In a since-deleted Reddit thread, people were sharing the TV shows they think only got better as they went on. So, we also asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which TV shows they think either remained perfect throughout their run or improved up until the finale. Here are the shows people celebrated:1. “The Good Place is the only show that successfully reinvented itself every season and doesn’t have a single wasted episode. Every character, including the side characters, gets development and a great ending. To me, this is the most perfect show in existence.”
NBC / NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
—John-Twick
“They ended it before it could decline on purpose.”
2. “To me, Breaking Bad. It isn’t the most emotional TV show I’ve ever watched (the kind that leaves me a sobbing mess), but certainly the best written, with a consistent storyline and a clear vision that was seen through to the end.”
AMC / courtesy Everett Collection
—WindsAlight
“It maintained top-tier writing, acting, and tension from start to finish.”
—laurenthames
“Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are amazing from start to finish.”
—OhkayBoomer
3. “M*A*S*H. Every show was good from beginning to end, through characters leaving and arriving, and everything.”
20th Century Fox Television. All Rights reserved. /Courtesy Everett Collection
—OfferMeds
“Amazing writing and acting. It always made me cry and laugh. It’s not my favorite show, but it was consistent for many years and is one of the all-time greats.”
—Assparilla
4. “Just finished my third watch of 30 Rock, and it really is so highly consistent from start to end.”
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—Phan2112
“If anything, I think it actually keeps improving as it goes on.”
—pkann6
“With the number of jokes crammed into the show, there’s always something new to laugh at.”
—Forever_Man
5. “BoJack Horseman went uphill, if anything. The penultimate episode was the best one.”
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—Aduro95
“BoJack Horseman started great and only got better. That was legitimately one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Stuck the landing with the last two episodes, too.”
6. “Schitt’s Creek. Every season (and episode) got better and better.”
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“I watched it only after it ended and was told I had to give it a chance. I kept trying and losing focus…until Season 2, when David goes missing. When we found out Alexis had gotten that text and that he did, unknowingly, in fact, take his mother’s bag, I was hooked. It has one of my favorite couples in a series and is one of my favorite rewatches.”
—Anonymous
“Schitt’s Creek truly is the best example of this. A show that got better and better and knew when to stop. A rare gem that was perfect from start to finish!”
7. “The King of Queens! Doug and Carrie’s chemistry is spot-on from the first episode to the last scene! Writing! Directing! Acting! Could NOT have been better! If you haven’t watched this show, please treat yourself!”
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8. “Seinfeld was great all the way through.”
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—Fredd_Ramone
“It went out at its peak.”
—theboned1
“This is the answer. They had almost nine seasons of perfect episodes, and they pulled the plug at the exact right time before the characters became too predictable.”
9. “The Leftovers. I loved the final season and finale. It only ran three seasons, but it was planned to be a five-season show. Best show on HBO.”
—Pumpnethyl
10. “Parks and Recreation! It seemed like it was a little unsure of itself when it started, but they definitely hit their stride in Season 2, into Season 3, and beyond.”
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—Anonymous
“When I recommend it to people, I say skip the first season, or watch it and just know everyone is going to go through a personality change, except Ron. It was trying to be a spin-off of The Office, but when they made Leslie competent at her job, it was like a light switch got flipped.”
—deadzy
“I remember Parks and Rec gradually getting better and better.”
—CarelessTaco
11. “South Park. *Literally gestures at the most recent season’s episodes as evidence!*”
Comedy Central / Courtesy Everett Collection
“At first, I wrote it off as obnoxious toilet humor, which it still is, LOL, but every season the show’s razor-sharp satire on topical issues and hilarious political incorrectness makes it as relevant today as it was when it first came out.”
—ynezg
12. “Six Feet Under had the best run in history with the most amazing ending of a show I have ever seen.”
—negcap
“Six Feet Under. *Chef’s kiss* Start to finish. My favorite show ever. All-time greatest series finale.”
13. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. There was a tonal shift, but it only got better.”
Robert Voets / CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
14. “I enjoyed every season of Succession and don’t think the quality of the show ever went down, really.”
—PacNWnudist
15. “The Middle. The kids grew up and evolved, but they still kept their core personalities, and they found ways to use that to keep them funny until the end.”
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—Prossdog
16. “Mr. Inbetween. They ended it before it got stale. Left the viewer wanting more, which is far superior to milking it until everyone just quits and walks away. Brilliant show.”
Joel Pratley / FX / Courtesy Everett Collection
17. “If we’re also including game shows, Taskmaster has been top-notch since Season 1. Season 19 may have been one of my favorites.”
Andy Devonshire / CW/Avalon/UKTV / Courtesy Everett Collection
18. “All in the Family was one that I only watched recently because my grandmother insisted I check it out. And holy shit, I was impressed with it. The subject matter was on point, and even though it was a sitcom, there was a death scene, and it was nearly impossible to hold it together when Archie was alone in his room holding his wife’s slipper that he found under the bed. Absolute gold quality from beginning to end.”
Farooz Zahedi / TV Guide / CBS / courtesy Everett Collection
—Goongalagooo
19. “Young Sheldon, beyond a doubt. The show started out being all about a precocious boy who has brains way beyond his years, but it turned out to be a really interesting family comedy with plenty of drama.”
20. “For fantasy lovers: Merlin. Spoiler alert: The ending devastated me, but it made sense. The show starts quite lighthearted and funny, but it gets gradually darker as it goes on. The character dynamics were well-written throughout. If you haven’t seen it, give it a watch!”
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—Anonymous
21. “Frasier. Funny ’til the end.”
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22. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. A lot of changes have happened in the show, but it has remained pretty consistently solid for a couple of decades now.”
Patrick McElhenney / FX/Hulu / Courtesy of FX & HULU via Everett Collection
—heyyou11
23. “Mr. Robot. Without spoilers, the second season was the ‘weak’ one, but if you see it through, it was still vital to the story long-term, and the early grind added up in the end of the season as well. Then, Seasons 3 and 4 kept elevating consistently.”
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—CarStar12
24. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Say what you want about the first and seventh seasons, it was still a quality show.”
Randy Tepper / TM and Copyright 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved / courtesy Everett Collection
—Joekitty
“It has some of the best characters I’ve ever seen and is honestly my favorite show of all time.”
—Anonymous
25. “Psych. Great character development and consistently funny and clever!”
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—Anonymous
26. “Supernatural. It had a few low points in the series. But overall, I think it just gets better as the seasons go on.”
Colin Bentley / The CW / Courtesy Everett Collection
27. “Friday Night Lights had a dip in Season 2, but then it came back strong for the latter three seasons, especially Season 4.”
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—BoozerBean
28. “Rookie Blue. Yeah, there were some odd episodes here and there, but overall? Excellent from start to finish.”
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—Anonymous
29. “Law & Order: SVU. It’s still going strong through the cast changes, deaths, and bringing beloved characters back.”
NBC / NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
30. “Avatar: The Last Airbender. Fairly consistent incline in both production quality and storytelling.”
—Archlvt
“Nearly two decades since that show finished, and it’s still amazing. I did a start-to-finish rewatch during COVID, and it was great. I watched it when it aired as a child, but probably missed a few episodes here and there.”
31. “Malcolm in the Middle. Amazing through and through.”
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—janie017
32. “Cheers. Even when Coach passed away and was replaced by Woody, the show never skipped a beat.”
Kim Gottlieb-Walker / TV Guide / NBC / courtesy Everett Collection
“The most impressive thing about Cheers is that 30 years later, it still holds up. Very rare for a comedy show.”
—Chadlerk
33. “The Shield. Incredible show from start to finish. And IMHO, it’s a tad bit underrated.”
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34. “For murder mystery fans: Endeavour. That show was an absolute masterpiece. The overarching plots of each season were built up really well, and the way things connected was genius. I also appreciated how the characters grew and changed over time — some for the better, some for the worse — but it all makes sense in the end. The writing, cinematography, and soundtrack stayed top quality for the entire show. Would highly recommend giving it a chance.”
ITV/Courtesy Everett Collection / ITV / Everett Collection
—Anonymous
35. “The Nanny. Banger from beginning to end.”
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—RadioSupply
36. “What We Do in the Shadows was pretty funny start to finish.”
Russ Martin / FX / Courtesy Everett Collection
37. And: “Star Trek: The Next Generation! And all of the actors had signed on for an eighth season, but the company decided to make a movie instead. So we got a two-hour movie instead of another 20 hours of a TV show. I feel ripped off!”
Paramount Television / courtesy Everett Collection
Well, do you agree with the TV shows featured in this piece? Did we miss any? You tell us: What TV show was great from start to finish? Or, what’s a TV show that got better with each season? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.