Are you looking for some of the best shows on different TV Networks? This list of Best Shows on TV Networks features the best U.S. networks with the best programming, including HBO, Showtime, TBS, AMC, FX, and more.
Best Shows On TV Networks
Netflix
Netflix is an American media services provider, headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. Here are the best shows on Netflix.
1. Stranger Things (4 Seasons)
Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.
Its first season was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. Its second, third, and fourth seasons followed in October 2017, July 2019, and May and July 2022, respectively.
Set in the 1980s, primarily in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the series centers on a number of mysteries and supernatural events occurring around the town and their impact on an ensemble of child and adult characters.
2. Narcos (3 Seasons)
Narcos is an American-Colombian crime drama television series created and produced by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. Set and filmed in Colombia, seasons 1 and 2 are based on the story of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who became a billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine.
The series also focuses on Escobar’s interactions with drug lords, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, and various opposition entities. Season 3 picks up after the fall of Escobar and continues to follow the DEA as they try to shut down the rise of the infamous Cali Cartel.
3. House of Cards (6 Seasons)
House of Cards is an American political thriller streaming television series created by Beau Willimon. It is an adaptation of the 1990 BBC series of the same name and based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs.
House of Cards is set in Washington, D.C., and is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), an amoral politician and Democrat from South Carolina’s 5th congressional district, and his equally ambitious wife Claire Underwood (Robin Wright).
Frank is passed over for appointment as Secretary of State but remains House Majority Whip so he initiates an elaborate plan to attain power, aided by Claire.
4. Orange Is the New Black (7 Seasons)
Orange Is the New Black is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison (2010), about her experiences at FCI Danbury, a minimum-security federal prison.
5. Bloodline (3 Seasons)
Bloodline is an American Netflix original thriller drama television series created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, and produced by Sony Pictures Television.
The series premiered on February 9, 2015, in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, and the 13-episode first season premiered in its entirety, on Netflix, on March 20, 2015.
6. Master of None (3 Seasons)
Master of None is an American comedy-drama streaming television series, which was released for streaming on November 6, 2015, on Netflix.
The series was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, with the first two seasons starring Ansari in the lead role of Dev Shah, a 30-year-old actor, and the third season starring Lena Waithe in the lead role of Denise, a 37-year-old lesbian novelist, mostly following their romantic, professional, and personal experiences.
7. All of Us Are Dead (1 Season)
All of Us Are Dead is a South Korean coming-of-age zombie apocalypse horror streaming television series. The series mostly takes place at a high school in South Korea as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out and threatens the safety of the students. It is based on the Naver webtoon of the same time by Joo Dong-geun, which was published between 2009 and 2011.
8. Ozark (4 Seasons)
Ozark is an American crime drama television series created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams for Netflix, and produced by MRC Television and Aggregate Films. The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who move their family to the Lake of the Ozarks for money laundering.
HBO
Home Box Office is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by the namesake unit Home Box Office, Inc., a division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia. Here are the best shows on HBO.
1. Game of Thrones (8 Seasons)
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones.
Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, Game of Thrones has a large ensemble cast and follows several story arcs throughout the course of the show. The first major arc concerns the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros through a web of political conflicts among the noble families either vying to claim the throne or fighting for independence from whoever sits on it.
A second focuses on the last descendant of the realm’s deposed ruling dynasty, who has been exiled to Essos and is plotting to return and reclaim the throne. The third follows the Night’s Watch, a military order defending the realm against threats from beyond Westeros’s northern border.
2. True Blood (7 Seasons)
True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.
The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress living in the fictional rural town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. It is set two years after the invention of a synthetic blood product branded “Tru Blood” that has allowed vampires to “come out of the coffin” and let their presence be known to mankind.
It chronicles the vampires’ struggle for equal rights and assimilation while anti-vampire organizations begin to gain power. Sookie’s world is turned upside down when she falls in love with 174-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), and for the first time, she must navigate the trials and terrors of intimacy and relationships.
3. The Sopranos (6 Seasons)
The Sopranos is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano, a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance family life with his role as leader of a criminal organization.
These are explored during his therapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). The series features Tony’s family members, mafia colleagues, and rivals in prominent roles—most notably his wife Carmela (Edie Falco) and his protégé/distant cousin Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli).
4. True Detective (3 Seasons)
True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the series is structured as a self-contained narrative, employing new cast ensembles, and following various sets of characters and settings.
5. Silicon Valley (6 Seasons)
Silicon Valley is an American comedy television series created by Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. It premiered on HBO on April 6, 2014, running six seasons for a total of 53 episodes.
The series, a parody of Silicon Valley culture, focuses on Richard Hendricks, a programmer who founds a startup company called Pied Piper, and chronicles his struggles to maintain his company while facing competition from larger entities.
6. The Wire (5 Seasons)
The Wire is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States.
The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective and public school teacher.
Set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland, The Wire introduces a different institution of the city and its relationship to law enforcement in each season, while retaining characters and advancing storylines from previous seasons.
The five subjects are, in chronological order: the illegal drug trade, the port system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools, and the print news medium.
7. Sex and the City (6 Seasons)
Sex and the City is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. It is an adaptation of Candace Bushnell’s newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name.
Set and filmed in New York City, the show follows the lives of a group of four women – three in their mid-thirties and one in her forties – who, despite their different natures and ever-changing sex lives, remain inseparable and confide in each other.
AMC
AMC is an American pay television channel owned by its namesake AMC Networks. The channel’s programming, similar to that of FXM, primarily consists of theatrically released films and a limited amount of original programming. Here are the best shows on AMC.
1. Breaking Bad (5 Seasons)
Breaking Bad is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White, an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited high-school chemistry teacher who is struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer.
White turns to a life of crime and partners with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, to produce and distribute crystal meth to secure his family’s financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal underworld.
2. The Walking Dead (11 Seasons)
The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard—together forming the core of The Walking Dead franchise.
The series features a large ensemble cast as survivors of a zombie apocalypse trying to stay alive under the near-constant threat of attacks from zombies known as “walkers”.
With the collapse of modern civilization, these survivors must confront other human survivors who have formed groups and communities with their own sets of laws and morals, sometimes leading to open, hostile conflict between them.
3. Mad Men (7 Seasons)
Mad Men is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It begins at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City and later at the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, located near the Time-Life Building at 1271 Sixth Avenue.
According to the pilot episode, the phrase “Mad men” was a slang term coined in the 1950s by advertisers working on Madison Avenue to refer to themselves, “Mad” being short for “Madison”.
4. The Killing (4 Seasons)
The Killing is an American crime drama television series that premiered on April 3, 2011, on AMC, based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen (‘The Crime’).
Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman).
5. Better Call Saul (6 Seasons)
Better Call Saul is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the Breaking Bad franchise, it is a spin-off, prequel and sequel to Gilligan’s previous series, Breaking Bad.
Set primarily in the early-mid 2000s in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series develops Jimmy McGill, an earnest lawyer and former con artist, into an egocentric criminal defense attorney known as Saul Goodman.
Also shown is the moral decline of former police officer Mike Ehrmantraut, who becomes a violent fixer for drug traffickers to support his granddaughter and her widowed mother.
BBC America
BBC America is an American pay television network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. Unlike the BBC’s domestic channels in the United Kingdom, BBC America does not receive funding from the British license fee, as the BBC cannot fund any of its channels that are available outside the United Kingdom. Here are the best shows on BBC America.
1. Doctor Who (26 Seasons)
Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television program broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The program depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human.
The Doctor explores the universe in a time-traveling spaceship called the TARDIS. The TARDIS exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. With various companions, the Doctor combats foes works to save civilizations, and helps people in need.
2. Top Gear (32 Seasons)
Top Gear is a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, designed as a relaunched version of the original 1977 show of the same name by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman for the BBC, and premiered on 20 October 2002.
The programme focuses on the examination and reviewing of motor vehicles, primarily cars, though this was expanded upon after the broadcast of its earlier series to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the relaunched programme.
3. Orphan Black (5 Seasons)
Orphan Black is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany.
The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical human clones, and later on some of the other clones. The series raises issues about the moral and ethical implications of human cloning and its effect on identity.
FX
FX is an American pay television channel based in Los Angeles, California, owned by 21st Century Fox through FX Networks, LLC. Here are the best shows on FX.
1. Sons of Anarchy (7 Seasons)
Sons of Anarchy is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter that aired from 2008 to 2014. It follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California’s Central Valley.
The show stars Charlie Hunnam as Jackson “Jax” Teller, who is initially the vice president and subsequently the president of the club. After discovering a manifesto written by his late father, John, who previously led the club, he begins to question himself, his relationships, and the club. Love, brotherhood, loyalty, betrayal, and redemption are consistent themes throughout the show.
2. Archer (13 Seasons)
Archer is an American adult animated sitcom created by Adam Reed for FX which premiered on September 17, 2009. The show follows the exploits of a dysfunctional intelligence agency, centered on Sterling Archer and seven of his colleagues.
The show is set in an anachronistic, Cold War-esque universe and parodies espionage, culture and society, and the human condition. Archer is distinguished by artistic reinvention in contemporary episodes, foregoing the standard setup of a workplace sitcom for self-contained anthologies. It returned to its spy parody roots post-tenth season.
3. Justified (6 Seasons)
Justified is an American Western crime drama television series that premiered on March 16, 2010, on the FX network. Developed by Graham Yost, it is based on Elmore Leonard’s stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly “Fire in the Hole”.
Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up.
4. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (15 Seasons)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. It moved to FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. The show was created by Rob McElhenney, who developed it with Glenn Howerton.
The series follows the exploits of “The Gang”, a group of narcissistic, sociopathic friends who run the Irish bar Paddy’s Pub in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spend most of their free time drinking, scheming, arguing amongst themselves, and plotting elaborate cons against others, often for petty reasons such as personal benefit, financial gain, revenge, or simply out of boredom, while belittling, berating, and manipulating each other in the process at seemingly any opportunity.
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ABC
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of Disney–ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. Here are the best shows on ABC.
1. Grey’s Anatomy (19 Seasons)
Grey’s Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into seasoned doctors while balancing personal and professional relationships.
The title is an allusion to Gray’s Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook first published in 1858 in London and written by Henry Gray. Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and continued to write for the series until 2015. Krista Vernoff, who previously worked with Rhimes, is now the showrunner.
2. Scandal (7 Seasons)
Scandal is an American political thriller television series starring Kerry Washington. Created by Shonda Rhimes, it aired on ABC from April 5, 2012, until April 19, 2018, for 124 episodes over seven seasons.
The show takes place in Washington, D.C. and focuses on Olivia Pope’s crisis management firm, Olivia Pope & Associates (OPA), and its staff, as well as staff at the White House and surrounding political scene.
3. Modern Family (11 Seasons)
Modern Family is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of three diverse family set-ups in suburban Los Angeles, linked by patriarch Jay Pritchett.
4. Castle (8 Seasons)
Castle is an American crime mystery/comedy-drama television series, that aired on ABC for a total of eight seasons from March 9, 2009, to May 16, 2016. The series was produced jointly by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios.
Created by Andrew W. Marlowe, it primarily traces the lives of Richard Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist, and Kate Beckett, a homicide detective, as they solve various unusual crimes in New York City.
Detective Beckett is initially infuriated at the thought of working with a writer and goes to great lengths to keep him out of her way. However, the two soon start developing feelings for each other. The overarching plot of the series focused on the romance between the two lead characters and their ongoing investigation of the murder of Beckett’s mother.
Showtime
Showtime is an American premium cable and satellite television network that serves as the flagship service of the Showtime Networks subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which also owns sister services The Movie Channel and Flix. Here are the best shows on Showtime.
1. Homeland (8 Seasons)
Homeland is an American espionage thriller television series developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War which was created by Gideon Raff, who serves as an executive producer on Homeland.
The series stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA officer with bipolar disorder, and Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody, a Marine Corps Scout Sniper. Brody was held captive by al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, and Mathison becomes convinced that he was “turned” by the enemy and poses a threat to the United States. The series storyline grows from this premise, together with Mathison’s ongoing covert work.
2. Dexter (8 Seasons)
Dexter is an American crime drama television series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system due to corruption or legal technicalities.
3. Weeds (8 Seasons)
Weeds is an American dark comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan, which aired on Showtime from August 8, 2005, to September 16, 2012.
The series tells of Nancy Botwin, a widowed mother of two boys (Hunter Parrish) and (Alexander Gould) who begins selling marijuana to support her family. Over the course of the series, the Botwin family becomes increasingly entangled in illegal activity.
4. Californication (7 Seasons)
Californication is an American comedy-drama television series, created by Tom Kapinos, which aired for seven seasons on Showtime from August 13, 2007, to June 29, 2014.
The show follows New Yorker Hank Moody, a troubled novelist who moves to California and suffers from writer’s block. His drinking, womanizing, and drug abuse complicate his relationships with his longtime lover, Karen, and their daughter, Becca. Recurring themes are sex, drugs, and rock and roll, all of which are featured regularly, as well as the seedier side of Los Angeles.
History
History is a history-based digital cable and satellite television network that is owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Hearst Communications and the Disney–ABC Television Group division of the Walt Disney Company. Here are the best shows on History.
1. Vikings (6 Seasons)
Vikings is a historical drama television series created and written by Michael Hirst for the History channel, a Canadian network. Filmed in Ireland, it premiered on March 3, 2013, in Canada.
The show portrays Ragnar as a farmer who rises to fame by raiding England and eventually becomes a Scandinavian king, with the support of his family and fellow warriors. In the later seasons, the series follows the fortunes of his sons and their adventures in England, Scandinavia, Kievan Rus’, the Mediterranean and North America.
2. Pawn Stars (21 Seasons)
Pawn Stars is an American reality television series, shown on History, and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series depicts the staff’s interactions with customers, who bring in a variety of artifacts to sell or pawn, and who are shown haggling over the price and discussing its historical background, with narration provided by either the Harrisons or Chumlee.
3. Alone (9 Seasons)
Alone is an American survival competition series on History. It follows the self-documented daily struggles of 10 individuals as they survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment.
With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may “tap out” at any time, or be removed due to failing a medical check-in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000 (increasing to $1 million in season 7).
4. Ancient Aliens (13 Seasons)
Ancient Aliens is an American television series that explores the ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human-extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies, and related pseudoscientific topics, such as remote viewing and psychic phenomena, in a non-critical, documentary format.
