Highest Rated TV Shows on IMDb — All Time

About This Dataset

Television series ranked by their IMDb user rating score as of 2025. Breaking Bad and The Wire are consistently cited among the greatest television dramas ever made, with both maintaining ratings above 9.0 on IMDb from millions of user votes. AI-assisted data.

✨ AI Insight

The ratings reveal a significant gap between the top-rated shows and the rest, with 'Breaking Bad' and 'Planet Earth II' standing out as the pinnacle of television excellence. Both series not only achieved a remarkable 9.5 rating but also represent different genres, illustrating the diverse tastes of viewers. Meanwhile, 'Band of Brothers' and 'Chernobyl' at 9.4 highlight the strong impact of historical and dramatic storytelling. Interestingly, 'The Wire' and 'The Sopranos', often hailed as classics, are slightly lower at 9.3 and 9.2, respectively, suggesting that while they are revered, newer series may be capturing the audience's attention more effectively. This trend indicates a shift in viewer preferences, possibly influenced by advancements in storytelling techniques and production quality.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Breaking Bad leads with 10 in 2019.

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Average value in 2019: 9 · median: 9.

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2019 recorded the highest combined total across all categories.

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Gap in 2019: Breaking Bad is 1× larger than Game of Thrones.

Highest Rated TV Shows on IMDb — All Time

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Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

8 categories · 7 years

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Top Value

9.50

Breaking Bad

IMDb Rating · 2008

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Metrics

IMDb Rating

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Period

1999 – 2019

7 years of data

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · IMDb Rating · ranked by 2019

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	1999	2001	2002	2008	2011	2016	2019	Change
🥇	Breaking Bad	—	—	—	9.50	—	—	—	—
🥈	Planet Earth II	—	—	—	—	—	9.50	—	—
🥉	Band of Brothers	—	9.40	—	—	—	—	—	—
4	Chernobyl	—	—	—	—	—	—	9.40	—
5	The Wire	—	—	9.30	—	—	—	—	—
6	Our Planet	—	—	—	—	—	—	9.30	—
7	The Sopranos	9.20	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
8	Game of Thrones	—	—	—	—	9.20	—	—	—