Favorite Shows

I prefer making lists about my favorites things instead of what I think is the best. When it's your favorite thing, you have nothing to defend. Don't get me wrong, I love watching crazed fans duke it out over which is better: Friends or How I Met Your Mother. I much prefer expressing why I like something versus why something is better than another. Perhaps I'm just a coward.

In alphabetical order, here are ten of my favorite shows as of December 7th, 2024.

Note: Like most opinions, this list could change at any moment.

30 Rock l 2006 l Tina Fey

A workplace comedy inspired by Tina Fey's experiences as head writer on Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock parodies always shameless show-business and the corporate entities that run it. The show is surreal and silly like a cartoon, but never dumb. You couldn't ask for a wackier cast: Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and so many other talented character actors that all are given the opportunity to shine.

People rarely talk about 30 Rock anymore. Maybe it had a second life on streaming and I didn’t hear about it. The younger generations don’t talk about it like they do with other shows that came out around that time. It could have the American Beauty effect. What I mean is that when it came out people thought it was the greatest thing in the world and now we look back on it and shrug. Both hold up in my opinion, although I don’t feel the need to re-watch it for a while. It swept all the awards, but for some reason it doesn’t get the same attention today as something like The Office or Modern Family. If I had to guess, it has less of a mass appeal because it’s about coastal city elites in New York City. If you haven’t watched 30 Rock, give it a try.

Entourage l 2004 l Doug Ellin

Another show about entertainment, but at least it takes place in Los Angeles. Entourage is the ultimate guy fantasy. Feminists talk about the male gaze, this is the entire male brain. Vincent Chase is an A-list movie star who brings his childhood friends along the ride of stardom as he navigates Hollywood's trenches. What really stands out is that even though the stakes are as high as they could be: fame, fortune, women, they never sell each other out. In a world where everyone stabs each other in the back, they always have each other's back which is a huge contrast against the world they're in. Could there be more drama? Sure, but I don't think it would make it better. It's not a deep show and never claims to be. It's glamorous and fun and has the best cameos of any show.

However, I don't think the show aged well. Not too long after it ended, #metoo became a cultural phenomenon and was born out of Hollywood. The antics of beloved Ari Gold would not just be frowned upon but end up in multiple lawsuits. What also might be overlooked is that culturally and technologically we've changed so much. Entourage took place in a time when movies still mattered and the internet didn't dominate our lives. There aren't movie stars anymore. They've been replaced with the tens of thousands of internet stars, so fame has become even more commonplace. There will never be another Johnny Drama.

Mad Men l 2007 l Matthew Weiner

Some shows are all style and no substance. Others are dense and full of “we have to go deeper" moments. Like the characters, Mad Men is a perfect balance of polish, smoothness and rich subtext. When a character speaks, they’re either not saying what they mean or there’s a double meaning. It moves slow, but if you look away for even a second, you’re going to miss something.

Advertising is about spinning a narrative on a product, manipulating the way you see something. The more we learn about our protagonist Don Draper, we see that he is the personification of that. Set in the 1960’s, we see how obvious the gender, race and class roles are so clearly defined, but they're on the verge of changing makes for intense drama. However, we are also seeing all of this change through the eyes of an ad executive working on Madison Avenue, so it's warped.

What may not be obvious is that this is a universal story about a man who seems to have it all, but feels unlovable. Don Draper feels like a fraud. In a lot of ways, he is. I really enjoyed the slow burn of the first couple seasons, unraveling who he actually was. Mad Men isn't only about Don Draper, but all of the men and women working in this office, seemingly boxed in by society's standards of living. Watching them discover who they were was a thrill.

Scrubs l 2001 l Bill Lawrence

To this day I could still watch Scrubs on repeat and never get bored. Not many shows can make you laugh and cry in the same episode, let alone within a minute of each other. All the characters are so complex and lovable. I don't think there's a show on air right now with so much heart. It doesn’t pull on your heartstrings just by cuing the music (although there are tons of terrific music used) but by being honest. It could pull off doing a ridiculous surreal stunt and still be sincere. It wasn't afraid to take risks. There needs to be a fearlessness when creating something and it's front and center with this show.

South Park l 1997 l Trey Parker & Matt Stone

Talk about fearless, 30 years later and they're still making this cartoon. I don't know how The Simpsons and South Park do it. Usually there's a drop in quality, but South Park managed to not only maintain, but also improve the quality. They get away with making some of the craziest things I've ever seen on television. Everyone now just says, "Yeah, that's South Park." It's an impressive feat. Who would've thought those crude cartoon cut outs would dominate the airways?

It's smart, insane, sometimes shameless, but never lazy. That's what I appreciate most about South Park. Somehow they're always topical and rarely miss an opportunity to satirize something in the zeitgeist. They've mastered the ability to see what's going on in society and call bullshit. They've even received death threats because they've never cared who they upset.

You don't have to agree with all their statements about an issue to see the humor in it. Another lesson that one could learn is that if you're good at what you do, you can be left alone to do what you want. I don't think South Park is leaving anytime soon and I think I speak for most people when I say, please don't stop. We desperately need it.

Spongebob Squarepants l 1999 l Stephen Hillenburg

The creator Stephen Hillenburg was a marine biologist before creating Spongebob Squarepants. His first love was the ocean and it shows. The details of this show from the Hawaiian flowers in the sky to the ukulele theme music to all the undersea critter characters like Larry the Lobster, Plankton, and Mrs. Puff the puffer fish (who teaches driving, naturally). If creating a world for a show was given a grade, I'd give it an A+ with a kiss on it and a note that said don't report me please.

Animation is pure storytelling because every frame has to matter since the cost is so high. There are no bad episodes in the first three seasons and there aren’t any jarring moments either. It's aged so well now that I'm an adult, no wonder my parents enjoyed it more than I did. The stories are strange, relatable and the characters are truly original.

It's clear that after the Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2005) was released, the show was on a major decline. There are a lot of reasons for it, but I'd rather focus on what I love rather than what I despise. From what I've read, the writers worked incredibly hard on the scripts and routinely would do obscure exercises to break up writers' block. Whatever type of glue they huffed, it worked. You know you have a good show when you want to work at the Krusty Krab even after seeing how Mr. Krabs treats and pays his employees. The craziest part is that when you're an adult and working, you realize that most of your bosses are Mr. Krabs and we're all working at the Krusty Krab and that Squidward isn't that bad of a guy.

Succession l 2018 l Jesse Armstrong

The hardest part of television is to be able to do the same thing over and over again and still keep it interesting. The show went on four seasons and the plot for every episode was the same, fight for control. They did their job. Somehow it never got boring. The dialogue was what won me over. If there were awards for witty dialogue, Sucession would take first, second and third place. It was the most entertaining televised stage play I’ve ever seen, the British's specialty.

You don't need to understand the business and corporate takeover jargon. We all respond to strong actors with witty dialogue. The show is a modern take on Shakespear's King Lear as one of my friend's pointed out. I probably should read King Lear at some point in my life, or finish Righteous Gemstones which is also basically the same thing. In case anyone was wondering, Logan Roy was my favorite character. Roman, Tom, Connor and Cousin Greg were all tied for second place. Shiv was fine. Kendall was awful.

The Sopranos l 1999 l David Chase

What can I say? HBO made great television and this is their Magnum Opus. The theme song still plays in my head. If I were an actor at any level, I'd want to be on The Sopranos. Everyone has a chance to shine since the supporting characters and even a character with one line end up being important. Every actor in town requested to audition for a guest star role on The Sopranos. The sensation was real. My parents used to have viewing parties at our house and don't even get me started on the series finale. This show had multiple lives on streaming as well and does seem to be popular with the young kids, probably because therapy is so promiment nowadays.

What I think makes The Sopranos so attractive is that while it is about a somewhat psychopathic mafioso with depression who sees a shrink, it's also about a middle aged man dealing with his family and aging mother. Yes, there are murders. It's not a blood bath but there are murders. The creator, David Chase, was interested in knowing, what are these guys doing the other 99% of the time when not killing people. Turns out, they're just like us! They stress about bills, where their kids are going to school and their sister being late to Thanksgiving. It also goes deeper. Strange things happen and no one knows why. The characters do things and don't know why they did them, surprising the audience and themselves. 10/10 no notes from me.

The Twilight Zone l 1959 l Rod Serling

Every single Twilight Zone episode could’ve been extended into a feature film — that’s how strong the creativity is here. The supernatural doesn’t normally grab my attention, but Rod Serling’s voice (and gaze) is so commanding I can’t look away. The twists and turns are surprising and sometimes shocking, but always earned and never forced.

Experimentation is never perfect. That’s why there are some episodes that don’t always land. Innovation is clear here. You had to be prepared that it could go anywhere in any genre or style and always left you with a moral. Even sixty years later, I’m always blown away with the ideas. Campy effects and gimmicks can be forgiven if the idea is good enough. Rod we owe you everything.

Workaholics l 2011 l The Guys

Barebones is the word I’d use to describe Workaholics — which is a compliment. It’s just about three friends who work together in cubicles at a terrible telemarketing company and live together in a kind of frat house in the suburbs. It doesn’t rely on special effects, set pieces or big names to draw attention. They’re all just genuinely funny people and have great chemistry. Most people want to make a million dollars, these guys just want to make a hundred dollars to buy a mini trampoline. Their ambitions and dreams are small.

To reiterate, it's a lowbudget show. Plant the camera down and let the guys be themselves. The show allows all of the characters to breathe even the supporting characters like Jillian, Alice and Waymond who doesn't even have a line until the last episode. Their enemies are senior citizens with bad eyesight and dementia. Rancho Cucamonga, where they live, is a character and their world is just too funny.

All three of the main guys have so much chemistry that they really shine when they don't shine. Like Entourage, after season four, it starts to decline. Three or four seasons seem to be the sweet spot. I pray one day to see a Workaholics movie, although I did see the Entourage and The Sopranos movie and was extremely let down by both. Maybe it's for the best Paramount buried it.