Best Television Series Of All Time Has Been Crowned
Votes on a popular television subreddit name Breaking Bad as the best TV series ever.
Breaking Bad has topped a Television Subreddit list of all-time best series. The annual poll determines the results after asking people to vote for their favorite shows. Better Call Saul takes up the number two spot with Game of Thrones in third. Crime drama The Wire, created and primarily written by David Simon, was named the fourth most popular show. The mockumentary sitcom The Office starring Steve rounded off the top five.
The poll was carried out in 2022, with 4,077 respondents choosing 20 of their favorite shows. The result was a total of 61,387 votes. Interestingly, the list does not include any series that premiered in 2022 which may explain why popular offerings like Wednesday, House of the Dragon, and Severance don’t appear alongside Breaking Bad. These shows were ranked separately.
Breaking Bad topped the list with 1,222 votes, while its spinoff Better Call Saul earned 941. Created by Vince Gilligan, the flagship series follows an underpaid, downtrodden high school chemistry teacher named Walter White (Bryan Cranston). After being diagnosed with lung cancer, he turns to a life of crime by producing and selling methamphetamine to secure his family’s financial future before his death.
The show ran for five seasons on AMC from 2008 to 2013. Following its debut, Breaking Bad received critical acclaim for its writing and performances. The series was also listed as one of the top 10 television series of 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 by The American Film Institute. Its resounding success spawned the spinoff, Better Call Saul which premiered in 2015 and concluded in 2022, after six seasons.
Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, the Breaking Bad prequel series is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico during the early 2000s. The series chronicles the transformation of former con artist and earnest lawyer Jimmy McGill into the egocentric criminal defense attorney known as Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Better Call Saul also examines the moral decline of police officer, Mike Ehrmantraut.
Despite winning a plethora of major awards, Breaking Bad existed under the radar of most viewers during its run on AMC. At one point, viewership numbers were so awful that AMC almost canceled the series after season three. But a deal with Netflix ensured that the show stayed on the air and contributed to its prevailing popularity. After the streamer listed the series on its platform, subsequent seasons attracted more viewers.
As a result, Breaking Bad remains the top choice for most people when asked to name their favorite television show of all time. Although Walter White eventually died and Saul Goodman was sent to jail and imprisoned indefinitely, fans have hoped that creatives would come up with new stories to keep the universe alive.
The most popular idea is a Breaking Bad prequel which follows Gustavo “Gus” Fring. The potential story, according to online discussions, could chronicle his rise to prominence and conflict with the cartel. But while creator Vince Gilligan says revisiting the story would be fun, he also appreciates that all things need to end at some point. So the popular crime franchise is probably over for good. Fortunately, the series lives on through streaming sites and DVDs.
