The Greatest TV Dramas, Ranked
All 32 shows here, ranked by 99 players. Breaking Bad leads: it wins 77.7% of its matchups (n = 305) and was champion in 21 of 99 brackets. Disagree? Your first pick is right here. No sign-up.
Size
Mad Men2007-2015
Boardwalk Empire2010-2014
Tap a poster to make your pick. Crowd numbers appear after you choose.
TV Dramas: the community’s best
Win rate across 2,741 head-to-head picks from 99 finished brackets. n is the number of matchups behind each win rate; only entrants with 30 or more are listed.
| # | TV drama | W–L | Win rate | vs .500 | Titles | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breaking Bad2008-2013 | 237–68 | 77.7% | 21 | 305 | |
| 2 | Game of Thrones2011-2019 | 210–69 | 75.3% | 20 | 279 | |
| 3 | Better Call Saul2015-2022 | 170–81 | 67.7% | 7 | 251 | |
| 4 | The Sopranos1999-2007 | 171–83 | 67.3% | 8 | 254 | |
| 5 | The Walking Dead2010-2022 | 151–83 | 64.5% | 7 | 234 | |
| 6 | The Wire2002-2008 | 114–79 | 59.1% | 6 | 193 | |
| 7 | Dexter2006-2013 | 118–83 | 58.7% | 3 | 201 | |
| 8 | Stranger Things2016-2025 | 115–87 | 56.9% | 3 | 202 |
TV Dramas: the community tier list
From 2,741 head-to-head picks in 99 finished brackets. Placed by win rate, steadied toward 50% for entrants with few matchups: S is 75% or more, A 60%, B 50%, C 40%, D 25%.
Stier, win rate 75% or more
- Breaking Bad
Atier, win rate 60% or more
- Game of Thrones
- Better Call Saul
- The Sopranos
- The Walking Dead
Btier, win rate 50% or more
- The Wire
- Dexter
- Stranger Things
- House of the Dragon
- The Boys
- Succession
- Lost
- Mr. Robot
- + 2 more
Ctier, win rate 40% or more
- Mad Men
- The Last of Us
- Grey's Anatomy
Dtier, win rate 25% or more
- Six Feet Under
- The Shield
- Shogun
- The Handmaid's Tale
- The White Lotus
- Boardwalk Empire
- Yellowstone
- The Leftovers
- + 6 more
Ftier, win rate 0% or more
- Nobody yet
How the TV Dramas bracket works
This TV drama ranking is played, not dragged into rows. You get one matchup at a time — Breaking Bad or The Wire? The Sopranos or Game of Thrones? — and after 15 picks the bracket has a champion, with everything else placed by how far it got. Nobody can hold 32 shows in their head at once, but everybody can answer "this one" — so the order you end up with is one you will actually stand behind.
This bracket runs 4 rounds at the default 16-slot size (Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final), drawn from a pool of 32 shows. The draw is seeded: the same for everyone today, different tomorrow, and different again whenever you press New draw. You can also play it at 8 or 32 slots for a shorter or longer run.
15 picks, 4 rounds
- Round of 168 matchups
- Quarterfinals4 matchups
- Semifinals2 matchups
- Final1 matchup
Roughly 1-2 minutes start to finish at the default size.
All 32 entrants
All 32 entrants are listed below, including Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones. Updated
- Breaking Bad2008-2013
- The Wire2002-2008
- The Sopranos1999-2007
- Game of Thrones2011-2019
- Succession2018-2023
- Better Call Saul2015-2022
- The Handmaid's Tale2017-2025
- Mad Men2007-2015
- The West Wing1999-2006
- The Last of Us2023-present
- House of the Dragon2022-present
- The Americans2013-2018
- Downton Abbey2010-2015
- Lost2004-2010
- Dexter2006-2013
- Yellowstone2018-2024
- Peaky Blinders2013-2022
- The Walking Dead2010-2022
- Grey's Anatomy2005-present
- This Is Us2016-2022
- Mr. Robot2015-2019
- The Leftovers2014-2017
- Six Feet Under2001-2005
- Friday Night Lights2006-2011
- The Shield2002-2008
- Boardwalk Empire2010-2014
- The Boys2019-2026
- Stranger Things2016-2025
- Shogun2024-present
- Severance2022-present
- Slow Horses2022-present
- The White Lotus2021-present
Tier list instead?
Load all 32 into the tier list maker and sort them into S through F yourself: same entrants, no matchups.
Open the tier list makerMissing something?
Build your own TV drama bracket with exactly the entrants you want, then share the link.
Open the bracket makerGetting a ranking you actually agree with
- Judge the whole run, not just the best season, or every prestige show wins by default.
- Start at 16 slots. If the result feels too obvious, replay at 32 so more of the 32 shows make the field.
- Use undo the moment you regret a pick. One reflex answer in an early round can knock out a favourite before it gets going.
Questions people ask
What is the best TV drama?
According to 99 BracketRanker players, Breaking Bad (2008-2013). It wins 77.7% of its head-to-head matchups (n = 305) and was champion in 21 of 99 brackets (21.2%).
How many shows are in the TV Dramas bracket?
The pool holds 32 shows. A default run uses 16 of them and takes 15 picks across 4 rounds: Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final. Other field sizes are available too — 8, 16, 32 slots.
Which shows are included?
Breaking Bad, The Wire, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Succession, Better Call Saul, The Handmaid's Tale, Mad Men, The West Wing, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon and The Americans, plus 20 more. Every entrant is listed further down this page with its artwork.
How long does the TV Dramas bracket take?
About 1-2 minutes — 15 choices at the default size, or 7 if you drop to an 8-slot bracket. No account is needed, and a run saves after every pick, so you can stop and jump back in later.
Can I turn the result into S/A/B tiers?
Both are here, and the bracket is closer to a tier list than it looks. It ends with a champion, a runner-up and then every other show grouped by the round it went out in — which is exactly a set of tiers, decided by 15 direct comparisons rather than by your first guess at a layout. What it deliberately does not do is claim a precise gap between two shows that never met. If you would rather place the shows into S through F rows yourself, the tier list maker loads all 32 of them at bracketranker.com/tier-list-maker.
Can I compare my order with other people's?
Every completed bracket feeds the TV Dramas community results page, which aggregates win rates across all plays and tracks how often each of the 32 entrants takes the title. It updates continuously, so it moves as more people play.
What if a show I wanted is missing?
Use the bracket maker: add your own shows, name it, and share the link so other people play the same field. That is the route to take when this pool of 32 is missing something you would have picked, or when you want a version scoped to one era, label or franchise.