Veep

The Emmy-winning comedy centres on a bright but messy vice president and her chaotic staff. After becoming vice president, Selina Meyer finds herself working a thankless job, trying to juggle personal and political responsibilities, and keep her eye on the ultimate prize: the presidency for herself.

Watch Veep on HBO Now. [4]

The Sopranos

The iconic mafia drama is a real throwback to the early days of prestige cable. Tony Soprano seems like a normal, if stressed-out, dad and husband, but he's definitely not your average suburbanite. He's a mob boss, and his brutal decisions have massive reverberations in his professional life as much as his personal life.

Watch The Sopranos on HBO Now. [5]

Six Feet Under

Death can be darkly funny, as this morbid comedy about a funeral home proves. A family-owned funeral home is the centre of the show, which focuses on the Fisher family who owns it, the reluctant son who becomes a partner in the business after his father's death, and the families who require their services.

Watch Six Feet Under on HBO Now. [6]

Boardwalk Empire

Prohibition-era Atlantic City is a hotbed of glamour and crime, where gangsters and bootleggers rule the city and carry on their illegal dealings. When the boss's former protégé turns tail and betrays them to the feds, it sets in motion an even more dangerous and deadly game.

Watch Boardwalk Empire on HBO Now. [7]

Chuck

When an aimless geek gets an email from his old college buddy-turned-nemesis, he certainly doesn't expect to accidentally download an entire government database of secrets into his brain. But that's just what happens, and now Chuck is an unwilling government asset, protected by a grumpy colonel and a secretive spy as he gets wrapped up in all sorts of hilarious and dangerous missions.

Watch Chuck on Amazon Prime. [8]

The Wire

In this acclaimed series, characters from all walks of life struggle with (and against) the drug trade in Baltimore. Instead of focusing on just one "side" of things, the show famously tackles it from all angles, presenting us with characters who are cops, drug dealers, addicts, politicans, families, and more, all trying to build lives for themselves in whatever ways they know how.

Watch The Wire on HBO Now. [9]

Curb Your Enthusiasm

It's almost a Seinfeld-esque "show about nothing," in which creator Larry David [10] plays a fictionalized version of himself struggling with all the little annoyances and quirks of life.

Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO Now. [11]

Poldark

After being presumed dead in the American Revolution, a soldier returns home to rural England to find that his family land is in shambles and his long-lost love has married his cousin. With the help of a motley crew of tentative allies, he has to rebuild his family's legacy and find a way to heal his heart — but both are easier said than done.

Watch Poldark on Amazon Prime. [12]

The Americans

During the Cold War, a pair of KGB spies are assigned to a long-term, deep cover mission, posing as an ordinary married couple in the American suburbs. Over the years, they build a life and a family in their new home, but as they're called back into action, the lines start to blur between what's real and what's just part of the mission.

Watch The Americans on Amazon Prime. [13]

Downton Abbey

The British period drama breathed fresh life into the historical genre without taking a dark and dreary approach. Focusing on the lives and loves of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, the series spans the restrictive decorum of the Edwardian era through World War I and the fast-arriving changes of the 1920s, forcing everyone to adapt as they fight for their families, loves, and way of life.

Watch Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime. [14]

Arrow

Superhero TV shows are everywhere right now, so it's easy to forget that, when Arrow debuted, it was still a big risk. After spending five years shipwrecked, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen returns to his corrupt city with a secret vigilante identity, determined to right wrongs — and he slowly learns that he doesn't have to go it alone.

Watch Arrow on Netflix. [15]

Breaking Bad

Facing a cancer diagnosis, a mild-mannered chemistry teacher begins cooking meth in hopes of leaving enough money behind to take care of his family. It's only a matter of time before he gets sucked deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld, turning into a full-fledged drug lord.

Watch Breaking Bad on Netflix. [16]

Call the Midwife

In 1950s London, a group of midwives work to help the women of an impoverished district, all while dealing with personal crises of their own from time to time.

Watch Call the Midwife on Netflix. [17]

Community

When a lawyer finds out his degree was revoked, he's stuck going back to school at a community college. He starts a "study group" to impress a pretty girl in one of his classes, but instead ends up launching a real study group full of colourful characters.

Watch Community on Netflix beginning Apr. 1.

The Flash

Geeky forensic scientist Barry Allen becomes a superhero speedster when he's struck by lightning in a lab. From then on, he works to balance his investigations on the police force with his newfound double life as a superhero — plus some scary scientific conspiracies.

Watch The Flash on Netflix. [18]

Gilmore Girls

A mother raises her overachieving teenage daughter in a small New England town filled with quirky characters. When her daughter gets into an elite — and expensive — school, Lorelai is forced to reopen her relationship with her stern, wealthy parents, kicking off several years of drama and humour (and lots of coffee).

Watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix. [19]

Glee

At the beginning, this risky comedy was a scrappy, darkly humourous satire of a high school glee club and the outsize personalities that make up that not-always-merry band of misfits. While later seasons became increasingly off-the-wall, the sweet heart of the show remained steady.

Watch Glee on Netflix. [20]

The Great British Baking Show

Looking for some TV comfort food? Look no further than this cosy, quippy baking competition that challenges a dozen amateur bakers to create delicious and sometimes unusual treats, all in a low-key and fun environment that stays far away from the usual reality show intensity.

Watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. [21]

Grey's Anatomy

Sixteen seasons in and Grey's is still going strong — who'd have thought? Since 2005, we've been eagerly watching the medical careers and personal exploits of a group of (remarkably attractive) doctors in Seattle, all connected to Meredith Grey, the ambitious and messy daughter of a surgical legend.

Watch Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. [22]

Jane the Virgin

A young aspiring writer finds out that she's a pregnant virgin, thanks to a medical mix-up. With the help of her parents, grandmother, and an assortment of loved ones, Jane tackles the challenges of motherhood while finding ways to pursue her own dreams.

Watch Jane the Virgin on Netflix. [23]

Mad Men

The stylish drama is set at an advertising firm in the 1960s, where Don Draper and his colleagues brainstorm ideas, pursue success ruthlessly, and hide an awful lot of secrets.

Watch Mad Men on Netflix. [24]

Merlin

It's a new twist on the legends of Camelot you've heard dozens of times before. In this Camelot, where magic is banned, the young sorcerer Merlin is a servant to arrogant Prince Arthur and must keep his magic a secret. As he learns more about his and Arthur's destinies, Merlin fights to save the future king and the future of Camelot.

Watch Merlin on Netflix. [25]

New Girl

A quirky, just-dumped young woman moves into a loft with three mismatched roommates. What starts out as a goofy fish-out-of-water premise turns into a warm and still goofy comedy about an unlikely group of friends figuring out life, love, and growing up.

Watch New Girl on Netflix. [26]

The Office

It's become an iconic piece of modern TV comedy for good reason. Filmed in the "mockumentary" style before it was cool, The Office follows the hijinks of the quirky workers at a Pennsylvania paper company office that's far from dull.

Watch The Office on Netflix. [27]

Once Upon a Time

Imagine if all the fairy-tale and mythological characters you knew about all lived in a cursed small town in Maine, unaware of their true identities. That's the premise of Once Upon a Time, where fairy tales are interconnected by a web of relationships, and the key to unlocking the curse is a bounty hunter and the young son she gave up years ago.

Watch Once Upon a Time on Netflix. [28]

Parks and Recreation

With an unflappably cheerful low-level politician leading the way, this series starts out riffing on municipal bureaucracy and slowly turns into a rich and deeply goofy comedy for all of us. It's set, as the name might have hinted, in the parks and rec department of a Midwestern city.

Watch Parks and Recreation on Netflix. [29]

Schitt's Creek

When they lose everything to a bad business manager, the uberwealthy Rose family is forced to relocate to the tiny town they bought as a joke. Although it takes them a while to adjust to their new lives, each of them slowly begins to discover the things they never knew their lives were missing.

Watch Schitt's Creek on Netflix. [30]

Shameless

A messy, hard-drinking father of six struggles to raise his family, pawning off much of the responsibility on his eldest daughter. Through ups and downs, the family figures things out, albeit with a lot of mistakes and upheaval along the way.

Watch Shameless on Netflix. [31]

Supergirl

Sent off-world as her planet was destroyed, Kara Danvers grew up pretending to be human, but knowing she was super. When she embraces her powers, she becomes Supergirl, a hero who fights injustices both mundane and supernatural alongside her friends and allies.

Watch Supergirl on Netflix. [32]

The Vampire Diaries

Vampire brothers Stefan and Damon battle each other and eternal forces of darkness in a small Virginia town. Along the way, they both fall in love with a human girl who mysteriously resembles the woman they both loved over a century ago.

Watch The Vampire Diaries on Netflix. [33]

The West Wing

Under the administration of the deeply decent President Bartlet, a group of White House staffers work to keep the country running smoothly. Nothing comes easily, though, especially keeping political agendas in check.

Watch The West Wing on Netflix. [34]

Game of Thrones

If you somehow missed the single biggest show of the 2010s — or just want to watch it again from the start — Hulu has you covered. In a dark medieval world with magic just below the surface, several families vie for power after the death of the king's advisor threatens to reveal devastating secrets and sets in motion a years-long war.

Watch Game of Thrones on Hulu. [35]

Elementary

The Sherlock Holmes mythos gets a new spin in this contemporary mystery procedural. Holmes is a recovering addict obsessed with crimes (especially those that have touched his life personally). Watson is a former surgeon turned sober companion hired by his father to help him stay clean. Together, they slowly form a crime-solving partnership — and a life-changing friendship.

Watch Elementary on Hulu. [36]

Bones

A forensic anthropologist-slash-crime novelist teams up with an FBI agent to solve bizarre crimes in this popular and long-running procedural. Of course, the biggest legacy of the show isn't its mysteries; it's the electric chemistry between Booth and Bones that gave rise to one of TV's most popular 'ships.

Watch Bones on Hulu. [37]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

It's a new spin on the old police show, with a group of quirky, quippy detectives solving crime and getting into shenanigans at their NYC precinct. More of a workplace sitcom than a police show, it's definitely the source of at least one meme you know.

Watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Hulu. [38]

Family Guy

There are a whopping eighteen seasons currently available of this long-running animation staple, which centres on the misadventures of a clueless dad and his oddball family and community.

Watch Family Guy on Hulu. [39]

Friday Night Lights

In small-town Texas, high school football means everything. A tough but fair coach and his compassionate school counselor wife try to guide their students through school, work, family troubles, first love, major tragedy, and so much more.

Watch Friday Night Lights on Hulu. [40]

Homeland

A CIA officer struggling with mental illness raises the alarm about a newly-returned POW who she suspects might have turned traitor. What unfolds from there is a long and twisty tale of spies, politics, paranoia, and the struggle to figure out what's true and what isn't before the whole world pays the price.

Watch Homeland on Hulu. [41]

Justified

A US Marshal takes a very Wild West approach to his job, leaving him with lots of enemies among the criminal underworld and very few allies among his colleagues. When he's assigned to the rural Kentucky region where he grew up, he finds himself pulled into a string of crimes and conspiracies.

Watch Justified on Hulu. [42]

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

The best-known of the Law and Order family follows a specialised squad of New York detectives who focus on solving sexually-based crimes. It's been running for 21 seasons and counting!

Watch Law and Order: Special Victims Unit on Hulu. [43]

Outlander

When a World War II-era nurse gets pulled through a magical circle of stones in Scotland, she has to build a new life for herself in the eighteenth century. Time travel, tense drama, and romance abound in this popular series based on Diana Gabaldon's bestselling books.

Watch Outlander on Hulu. [44]

Queer as Folk

In the early 2000s, a group of gay men (and their lesbian friends) deal with life, sex, and love in the best ways they know how. When a newly-out teenager falls into their group, it shakes everyone up and has them questioning what they're really doing with their lives.

Watch Queer as Folk on Hulu. [45]

South Park

The infamously irreverent animated comedy is available in all its gleefully obscene glory. There are 23 seasons — and an infinite number of memrorable lines — to get through!

Watch South Park on Hulu. [46]

Shameless

The Gallagher family is a bit of a mess, and no one more so than the alcoholic, rough-around-the-edges patriarch. But despite it all, they manage to grow up and figure out how to live their lives, supporting each other along the way.

Watch Shameless on Hulu. [47]

"The Good Wife" Trailer

American Horror Story

Unlike most of the shows on this list, American Horror Story [48] isn't a single story spanning several seasons. Instead, each season of reboots with a (mostly) independent story in settings ranging from a circus to a haunted house to a literal apocalypse, resulting in one of modern TV's best horror anthologies.

Watch American Horror Story on Hulu. [49]

Cheers

It's one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, and for a good reason. At a Boston bar owned by a former baseball star, colourful patrons and workers come and go across eleven seasons, but at the centre of it all is the classic will-they-won't-they tension between bartender Sam and waitress Diane.

Watch Cheers on Hulu. [50]

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Five mismatched misfits who own a bar get into all sorts of professional and personal messes, all while trying their best to actually act like adults. Although their schemes for success fail more often than not, they just keep trying and trying — often with hilariously disastrous results.

Watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Hulu. [51]

Lost

A plane crashes on a mysterious island, forcing the survivors to band together to survive until rescue arrives. As you might have heard, though, this is no ordinary island, and the show's survival-centric drama soon shifts to trippy, philosophical, time-travelling twists that ask the big questions about science, fate, faith, and community.

Watch Lost on Hulu. [52]

The Shield

Politics and crime intersect in this drama about the moral ambiguity of law and law and enforcement. A group of corrupt cops also happens to be the best at what they do, leading to some major conflict with a captain who needs to clean up her district and politicans out to grab power for themselves.

Watch The Shield on Hulu. [53]

The X-Files

The seminal sci-fi drama has sparked movies and a reboot, but you can catch up with the original on Hulu. Two federal agents — one a sceptic, one a believer — investigate weird, inexplicable, and sometimes downright terrifying happenings and try to discover if they're all linked.

Watch The X-Files on Hulu. [54]

Younger

When a newly-divorced 40-year-old mom can't get a foot in the door to restart her career, she impulsively lies about her age to get hired at a publishing company. What ensues is several seasons of relationship drama, parodies of the real literary world, hilariously spiralling lies on top of lies, and a surprisingly sweet heart about female friendship.

Watch Younger on Hulu. [55]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It's the prototype for every supernatural teen drama of the past two decades. Buffy is a Slayer, the once-in-a-generation hero chosen to defend the world against demons, vampire, and other supernatural baddies. With the help of her loyal band of friends — and a couple of supernatural love interests — she saves the world over and over again, all while dealing with high school and college.

Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Hulu. [56]

Seinfeld

The iconic sitcom is, famously, a show "about" nothing. At its core, the show focuses on a quartet of friends in the '90s, struggling to get through all the little indignities and quirks of life and supporting (or laughing at) each other the whole way.

Watch Seinfeld on Hulu. [57]