50 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century and Where to Stream Them

The 21st century started with one of the greatest TV shows ever made The Sopranos, and went from there from strength to strength. In the following years there were groundbreaking shows such as The Wire, Breaking Bad, 30 Rock, Atlanta Deadwood, Black Mirror and much more air that has forever changed the way we watch television.

Just as television has evolved from 2000 to 2021, so has the world of streaming. For the last two decades Netflix has gone from a DVD rental service to a streaming giant and channels that have made some of the best TV ever made HBO NBC and Amazon have followed their example with their own streamers. This streaming evolution means viewers can watch the best TV of the past in more ways than ever before, with almost every show on the list below available to watch online now.

To find the 50 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century, we’ve compiled over a dozen lists from publications such as The Guardian, The AV Club, and IndieWire, as well as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb reviews to find the best shows that have aired new episodes since the turn of the second millennium.

50 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century and Where to Stream Them

50. Grey’s Anatomy (2005 -)

Seasons 1 to 16 on Netflix; Season 17 episodes aired on the ABC website and app and Hulu the day after they will be broadcast on ABC.

49. American crime story (2016 -)

The murder of Gianni Versace (Season 2) streaming on Netflix; Season 1 (The People vs. OJ Simpson) available to purchase at video-on-demand stores.

48. Orange is the new black (2013 – 2019)

Stream all seven seasons on Netflix.

47. Blue Planet II (2017)

Stream on Discovery +.

46. Firefly (2002 – 2003)

All episodes are streamed on Hulu; Spin-off movie Calmness available for free on Peacock

45. 24 (2001 – 2010)

Stream all nine seasons on Hulu; Seasons 1 through 8 are free to watch on IMDbTV.

44. Bob’s Burgers (2011 -)

Seasons 1 through 11 on Hulu; Selected episodes on TBS; Season 10 streaming on FXNow.

43. The thick of it (2005 – 2012)

Season 1 and 4 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, BritBox and the BritBox Amazon Prime Video add-on channel.

42. The crown (2016 -)

Stream all four seasons on Netflix.

41. The living Dead (2010 -)

Seasons 1 to 9 streaming on Netflix; Stream seasons 1 to 5 for free on Pluto TV; Season 10 available on Amazon Prime Video and AMC.com.

40. Weird stuff (2016 -)

All three seasons on Netflix.

39. Kill Eve (2018 -)

Seasons 1 to 3 on Hulu and BBC America.

38. The Vietnam War (2017)

Streaming on Hoopla and Kanopy.

37. The daily show (1996 -)

Episodes from 2015 on Comedy Central; Seasons 25 and 26 CBS All access.

36. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017 -)

All seasons so far on Hulu.

35. It’s always sunny in Philadelphia (2005 -)

Seasons 1 to 14 on Hulu; Selected episodes on FX Now.

34. You better call Saul (2015 -)

Seasons 1 to 4 streaming on Netflix; Season 5 is available for purchase on request.

33. The Great British Baking Show (2010 -)

Stream eight (of eleven) seasons on Netflix; The first five seasons are now streaming on Hoopla and PBS

32. Doctor who (2005 -)

Seasons 1 to 12 streaming on HBO Max.

31. Veep (2012 – 2019)

Seven seasons of streaming on HBO Max.

30. Chernobyl (2019)

All episodes on HBO Max.

29. Rick and Morty (2013 -)

Four seasons on Hulu and HBO Max; Season 1 on Hoopla; Season 4 on Adult Swim.

28. Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

All episodes are available on the Showtime Amazon Prime Video add-on.

27. Battlestar Galactica (2004 – 2009)

Seasons 1 through 4 on Peacock.

26. The Good Place (2016-2020)

Seasons 1 through 4 on Netflix.

25. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003)

Stream all seven seasons on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.

24. Hannibal (2013 – 2015)

Seasons 1 to 3 streaming on Netlfix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.

23. Six feet below (2001 – 2005)

Seasons 1 through 5 on HBO Max.

22. Black mirror (2011 -)

Seasons 1 to 5 and interactive special Bandersnatch on Netflix.

21. Parks and recreation (2009 – 2015)

Stream seasons 1 and 2 for free on Peacock; Seasons 3 through 7 on the paid Peacock tier; Selected episodes are streamed on Comedy Central.

20. Friday night lights (2006 – 2011)

Seasons 1 to 5 streaming on Hulu, Peacock, Starz and NBC.

19. The West Wing (1999 – 2006)

Seven seasons on HBO Max.

18. Curb your enthusiasm (2000 -)

All ten seasons on HBO Max.

17. The Office US (2005 – 2013)

Stream seasons 1 and 2 for free on Peacock; Seasons 3 through 9 on the Peacock-free coat.

16. The Americans (2013 – 2018)

Seasons 1 to 6 streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

15. Sherlock (2010 – 2017)

Seasons 1 through 4 on Netflix.

14. Atlanta (2016 -)

Seasons 1 and 2 on Hulu.

13. BoJack Rider (2014 – 2020)

All episodes are streamed on Netflix.

12. The Office UK (2001 – 2003)

All episodes will be streamed on Hulu, BritBox, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video.

11. Deadwood (2004-2006, 2019)

All three seasons and the 2019 Deadwood movie streaming on HBO Max.

10. Arrested development (2003-2019)

Seasons 1 to 3 on Hulu; Seasons 1 through 5 on Netflix.

9. The leftovers (2014 – 2017)

All three seasons on HBO Max.

8. Flea bag (2016 – 2019)

Seasons 1 and 2 available on Amazon Prime Video.

7. 30 Rock (2006 – 2013)

Stream seasons 1 to 7 for free on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and on Peacock.

6. Lost (2004 – 2010)

Season 1 to 6 streaming on Hulu and free on IMDbTV.

5. The Sopranos (1999 – 2007)

Stream all six seasons on HBO Max; prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark is coming to HBO on Sept. 24.

4. Crazy men (2007 – 2015)

Seasons 1 through 7 available for free on IMDbTV and with a subscription to AMC.

3. The wire (2002 – 2008)

All five seasons on HBO Max.

2. Game of Thrones (2011 – 2019)

Seasons 1 through 8 on HBO Max now.

1. Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013)

Seasons 1 to 5 (and spin-off movie El Camino) on Netflix.