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In this golden age of television, at any given moment, we have thousands and thousands of options for brilliant and entertaining TV shows, but there are only a few TV shows that will stay with you long after you have finished watching. You will think about their characters, their stories, and, in some cases, their endings. So, today, we thought of making a list of a few shows that you must watch (because of their brilliance) before you die.
MASH (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video)
MASH is a war comedy-drama series developed by Larry Gelbart. Based on Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, the CBS series is set during the Korean War, and it revolves around the doctors and nurses stationed at the “4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital” in Uijeongbu, South Korea. Together, they try to save as many lives as possible while coping with the horrors of war. MASH stars Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Gary Burghoff, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, and David Ogden Stiers.
The Mentalist (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video)
The Mentalist is a procedural mystery crime drama series created by Bruno Heller. The CBS series follows Patrick Jane, an extremely intuitive man who made a living by pretending to be a psychic, but when his wife and daughter are murdered by a serial killer, he decides to join the California Bureau of Investigation as a consultant to solve murders while searching for the man who killed his family. The Mentalist stars Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman, Amanda Righetti, Rockmond Dunbar, Emily Swallow, Joe Adler, and Josie Loren.
Seinfeld (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video)
Seinfeld is a sitcom series co-created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The NBC series is set in New York City, and it follows comedian Jerry Seinfeld, his best friend George Costanza, his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes, and his eccentric neighbor Cosmo Kramer as they go on various hilarious misadventures. Seinfeld stars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander.
Better Call Saul (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video)
Better Call Saul is a neo-noir legal crime drama series co-created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. The AMC series is a spin-off of Gilligan’s Breaking Bad, and it is set several years before the events of the original series. It follows former con artist Jimmy McGill as he tries to become a lawyer, but his loose moral code leads him to become the sleazy criminal defense lawyer Saul Goodman. Better Call Saul stars Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mando, Michael McKean, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tony Dalton.
Justified (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video)
Justified is a neo-Western crime drama series developed by Graham Yost. Based on Elmore Leonard’s novel Fire in the Hole, the FX series follows US Marshal Raylan Givens as he is transferred from Miami to his hometown to catch a dangerous outlaw who also happens to be Raylan’s former friend. Justified stars Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Joelle Carter, Natalie Zea, Walton Goggins, and Jere Burns.
Fleabag (Prime Video)
Fleabag is a British dark comedy-drama series created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Based on Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show of the same name, the Prime Video series follows a dry-witted young woman in London as she navigates through the complexities of love and life without any life while dealing with a tragedy. Fleabag stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Andrew Scott, Ben Aldridge, Hugh Skinner, Olivia Colman, Bill Patterson, and Jenny Rainsford.
Six Feet Under (HBO Max & Rent on Prime Video)
Six Feet Under is a psychological dark comedy-drama series created by Alan Ball. The HBO series follows the Fisher family after the patriarch Nathaniel Fisher Sr. dies and gives control of his funeral home to his sons, but the Fisher brothers are caught in a conflict. Six Feet Under stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Matthew St. Patrick, Jeremy Sisto, Rachel Griffiths, and James Cromwell.
One Piece (Netflix)
One Piece is a fantasy action adventure comedy-drama series created by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda. Based on the Japanese manga series of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, the Netflix series is set in a fantasy world where pirates run rampant, and it follows Monkey D. Luffy, an enthusiastic young boy who wants to be the King of the Pirates, but to achieve his goal, he must gather a trusty crew. One Piece stars Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero Gibson, Taz Skylar, Vincent Regan, Jeff Ward, and Morgan Davies.
Succession (HBO Max & Rent on Prime Video)
Succession is a satirical dark comedy-drama series created by Jesse Armstrong. The HBO series follows the Roy family, who own and operate one of the largest global media and entertainment conglomerates, Waystar Royco. But when the patriarch of the family suddenly decides to step back, the infighting for the top job begins between the Roy siblings. Succession stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Braun, Hiam Abbas, and Justine Lupe.
Sherlock (Hulu, AMC+, Britbox, & Rent on Prime Video)
Sherlock is a British mystery crime comedy-drama series created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Based on the Sherlock Holmes detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the BBC series is a modernized version of the classic stories, and it follows Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as they solve various bizarre and dangerous mysteries. Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Mark Gatiss, Andrew Scott, Amanda Abbington, Lara Pulver, Rupert Graves, Louise Brealey, and Una Stubbs.
Battlestar Galactica (Rent on Prime Video)
Battlestar Galactica is a military sci-fi drama series created by Ronald D. Moore. Based on the 1978 ABC series of the same name by Glen A. Larson, the Sci-Fi series is set in a distant future, and it follows a group of humans who are forced to abandon their planet because of an attack from Cylons. They get on board a battleship and try to find their true home, Earth, while evading the Cylons. Battlestar Galactica stars Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, and Grace Park.
The Penguin (HBO Max & Rent on Prime Video)
The Penguin is a superhero crime thriller drama series created by Lauren LeFranc. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the HBO series is a spin-off to Matt Reeves’ 2022 film The Batman, and it follows Oz Cobb, aka the Penguin, as he tries to take over Gotham’s underworld. The Penguin stars Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Deirdre O’Connell, Clancy Brown, Carmen Ejogo, Michael Zegen, and Scott Cohen.
Dark (Netflix)
Dark is a German sci-fi mystery thriller drama series created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. The Netflix series is set in a small German town after a child goes missing, and it follows a twisted relationship between four families who are connected because of a sinister past, but what they don’t know is that their dysfunction will bring about the end of the world. Dark stars: Louis Hofmann, Andreas Pietschmann, Ella Lee, Maja Schöne, Lisa Vicari, and Moritz Jahn.
The Wire (HBO Max & Rent on Prime Video)
The Wire is a political police procedural crime drama series created by David Simon. The HBO series is set in the city of Baltimore, and it follows Detective James McNulty and his team as they work around the clock to keep peace between the drug kingpins and the law enforcement agencies. The Wire stars Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba, Frankie Faison, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Wood Harris, Deirdre Lovejoy, Lance Reddick, and Wendell Pierce.
The Bear (Hulu)
The Bear is a psychological comedy-drama series created by Christopher Storer. The FX series follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage his family’s sandwich shop after a family tragedy and finds it hard to manage an unruly staff and strained family ties. The Bear stars Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, and Matty Matheson.
The Sopranos (HBO Max & Buy on Amazon)
The Sopranos is a crime drama and dark comedy series created by David Chase. The HBO series follows Tony Soprano, an Italian-American mafia head in New Jersey who tries to find a balance between criminal life and family life, and to help with finding said balance, he regularly attends therapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The Sopranos stars James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, Robert Iler, and Jamie-Lynn Sigler.
Mad Men (HBO Max, Pluto TV, Philo, Plex, AMC+ & Rent on Prime Video)
Mad Men is a period drama series created by Matthew Weiner. The AMC series is set in New York City in the 1960s, and it follows Donald Draper, the creative director at a Manhattan advertising agency, as he tries to find a balance between his great professional life and shaky personal life. Mad Men stars Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Bryan Batt, Aaron Staton, Michael Gladis, and Rich Sommer.
The Americans (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video)
The Americans is a period spy thriller drama series created by Joe Weisberg. The FX series is set during the Cold War, and it follows Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB intelligence officers tasked with posing as an American married couple in Washington, D.C., to gather information on the United States government. The Americans stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Maximiliano Hernández, Holly Taylor, Keidrich Sellati, Noah Emmerich, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Alison Wright, and Lev Gorn.
Game of Thrones (HBO Max & Rent on Prime Video)
Game of Thrones is a fantasy action-adventure drama series created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series by George R.R. Martin, the HBO series is set in a fantasy world, and it revolves around nine noble families who wage war against each other to gain control over the mythical land of Westeros but what they don’t know is that an inhuman force is rising that is threatening to wipe out humanity itself. Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Iain Glen, and Alfie Allen.
Breaking Bad (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video)
Breaking Bad is a crime thriller drama series created by Vince Gilligan. The AMC series follows Walter White, an underpaid high-school chemistry teacher struggling with a recent cancer diagnosis. He decides to make and sell drugs with a former student to help his family’s financial condition, but soon begins to enjoy the power of the criminal life. Breaking Bad stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Giancarlo Esposito, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Laura Fraser, and Jesse Plemons.