Historically, just about every network out there has produced one of the best TV shows ever made. The broadcast networks had a head start, offering up everything from “I Love Lucy” to “Friday Night Lights.” HBO has been pushing great shows since “Sex and the City” and up through “The Leftovers.” And in that time, the rest of cable joined in: AMC introduced “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” before Netflix made streaming series serious awards contenders.
Now, we live in a golden age of television where the year’s best TV show can pop up anywhere. With that in mind, IndieWire decided to help highlight the best programs from every corner of the TV landscape. In the gallery above, you’ll find our picks for the best TV shows on each network right now. We’ll update our picks every month (or more) with your best option on every network, streaming service, or other widely available viewing platform.
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Of note: If a network isn’t offering a show of the highest quality, it won’t be listed that month. As time passes and more programs become available, we’ll add and subtract networks based on what they make available. The idea behind this decision is to help focus viewership to the best shows, rather than waste time on series beneath viewers’ “must-see” threshold. By updating the list regularly, we’ll be able to provide a list of the best TV shows you need to watch right now.
But with shows released on varying schedules, how did we decide what “now” means? We tried to make it as simple as possible.
To be eligible:
a) weekly releases must have aired new episodes within the given month, or
b) full season releases from streaming networks must have premiered no later than the previous month.
That’s it! Click on the gallery link above (or click here) to check out this month’s best television, and keep checking back to see what new shows are deserving of your precious time.
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