My standing on it
ByLana V LynxPublished about 8 hours ago•Updated about 5 hours ago•4 min read
My inventory of 100 best TV shows
The New York Times has finished publishing its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century today (September 25, 2026) and I wanted to respond to it while it’s still fresh.
After I was done with teaching today, I rushed to print out the list and check how many shows I have seen. It’s a lot: 39 of the first 50 and 65 of 100 total. You might think that I do nothing but watch TV, but the truth is that I don’t watch it all. I usually watch the first episode in its entirety and if the show didn’t hook me I just drop it. But then I try to keep up with the show development if it’s still has the “buzz” through reviews and social media discussions.
So, I’ve watched at least one episode of each show I marked as “seen” and if the show is off the air, I know how it ended. That’s what happened with the Game of Thrones, even though I watched maybe six episodes in total: you just couldn’t escape its discussions and recaps in the media.
As I was going through the list, I was hoping that I’d be able to mark off all of the first 50. But then I stumbled across I May Destroy You, which I’d never heard of before. By checking it out, I now want to see it and since it’s only one season I’ve put it on the list of things to watch during my fall break.
I would never watch Chernobyl as I lived through it and the memories are still too painful. Although I know a lot of people, including my friends from the Soviet past, who said it was very good. My son confirmed it as well, and I’m glad he watched it for the historical perspective and context.
I have never heard of The Comeback, The Leftovers, and The Band of Brothers and the titles don’t sound too enticing to me. Neither did I ever hear of the Happy Valley and Normal People but I still might check them out. My colleague described Andor and Enlightened to me and I might watch them upon his recommendation after all, if I find the time.
I will definitely find the time for The Pitt and Twin Peaks as I’ve heard and read a lot of good reviews and am kinda embarrassed that I still haven’t watched them, just as I am embarrassed that I’ve never watched TheHandmaid’s Tale.
There’s a lot more shows I haven’t seen from the second column of the list, and I’m not sure I will ever want to see those that I didn’t mark. Some of them, again, I haven’t even heard of. Please keep in mind that I watch TV partly for work and always try to stay informed about the good things that come out. So the fact that I haven’t even heard of many “best” shows might be another testament to the overabundance of high quality content.
I largely agree with the order that NYT ranked the shows, even though I personally would put Scandal and Ted Lasso in the top 20. I would also swap Mad MenwithTrue Detective, which I still consider one of the best TV shows ever made. Ozark, Gilmore Girls, and Scandal should be much higher on the list as well.
Now, to what I was disappointed not to see on the list at all.
Some excellent British shows were unfairly left out:Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbach struck me as absolutely mind-blowing when it aired, and its cultural impact ripples even today. The Fall propelled Jamie Dornan into stardom earlier and more convincingly than the many shades of gray ever did. TheHijack with Idris Elba has just released its second season and it is as gripping and twisty as the first one was.
I’d put my favorites from Apple TV – Defending Jacob and The Morning Show -on the list as well. Also, Resident Alien that is still airing is just as funny and entertaining as 3rd Rock from the Sun was at its time.
I suspect that those who worked on the list didn’t include YOU for the same reason that I wouldn’t: It’s definitely one of the best shows in history in terms of the character development, show progression, and construction. But how do you deal with the fact that the main character(s) are nothing but smart narcissistic killers murdering people in the name of love?
And finally, I will never understand why the industry and the critics are still snubbing Supernatural. That show has a huge devoted fandom that any show on the list would kill for. It has its own Comicon that is still going strong every year, even after the show ended. Without it, there would have been no Trecker (another underrated show) and The Boys. In its longest run on CW of 15 years, Supernatural managed to weave in all the main religious myths and supernatural tales of the entire humanity in the ways that only a diverse team of supremely talented writers could. But then, the Walking Dead is not on the list either, which may suggest that the list compilers didn’t really peg the ranking to the show’s popularity.
If you’d like to make your own checklist, the blank is here:
industrytvlistpop culturereviewfeatureentertainment
About the Creator
Lana V Lynx
Avid reader and occasional writer of satire and short fiction. For my own sanity and security, I write under a pen name. My books: Moscow Calling – 2017 and President & Psychiatrist
