Jordan's Top 25 TV Shows of the Last 25 Years
by VideoJordan | created - 13 Aug 2015 | updated - 25 Sep 2015 | PublicI work with IMDb's editors and contributors to build the content that makes IMDb great. Here are my favorite TV shows of the past 25 years to celebrate IMDb's 25th birthday. As you can tell below, I'm a comedy fan, a giant nerd, and a fan of ensemble casts with fast paced, overly clever dialog.
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1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head
Votes: 159,631
2. Pride and Prejudice (1995)
TV-PG | 55 min | Drama, Romance
While the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
Stars: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalha
Votes: 92,245
3. Sports Night (1998–2000)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Casey McCall and Dan Rydell are sports anchors and best friends on "Sports Night", a nightly cable program.
Stars: Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Felicity Huffman, Joshua Malina
Votes: 8,613
4. Arrested Development (2003–2019)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
Level-headed son Michael Bluth takes over family affairs after his father is imprisoned. But the rest of his spoiled, dysfunctional family are making his job unbearable.
Stars: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett
Votes: 324,058
5. Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook
Votes: 215,252
6. The West Wing (1999–2006)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama
Inside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
Stars: Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, John Spencer
Votes: 85,509
7. 30 Rock (2006–2013)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
Liz Lemon, head writer of the sketch-comedy show "TGS with Tracy Jordan", must deal with an arrogant new boss and a crazy new star while trying to run a successful television show without losing her mind.
Stars: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jack McBrayer
Votes: 131,936
8. Northern Exposure (1990–1995)
TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
A city doctor is forced to work in the remote Alaskan town of Cicely, where he encounters peculiar locals, including a former astronaut, as he adjusts to small-town life.
Stars: Rob Morrow, Janine Turner, Barry Corbin, John Cullum
Votes: 21,643
9. BattleBots (2000–2002)
30 min | Action, Comedy, Game-Show
Teams of homemade robots compete against each other.
Stars: Grant Imahara, Mark Beiro, Bil Dwyer, Sean Salisbury
Votes: 535
10. Slings and Arrows (2003–2006)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy
In the fictional town of New Burbage, legendary theatrical madman Geoffrey Tennant returns to the New Burbage Theatre Festival, the site of his greatest triumph and most humiliating failure... See full summary »
Stars: Paul Gross, Martha Burns, Stephen Ouimette, Susan Coyne
Votes: 2,902
11. Cowboy Bebop (1998–1999)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.
Stars: Kôichi Yamadera, Unshô Ishizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Steve Blum
Votes: 138,691
12. The Tick (2001–2002)
TV-14 | 201 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
The story of superhero The Tick, based on the popular comic book.
Stars: Patrick Warburton, David Burke, Liz Vassey, Nestor Carbonell
Votes: 5,766
13. Futurama (1999– )
TV-14 | 22 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy, is accidentally frozen in 1999 and thawed out on New Year's Eve 2999.
Stars: Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille
Votes: 260,808
14. Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–1998)
TV-Y | 30 min | Documentary, Comedy, Family
Scientist/comedian Bill Nye explores various aspects of science for young viewers.
Stars: Bill Nye, Pat Cashman, Michaela Leslie-Rule, Jaffar Smith
Votes: 8,376
15. America's Test Kitchen (2000– )
Unrated | 30 min | Documentary
Hosts Julia Collin Davison and Bridget Lancaster and the Test Kitchen cooks prepare America's favorite recipes, passing along valuable tips as they go.
Stars: Christopher Kimball, Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop
Votes: 577
16. House of Cards (2013–2018)
TV-MA | 50 min | Drama
A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.
Stars: Kevin Spacey, Michel Gill, Robin Wright, Kate Mara
Votes: 530,720
17. Modern Family (2009–2020)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three different, but related, families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.
Stars: Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell
Votes: 483,025
18. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle
Votes: 224,762
19. Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)
TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Drama
A dramedy centering around the relationship between a thirtysomething single mother and her teen daughter living in Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
Stars: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Keiko Agena, Scott Patterson
Votes: 147,973
20. Sex and the City (1998–2004)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Four female New Yorkers gossip about their sex lives (or lack thereof) and find new ways to deal with being a woman in the late 1990s.
Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon
Votes: 142,596
21. Alias (2001–2006)
TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
Sydney Bristow is an international spy recruited out of college, trained for espionage and self-defense.
Stars: Jennifer Garner, Ron Rifkin, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman
Votes: 54,727
22. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008)
TV-Y7-FV | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a war-torn world of elemental powers, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
Stars: Dee Bradley Baker, Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena
Votes: 372,221
23. Phineas and Ferb (2007–2024)
TV-G | 15 min | Animation, Short, Action
Phineas and Ferb invent, scheme, and stay one step ahead of their bratty sister. Meanwhile, their pet platypus plots against evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
Stars: Vincent Martella, Dan Povenmire, Ashley Tisdale, Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh
Votes: 56,690
24. MythBusters (2003–2018)
TV-PG | 44 min | Documentary, Mystery, Reality-TV
A weekly documentary in which two Hollywood special effects experts attempt to debunk urban legends by directly testing them.
Stars: Robert Lee, Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, Kari Byron
Votes: 54,787
25. Shaun the Sheep (2007–2020)
TV-G | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Shaun The Sheep is a cheeky and mischievous sheep at Mossy Bottom farm who's the leader of the flock and always plays slapstick jokes, pranks and causes trouble especially on Farmer X and his grumpy guide dog, Bitzer.
Stars: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Richard Webber, Kate Harbour
Votes: 16,827
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