398-the-sopranos" genres={["Crime", "Drama"]} about="A New Jersey mob boss juggles family life and the family business, with a therapist on the side." />
  <Show title="Pluribus" year="2025" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/225171-wycaro" genres={["Drama", "Sci-Fi & Fantasy"]} about="The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from a happiness that's spreading." />
  <Show title="Silo" year="2023" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/125988-silo" genres={["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." />
</ShowTable>

---

<ShowTable heading="Anthologies" filterable={false} description="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 title="Black Mirror" year="2011" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/42009-black-mirror" genres={["Sci-Fi & Fantasy", "Drama", "Mystery"]} about="Standalone near-future stories where technology twists ordinary life just one degree too far." />
  <Show title="Love, Death & Robots" year="2019" tmdb="https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/86831-love-death-robots" genres={["Animation", "Sci-Fi & Fantasy"]} about="A rotating anthology of animated shorts spanning horror, sci-fi and comedy, each from a different studio." />
</ShowTable>

*Show links and poster art via [The Movie Database (TMDB)](https://www.themoviedb.org).*