Top 10 Seasons of Any Show All Time

[Omar 382]

10. Broad City Season 1
9. The 100 Season 1
8. Breaking Bad Season 4
7. The Last Ship Season 2
6. Game of Thrones Season 2
5. Eastbound and Down Season 2
4. Breaking Bad Season 5
3. Vikings Season 2
2. The Walking Dead Season 3
1. Breaking Bad Season 3

Hard to compare comedies to apocalypse shows, but you try. Honorable mention to Curb Your Enthusiasm (every season).

Yeah, Curb Your Enthusiasm can be great, but t's awful when watched in succession. I can't even imagine binge-watching it (watching six or seven in a row). For some reason I can watch one at a time, but if I watch two back-to-back, I become physically ill (ok I exaggerated but seriously, only watch one at a time).

 

[Omar 382]

Yup 7 seasons but the key is that S5 is almost unanimously people's favorite season and S7 is usually a top 3 or 4 season as well with one of the best received finales off all time. Also, it's only like 90ish episodes and most are 42ish minutes(vs 50-60 of HBO shows).

7 seasons is a lot but the key is its not one of those shows that drags on as exhibited by 5 and 7 being so strong. I know based off your shows that you enjoy gritty crime type dramas so this is in the mold. It's not The Wire good but it's got similarities to that show.

Probably a top 5 show all time for me or right in that area(I've seen majority of all the popular shows).

To your point, Metacritic hasn't rated Season 5 from the critics, but it has a 9.2 from audiences on 51 ratings, and critics gave Season 7 an 85 while the users gave it a 9.5 on 133 ratings.
The Shield

To compare, here are some user scores from other seasons of other shows:

Breaking Bad Season 4: 9.5 on 1,958 ratings
The Sopranos Season 1: 9.5 on 322 ratings
Dexter Season 4: 8.9 on 638 reviews
Game of Thrones Season 5: 8.3 on 1,205 ratings

So yeah, it's in the heavyweight class

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Yeah, I do. I'll get around to it eventually, because the first episode was one of the best pilots I've ever seen with Mackey shooting the guy in the face. I just can't get enough of good anti-heroes (not Tony Soprano) and the emergence of the golden TV age has boomed their popularity. Have you seen Deadwood (not that I think Al is anti-hero, at least from what I've seen)?

Yeah the key with the shield is the characters on the strike team. Shane Vendrell(Walton Goggins) is also in that same mold as Mackey. Goggins is a fantastic actor if you haven't see the Shield or Justified you won't appreciate him as much til you do but many people saw his talent in Hateful 8.

Deadwood I actually have not seen even with so many familiar actors. I heard since it kinda got unfairly cancelled that it don't end the best. I probably will watch at some point.

And like you pointed out the Shields top seasons definitely stack up with other shows. And it's one of those shows(which is very rare) that NAILS it's ending.

 

[beardown07]

South Park Season 19

 

[johnson]

Yeah, Curb Your Enthusiasm can be great, but t's awful when watched in succession. I can't even imagine binge-watching it (watching six or seven in a row). For some reason I can watch one at a time, but if I watch two back-to-back, I become physically ill (ok I exaggerated but seriously, only watch one at a time).

Yeah, I agree they are better taken in doses. I have done 3 in a row plenty of times though. Fingers crossed for one more season. HBO has said the door is open whenever he wants to do it.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

no mention of any seasons of these shows?

M.A.S.H
Simpsons
Johnny Carson
Saturday Night Live

Simpsons, SNL, and Johnny carson are tough because their episodes stand alone... when i think of seasons of a show i am thinking of ONE story that was just well done...

 

[theboardref]

Ah man, seasons 1-3 were all brilliant in my book. 4 was pretty average, but that was due to them firing Dan Harmon. When he got back on for 5 and 6 the show became good again, just not as good as seasons 1-3.

I envy you, I felt 3 was alright (parallel universe episode maybe one of the best episodes of any show) but to me everything beyond 3 was tough to watch. There were flashes of brilliance (Law and Order, History Doc on Pillow Fight) but so many of them were just meh. I wish I had your view on it though.

 

[theboardref]

South Park Season 19

I don't think 19 is up there with some of the earlier seasons. It is still a great product, but when comparing it to season 7 I think it is, not even close. I'm going look up what season I'm thinking of, on a damn cell.

 

[Edonidd]

10. Broad City Season 1
9. The 100 Season 1
8. Breaking Bad Season 4
7. The Last Ship Season 2
6. Game of Thrones Season 2
5. Eastbound and Down Season 2
4. Breaking Bad Season 5
3. Vikings Season 2
2. The Walking Dead Season 3
1. Breaking Bad Season 3

Hard to compare comedies to apocalypse shows, but you try. Honorable mention to Curb Your Enthusiasm (every season).

I love Curb your Enthusiasm, and I'm a Uuge Larry David fan. But you can't honorable mention CyE and not include Seinfeld.

I don't think I can even do a list, but everything besides the first and last season of Seinfeld is on there, Luck season 1, Boardwalk Empire season 1 and maybe 3? Vikings probably season 2. GoT season 1, 3, and 4. I'm thinking it was season 2 or maybe 3 that Entourage really kicked it up a notch. Every season of Silicon Valley for sure. Mad Men probably season 2, 3, and 4 I think. I don't really know, off the top of my head this is pretty hard.

 

[johnson]

I love Curb your Enthusiasm, and I'm a Uuge Larry David fan. But you can't honorable mention CyE and not include Seinfeld.

I don't think I can even do a list, but everything besides the first and last season of Seinfeld is on there, Luck season 1, Boardwalk Empire season 1 and maybe 3? Vikings probably season 2. GoT season 1, 3, and 4. I'm thinking it was season 2 or maybe 3 that Entourage really kicked it up a notch. Every season of Silicon Valley for sure. Mad Men probably season 2, 3, and 4 I think. I don't really know, off the top of my head this is pretty hard.

I spaced on Mad Men. No doubt have to add a season or two of that to the list.

I used to love Entourage but it got so terrible toward the end and the movie was one of the biggest pieces of garbage I've ever seen. Tainted the first few seasons that were really good for me in my memory.

 

[beardown07]

I don't think 19 is up there with some of the earlier seasons. It is still a great product, but when comparing it to season 7 I think it is, not even close. I'm going look up what season I'm thinking of, on a damn cell.

I respectfully disagree. I think it is arguably their best season ever, and the simple fact that it's their latest and 19 in, makes it even more impressive.

It's the only SEASON I would recommend watching as a whole, as it's the only one that's serial in nature, meaning every other season, you could miss an episode and it didn't matter.

 

[Wazmankg]

Do you guys actually remember one season from another for these or did you look them up ? Some shows of recent times that would all have a couple of seasons on my list would be Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Shield, Boardwalk Empire & Veep ... I couldn't tell you which seasons without researching it though.

 

[beardown07]

Do you guys actually remember one season from another for these or did you look them up ? Some shows of recent times that would all have a couple of seasons on my list would be Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Shield, Boardwalk Empire & Veep ... I couldn't tell you which seasons without researching it though.

This



In fact, this recent season of South Park is the ONLY specific season of ANY show I could even think of?

 

[BigFin]

Seems like every Mad Men season, except for maybe the last one deserve serious consideration. They were all that good.

 

[DragonfromTO]

I respectfully disagree. I think it is arguably their best season ever, and the simple fact that it's their latest and 19 in, makes it even more impressive.

It's the only SEASON I would recommend watching as a whole, as it's the only one that's serial in nature, meaning every other season, you could miss an episode and it didn't matter.

Season 18 was serial as well, yah yah yah?

 

[beardown07]

Season 18 was serial as well, yah yah yah?

My mistake. You are right, 18 is where they first started to have a serial aspect, but 19 they really went with it and IMO knocked it out of the park.


18 was pretty great too. The Redskins episode and Cock Magic were funny af

 

[Clayton]

I think American Dad Season 6 is probably the best season of that show. Probably 3 of the best episodes are in that season and most American Dad seasons are pretty consistent.

 

[jjc2009]

Simpsons Season 5 is hands down the best complete season. Virtually every episode is a classic.

For my money, the best Sopranos season was season 2. It had the most complete arc, which is something Chase rarely did throughout the series, purposefully. Plus my two favorite episodes, From Where to Eternity and Funhouse are in that season.

I'm more into movies than tv shows so I don't think I could come up with a full top 10.

 

[PatsFan2003]

Do you guys actually remember one season from another for these or did you look them up ? Some shows of recent times that would all have a couple of seasons on my list would be Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Shield, Boardwalk Empire & Veep ... I couldn't tell you which seasons without researching it though.

Hell no. I remember them from the story line or a specific big episode. I have to look up the actual season.

For example Game of Thrones..

Don't know the season but won't forget this scene