t 14, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT A contributor at MovieWeb, Dan Selcke is a pop culture fanatic who writes and talks about movies, TV and books, the nerdier the better. He's been working on news, reviews, editorials, interviews and podcasts for over 10 years. Dan has been published in The A.V. Club, Metro, Salon and elsewhere. He's interviewed actors and filmmakers from shows like Dune: Prophecy and The Rings of Power. When he's run out of things to write, Dan operates a YouTube channel where he dives into more depth on all things movies, TV, and pop culture. Sign in to your MakeUseOf account Add Us Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap In September, The New York Times published its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, meaning shows that started airing after January 1, 2000. The paper determined the list based on a poll of actors, showrunners, creators, executives, and craftspeople working in TV. This was the professionals' take.

Not long after, the Times published another list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, this time decided by over 100,000 readers. This is the fans' take.

A qualification like "best" is obviously up to interpretation. But there are some interesting differences when you look at what shows the pros prefer versus the fans.

There are now two very different Game of Thrones spin-off shows on the air, and one is pulling ahead.

Although there's a good number of differences between these two lists, they mostly don't show up until further down. Near the top, fans and pros seem to agree on what the very best shows of the century are.

Pros and fans agree that shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire, Mad Men, Succession, and Game of Thrones deserve recognition. Things get a little more interesting in the lower part of the top 10, but there's agreement that the very best shows of the century tend to be high-end prestige dramas. And also Fleabag.

Breaking Bad Like TV-MA Crime Drama Thriller Release Date 2008 - 2013-00-00 Network AMC Showrunner Vince Gilligan Cast See All Bryan Cranston Walter White Aaron Paul Jesse Pinkman Dean Norris Hank Schrader Betsy Brandt Marie Schrader Powered by Expand Collapse Fans like comedy more than the professionals Laughter is for normies Although there are a couple comedies, like Veep and 30 Rock, that the professionals rank higher than the fans, overall the fans seem to prize comedy more than the pros. Shows like The Office, Arrested Development, Ted Lasso, Parks and Recreation,

Schitt's Creek, The Good Place, Community, Hacks, Modern Family, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are all ranked higher on the fans' list than the professionals'. Also, the fans include several sitcoms that the pros leave off their list entirely, including Derry Girls, Shrinking, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Abbott Elementary, Scrubs, and Bob's Burgers.