How to Make a TV Show Tier List in 2026

What Is a TV Show Tier List?

A TV show tier list is a ranked order of every series you've watched, from your absolute favorite down to the ones you barely tolerated. Unlike Rotten Tomatoes scores or 10-point ratings, a tier list forces a real verdict: which show actually mattered more to you?

The format exploded on YouTube and TikTok because it generates real opinions. Nobody fights about whether Breaking Bad deserves an 8.5 or a 9.0. They fight about whether it beats The Wire. Tier lists capture that debate in a single image.

Why TV Shows Are Harder to Rank Than Movies

TV is messier than film. A show might have a perfect first three seasons and a terrible finale. Another might start slow and become a masterpiece. Some shows reinvent themselves every season. Star ratings can't handle that nuance.

Head-to-head ranking solves this. Instead of asking "what is Game of Thrones worth on a 1-10 scale?" You ask "is Game of Thrones better than Succession?" That's a question you can actually answer, even with the controversial final season hanging over it. The cumulative experience either wins the matchup or it doesn't.

How to Build a TV Tier List with Shortlist

Shortlist is a free iOS app that builds your TV show tier list automatically through head-to-head comparisons. The process:

1. Add the shows you've watched: Shortlist's database covers everything from prestige dramas to anime to reality TV.
2. Compare two shows at a time: Tap the one you prefer. No sliders, no stars, no overthinking.
3. Your ranking builds itself: After 10-20 comparisons, your TV tier list takes real shape. Every position is earned.
4. Share the receipts: Send your ranking to the friend who keeps insisting Lost was peak television.

Build your TV tier list

Free on iOS. Rank movies and shows together or separately.

Best TV Shows to Include in Your Tier List

If you're looking for shows worth ranking, these are the ones that consistently land in S-tier conversations:

• Breaking Bad: The "perfect five-season arc" benchmark
• The Sopranos: Often called the greatest show of all time
• The Wire: Critic favorite for decades
• Succession: The 2020s prestige TV peak
• Game of Thrones: A tier list landmine because of seasons 7-8
• Mad Men: Slow-burn perfection
• The Bear: Modern best-of contender
• Better Call Saul: The rare prequel that earns its place
• Severance: Best new show of the decade?
• Fleabag: Two seasons, both perfect
• Arcane: Animation that broke the prestige ceiling
• Atlanta: Genre-bending and weirdly underrated

TV Tier List Categories That Always Spark Debate

Generic "all TV ever" lists are exhausting. Narrow tier lists generate the best conversations:

• Best TV Shows of 2026: Settle this year before the awards do
• HBO Original Series: Sopranos vs. Wire vs. Succession vs. GoT
• Sitcoms Tier List: Office vs. Parks vs. 30 Rock vs. Always Sunny
• Anime Tier List: Attack on Titan, Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, Frieren
• Reality TV Tier List: Survivor, Love Island, The Traitors
• Prestige Drama Tier List: The shows your friend with the Letterboxd account loves
• Shows You Quit: A reverse tier list of bailed-on series

How TV Tier Lists Beat Star Ratings

Star ratings on TV apps create the same problem ratings always do: everything good ends up at 4.2-4.5 stars, and you can't tell what someone actually loved most. A tier list with even five entries gives more useful information than a hundred ratings.

When you commit to a ranked order, you can't hide behind "they're all great." You have to choose. That's why tier lists became the dominant way to talk about TV online: they force a verdict, and the verdict is shareable.

Movie Tier List vs. TV Tier List: Use Both

Most people end up making both. Movies and TV reward different things: a movie has two hours to make its case, a show has 50+. They shouldn't compete in the same list. Shortlist lets you keep movie rankings and TV rankings separate, then mash them together when you want to argue about whether a great season of TV beats a great film.

Already started? Check out our movie tier list guide for the film-specific version, or our comparison of movie ranking apps if you're deciding between Shortlist, Letterboxd, and the rest.