The best TV shows of the 2020s

The 2020s ranking

1. 01Planet Earth III (2023–2023)Combining the awe and wonder of the original Planet Earth, the new science and discoveries of Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II, and the immersive character-led storytelling of Dynasties, Planet Earth III will take the experience to new heights.hbo max · discovery plus · Nature9.3
2. 02Frozen Planet II (2022–2022)Frozen Planet II will take audiences back to the wildernesses of the Arctic and Antarctica. Ten years on from the original Frozen Planet, this series tells the complete story of the entire frozen quarter of our planet that's locked in ice and blanketed in snow.hbo max · discovery plus · Nature9.0
3. 031883 (2021–2022)1883 follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is a stark retelling of Western expansion, and an intense study of one family fleeing poverty to seek a better future in America's promised land - Montana.fubotv · paramount plus · Drama8.8
4. 04Billy Joel: And So It Goes (2025–2025)Billy Joel: And So It Goes is an expansive portrait of the life and music of Billy Joel, exploring the love, loss, and personal struggles that fuel his songwriting. With unprecedented access to never-before-seen performances, home movies, and personal photographs, along with extensive, in-depth one-on-one interviews, the documentary intimately explores the life and work of Joel, whose music has endured across generations.hbo max · youtube tv · Music8.7
5. 05Shōgun (2024–present)Shōgun is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.hulu · Drama · Adventure8.5Airing now
6. 06The Pitt (2025–present)The Pitt is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today's America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each episode follows an hour of Dr. Robby's 15-hour shift as the chief attendant in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital's emergency room.hbo max · youtube tv · Drama8.5Airing now
7. 07Dexter: Resurrection (2025–present)Dexter Morgan awakens from a coma and sets out for New York City, determined to find Harrison and make things right. But when Miami Metro's Angel Batista arrives with questions, Dexter realizes his past is catching up to him fast.fubotv · paramount plus · Drama8.5Airing now
8. 08Arcane: League of Legends (2021–2024)Set in utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun, the story follows the origins of two iconic League champions — and the power that will tear them apart.netflix · Action · Adventure8.5
9. 09The Queen's Gambit (2020–2020)Chronicling the life of an orphan chess prodigy, the story - set during the Cold War era - follows Beth Harmon from the age of eight to twenty-two, as she struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world.netflix · Drama8.5
10. 10Lanterns (2026)Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.Action · Adventure8.4
11. 11House of the Dragon: The House That Dragons Built (2022–present)HBO takes viewers behind the scenes of House of the Dragon. Each episode showcases everything from set construction and digital effects to cast interviews and producer insight.8.4Airing now
12. 12Dirty Business (2026–2026)Based on a decade-long investigation into England's water companies, and telling the real stories of whistleblowers and victims who believe their lives have been destroyed after encountering sewage polluted water, Dirty Business is a major new factual drama investigating one of the biggest potential corporate scandals in British history.Dirty Business follows the story of two unlikely detectives, who notice that the fish in the river running through their idyllic Oxfordshire hamlet are dying. They contact their water company to find out why, and the company's strange and evasive reply sparks an investigation that remains ongoing to this day.Drama8.4
13. 13Blue Eye Samurai (2023–present)Raised by a swordsmith and trained to wield blades with deadly precision, Mizu is a highly skilled warrior — and she's out for bloody revenge.netflix · Drama · Action8.3Airing now
14. 14The Americas (2025–present)The Americas showcases the wonders, secrets and fragilities of the world's greatest supercontinent. For the first time, the Americas stars in its own incomparable series, using cutting-edge technology to uncover never-before-seen behavior, and highlight the extraordinary, untold wildlife stories that will deeply connect with millions around the world. Five years in the making and filmed over 180 expeditions, this groundbreaking series reveals the spectacular landscapes of Earth's most varied landmass - the only one to stretch between both poles. The Americas' unprecedented scale and ambition delivers remarkable world firsts; new species, new intimate courtship, dramatic deep sea hunting and some of nature's strangest stories - even a frog that seems to defy death every day. Each hourlong episode features a different iconic location across the Americas: "The Atlantic Coast," "Mexico," "The Wild West," "The Amazon," "The Frozen North," "The Gulf Coast," "The Andes," "The Caribbean," "The West Coast" and "Patagonia."peacock · youtube tv · Nature8.3Airing now
15. 15LOL: Last One Laughing UK (2025–present)Famous for his dark humour, one-liners and THAT laugh, Jimmy Carr challenges 10 of Britain's funniest comics to spend the day together without so much as a titter. The rules are simple: laugh and you're out. Over the course of the series, they will use every ounce of their comedic talents to try and break their opponents - without cracking up themselves. And it's not just their rivals they need to watch out for. The series is packed with comedy cameos, format twists and surprises designed to lure laughs from both the players and the viewers. It's a stellar line up of British comedy talent as you've never seen them before, but who will be crowned the inaugural winner of Last One Laughing UK?amazon prime video · Comedy8.3Airing now
16. 16Northwoods Survival (2024–present)Northwoods Survival follows a diverse group of young Canadians as they embark on a challenging four-season mission: to build a life in the vast and unforgiving Canadian wilderness. The series takes viewers on an adventure through some of the country's most remote and rugged landscapes as these aspiring homesteaders face the harsh realities of living off the land and strive to not just survive but to thrive in these wild places, they now call home.disney plus · hulu · Adventure8.3Airing now
17. 17Asia (2024–2024)Asia, a natural history series about the wildlife of our planet's largest continent. Covering the length and breadth of Asia, the series will reveal its most remarkable landscapes and animals, and feature dramatic, previously unseen behaviour.Filmed over the course of nearly four years, this is the first time that Asia has been the focus of a major BBC wildlife series. From the vast Gobi Desert to the jungles of Borneo, and from the polar wilderness of Siberia to the coral seas of the Indian Ocean, this series will showcase the breath-taking variety of Asia's wildest places.hbo max · discovery plus · Nature8.3
18. 18Reacher (2022–present)Reacher follows Jack Reacher, a veteran military police investigator who has just recently entered civilian life. Reacher is a drifter, carrying no phone and the barest of essentials as he travels the country and explores the nation he once served. When Reacher arrives in the small town of Margrave, Georgia, he finds a community grappling with its first homicide in 20 years. The cops immediately arrest him and eyewitnesses claim to place Reacher at the scene of the crime. While he works to prove his innocence, a deep-seated conspiracy begins to emerge, one that will require Reacher's keen mind and hard-hitting fists to deal with. One thing above all is for sure: They picked the wrong guy to take the fall.amazon prime video · Drama · Action8.2Airing now
19. 19A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026–present)A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros: a young, naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits await these improbable and incomparable friends.hbo max · youtube tv · Drama8.2Airing now
20. 20X-Men '97 (2024–present)X-Men '97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.disney plus · Action · Science-Fiction8.2Airing now
21. 21Bosch: Legacy (2022–2025)Harry Bosch, retired homicide detective turned Private Investigator, fights to work cases without the authority his former job provided. Attorney Honey "Money" Chandler, having survived an attempted murder, struggles to maintain her faith in the justice system. And Maddie Bosch discovers the possibilities and challenges of being a rookie patrol cop on the streets of Los Angeles.amazon prime video · mgm plus · Drama8.2
22. 22Scrubs (2026–present)Old friends JD and Turk scrub in together for the first time in a long time, learning that medicine has changed; interns have changed; but their bromance has stood the test of time.disney plus · hulu · Drama8.2Airing now
23. 23We Are Lady Parts (2021)We Are Lady Parts shows the highs and lows of the band – Lady Parts – as seen through the eyes of Amina Hussain – a geeky microbiology PhD student, who's on the lookout for love and is recruited to be their unlikely lead guitarist. Lady Parts' fierce and enigmatic frontwoman Saira sees something in Amina. However, the other members – taxi-driving drummer Ayesha, cartoon-drawing bassist and backing vocalist Bisma and the band's wheeler-dealer band manager Momtaz – are not convinced she is right for their band. Amina has never met girls like this before, and she's soon swept up in their joyful, anarchic energy and punk spirit. But she becomes torn and caught up between two different worlds – that of her more strait-laced university friends led by her bestie Noor and the world of Lady Parts. Will she be the key to the band's success? And – will she finally find a husband?peacock · peacock premium plus · Comedy8.2
24. 24The Traitors (2022–present)Nail-biting psychological competition where 22 strangers play the ultimate reality game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.peacock · peacock premium plus8.2Airing now
25. 25Malpractice (2023)Dr Lucinda Edwards is a smart, battle-hardened doctor, but we meet her on a nightmare shift that ends in the death of an opioid overdose victim, Edith Owusu. Despite the support of her medical supervisor, Dr Leo Harris, Edith's grieving father Sir Anthony Owusu demands an enquiry into Lucinda's actions on the fateful night.Through the cat and mouse thriller of the medical investigation, Malpractice tells the story of a damaged doctor caught up in a dangerous conspiracy.hulu · Thriller · Medical8.2
26. 26The Piano (2023–present)Claudia Winkleman hosts the search for the UK's best amateur pianists.Music8.2Airing now
27. 27Silo (2023–present)In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette starts to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.apple tv · Drama · Science-Fiction8.1Airing now
28. 28Loki (2021–2023)Loki follows the trickster and shape-shifter god who pops up throughout human history as an unlikely influencer on historical events.disney plus · Action · Adventure8.1
29. 29Ted Lasso (2020–present)Ted Lasso centers on an idealistic — and clueless — all-American football coach hired to manage an English football club — despite having no soccer coaching experience at all.apple tv · Drama · Comedy8.1Airing now
30. 30Slow Horses (2022–present)Slow Horses follows the story of a group of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 called Slough House after the big mistakes they've made that resulted in the end of their mainstream careers.This quick-witted spy drama follows a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.apple tv · Drama · Thriller8.1Airing now
31. 31Landman (2024–present)Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it's reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.paramount plus · Drama8.1Airing now
32. 32Clarkson's Farm (2021–present)Jeremy Clarkson looks into the real life of a farmer as he is faced with the challenges of running a successful farm and farm shop at his own farm, Diddly Squat Farm.amazon prime video · Comedy · Adventure8.1Airing now
33. 331923 (2022–2025)1923 focuses on the Dutton family's next two generations as they struggle to survive historic drought, lawlessness and prohibition, and an epidemic of cattle theft; all battled beneath the cloud of Montana's great depression, which preceded the nation by almost a decade.fubotv · paramount plus · Drama8.1
34. 34Dept. Q (2025–present)DCI Carl Morck is a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague. His razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends in Edinburgh police. After a shooting that leaves a young PC dead, and his partner paralysed, he finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q; a newly formed cold case unit. The department is a PR stunt, there to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him. But more by accident than design, Carl starts to build a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove. So, when the stone-cold trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago starts to heat up, Carl is back doing what he does best - rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer.netflix · Drama · Crime8.1Airing now
35. 35All Creatures Great and Small (2020–present)All Creatures Great and Small chronicles the adventures of a young country veterinarian.pbs masterpiece · thirteen · Drama8.1Airing now
36. 36Heated Rivalry (2025–present)Two hockey players must decide if there is room in their fiercely competitive world for real love.hbo max · youtube tv · Drama8.1Airing now
37. 37Normal People (2020–2020)Normal People tracks the tender but complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days in small-town west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College. At school, he's well-liked and popular, while she's lonely, proud and intimidating. But when Connell comes to pick up his mother from her cleaning job at Marianne's house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they're both studying in Dublin and Marianne has found her feet in a new social world but Connell hangs at the side lines, shy and uncertain.hulu · Drama · Romance8.1
38. 38Revenged Love (2025–2025)After Suowei's girlfriend dumps him, he decides to get revenge by seducing her new boyfriend, Chi Cheng! It started as a game, but falling in love was never part of the plan.rakuten viki · Drama · Romance8.1
39. 39Mystery Island (2023–present)London Police psychiatrist Dr. Emilia Priestly needs to take a relaxing break from her stressful job, so her wealthy friend invites her to Mystery Island, an immersive murder-mystery-themed resort hosting a special retreat for the original investors. As the mystery game begins, tragedy strikes when the resort's reclusive founder is murdered. Emilia "partners" with local detective Jason Trent to investigate.Mystery8.1Airing now
40. 40Lucy Worsley Investigates (2022–present)Lucy Worsley investigates the mysteries of some of the most infamous and brutal chapters in British history, finding new witnesses and compelling evidence. What will she uncover?britbox · youtube tv · History8.1Airing now
41. 41Andor (2022–2025)Andor explores a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor's journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It's an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.disney plus · Science-Fiction · Thriller8.0
42. 42The Day of the Jackal (2024–present)The Day of the Jackal follows an unrivaled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.Thriller8.0Airing now
43. 43Mare of Easttown (2021–2021)Mare of Easttown follows a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder at a time when her own life is crumbling around her.hbo max · youtube tv · Drama8.0
44. 44The Lincoln Lawyer (2022–present)Mickey Haller, an iconoclastic idealist, runs his law practice out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, as he takes on cases big and small across the expansive city of Los Angeles.netflix · Drama · Crime8.0Airing now
45. 45The Penguin (2024–2024)Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka The Penguin), the DC Studios series continues filmmaker Matt Reeves' The Batman epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures' global blockbuster The Batman. Developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, the series centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.hbo max · youtube tv · Drama8.0
46. 46The Madison (2026–present)The Madison is a heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana. It is a profound love story channeled through a deeply personal family drama about resilience and transformation. The Madison is unfolding across two distinct worlds - the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant energy of Manhattan - as it examines the ties that bind families together.paramount plus · Drama · Family8.0Airing now
47. 47MobLand (2025–present)With the most powerful clients in Europe, MobLand will see family fortunes and reputations at risk, odd alliances unfold, and betrayal around every corner; and while the family might be London's most elite fixers today, the nature of their business means there is no guarantee what's in store tomorrow.MobLand follows two generations of gangsters, the businesses they run, the complex relationships they weave and the man they call upon to fix their problem.fubotv · paramount plus · Drama8.0Airing now
48. 48Black Bird (2022–2022)Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero, decorated policeman's son and convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime — enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall, or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole. Keene quickly realizes his only way out is to elicit a confession and find out where the bodies of several young girls are buried before Hall's appeal goes through. But is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar?apple tv · Drama · Crime8.0
49. 49Shoresy (2022–present)A spinoff of Letterkenny features Shoresy. The foul-mouthed but extremely talented hockey player with a high-pitched voice. He moves to Sudbury to help a struggling Senior triple-A hockey team determined never to lose again.hulu · Comedy · Action8.0Airing now
50. 50Lessons in Chemistry (2023–2023)Set in the early 1950s, Lessons in Chemistry follows Elizabeth Zott, whose dream of being a scientist is put on hold in a society deeming that women belong in the domestic sphere, not the professional one. When Elizabeth finds herself pregnant, alone and fired from her lab, she musters the ingenuity only a single mother has. She accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show, and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives - and the men who are suddenly listening - a lot more than recipes... all the while craving a return to her true love: science.apple tv · Drama8.0

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