Best Serial TV Shows of All Time
Serials are series of television programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television that relies on more stand-alone episodes.
This is a list of the best serials, hybrid serial, and Anthology series of all time. Soap Operas and shows that didn't make it past one season will not be included. Except if that one season gained the show a cult status.
Please comment and or suggest to add titles.
This is a list of the best serials, hybrid serial, and Anthology series of all time. Soap Operas and shows that didn't make it past one season will not be included. Except if that one season gained the show a cult status.
Please comment and or suggest to add titles.
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- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorDavid BenioffD.B. WeissStarsEmilia ClarkePeter DinklageKit HaringtonNine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.
- CreatorVince GilliganStarsBryan CranstonAaron PaulAnna GunnA chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
- CreatorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoNew Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
- CreatorNoah HawleyStarsBilly Bob ThorntonMartin FreemanAllison TolmanVarious chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
- CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickAn idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
- CreatorBruno HellerWilliam J. MacDonaldJohn MiliusStarsKevin McKiddRay StevensonPolly WalkerA down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonRonald D. MooreStarsEdward James OlmosMary McDonnellJamie BamberWhen an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
- CreatorSam EsmailStarsRami MalekChristian SlaterCarly ChaikinElliot, a brilliant but unstable cyber-security engineer and vigilante hacker, becomes a key figure in a complex game of global chaos when he and his shadowy allies try to take down the corrupt corporation his company is paid to protect.
- CreatorVince GilliganPeter GouldStarsBob OdenkirkRhea SeehornJonathan BanksThe trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill in the years leading up to his fateful run-in with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
- CreatorMatt DufferRoss DufferStarsMillie Bobby BrownFinn WolfhardWinona RyderWhen a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl.
- CreatorPeter MorganStarsClaire FoyOlivia ColmanImelda StauntonFollows the political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped Britain for the second half of the 20th century.
- CreatorDrew GoddardStarsCharlie CoxVincent D'OnofrioDeborah Ann WollA blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night. Matt Murdock fights the crime of New York as Daredevil.
- CreatorNoah HawleyStarsDan StevensRachel KellerAubrey PlazaDavid Haller is a troubled young man diagnosed as schizophrenic, but after a strange encounter he discovers special powers that will change his life forever.
- CreatorBen BestJody HillDanny McBrideStarsDanny McBrideSteve LittleKaty Mixon GreerMany years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach Physical Education at his old middle school.
- CreatorJenji KohanStarsTaylor SchillingDanielle BrooksTaryn ManningConvicted of a decade-old crime of transporting drug money, ordinarily law-abiding Piper Chapman is sentenced to 18 months behind bars and quickly discovers the realities of life-changing prison time.
- CreatorAnna WingerJörg WingerStarsJonas NayMaria SchraderUlrich NoethenMartin Rauch is recruited by the HVA to infiltrate the West Germany army. As a rookie spy, his decisions constantly put his cover at risk and force his agency to take extreme measures.
- CreatorTom FontanaStarsErnie HudsonJ.K. SimmonsLee TergesenA series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.
- CreatorAaron SorkinStarsMartin SheenRob LoweAllison JanneyInside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
- CreatorAlan BallStarsPeter KrauseMichael C. HallFrances ConroyA chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.
- CreatorPaul AbbottJohn WellsStarsEmmy RossumWilliam H. MacyEthan CutkoskyA scrappy, feisty, fiercely loyal Chicago family makes no apologies.
- CreatorDavid MilchStarsTimothy OlyphantIan McShaneMolly ParkerA show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsFollows a gang of corrupt Los Angels Police Department (LAPD) cops called The Strike Team, who uses illegal methods to maintain law and order, whilst engaging in a series of undercover dealings secretly in order to get rich.
- CreatorJulian FellowesStarsHugh BonnevillePhyllis LoganElizabeth McGovernA chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
- CreatorLarry DavidStarsLarry DavidCheryl HinesJeff GarlinLarry David stars as an over-the-top version of himself in this comedy series that shows how seemingly trivial details of day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events.