Criteria:
No TV movies or miniseries
I can have two series tied together in one slot
Can be an ongoing series (has not concluded yet)
All networks are fair game
No web series or specials (Netflix is the exception)
40. Portlandia: Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's surreal and unique comedy series functions as both a parody and homage to Portland culture: hipsters, coffee shops, feminist bookstores, and obnoxious bike enthusiasts are just a few of the subjects tackled. It even pokes fun at other "hipster cities" like Seattle and San Francisco. With a plethora of guest stars such as Steve Buscemi, Jason Sudeikis, Kyle MacLachlan, Bobby Moynihan, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Kirsten Dunst, Olivia Wilde, Jim Gaffigan, Jack White, Jeff Goldblum, Edward James Olmos, and Heather Graham, and some exceptionally weird comedy, it's hard not to find something to like about this IFC series.
39. In Living Color: The Wayans' funny and oh-so-early 90's sketch series was smart in the sense that it kept things simple (in particular, not stretching things out to a full hour and instead opting for a half-hour time slot to avoid filler sketches). Despite not being as influential as something like Saturday Night Live, it still had some great sketches and introduced the world to the Wayans Brothers and future superstar Jim Carrey. It's sad to think this series is relatively unrecognized today, similar to the equally entertaining sketch series such as The Kids in the Hall and Whitest Kids U'Know. I've enjoyed it and I say definitely give it a look, even if just to get your dose of 90's nostalgia.
38. BoJack Horseman: This Netflix series is still pretty new, with only one season under its' belt, but it is definitely one of the more unique and emotionally investing animated comedies out there. Following a washed-up and drunk sitcom actor named BoJack Horseman (who is an anthropomorphic horse), who is trying to write an autobiography to stay relevant. With a great cast featuring Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins, and Alison Brie, and featuring guest stars like Olivia Wilde, Patton Oswalt, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Schaal, Ryan Seacrest, J.K. Simmons, Keith Olbermann, Stephen Colbert, and John Krasinski, the show has no shortage of star power, and all of the cast bring energy to their roles. The animation style is unlike any other and the tone of the show is surprisingly dark and dramatic, and the series is heavily continuity-based, which is pretty unique from more traditional sitcom formats. I would say give this series a chance, as a few episodes in, it may surprise you with how funny and even depressing it can be.
37. Silicon Valley: In Mike Judge's latest satirical series, a group of young coders working found a start-up company called Pied Piper to compete with a major corporation in the titular Silicon Valley. With a great cast featuring T.J. Miller, Martin Starr, Thomas Middleditch, Zach Woods, Josh Brener, and the late Christopher Evan Welch, and some brilliant and subtle writing, Judge once again proves he is one of the kings of modern social satire, up there with the likes of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The standouts are definitely Miller and Welch, who are both completely different types of funny, and are very strange and seemingly unlikable characters at first, but are ultimately a lot more relatable than one might assume. The series has a cool opening title card and, like Bojack Horseman, It's Always Sunny, and the latest season of South Park, it's a comedy that relies on a lot of continuity-based jokes, which makes following it episode-to-episode very rewarding.
36. Superjail!:This Adult Swim series is one of the better series to come out of the channel in more recent years, along with Tim and Eric and Rick & Morty. Superjail! is a splatter/slapstick series which is known for its' psychedelic animation style, unique and strangely lovable characters, and gruesome content. The first seasons was more of an anthology, revolving around the Warden of Superjail (a mega-prison inside a massive volcano), and his demented schemes to "improve" the facility. In the next three seasons, it's become more of a continuity-based dark comedy, but still maintains the overall feel of the first season. The scenes are bookended by strange and stylized transitions, rather than just cutting to the next scene, and the opening title sequence is different in each episode and has pretty cool theme song (save for season 4, where they cut out the theme altogether). The biggest draw of the series are the over-the-top, brutal bloodbaths that occur as the climax of each 12-15 minute episode. They are complex and intricately animated and fast-paced, so much so it requires several viewings to pick up on all the little jokes and references to other media. Speaking of which, check out the Wikipedia page to see the long and diverse list of influences on this crazy little cult show. It's definitely not for everyone, but I still recommend people check it out, especially if you love twisted and weird shows and striking animation.
35. Batman (1966): This show is a major nostalgia trigger of mine, and it is considered one of the most iconic representations of Batman in other media, despite it being a complete misrepresentation of the character. Adam West and Burt Ward make a fair Batman and Robin (and West has one of the most recognizable voices in TV), and the supporting cast of villains- including Caesar Romero as The Joker, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt (and Lee Meriwether) as Catwoman, Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, and Vincent Price as original character Egghead- are so tongue-in-cheek and colorful you can't help but appreciate them. Seriously, all the actors in this series chew the max amount of scenery and all the sets and costumes are vibrant. Even though I hate this word, I guess the best way to describe it is wacky. It's like a sugar-high eight-year-old tripped on LSD and was told to make a semi-parody of Batman/live-action cartoon. If that's the case, then this series definitely succeeded.
34. Samurai Jack: This Genndy Tartokovsky creation was one of the better projects he was involved in the late 90's/early 2000's. Telling the story of a stoic samurai (voiced by Pulp Fiction cast member Phil LaMarr) sent to an dystopian future by the demonic entity Aku (voiced by legendary actor Mako Iwamatsu), the series had a variety of influences, from science fiction, to older cartoons, to traditional Japanese art style, to classic world cinema. The animation is unique and the action scenes fast-paced, and the stories are told almost entirely through visuals, with little dialogue. Jack himself only speaks through grunts and battle cries most of the time. It's also another show that's extremely nostalgic for me, as I used to tune in to Cartoon Network to watch this all the time when I was young. It's an animated series unlike any other, and it's criminally underrated and, depressingly, pretty much forgotten.
33. Firefly: This Joss Whedon project is a masterful blend of Westerns and sci-fi. Following the crew of the ship Serenity, led by Captain Mal, the show only ran one, 14-episode season, when Fox cancelled it due to low ratings. But since it's gained a strong cult following (like most of Whedon's work), and it was eventually followed by a feature film in 2005 that tied up the loose ends, despite the series never getting to really explore all the plotlines it set up. This one season of content, however, is golden, mostly due to the charm of its' main cast, featuring Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, and Adam Baldwin, and Whedon's clever writing. The villains in the show range from standard fare to very original and utterly terrifying (and mostly talking about the Reavers, here). Not to mention the show has a cool opening theme. It's definitely a showcase of the best that Whedon has to offer, and it's one of those great shows that was tragically taken away too soon.
32. Doctor Who: Following the adventures of the charismatic time travelling alien The Doctor and his many companions, this BBC science fiction show has a well-deserved cult following. Despite some bad episodes here and there, and some cheap CGI, it's the writing and strength of the cast that holds this show up, as well as it's kind of offbeat premise. The show's tone ranges from funny to frightening to thrilling, and sometimes all of those things are packed into one episode. So far, David Tennant has been my favorite incarnation of the Doctor, with Matt Smith and Christopher Eccleston tied for second place. My favorite companion has been Amy Pond, played by Karen Gillan. The villains in this series are some of the best in sci-fi, and in television in general, including the iconic Daleks and Cyber-Men, the eerie Silence, the Doctor's nemesis The Master, and the horrifying Weeping Angels (whose debut episode "Blink", who has the Doctor taking a backseat to some new characters, is one of the scariest TV episodes in recent memory). The theme music is unforgettable and iconic, and the series has a certain British charm to it I think can't really be replicated by a US remake (as many shows have attempted to do).
31. Batman-The Animated Series and Todd McFarlane's Spawn (tie): Both these series have several things in common- both are dark and have unique animation style, both are considered some of the best comic book animation out there, and both have been nominated for and won Emmys. The sad thing is that the former is still praised consistently, where the latter seems to have been mostly forgotten.
The former is the brainchild of Jean McCurdy, Tom Reugger, animator Bruce Timm, and Eric Radomski, and writers like Paul Dini. Taking its' cues from the various incarnations of Batman, but mostly early comics and the Tim Burton films, this series managed to actually be pretty dark and moving fro a children's cartoon, featuring various depressing and sometimes violent stories about the various shady character that inhabit Gotham City. The voice cast, featuring Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker), and Arleen Sorkin, are phenomenal and are now some of the most respected voice actors in the medium, and have been praised as the definitive voices of Batman, The Joker, and Harley Quinn, respectively. The animation style is inspired by not only comic books and Bruce Timm's sketches but also Art Deco designs and 1930's and 40's Fleischer Studios cartoons. The theme music by Danny Elfman is obviously inspired by Elfman's own score for the 1989 Burton film, but also is different enough to where it feels not like a complete ripoff, and the score stands on its' own as one of the better Batman soundtracks. The series' success spawned many spin-offs, resulting in a DC Animated Universe, with many of the key players from this show branching off into other works inside the Universe. Overall, Batman-TAS is an entertaining and sometimes surprisingly investing show that is definitely one of the best animated series ever made.
The latter is an HBO animated series from the late 90's based on Todd McFarlane's successful and violent Spawn comics. The writing can be a bit on the nose, but the overall story is very intriguing and unique, and the animation style stays true to the look of McFarlane's art. The voice acting, particularly by Keith David by the lead, is excellent, and David manages to be the best version of Spawn in any medium besides the comics. I would also like to say that if you aren't a fan of dark and bloody story lines, then stay away from this series, which has some of the more gruesome and eerie moments in any animated series, but what can you expect from a show about demons from Hell? The music is used minimally, but to great effect, and the creepy opening titles set the mood for a dark and atmospheric show, and the sound design is actually really good for a cartoon, with lots of details that most series leave out included as minimal touches that just make you appreciate the effort put into it. This is a superhero series that is a lot more continuity-based than others, with overarching stories for each six-episode season. Speaking of which, this is another brilliant show that was cancelled too soon, after only three short seasons, despite the fact it had a set ending from the get-go, similar to Samurai Jack. I say that even though there's no real conclusion to the series, just watch it anyway, as it's one of the best animated series I've ever seen, and I'm not even that big a fan of McFarlane's work. If you want a more solid conclusion, then just go pick up the books and read those from where the series leaves off. Also: don't watch the terrible 1997 live-action film, which was so critically panned that I pretty much blame it for the death of Spawn's popularity.
(Images: Wikipedia)Runner-ups: Freaks and Geeks, Arrow, Legit, Nurse Jackie, Girls, Scandal, Strike Back, The Chris Rock Show, Hunted, Banshee, Turn, The Borgias, Spartacus, The Kids in the Hall, Whitest Kids U'Know, Maron, X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1980's), The Transformers: G1.
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