TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time (2013)
So many golden ages, so much brilliance from which to choose. In culling from the "60 Greatest" lists we've compiled during our 60th-anniversary year, we shook things up, blending drama, comedy and other genres to salute the shows with the biggest cultural impact and most enduring influence. What will the next 60 years bring? We can't wait to find out.
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- CreatorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoNew Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
- CreatorLarry DavidJerry SeinfeldStarsJerry SeinfeldJulia Louis-DreyfusMichael RichardsThe continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.
- StarsLucille BallDesi ArnazVivian VanceThe wife of a band leader constantly tries to become a star - in spite of her having no talent, and gets herself (along with her best friend) into the funniest predicaments.
- CreatorNorman LearStarsCarroll O'ConnorJean StapletonRob ReinerA working class man constantly squabbles with his family over the important issues of the day.
- CreatorRod SerlingStarsRod SerlingRobert McCordJay OverholtsOrdinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.
- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorJames L. BrooksAllan BurnsStarsMary Tyler MooreEdward AsnerGavin MacLeodThe lives and trials of a young single woman and her friends, both at work and at home.
- CreatorLarry GelbartStarsAlan AldaWayne RogersLoretta SwitThe staff of an Army hospital in the Korean War find that laughter is the best way to deal with their situation.
- CreatorVince GilliganStarsBryan CranstonAaron PaulAnna GunnA chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
- CreatorJames L. BrooksMatt GroeningSam SimonStarsDan CastellanetaNancy CartwrightHarry ShearerThe satiric half-hour adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
- CreatorJames BurrowsGlen CharlesLes CharlesStarsTed DansonRhea PerlmanJohn RatzenbergerThe regulars of the Boston bar "Cheers" share their experiences and lives with each other while drinking or working at the bar where everybody knows your name.
- CreatorGene RoddenberryStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyIn the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
- CreatorJackie GleasonStarsJackie GleasonArt CarneyAudrey MeadowsA bus driver and his sewer worker friend struggle to strike it rich while their wives look on with weary patience.
- CreatorDick WolfRick EidStarsJerry OrbachJesse L. MartinDennis FarinaNew York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.
- CreatorSheldon LeonardAaron RubenDanny ThomasStarsAndy GriffithRon HowardDon KnottsWidower Sheriff Andy Taylor, and his son Opie, live with Andy's Aunt Bee in Mayberry, North Carolina. With virtually no crimes to solve, most of Andy's time is spent philosophizing and calming down his cousin Deputy Barney Fife.
- StarsAlistair CookeLaura LinneyDavid BamberAn anthology drama series featuring primarily British productions.
- StarsCarol BurnettVicki LawrenceThe Ernie Flatt DancersTelevision show featuring skits by Carol Burnett and her comedy troupe.
- CreatorLorne MichaelsStarsThe Saturday Night Live BandDon PardoDarrell HammondA famous guest host stars in parodies and sketches created by the cast of this witty show.
- StarsOprah WinfreyNate BerkusGayle KingOprah Winfrey hosts a live audience talk-show with celebrity guests and discusses daily stories.
- CreatorCarl ReinerStarsDick Van DykeMary Tyler MooreRose MarieThe misadventures of a TV writer both at work and at home.
- CreatorMatthew WeinerStarsJon HammElisabeth MossVincent KartheiserA drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.
- StarsJohnny CarsonEd McMahonDoc SeverinsenHost Johnny Carson performs comedy routines and chats with various celebrities.
- CreatorSteven BochcoMichael KozollStarsDaniel J. TravantiMichael WarrenBruce WeitzThe lives and work of the staff of an inner city police precinct.
- CreatorDon HewittStarsAndrew RooneyLesley StahlSteve KroftThe classic long-running prime time TV investigative news magazine.
- CreatorChris CarterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonMitch PileggiTwo F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
- CreatorMichael LeesonStarsBill CosbyPhylicia RashadMalcolm-Jamal WarnerThe goings-on in the life of a successful African-American family.
- CreatorCharles Marquis WarrenClyde WareStarsJames ArnessMilburn StoneAmanda BlakeMarshal Matt Dillon keeps the peace in rough-and-tumble Dodge City.
- CreatorDavid CraneMarta KauffmanStarsJennifer AnistonCourteney CoxLisa KudrowFollows the personal and professional lives of six twenty to thirty year-old friends living in the Manhattan borough of New York City.
- CreatorMichael CrichtonStarsAnthony EdwardsGeorge ClooneyJulianna MarguliesThe doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their patients.
- CreatorJoan Ganz CooneyLloyd Morrisett Jr.StarsJim HensonFrank OzCaroll SpinneyOn a special inner city street, the inhabitants, human and muppet, teach preschool subjects with comedy, cartoons, games, and songs.
- StarsEd SullivanThe Ray Bloch OrchestraRay BlochThe classic prime time variety show most famous for its vaudeville acts and rock music performances.
- CreatorRoseanne BarrMatt WilliamsStarsRoseanne BarrJohn GoodmanLaurie MetcalfA revival of the popular 1990s sitcom "Roseanne," which centered on the everyday life of an American working-class family.
- CreatorRichard LevinsonWilliam LinkStarsPeter FalkMike LallyJohn FinneganLos Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo uses his humble ways and ingenuous demeanor to winkle out even the most well-concealed of crimes.
- CreatorEarl Hamner Jr.StarsJon WalmsleyMary Beth McDonoughEric ScottThe life and trials of a 1930s and 1940s Virginia mountain family through financial depression and World War II.
- CreatorJames L. BrooksStan DanielsDavid DavisStarsJudd HirschJeff ConawayDanny DeVitoThe staff of a New York City taxicab company go about their job while they dream of greater things.
- CreatorJ.J. AbramsJeffrey LieberDamon LindelofStarsJorge GarciaJosh HollowayYunjin KimThe survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.
- CreatorSylvester L. Weaver Jr.StarsSid CaesarImogene CocaFelisa VanoffBest remembered by its posterior title, Your Show of Shows, this live variety show included comedy sketches with TV pioneers Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca.
- CreatorJoss WhedonStarsSarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonAlyson HanniganA young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
- CreatorCharlie ParsonsStarsJeff ProbstLillian MorrisJon DaltonA reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
- CreatorDarren StarStarsSarah Jessica ParkerKim CattrallKristin DavisFour female New Yorkers gossip about their sex lives (or lack thereof) and find new ways to deal with being a woman in the late 1990s.
- CreatorDavid LettermanStarsDavid LettermanPaul ShafferAlan KalterThe Late Show with David Letterman is an hour-long weeknight comedy and talk-show broadcast by CBS from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City.
- CreatorAaron SorkinStarsMartin SheenRob LoweAllison JanneyInside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
- CreatorSteven LevitanChristopher LloydStarsEd O'NeillSofía VergaraJulie BowenThree different, but related, families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.
- CreatorSteven BochcoDavid MilchStarsDennis FranzJimmy SmitsGordon ClappDetectives from NYPD's 15th Precinct investigate homicides within their precinct.
- CreatorMerv GriffinStarsAlex TrebekJohnny GilbertJimmy McGuireA returning champion and two challengers test their buzzer skills and their knowledge in a wide range of academic and popular categories.
- CreatorDanny ArnoldTheodore J. FlickerStarsHal LindenAbe VigodaMax GailThe Captain of the NYPD 12th Precinct and his staff handle the various local troubles and characters that come into the squad room.
- CreatorDavid JacobsStarsLarry HagmanKen KerchevalPatrick DuffyJ.R. Ewing, a Texas oil baron, uses manipulation and blackmail to achieve his ambitions, both business and personal. He often comes into conflict with his brother Bobby, his arch-enemy Cliff Barnes and his long-suffering wife Sue Ellen.
- CreatorSimon FullerStarsRyan SeacrestMark ThompsonRandy JacksonTwelve American finalists (six men and six women) compete in a singing contest.
- CreatorDavid DavisLorenzo MusicStarsBob NewhartSuzanne PleshetteBill DailyThe professional and personal misadventures of a psychologist and his family, patients, friends and colleagues.
- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsDrama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
- CreatorJoshua BrandJohn FalseyJohn MasiusStarsEd Begley Jr.Howie MandelDavid MorseThe lives and work of the staff of St. Eligius Hospital, an old and disrespected Boston teaching hospital.
- CreatorChuck LorreBill PradyStarsJohnny GaleckiJim ParsonsKaley CuocoA woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.
- CreatorMadeleine SmithbergLizz WinsteadStarsJon StewartTrevor NoahStephen ColbertA comedy news show featuring humorous takes on top stories.
- CreatorSusan HarrisStarsBea ArthurBetty WhiteRue McClanahanFour previously married women live together in Miami, sharing their various experiences together and enjoying themselves despite hard times.
- CreatorPaul AttanasioStarsRichard BelzerClark JohnsonYaphet KottoAn American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
- CreatorDennis KleinGarry ShandlingStarsGarry ShandlingJeffrey TamborWallace LanghamA comedic behind the scenes look at a late night talk show.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonRonald D. MooreStarsEdward James OlmosMary McDonnellJamie BamberWhen an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
- CreatorGraham ChapmanEric IdleTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseTerry GilliamThe original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.
- CreatorMichelle KingRobert KingStarsJulianna MarguliesChris NothJosh CharlesAlicia Florrick has been a good wife to her husband, a former state's attorney. After a very humiliating sex and corruption scandal, he is behind bars. She must now provide for her family and returns to work as a litigator in a law firm.
- CreatorPhil RosenthalStarsRay RomanoPatricia HeatonBrad GarrettThe comical everyday life of sports columnist Ray Barone and his dysfunctional family.