There’s something almost dangerous about a truly great TV show. You sit down to watch “just one episode” and suddenly it’s 3 a.m., you’ve finished an entire season, and you have absolutely no regrets. Over the last two decades, television has transformed in ways nobody could have predicted. Streaming changed everything. Stories got longer, darker, stranger, and somehow more addictive than ever before.
Some of these shows broke global records. Others were quietly brilliant, overlooked at first, then discovered by millions. All of them share one thing: once you start, stopping feels almost physically impossible. So let’s dive in.
1. Breaking Bad (2008–2013): The Show That Proved Streaming Could Save a Series
Breaking Bad premiered on AMC on January 20, 2008, and concluded on September 29, 2013, after five seasons and 62 episodes. Here’s the thing – it started with a shockingly small audience. Breaking Bad premiered to a modest 1.41 million viewers, and the show only cracked the 2 million mark on one occasion during the first four seasons, but critical acclaim and a streaming deal with Netflix saw more and more viewers get turned on to the drama.
Breaking Bad is considered the first show to have had such a renewed burst of interest due to the show being made available on Netflix. The second half of the final season saw record viewership, with the series finale reaching over 10.3 million viewers. That kind of audience growth, from under 2 million to over 10 million, is almost unheard of in television history.
The show has received numerous accolades, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, 8 Satellite Awards, 2 Golden Globe Awards, 2 Peabody Awards, 2 Critics’ Choice Awards, 4 Television Critics Association Awards and 1 British Academy Television Award. And on Netflix alone, in 2023, Breaking Bad was watched for a total of 505 million hours. Not bad for a show that was almost cancelled.
In 2013, Breaking Bad entered the Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed TV show of all time. In 2023, Breaking Bad was ranked as the best TV series in the last 25 years by critics in a poll conveyed by Rotten Tomatoes. Honestly, it’s hard to argue with that.
2. Game of Thrones (2011–2019): The Biggest Spectacle in TV History
Few shows have commanded the world’s attention the way Game of Thrones did during its eight-season run. The series received 164 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including eight consecutive Outstanding Drama Series nominations. That level of consistent recognition is extraordinary.
In 2015, Game of Thrones set a record for winning the highest number of Primetime Emmy Awards for a series in a single year, with 12 wins out of 24 nominations. In 2016, it became the most awarded series in Emmy Awards history, with a total of 38 wins. That record has since grown further.
It ended its run with 59 total Emmys, extending its record for most wins for a scripted series. And the audience? In a rare example of streaming likely helping a TV show’s ratings, Game of Thrones’ viewership numbers steadily climbed as the show moved along, culminating in the 13.61 million people that tuned in to HBO to watch the finale. While critics and fans had mixed reviews of the ending, you can’t argue with the numbers.
3. Squid Game (2021–2025): A Korean Show That Conquered the World
I know it sounds crazy, but a subtitled South Korean thriller became the most-watched thing on the planet. Squid Game shattered every expectation Netflix ever had for a foreign-language series. Netflix pulled out all the stops for the launch of Squid Game Season 2, and it appears to have paid off. The highly anticipated seven-episode second season raked in 68 million views in its first four days on the streamer.
Squid Game leads the 2024-25 Nielsen viewership charts with a whopping 27.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched show of that entire television season. Squid Game finished with 22.41 billion minutes viewed for its final season, with the smash hit Korean thriller series wrapping up in June 2025.
Since 2022, Squid Game is one of only two non-English language series to be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards. The show didn’t just break records, it rewrote the rules of what international TV could achieve on a global stage.
4. Stranger Things (2016–2025): Netflix’s Defining Cultural Phenomenon
Stranger Things is the kind of show that makes you nostalgic for a childhood you may not have even had. Set in 1980s Indiana, it blended horror, science fiction, and genuine emotional warmth in a way that felt completely fresh. Netflix reported that the entirety of Stranger Things has crossed 1.2 billion total views, putting Stranger Things as a whole above any series in Netflix history – even Wednesday and Squid Game.
By the time Stranger Things released the first four episodes of Season 5 on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2025, Volume 1 broke Netflix records with 59.6 million views in its first five days, becoming the biggest premiere week for an English language show in the history of the streamer. That is genuinely staggering.
Stranger Things Season 5 ranked as the most-watched title of the week in 90 of the 93 countries Netflix tracks. Stranger Things became the first Netflix series to have four seasons in the Top 10 at once, then the first to chart with five seasons. The cultural footprint of this show is almost impossible to measure.
5. The Sopranos (1999–2007): The Show That Started the Golden Age
Let’s be real – without The Sopranos, most of the other shows on this list might not exist. When The Sopranos debuted in 1999, it didn’t just raise the bar for television drama – it fundamentally rewrote the rules of what was possible on the small screen. Through Tony Soprano’s therapy sessions, creator David Chase introduced psychological complexity and moral ambiguity that would influence every prestige drama that followed.
The show’s peak reached 13.43 million people, which is really impressive for a pay channel. HBO had never seen numbers like that for original drama content. The Sopranos introduced psychological depth and dream sequences that transformed how shows could explore character psychology.
The show ran for six seasons and remains one of the most discussed dramas in television history. The Sopranos consistently ranks highest in critics’ all-time lists and industry impact surveys, even when compared to shows that came much later and had far bigger streaming audiences.
6. The Wire (2002–2008): The Slow Burn That Became a Masterpiece
The Wire is one of the strangest success stories in television. It was a genuine ratings failure while it aired. Despite the critical acclaim, The Wire season 5 had an average viewership of less than a million viewers. It’s testament to David Simon’s vision, and HBO’s support of creators that The Wire was allowed the time to conclude its overarching story.
In the years that followed, the show built up a following through word of mouth, tapping into the burgeoning binge-watch trend. David Simon’s rich tapestry of corruption and urban decay was better suited for the binge-watching audience, because it rewarded commitment. Think of it like a 60-hour novel that reveals its true brilliance only when read cover to cover.
The Wire, despite lower initial viewership, has seen its reputation grow steadily over time, particularly in academic and critical circles. Today it sits with a 9.3 IMDb rating based on over 427,000 votes. It is the rare show that gets more respect, not less, as time goes on.
7. Succession (2018–2023): The Show That Made Rich People Watchable
Succession did something almost impossible – it made you deeply invested in the petty, cruel, and often ridiculous power struggles of billionaires. The Roy family’s battle for control of a global media empire is both hilarious and heartbreaking. The show has won multiple Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, with critics praising its razor-sharp writing and stellar performances from Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong.
HBO’s drama series scored 10 wins out of 20 nominations, whereas Succession picked up four Emmy wins out of 25 nominations – including the coveted prize for Outstanding Drama Series. Those four wins placed it among the all-time greats in that category.
The Emmys aren’t afraid to shower a particular era’s defining prestige drama with multiple awards: Breaking Bad won outstanding drama two years in a row, while Mad Men and Game of Thrones each earned four over their respective runs. Succession earned its own place in that club. It’s the kind of show where every season finale leaves you floored and ready for more.
8. Lost (2004–2010): The Show That Defined Communal TV Obsession
There was a moment in the mid-2000s when it felt like the entire world was talking about Lost. Plane crash survivors on a mysterious island, polar bears in the tropics, smoke monsters, and a hatch in the ground – it was pure weekly appointment television. Lost took the TV world by storm when it debuted in 2004. By the end of Season 1, fans were glued to their sets every week. Nearly 23.5 million fans tuned in for the first episode of Season 2 to find out what was in the hatch.
If there’s one series that defines what TV fandom felt like during that decade, it’s this ABC drama. The Lost obsession was so feverish that even the recaps were events. Fan forums, episode breakdowns, and wild theories flooded the early internet in a way no show had managed before.
It’s hard to say for sure whether Lost holds up as well as some others on this list, but its cultural impact in the mid-2000s was undeniable. It proved that audiences were hungry for complex, serialized storytelling – and paved the way for almost everything that followed.
9. Mad Men (2007–2015): Seven Seasons of Style and Substance
Mad Men was never a ratings giant, but it was a prestige television standard-bearer that every serious drama had to measure itself against. Mad Men transports viewers to the glamorous yet cutthroat world of 1960s advertising. The show, centered on the enigmatic Don Draper, dives deep into themes of identity, gender, and societal change. Over seven stylish seasons, it won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and became known for its period-accurate costumes and sets.
Game of Thrones, Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Mad Men, and The West Wing share the record for most wins in the Outstanding Drama Series category with four. For a quiet, slow-moving period drama, that is a remarkable achievement. Most action-packed blockbuster shows would be thrilled with a single win.
Mad Men is the kind of binge that sneaks up on you. The first few episodes feel restrained, even slow. Then the characters get under your skin. Then you’re watching three episodes in a row on a Tuesday afternoon wondering where the day went. Don Draper has that effect on people.
10. The Office (US) (2005–2013): The Comfort Binge That Never Gets Old
The Office is something special. Not necessarily the most groundbreaking show ever made, but arguably the most rewatched. Few sitcoms have achieved the lasting popularity of The Office. Set in the mundane world of paper sales, its mockumentary style and cringe-worthy humor have made it a go-to comfort show for millions.
The Office remains one of the most beloved sitcoms ever. The pilot episode, way back in 2005, takes the title of most-watched single episode with 11.23 million people. That number is impressive on its own, but what makes The Office truly remarkable is its streaming longevity years after its finale.
The Big Bang Theory, Friends, and Supernatural continue to perform extraordinarily well across multiple platforms as Warner Bros. Discovery properties. All three shows first aired nearly 20 years ago – and The Office sits comfortably in the same league of timeless rewatchable comfort television. There is something almost meditative about returning to Dunder Mifflin.
11. Better Call Saul (2015–2022): The Spinoff That Outgrew Its Origin
Here’s a bold statement: Better Call Saul is arguably the most technically accomplished show of the last decade. What started as a Breaking Bad spinoff became its own towering achievement. Praised for its meticulous storytelling and character development, it has received multiple Emmy nominations and widespread critical acclaim. The series stands out for its slow-burn narrative, letting viewers watch Jimmy’s gradual transformation in excruciating detail. Its cinematography and attention to detail are often lauded as some of the best on television.
Better Call Saul holds the record for most Emmy nominations without a win, with seven nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. That is one of the most bittersweet records in Emmy history – a show considered great enough to be nominated repeatedly, yet somehow never winning the top prize.
On Netflix, Better Call Saul was watched for a total of 295.5 million hours. The most watched installment was season 6, at 80.8 million hours. Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are highly rated by critics and streamed consistently on Netflix, despite having no new episodes to air. That staying power speaks volumes about the quality of what Vince Gilligan and his team created.
A Golden Age That Changed Everything
What these eleven shows share, beyond their enormous viewership numbers and critical praise, is the ability to pull you completely into another world. Nielsen’s full list of the 100 biggest series of the 2024-2025 season in total viewers confirms that the appetite for long-form, serialized storytelling shows no sign of slowing down. The binge model didn’t kill great television – it created conditions for some of the greatest television ever made.
It’s remarkable to think that shows like Breaking Bad nearly got cancelled before Netflix saved them, or that The Wire was considered a failure in its own time. Great storytelling has a way of finding its audience, even if it takes years. The streaming era simply accelerated that process dramatically.
So, which of these eleven would you start first if you somehow hadn’t seen any of them? That might be the most interesting question in television right now. What do you think? Drop your answer in the comments.
