Shows like "The Wire," "Breaking Bad," and "The Sopranos" consistently won over critics, and their best seasons have set a standard for what great television should look like.
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The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics
The most critically acclaimed TV shows in history have earned their praise by repeatedly producing innovative and memorable seasons.
Breaking Bad
More recent shows like "Fleabag" and "Atlanta" have broken into this elite group, as well.
To find out which series have been the most influential, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the all-time best TV seasons, which ranks shows by their composite critical reception (we excluded miniseries and docuseries).
Check out the 50 best TV-show seasons of all time, according to critics:
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50. "My So-Called Life" (Season 1)
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ABC
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.5/10
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49. "The Returned" (Season 1)
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A&E
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.6/10
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48. "Transparent" (Season 1)
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Amazon Prime Video
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 7.4/10
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47. "The Handmaids Tale" (Season 1)
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Hulu
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 7.8/10
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46. "Homeland" (Season 1)
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Showtime
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.3/10
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45. "Rectify" (Season 2)
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SundanceTV
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.1/10
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44. "The Simpsons" (Season 2)
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FOX
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.0/10
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43. "The Americans" (Season 3)
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FX
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.5/10
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42. "Catastrophe" (Season 4)
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Amazon Prime Video
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.1/10
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41. "Halt and Catch Fire" (Season 4)
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AMC
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.0/10
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40. "The Shield" (Season 1)
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FX
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.3/10
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39. "Mad Men" (Season 4)
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AMC
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.0/10
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38. "The Americans" (Season 6)
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FX
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.1/10
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37. "The Larry Sanders Show" (Season 3)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 7.2/10
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36. "Bleak House" (Season 1)
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BBC
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 9.1/10
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35. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (Season 3)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.8/10
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34. "Louie" (Season 4)
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FX
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.7/10
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33. "Deadwood" (Season 2)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 9.2/10
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32. "The Office: UK" (Season 2)
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BBC
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.9/10
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31. "The Americans" (Season 5)
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FX
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.3/10
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30. "Louie" (Season 3)
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FX
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.8/10
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29. "Transparent" (Season 2)
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Amazon
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 6.7/10
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28. "Battlestar Galactica" (Season 3)
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Sci-Fi
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 9.1/10
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37. "Game of Thrones" (Season 4)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 9.2/10
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26. "Homicide: Life on the Street" (Season 1)
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NBC
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.5/10
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25. "The Wire" (Season 2)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 9.2/10
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24. "The Americans" (Season 4)
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FX
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 8.9/10
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23. "Enlightened" (Season 2)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 7.6/10
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22. "Catastrophe" (Season 3)
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Amazon
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.0/10
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21. "Fargo" (Season 2)
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FX
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.3/10
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20. "Better Things" (Season 2)
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FX
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 7.2/10
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19. "The Sopranos" (Season 6)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.9/10
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Notable episodes: "Soprano Home Movies," "Kaisha,""Made in America"
18. "Breaking Bad" (Season 4)
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AMC
Metacritic score: 96/100
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User score: 9.5/10
17. "Fleabag" (Season 2)
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Amazon
Metacritic score: 96/100
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User score: 8.8/10
16. "Twin Peaks" (Season 1)
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Showtime
Metacritic score: 96/100
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User score: 9.3/10
15. "Homeland" (Season 2)
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Showtime
Metacritic score: 96/100
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User score: 8.3/10
14. "The Sopranos" (Season 3)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 97/100
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User score: 9.4/10
13. "Atlanta" (Season 2)
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FX
Metacritic score: 97/100
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User score: 7.9/10
12. "The Larry Sanders Show" (Season 5)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 97/100
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User score: 5.6/10
11. "The Sopranos" (Season 2)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 97/100
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User score: 9.3/10
10. "The Wire" (Season 4)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 98/100
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User score: 9.6/10
9. "The Wire" (Season 3)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 98/100
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User score: 9.5/10
8. "The Leftovers" (Season 3)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 98/100
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User score: 9.1/10
7. "The Office: UK" (Season 1)
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BBC
Metacritic score: 98/100
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User score: 8.5/10
6. "The Office: UK" (Season 3)
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BBC
Metacritic score: 98/100
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User score: 8.3/10
5. "Breaking Bad" (Season 5)
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Ursula Coyote/AMC
Metacritic score: 99/100
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User score: 9.7/10
4. "The Larry Sanders Show" (Season 6)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 99/100
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User score: 5.3/10
3. "Murder One" (Season 1)
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ABC
Metacritic score: 99/100
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User score: 6.3/10
2. "The Larry Sanders Show" (Season 4)
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HBO
Metacritic score: 99/100
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User score: 5.7/10
1. "Rectify" (Season 4)
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SundanceTV
Metacritic score: 99/100
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User score: 8.8/10
See Also:
SEE ALSO: 103 of Netflix's notable original TV shows, ranked from worst to best
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