Making tier lists of basically everything has become my time-off guilty pleasure. Movies! Museums! Churches! London’s train lines! There’s a satisfying pleasure to arranging things into neat lists, yes, but also the joy of the critic. After investing dozens of hours into engaging with something, it’s rewarding to condense your takes into a few pithy lines.
All that is to say — happy Tier List Tuesday! Today, I’ve collected my thoughts on TV into one tidy list. For those unaware of the genre, tier lists rank things in descending order, from S (the absolute peak) to F (the very bottom).
S Tier — Masterful shows that affected me personally
I’ve heard Succession described as either the funniest tragedy or the most tragic comedy on television. Whatever the genre, it’s a darkly comic exploration of power’s corrupting influence, probing late-stage capitalism and intergenerational trauma alike. As Kendall Roy puts it: “the poison drips through.” Bonus points for being a HBO hit with exactly zero gratuitous sex.
Mr. Robot is a harrowing, nail-biter of a series, following a hacker-vigilante who aims to take down a corrupt mega-corporation. It takes huge emotional and formal risks – ones that mostly, but not always, pay off – and if you’re willing to take risks of your own, it’s well worth a watch. It’s a trenchant critique of modern society, yes, as well as a techno-noir thriller, but at its core it’s about trauma, mental illness, and the extreme lengths our minds will go to protect ourselves. Its engrossing and genuinely surprising twists, absolutely gorgeous cinematography, masterful acting, and consistent thematics – the series finale was planned from the very start of the series – thoroughly reward the viewer.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is many things. A children’s story with profound themes. A completely original IP with creative mythology and worldbuilding. A great animated show from a Western studio. The first half of season 1 is slow, but when things pick up, they take off. Come for the unique worldbuilding; stay for the best redemption arc in television history.
The Legend of Korra is the most uneven of this tier, but its highs are remarkably high. A sequel to Avatar, it stumbles when addressing adolescent romance and shines when depicting Korra’s healing from trauma and loss.
Andor is a Star Wars show that would be just as good if it weren’t part of Star Wars. No Jedi, no Force, no lightsabers; just a morally gray protagonist learning that it’s impossible to remain neutral in a world riven by empire. Rich, nuanced characterization, a great script, and masterful acting make this must-watch television.
A Tier — Really great
Community epitomizes authentically heartfelt comedy. It takes formal risks that no other mainstream show would dare take – an entire episode in stop-motion animation! – while taking its characters on journeys of true growth. Community indeed.
The West Wing is an earnest, idealistic portrait of modern politics. Watching it now, it feels like the last gasp of a bygone era – was this what things looked like pre-polarization? – but it epitomizes smart, fast-talking TV with real heart.
Big Little Lies elevates its soapy source material into a thoughtful exploration of parenting, class, and recovery from sexual violence. It’s amazing to see such a women-centered show, and both acting and writing deliver.
Chuck is a heartwarming action comedy about a nerd thrown into the world of espionage. It adds heart to the tired genre of spy shows, though later seasons lose some of the energy.
The Chosen is that rarest of things: genuinely great Christian television. It tells the story of Jesus gathering his disciples with nuance and care.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine offers lighthearted comedy where the characters manage to transcend their tropes. Yes, it’s an overly-rosy portrait of modern policing – take it with several grains of salt – but it’s a genuinely fun show. Bonus points for treating both gender and sexual orientation with nuance and care.
Game Changer is part of Dropout’s burgeoning improv comedy empire. Everyone else said “you can’t film improv, who would watch that?” and Sam Reich and co responded with “watch me.” Game Changer is the best of their lineup, an ever-fresh show where each episode offers a completely different game show setup. Check out the delightful “Like My Coffee” (warning: the humor is thoroughly adult).
B Tier — Above average, but something is missing
The Legend of Vox Machina is raunchy DnD fun. It’s a bit violent for my taste, but it’s a joy to see Critical Role’s thoughtful, creative worldbuilding in crisp animation rather than long, slow youtube episodes.
The Good Place is probably the first-ever sitcom with a philosophy consultant on call. Its fun premise and genuine heart are great, but it has too much cringe humor for my taste.
WandaVision is that other rarest of things: a genuinely good Marvel show with quasi-auteur sensibilities. It explores the crippling nature of grief through a fascinating conceit – each episode is based on a different decade of sitcom television. The masterful sets and costuming make it a fun watch, but its emotional core is what really shines. Points docked for all of the unnecessary superhero shenanigans and disappointing conclusion.
Glee was the defining show of my middle-school days. It can be silly and absurdly over the top. But it had some great (if overproduced) music and genuine heart.
Jessica Jones is a powerful exploration of narcissistic abusers. It’s frankly quite intense, and I could never watch more than an episode at a time; definitely among the better superhero content I’ve consumed.
C Tier — It was fine
Numbers is a crime procedural with a fun twist: it follows a mathematician who consults with the FBI to solve crimes. It’s better-than-average crime procedural, but still pretty standard at the end of the day.
A few friends and I started watching Teen Wolf, mostly for the meme. It’s honestly pretty funny to see teen angst and urban fantasy addressed with such an earnest tone, but that wasn’t enough to keep our interest.
Cells at Work has a fun premise: what if your cells were alive! And had fun personalities! Okay when I put it like that it sounds extremely creepy actually, but I do recommend this fun anime. You might even learn something about biology.
The Newsroom offers frankly way too much Aaron Sorkin. His most annoying tendencies – flawed white guy saviors, vague sexism, overly sentimental speeches Fixing Everything, centrism as the ideal political orientation – are dialed up to ten, and the show’s fun premise – watch characters deal with real-life news stories! – isn’t enough to save it. I mostly enjoyed it. But my eyes did a lot of rolling.
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Jericho scratches my prepper itch – nuclear bombs have wiped out major US cities, and a small town must fight for survival. But the characters and storylines ultimately don’t have enough to offer.
Young Justice is one of the better animated DC comics adaptations, but it ultimately doesn’t have a ton to say. The core team is great – and portions of seasons 1 and 4 shine – but the other seasons falter.
The Mandalorian has a beautiful emotional core – the enduring love between a shy loner and his adoptive son – but a lot of dross and fan-service that drags it down. Bonus points for the badass theme song.
NCIS is your bog-standard crime procedural. A shocking crime with some sort of fun twist has occurred! Our intrepid heroes solve it while bantering and having romantic drama! Occasionally someone dies! Pretty standard.
Spy Family is a sweet exploration of found family with plenty of wacky hijinks, as an undercover spy and an assassin team up to raise an adorable mind-reader and a fortune-telling dog. Shenanigans ensue.
D Tier — Below average
The Crown alternates between fascinating and aggravating. A few episodes in early seasons are great, but it makes a series of strange characterization decisions that are intensely bothersome and blatantly factually inaccurate. I stopped watching out of irritation and boredom alike. Great costumes, though.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is pure soap opera for the American adolescent. Behold surprise pregnancies! Surprise miscarriages! Surprise deaths! Star crossed romances! Terrible pairings! Honestly, parts of the series verge on so-bad-it’s-good, but I still probably wouldn’t recommend it.
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I know, I know, Seinfeld is hugely popular and widely beloved. But the humor just didn’t work for me. I found it pretty tired and boring. If I’d seen it back when it came out, I’m sure I would have found it more interesting.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians was a huge disappointment; Rick Riordan’s Greek-mythology-in-modern-America series is one of my absolute favorites. But the tv adaptation manages to suck the fun out of the story, removing the wry narration, exciting action sequences, and strong thematics that made the books great.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was offensively reductive. It dares to ask that most essential question: why bother with activism when those in power will definitely make profound changes if you just, you know, make a polite speech or something? Blegh.
From A to F — Sharp quality decline
I was surprised to realize that most of my least favorite shows started out as my favorite shows. Hence the need for this category. All three of these are hugely popular shows that became absolutely terrible. Sometimes you have to wonder: what in the world is going on at studios nowadays?
Ah, Game of Thrones. You started so well and ended so badly. Literally everyone is likely familiar with its unfortunate fall from grace; all I’ll add is that the costuming was great (check out these great analyses), and among the showrunner’s many sins was making the show more sexist than the books at every available opportunity. (If you’re interested in that angle, this book by Frankel taught me a huge amount about feminist literary criticism).
Westworld made a similar, though faster, descent. Its first season is fascinating, building a gorgeous and terrifying world while asking deep questions about identity and personhood. (Though the sexual assault is too frequent and gratuitous.) But things went south quickly, getting way too elaborate. I gave up partway through season two.
Early seasons of House of Cards offer a gripping, if cynical, view into the American political season, as our ruthlessly pragmatic protagonist ascends into power through a fragile house of cards. Later seasons fail to deliver on the promise of the premise by letting the house of cards endure for way too long. The schemes are absurdly elaborate, and the promised catharsis is ruined first by waiting way too long, and then because Kevin Spacey was rightfully fired so he’s written out. I think the show is ultimately a huge disappointment, but the first two seasons are worthwhile in my book.
F Tier — Simply terrible
Titans is laughably bad. No show more thoroughly embodies “2 edgy 5 me,” with our overeager protagonist – a cynical former Robin – snarling “Fuck Batman” as he edgily brutalizes a bunch of would-be criminals in the show’s opener. I literally cannot understand how they made four seasons of this? And it has 89% on Rotten Tomatoes?? It’s overly soapy and I find it impossible to take any of the characters seriously. But to each his own, I suppose.
So, my cards are on the table. Thoughts? Disagreements? Let me know!
Thanks for your take; fun to read!