With the conclusion of Game of Thrones, now seems to be a good time to evaluate the best shows ever on the prestigious network.

 

Here's some lists, some very recent, while others a year plus old. 

 

https://www.thrillis...original-series

 

https://uproxx.com/t...-now-right-now/

 

https://www.esquire....est-hbo-series/

 

https://www.pastemag...all-time-1.html

 

https://editorial.ro...ll-time-ranked/

 

I haven't seen some of the highly regarded shows, and it's been a while with some of the others, but here's how I'd rank my top 10 not considering mini-series' such as Band of Brothers and John Adams:

 

1. The Wire

2. The Sopranos

3. Curb Your Enthusiasm

4. Deadwood

5. Rome

6. Game of Thrones

7. Veep

8. Six Feet Under

9. Treme

10. The Larry Sanders Show

I haven’t seen a lot of these but I rank Sopranos and The Wire on a different level.

Rome was great and I would also put it ahead of GOT but how much does it get hurt because it was only 2 seasons?

1 Sopranos

2 Game of Thrones

3 Deadwood

4 Rome

5 The Wire

6 Veep

7 Six Feet Under

8 Boardwalk Emprire

9 Silicon Valley

10 Big Love

Larry Sanders would be 11th for me.  Succession might be 12th.

 

Know The Leftovers is very well regarded, just never got into it. 
Same with Curb. 

Sex and the City was good for a moment, but not very high for me. 

I liked Big Little Lies, and looking forward to the second season... but I don't find it that memorable either. 

Newsroom was okay, but should have been better. 

 

Still haven't watched the second season of Westworld. 

 

OZ at it's best was very good, but too many jump the shark moments. 

 

Kind of liked Flight of the Concords.  Girls had it's moments, but whole cast was annoying. 

 

Barry is well done, but haven't watched enough. 

 

First year of True Detective was awesome.  2nd was off. 3rd was good. 

 

Some other older shows... Arliss, Mr. Show, Dream On.

Good list. Haven't seen Veep, Larry Sanders or Six Feet Under. I'd swap Game of Thrones and Curb among the 7 you ranked that I've seen, otherwise right on.

Boardwalk Empire would be on my top ten.

The Wire at #5?!?

The Wire at #5?!?

The Wire is a great show. I acknowledge it's continuously listed among the 2-3 best ever.  It's not that for me in-terms of my favorites. If the ranking is what is the best ever, I might have higher. 

 

And yeah, part of that is personal enjoyment... and being here in Baltimore is certainly part of that for me. 

Barry and Insecure are two younger shows that I like a lot.

Flight on the Concords and Silicon Valley are hilarious and not far off the top 10 for me.

Sex and the City is an iconic and influential show, plus a very good one imo, but a guy in his 20's (when I watched it) isn't quite the target audience for it.

The Wire is a great show. I acknowledge it's continuously listed among the 2-3 best ever. It's not that for me in-terms of my favorites. If the ranking is what is the best ever, I might have higher.

And yeah, part of that is personal enjoyment... and being here in Baltimore is certainly part of that for me.

Well I did use the word best for what that's worth.

I recall you having an issue with the show because of the perception issues it caused for Baltimore. Is that right?

Well I did use the word best for what that's worth.

I recall you having an issue with the show because of the perception issues it caused for Baltimore. Is that right?

 

I have no problem with the reality it depicted. I think it would have been interesting if they had shown the dichotomy of life outside the City proper, and the City itself (or to the point you've made numerous times, different parts of the City)... but that is more of a nitpick vs. a complaint. The Wire doesn't have to apologize for accurately showing the many issues Baltimore faces. I'd rather those issues be shown, vs. pretending they don't exist.  You want some further thoughts, we can get a beer sometime. 

The Wire being first (and Top 3) by all critics on all lists is fine. I get it.  It was extremely well done. 

FWIW, I don't think Deadwood or Rome ever got the attention and acclaim they deserved. They were also brilliant. 
And despite the recency of issues with GoT, that's going to remain right near the top for me.

The Wire is both my favorite show of all time and the best show of all time. Any network.

The Wire is both my favorite show of all time and the best show of all time. Any network.

Same

I need to watch Deadwood and Rome. The Wire was a great show but people on here overrate it because it took place in Baltimore.

The Americans is better than The Wire for example

The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Americans is my top 3 in that order.

I need to watch Deadwood and Rome. The Wire was a great show but people on here overrate it because it took place in Baltimore.

The Americans is better than The Wire for example

I haven't seen The Americans.

You may be right to some degree, but The Wire is generally considered the best show ever by TV critics from what I've seen.

Sopranos didn’t have a head scratching season/dumb storyline like The Wire did.

That’s the difference for me. (Well that and I have always been fascinated by the mafia)

The only thing about the Sopranos I felt was over the top was the Vito/gay angle.

I didn’t care that he was gay or that they made a big deal out of it but I felt it was drug out too long.

The other thing about the Sopranos is how ground breaking it was.

When Gandolfini died, Cranston made the comment that without Tony Soprano, there is no Walter White.

Many shows have followed in that type of writing...the bad guy is who you root for, etc...

The Wire was tremendous though and I’m glad that it gets the credit it deserves. I would put it over every show but The Sopranos but honestly, I may put Rome over it too. The problem with Rome, as I said, is how short it was on. That does matter because they could have screwed up the show as time went on. A lot of shows can be great for 2-4 years but it’s hard to be great for 4-8 years.

Yes. Sopranos ushered in this “golden age” of television for sure.

And I still need to finish Breaking Bad. It’s criminal that I haven’t.