Sophia Michaels
As the Rolling Stone staff stared down the task of culling decades worth of television to a list of the 100 best shows of all time, we knew we needed help — lots of it. So, we hit up Hollywood. In addition to polling our most pop culture-obsessed staffers, we reached out to a wide swath of television actors, creators, showrunners, writers, directors, producers, and critics. The instructions: Give us your top 50 shows of any genre — no restrictions — defining “best” as whatever it means to you.
The 46 ballots we got back were often surprising, occasionally head-scratching, and, in the case of a special few, idiosyncratic and hilarious. David Cross, who mastered dark goofiness as Arrested Development’s Tobias Funke — and co-created Mr. Show With Bob and David, the number 79 show on our list — joined many voters in naming The Wire TV’s best series. Actor Lizzy Caplan of Party Down and Masters of Sex fame topped her list with The Larry Sanders Show — as did Damon Lindelof, who co-created Lost and The Leftovers (and who refused to vote for any of his own shows). Meanwhile, BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s rankings included “SNL when you were in high school” (12) and “Frasier minus fat jokes” (42). The common denominator: strong opinions and an undying love of the art form.
Here, in alphabetical order, is the full roster of voters who lent their expert opinions to create a debate-worthy, all-time-great list.
Pamela Adlon, co-creator and actor, Better Things
Judd Apatow, showrunner, Freaks and Geeks
Tara Ariano, co-host, Extra Hot Great podcast
Betsy Beers, producer, Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton
Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator, BoJack Horseman
Sarah D. Bunting, co-host, Extra Hot Great podcast
Lizzy Caplan, actor, Masters of Sex, Party Down
Chris Carter, creator, The X-Files
Jen Chaney, TV critic, Vulture
Sean T. Collins, TV journalist, The New York Times, Observer, Vulture
Carrie Coon, actor, The Gilded Age, The Leftovers, Fargo
David Cross, co-creator and actor, Mr. Show With Bob and David
Eric Deggans, TV critic, NPR
Paul Feig, creator, Freaks and Geeks
Daniel Fienberg, chief TV critic, The Hollywood Reporter
Maria Fontoura, deputy editor, Rolling Stone
Elisabeth Garber-Paul, culture editor, Rolling Stone
Roxana Hadadi, TV critic, Vulture
Tony Hale, actor, Veep, Arrested Development
Jon Hamm, actor, Mad Men
Aisha Harris, co-host, NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour
Brian Hiatt, senior writer, Rolling Stone
Linda Holmes, co-host, NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour
Michelle King, co-creator, The Good Wife, the Good Fight
Robert King, co creator, The Good Wife, the Good Fight
Kelly Lawlor, TV critic, USA Today
Bill Lawrence, creator, Scrubs, co-creator, Ted Lasso
Tracy Letts, actor, Homeland, Winning Time; playwright, August Osage County
Damon Lindelof, co-creator, Lost, The Leftovers
Natasha Lyonne, co-creator and actor, Russian Doll
Glenn Mazzara, former showrunner, The Walking Dead
Soraya Nadia McDonald, senior critic, Landscape
Joel McHale, actor, Community, The Soup
Marti Noxon, producer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey’s Anatomy
Richard Rushfield, columnist, The Ankler
Maureen Ryan, contributing editor, Vanity Fair
Shawn Ryan, co-creator, The Shield
Ray Romano, actor, Everybody Loves Raymond
Stephanie Savage, executive producer, Gossip Girl, The O.C.
Mike Schur, co-creator, Parks and Recreation; creator, The Good Place
Alan Sepinwall, chief TV critic, Rolling Stone
Rob Sheffield, contributing editor, Rolling Stone
Janine Sherman Barrois, executive producer, Claws
Doreen St. Felix, staff writer, The New Yorker
Ben Stiller, executive producer, Severance, The Ben Stiller Show
Rob Thomas, creator, Veronica Mars, co-creator, Party Down
Ben Travers, critic and deputy editor, IndieWire
Kathryn VanArendonk, critic, Vulture
Glen Weldon, co-host, NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour
Alison Weinflash, managing editor, Rolling Stone
Joe Weisberg, executive producer, The Americans, The Patient
Terrence Winter, creator, Boardwalk Empire, writer, The Sopranos
Sean Woods, executive editor, Rolling Stone
