The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics
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The most critically acclaimed TV shows in history have earned their praise by repeatedly producing innovative and memorable seasons.
Shows like “The Wire,” “Breaking Bad,” and “The Larry Sanders Show” consistently won over critics, and their best seasons have set a standard for what great television should look like.
To find out which series have been the most influential, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the all-time best TV seasons, which ranks shows by their composite critical reception.
Check out the 50 best TV-show seasons of all time, according to critics:
50. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 6.7/10
Notable episodes: “The Garden Weasel,” “Party,” “The Hey Now Episode”
49. “Sherlock” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 9.1/10
Notable episodes: “A Scandal in Belgravia,” “The Hounds of Baskerville,” “The Reichenbach Fall”
48. “Frozen Planet” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 8.8/10
Notable episodes: “To the Ends of the Earth,” “Spring,” “Summer”
47. “Broadchurch” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 8.3/10
Notable episodes: “Episode 3,” “Episode 4,” “Episode 8”
46. “Justified” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 9.2/10
Notable episodes: “The Moonshine War,” “Brother's Keeper,” “Reckoning”
45. “Master of None” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 7.7/10
Notable episodes: “Parents,” “Indians on TV,” “The Other Man”
44. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 6.5/10
Notable episodes: “The Breakdown,” “Larry Loses Interest,” “New York or L.A.”
43. “Game of Thrones” (Season 5)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 8.2/10
Notable episodes: “The Wars to Come,” “The Dance of Dragons,” “Mother's Mercy”
42. “Louie” (Season 5)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 8.4/10
Notable episodes: “Pot Luck,” “A La Carte,” “Bobby's House”
41. "The Hollow Crown" (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 91/100
User score: 6.5/10
Notable episodes: “Richard II,” “Henry IV,” “Henry V”
40. “My So-Called Life” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.9/10
Notable episodes: “Life of Brian,” “Self-Esteem,” “Betrayal”
39. “The Returned” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.5/10
Notable episodes: “Camille,” “Simon,” “Adele”
38. “Homeland” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.2/10
Notable episodes: “The Weekend,” “Crossfire,” “Marine One”
37. “Transparent” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 7.5/10
Notable episodes: “The Letting Go,” “Best New Girl,” “Why Do We Cover the Mirrors?”
36. “Rectify” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.0/10
Notable episodes: “Mazel Tov,” “The Great Destroyer,” “Unhinged”
35. “The Simpsons” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.9/10
Notable episodes: “Bart Gets an F,” “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment”
34. “The Americans” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 8.4/10
Notable episodes: “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?,” “March 8, 1983”
33. “The Shield” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.3/10
Notable episodes: “Pilot,” “Our Gang,” “Circles”
32. “Mad Men” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 92/100
User score: 9.0/10
Notable episodes: “Public Relations,” “The Summer Man,” “Tomorrowland”
31. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 6.6/10
Notable episodes: “Montana,” “Hank's Divorce,” “End of the Season”
30. “Bleak House” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 9.1/10
Notable episodes: “Episode 1,” “Episode 2,” “Episode 15”
29. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.5/10
Notable episodes: “Chet's Shirt,” “Krazee-Eyez Killa,” “The Grand Opening”
28. “Louie” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.6/10
Notable episodes: “Back,” “Model,” “Pamela Part 1”
27. “Deadwood” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 9.1/10
Notable episodes: “A Lie Agreed Upon (Parts 1 and 2),” “Requiem for a Gleet”
26. “The Office: UK” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 93/100
User score: 8.9/10
Notable episodes: “Merger,” “Party,” “Charity”
25. “Louie” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.7/10
Notable episodes: “Something Is Wrong,” “Miami,” “Dad”
24. “Transparent” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 7.0/10
Notable episodes: “Kina Hora,” “Oscillate,” “Grey Green Brown & Copper”
23. “Battlestar Galactica” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 9.1/10
Notable episodes: “Occupation,” “Precipice,” “Exodus Part 2”
22. “Game of Thrones” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 9.2/10
Notable episodes: “First of His Name,” “Mockingbird,” “The Children”
21. “Homicide: Life on the Street” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 94/100
User score: 8.4/10
Notable episodes: “Gone for Goode,” “Ghost of a Chance,” “A Dog and Pony Show”
20. “The Wire” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 9.1/10
Notable episodes: “Ebb Tide,” “Bad Dreams,” “Port in a Storm”
19. “The Americans” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 8.8/10
Notable episodes: “Glanders,” “Pastor Tim,” “Chloramphenicol”
18. “Enlightened” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 95/100
User score: 7.6/10
Notable episodes: “The Key,” “Higher Power,” “All I Ever Wanted”
17. “Fargo” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.3/10
Notable episodes: “Waiting for Dutch,” “Fear and Trembling,” “Palindrome”
16. “The Sopranos” (Season 6)
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.8/10
Notable episodes: “Soprano Home Movies,” “Kaisha,” “Made in America”
15. “Breaking Bad” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.5/10
Notable episodes: “Box Cutter,” “End Times,” “Face Off”
14. “O.J.: Made In America” (Season 1/1)
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 7.5/10
Notable episodes: “Parts 1-5”
13. “Twin Peaks” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 9.4/10
Notable episodes: “Pilot,” “Traces to Nowhere,” “The Last Evening”
12. “Homeland” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 96/100
User score: 8.3/10
Notable episodes: “Broken Hearts,” “In Memoriam,” “The Choice”
11. “The Sopranos” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 9.3/10
Notable episodes: “Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood,” “Second Opinion,” “Army of One”
10. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 5)
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 4.9/10
Notable episodes: “Everybody Loves Larry,” “Ellen, Or Isn't She?,” “The Roast”
9. “The Sopranos” (Season 2)
Metacritic score: 97/100
User score: 9.3/10
Notable episodes: “From Where to Eternity,” “Bust Out,” “Funhouse”
8. “The Wire” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 9.5/10
Notable episodes: “Boys of Summer,” “That's Got His Own,” “Final Grades”
7. “The Wire” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 9.5/10
Notable episodes: “Time After Time,” “Straight and True,” “Mission Accomplished”
6. “The Office: UK” (Season 1)
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 8.6/10
Notable episodes: “Downsize,” “New Girl,” “Judgement”
5. “The Office: UK” (Season 3)
Metacritic score: 98/100
User score: 8.2/10
Notable episodes: “Christmas Special Parts 1 & 2”
4. “Breaking Bad” (Season 5)
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 9.7/10
Notable episodes: “Ozymandias,” “Granite State,” “Felina”
3. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 6)
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 4.5/10
Notable episodes: “Another List,” “I Buried Sid,” “Flip”
2. “Murder One” (Season 1)
User score: 6.6/10
Notable episodes: “Chapter One,” “Chapter Twenty-Two,” “Chapter Twenty-Three”
1. “The Larry Sanders Show” (Season 4)
Metacritic score: 99/100
User score: 5.2/10
Notable episodes: “Roseanne's Return,” “Hank's Sex Tape,” “Eight”
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Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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