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Variety Magazine’s Top 100 Television Shows of All Time

Author Steve Vassalotti

Variety Magazine has released it’s top 100 television shows of all time. That’s a ridiculously hard list to create. The different styles, opinions and interests of people can make one series amazing for people and completely not interest a whole set of others. So who makes the decision on the top 100? This list was put together some of Variety’s Staff and contributors. They kept it to shows in English that aired in the United States. The list is pretty good, they really seemed to do a good job of covering shows from 50’s on. Here are a few.

93. Will and Grace – Eric McCormick, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullaly were one of the first sitcom TV shows I remember as a kid. Sean Hayes and Megan Mullaly’s goofiness stuck with me, because I still laugh at them. We named our middle son Jack. People would ask if it was short for anything, our response was no it’s “Just Jack”, but with the hand gesticulation Sean Hayes did in the show.

87. Happy Days – A show based in a time that I had nothing to do enjoying, but thanks to Nick at Nite there are a few shows in the top 100 that I found myself watching. As I write this my brain is singing, “Sunday, Monday, Happy days! Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days! Thursday Friday Happy Days, the weekend comes, a cycle hums, ready to race to you.”

59. South Park – A show I wasn’t allowed to watch when it originally came out, but naturally I saw some of it and caught up later in life.  Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s ability to goof on everything going on in the work is incredible. Nobody is safe. The documentary 6 Days to Air is an incredible look into how they create the show and hit topics that seem to have only just happened.

51. Arrested Developtment – Gob Bluth was the beginning of my love for the humor of Will Arnett. I wish this show had a longer run, but I guess it’s better to leave them wanting more. “There is always money in the banana stand.”

There are so many shows on the list that you probably loved. Also use this as a list for catching up on quality television. For the whole list check out Variety’s Top 100 Television Shows of All Time.

5 of the Best TV Series Released in 2023

2023 was a fantastic year for television. New series and continuations of our favorite shows came out despite the setbacks caused by the writers’ and actors’ strikes over the summer. Though some projects got pushed back, the television shows that were released before and after were some of the best TV we’ve seen. Comedy dramas came in strong, with AppleTV+’s Shrinking, Netflix’s Beef, and Peacock’s Poker Face. We saw two different types of action with the gory and raunchy Gen V, which is Amazon Prime’s series that takes place in the same world as The Boys. Then we saw beloved video game characters Joel and Ellie make it to the live-action television adaptation with Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay.

What makes for good television is the story, the actors, and the visuals. The combination of all of those can make or break a show’s longevity. If the story and acting sucks, the show is most likely going to get swallowed in the streaming swamp. With so many streamers now competing for subscriptions, it is sometimes hard to keep up with what’s coming out and when. That being said, the shows that are flops don’t tend to last past a season — if they even make it to a streamer.

Then, there are the shows that are so darn good they get renewed before the season is even over! Those are the shows that are worth the hype of tuning in on. As we all have different preferences in genres, actors, and even streamers, we compiled a list that featured genres that most people would be attracted to. Since the shows on this list are completed, you can binge-watch the ones that you haven’t seen yet.

Take a look below at our top five picks of the best new shows that debuted in 2023:

  • Shrinking

    As soon as we started watching Shrinking, we knew we’d be hooked. The AppleTV+ series has the perfect combination of comedy and real-life aches and pains. Jason Segel and Harrison Ford star alongside Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, and Lukita Maxwell in the comedy-drama. Segel stars as a therapist who ditches his ethical training in order to give his clients actual help. Shrinking is set to return for its second season in 2024.

  • Beef

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFPIMHBzGDs

    This series took us on such a whirlwind adventure from start to finish; it has forever become one of those shows that you wish you could experience for the first time ever again all the time. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun are the pettiest people when it comes to vengeance after road rage. There is not one scene wasted where you’re bored in this comedy-drama series. Though no second season has been announced, the ending of the first season leaves it open for there to be more Beef in the future.

  • Gen V

    From the gory, raunchy superhero world of The Boys comes Gen V, the college-aged hopefuls of making it into Godolkin University’s highly coveted top ranking. Introducing Marie Moreau, who’s got blood-bending powers, her roommate Emma, who can’t escape being known as Little Cricket, they meet other hopeful supes looking for glory and recognition. However, something fishy is going on behind the scenes and it’s up to this group to expose Vought’s lies.

  • The Last of Us

    The series was so great, you can enjoy it whether or not you play the video game that it is based on. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey have cemented themselves as one of the best-acting duos, periods. Their characters are so fun to watch bicker, banter, and bond over the course of the show’s first season. We can’t wait to see what happens next in season two, which is expected to release sometime in 2025.

  • Poker Face

    Following her success after Orange is the New Black and her first starring series in Russian Doll, Natasha Lyonne starred in her best series yet: Poker Face. With every episode starting off with the crime and perpetrator, Lyonne’s Charlie Cale can tell when someone is lying. A second season is confirmed for the series, without any set dates yet.

Steve Vassalotti is co-host of “The Matt Cord Show with Steve Vassalotti” weekday mornings 6a-10a on 102.9 WMGK. He has been with the station since 2015. For WMGK he writes about inane nonsense that surrounds our daily lives, sports, food and other various topics. Steve writes about Philadelphia lifestyle content, the Philadelphia Eagles culture and trending topics.

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