With the Geektown Awards 2025 wrapped up, there’s one final tradition we always like to roll out as we head into the new year.
Right at the bottom of the voting form, we once again asked a wonderfully simple, deeply dangerous question:
What is your favourite TV show of all time?
Not the best.
Not the most recent.
Not the one you think sounds clever.
Just the show you love, whether that’s because it changed television, changed you, or is simply the thing you put on when the world feels a bit much.
As always, the answers were emotional, generationally specific, occasionally baffling, and very, very Geektown.
Before We Get to the Top Ten…
One important thing to note up front. This year’s Top Ten hasn’t been completely overturned. Instead, it’s subtly rearranged.
Many of the same shows from last year are still here. A few have climbed. A few have slipped. Some are hanging on by their fingernails. It’s less a revolution, more a reshuffle, which feels about right for a list built on long-term affection rather than short-term hype.
Just outside the top ten this year were heavy hitters like The Wire, Line of Duty, Slow Horses, and The Walking Dead, alongside enduring favourites such as Dexter, Lost, Firefly, Fawlty Towers, and Grey’s Anatomy. Prestige drama, comfort television, and shows people spent years with continue to dominate the upper reaches.
Then there’s the long tail. Hundreds of one-off votes covering everything from cult sci-fi and classic comedy to deep-cut nostalgia. Highlights include Babylon 5, Utopia (UK), Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The Prisoner, Jonathan Creek, and at least one answer that was simply “Universe”, which I assume means either Doctor Who or existential dread.
But with the honourable mentions out of the way, let’s get to the main event.
Top Ten Favourite TV Shows Of All Time (2026 Edition)
10. Red Dwarf
Still clinging on to the Top Ten, Red Dwarf remains proof that British sci-fi comedy never really leaves us. Decades on, the misadventures of Lister, Rimmer, Kryten and Cat are still endlessly rewatchable, endlessly quotable, and oddly comforting. Silly, smart, and apparently immortal.
9. The Sopranos
David Chase’s landmark drama continues to loom large over television. The Sopranos didn’t just redefine what TV could be, it changed how seriously the medium was taken. Tony Soprano remains one of the most fascinating characters ever put on screen, and yes, we are still talking about that ending.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Still influential. Still relevant. Still everywhere, even when you don’t realise it.
Buffy wasn’t just a cult hit, it was a creative launchpad. Writers, directors and producers who passed through its orbit went on to shape huge swathes of modern television. Its blend of genre storytelling, emotional honesty and wit remains remarkably potent.
And if you fancy a deeper dive into Buffy’s place in TV history, there’s a very convenient episode of Geekstorians coming up. Episode 4: The Golden Age of Geek TV drops on 7th January, and features a substantial segment on Buffy. Entirely coincidental. Obviously.
7. Supernatural
Fifteen seasons. Two brothers. One car. An extremely committed fanbase.
Supernatural continues to hold strong, proving that if you give people characters they genuinely care about, and let them spend years with them, loyalty follows. Sam and Dean Winchester may be off the road, but the SPNFamily clearly isn’t done carrying on.
6. Friends
Still here. Still massive. Still unavoidable.
Even now, Friends remains the gold standard for comfort sitcoms. Endlessly rewatched, endlessly quoted, endlessly debated. Love it or be tired of it, its cultural footprint is impossible to ignore.
Also, yes, it started in 1994. Sorry.
5. Game of Thrones
Despite everything, Game of Thrones remains one of the biggest television events of all time.
Its early seasons redefined what fantasy TV could be, and while the ending remains contentious, its influence is undeniable. That legacy now lives on through House of the Dragon, with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on the way, proof that Westeros, for better or worse, is not done with us yet.
4. Doctor Who
Possibly the most chaotic year Doctor Who has had in quite some time, and yet, here it still is.
Between the unexpected regeneration into Billie Piper (still processing that), the Disney deal collapsing, and confirmation that the show won’t return until Christmas 2026, it’s been a bumpy ride. And yet, Doctor Who remains utterly beloved.
Despite all the turbulence, it barely shifts year-on-year, which, given everything, is kind of impressive. It regenerates. We argue. We come back. That’s the contract.
3. Stranger Things
With its final episodes landing on New Year’s Day, Stranger Things bows out as one of Netflix’s defining shows. A series that blended sci-fi, horror, nostalgia and coming-of-age drama into something that genuinely cut through the noise.
Love every season equally or not, its place in TV history feels secure. Few shows captured the monoculture quite like it did, and its completion may well explain why it holds its position so strongly this year.
2. Only Fools and Horses
At this point, it barely feels like a TV show.
Del Boy and Rodney’s misadventures are so deeply woven into British culture they feel more like shared memories. Still hilarious. Still comforting. Still capable of stopping the nation if it’s on telly.
Some things don’t move because they don’t need to.
1. Breaking Bad
Last year’s number one remains last year’s number one.
Breaking Bad holds onto the top spot for a second consecutive year, proving once again just how hard it is to dislodge a show this complete.
Vince Gilligan’s transformation of Walter White from mild-mannered chemistry teacher to ruthless drug kingpin remains one of the most precisely executed arcs in television history. Extraordinary performances, meticulous writing, and an ending that actually stuck the landing all help cement its place at the summit.
The continued reassessment of Better Call Saul only strengthens that legacy, making Breaking Bad feel less like a moment in time and more like a permanent benchmark.
One Last Thing
If this list proves anything, it’s that favourite doesn’t mean best on paper.
It means comfort.
It means impact.
It means the show you watched at exactly the right moment in your life.
So whether your pick was a prestige drama, a daft sitcom, a cult sci-fi series, or something that only one other person voted for, thanks for putting it in… Because honestly, those single-vote answers are half the fun!
3 comments
Well in this particular case, voted for by the visitors to the site and voters on the GeekTown awards. Wasn’t us that came up with it.
Definitely not very much input from boomers: All in the Family, MASH, etc.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times over the past decade –
“Who comes up with these lists?!”
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