10 Completed TV Shows That Never Had a Bad Episode

One of the most frustrating things about the classic way of watching a TV series was having a dud episode. Waiting a week for a show to come back, only for it to be a bottle episode or one where it focused on a side plot that every viewer knew wouldn’t make a big difference, was always disappointing. It made it feel like the week had been wasted. Binge-watching has helped alleviate this a bit, but a subpar episode is still time spent in a frustrating way that doesn’t feel like it advances anything.

Of course, this isn’t something a show’s writers set out to do. Most series aim to have the highest quality for each episode. Many only have a few episodes that fall into the category where they’re easily forgotten. Plenty of series maybe only have one bad episode. But there are even rarer cases where a series doesn’t miss. It captures the audience completely and really nails the writing for all its characters. These are the kind of shows that need to be cherished.

‘Atlanta’ (2016 – 2022)

This is proof that even if a show has a bottle episode, it can still be amazing. Atlanta is an exception that proves the rule when it comes to the earlier statement, as the creatively immersive series created by and starring Donald Glover felt like it was on a different level in its writing and planning than many of its peers at the time. At its core, the series focuses on Earn (Glover), the cousin of up-and-coming rapper Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry), who works for his cousin as he starts to make a name for himself in the Atlanta rap scene. As his star grows, Earn takes over the role of manager and hits plenty of pitfalls on the way.

What the show evolved into was a unique exploration into societal norms, cultural discussions, and character studies. The cast includes LaKeith Stanfield playing Darius, arguably one of the most interesting supporting characters in recent memory, and Zazie Beetz playing Van, Earn’s girlfriend and mother of his daughter. As Earn tries to navigate life, he’s constantly making the wrong decisions and trying to scramble. The show has some imaginative episodes, but all of them provide more context for who the characters are. That includes the haunting “Teddy Perkins,” the bottle episode referred to above, which won Emmys for its cinematography and sound editing.

‘I May Destroy You’ (2020)

People were living life at home during the COVID-19 pandemic when I May Destroy You was released by HBO in 2020. This gave audiences the ability to follow the story in real time and watch it as it came out. Because of that, it left audiences engrossed, as the series created by and starring Michaela Cole is a gut punch. The series follows Cole as Arabella, a writer who made headway on Twitter before her first book made her a bit of a Millennial celebrity. She’s struggling to come up with an idea for a second book and goes out in London with her friends for the night. After waking up the next morning, she tries to piece together what happened the night before and how to deal with the gravity of what occurred.

The show provides a visceral look at sexual abuse and what it means to try and pick up the pieces after. There are bits of humor sprinkled throughout the series to counterbalance the heaviness of the subject matter. Cole’s performance is devastating, and the series has been lauded for its writing, production, and acting. It costars Paapa Essiedu and Weruche Opia and received numerous BAFTA Awards, multiple Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and more.

‘Rectify’ (2013 – 2016)

What’s it like reclaiming a life after years away? Daniel Holden has to try and figure that out, as he is released from prison after 20 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit in Rectify. The series was the first ever on Sundance TV and stars Aden Young. Abigail Spencer plays his sister Amantha, who always claimed his innocence. J. Smith-Cameron plays Daniel’s mother, who has remarried since his father passed away. That brings in Clayne Crawford as his stepbrother and Adelaide Clemons as his stepsister-in-law, along with Bruce McKinnon as his stepfather.

The show is Southern Gothic and dripping with subtlety, as Daniel’s life back home in Georgia affects his family and those in the town. The show was created by Ray McKinnon and was a consistent staple in critical Top 10 lists throughout its four-season run. It earned a 2014 Peabody Award for its awareness about wrongful convictions.

‘The Americans’ (2013 – 2018)

A brilliant idea for a TV series rooted in history, The Americans was created by Joe Weisberg and is set during the Cold War. It features Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings, two Soviet KGB Intelligence officers posing as Americans and balancing spy missions with raising American-born children. The series is a taut thriller that sinks its teeth in and doesn’t let go for six seasons. Each season goes deeper as the Jennings’ cover feels like it can be blown at any time.

Russell and Rhys had such good chemistry in the series; they’ve been together in real life for over a decade now. The show balances the struggle between Soviet Intelligence and the FBI, shown through the couple’s interactions with their FBI agent neighbor (Noah Emmerich). The show also features Holly Taylor, Keidrich Sellati, Susan Misner, Margo Martindale, Richard Thomas, Annet Mahendru, and Alison Wright. Martindale won two Emmys for her role, and Rhys won an Emmy for his. What’s impressive is those wins came in the later seasons, showing how strong the series was all the way until the end.

‘BoJack Horseman’ (2014 – 2020)

What can be said about BoJack Horseman that hasn’t already been said before? The animated series on Netflix created by Rafael Bob-Waksberg is set in a world where animals can talk and walk and are treated as normal members of society alongside humans. It tells the story of BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), a former ’90s TV star whose career has spiraled out, and he spends his days trying to reclaim the glory that he once had. He has a live-in assistant/best friend named Todd (Aaron Paul), and he deals with his former girlfriend/agent Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris) as well as his former sitcom rival Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Thompkins). Alison Brie’s Diane Nguyen is hired as the ghostwriter for Bojack’s memoir.

Bojack is a drug addict and alcoholic, constantly tormented by his failures. It’s a surreal look at a fading star and what life can be like when the redemption story hasn’t taken place yet. It provides a scathing look at Hollywood, and each episode is superbly written. There are episodes with no dialogue, episodes that are one big monologue, and episodes that are strictly fever dreams that star Zach Braff. There’s never been anything quite like BoJack Horseman, and audiences appreciated it for years.

‘The Leftovers’ (2014 – 2017)

Damon Lindelof’s adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s novel The Leftovers took the TV world to a place it hadn’t quite navigated before. What would it be like if the Rapture happened, and how would the people left behind cope with massive loss? It looks at the life of the Garvey family, led by Justin Theroux’s Kevin. He is the chief of police in a New York town, and his wife Laurie (Amy Brennaman) leaves her family behind to join a cult led by Ann Dowd’s Patti. Kevin must navigate the town’s feelings towards the cult as well as adjust to life as a parent of two teenagers: Jill (Margaret Qualley) and Tommy (Chris Zylka).

His story coincides with Nora Durst’s (Carrie Coon), who had her entire family vanish during the event. The show jumps from New York to Texas to eventually Australia throughout its three seasons. It’s a brilliant series with incredible performances from Theroux, Coon, Regina King, Christopher Eccleston, Brennaman, and Dowd. How far would you be willing to go to find some kind of normalcy in a world without any? Lindelof tries to answer that as his characters move across the world. The episode “International Assassin” ranks highly among the best TV episodes of the past 25 years.

‘Succession’ (2018 – 2023)

HBO shows are popular and are typically well-received. But every few years, there seems to be a show from HBO that captivates the masses. The Sopranos and Game of Thrones come to mind immediately. Succession was the most recent to do so as its brilliant run of four seasons kept the world riveted. Brian Cox stars as the wealthy magnate Logan Roy, who is trying to decide who to leave his tech conglomerate company to. His children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), Connor (Alan Ruck), and Roman (Kieran Culkin), all battle for power at the top of the company.

The show was lauded for its writing, acting, direction, and the humor that could be found among the characters and their situations filled with excess, especially those featuring Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen). The episode “Connor’s Wedding” is the series’ high mark, and every season kept building the suspense building to the explosive finale. If rich people behaving badly is your bag, Succession is your next show.

‘Better Call Saul’ (2015 – 2022)

I’m not going to engage in the argument of which series is better between Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul. I’m also not going to argue which is the worst Breaking Bad episode, as some people hate “Fly” and others hate “Open House.” But it felt like Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould got everything right when writing the prequel Better Call Saul. That is, in no small part, due to the incredible performance from Bob Odenkirk as the eponymous Saul Goodman. The series shows us how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, the lawyer for criminals in the original series.

Two of the best characters from Breaking Bad feature in just as big or bigger roles in Better Call Saul, as Jonathan Banks’ Mike Ehrmantraut and Giancarlos Esposito’s Gus Fring have major parts to play in Saul’s story. Joining the story are Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler, Patrick Fabian’s Howard Hamlin, and Michael McKean as Jimmy’s brother Chuck McGill. The writing is taut, and the acting is some of the most memorable from any series in the past 10 years. Every episode drips with intensity, coupled with Odenkirk’s iconic performances as a master con man and trickster. It is a travesty that the show didn’t win a single Emmy during its run.

‘Chernobyl’ (2019)

Chernobyl recounts the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster of 1986 and the clean-up efforts, as well as showing the people it affected. It was a devastating tragedy for so many who had to deal with it, and Craig Mazin’s writing and Johan Renck’s direction encapsulated the dire nature of what those near Pripyat were dealing with at the time. The series features Jared Harris as Valery Legasov, the man helping lead the cleanup efforts, and Stellan Skarsgård as Boris Shcherbina, the Council of Ministers’ deputy chairman. They are joined by Emily Watson, playing a nuclear physicist who helps them deal with the scientific ramifications of the disaster.

The series is harrowing and provides an edge-of-your-seat feel to every episode. While it is only five episodes, each one is as gripping as the last, even when the show is just featuring meetings of bureaucrats. There’s a sense of urgency that lingers through the entire series, as Harris makes it clear that the faster the cleanup happens, the more lives can be saved. Chernobyl does an amazing job of highlighting the scope of how big the disaster was.

‘Six Feet Under’ (2001 – 2005)

Widely regarded as having one of the best series finales of all time, Six Feet Under had a pretty perfect run up until that point as well. The series follows a family that owns a funeral home, led by brothers Nate (Peter Krause) and David (Michael C. Hall). Ruth (Frances Conroy) is the matriarch of the family, and Claire (Lauren Ambrose) is the sister to Nate and David. The series, created by Alan Ball, features discussions of life, death, and mortality, as well as dives into other subjects like homosexuality, sex, and religion.

The series was lauded for its writing and the cast’s performances. Other stars include Freddy Rodriguez, Rachel Griffiths, Jeremy Sisto, James Cromwell, Matthew St. Patrick, Justina Machado, and Richard Jenkins. Many episodes begin with a death to help frame the episode’s themes. Six Feet Under always felt like a big deal, even if it didn’t put up the viewership numbers that some of its contemporary series did. It still resonates to this day and is worth a rewatch for anyone curious. The finale, Everyone’s Waiting, is thankfully the last episode of the series to date, as there should be no revival for something that ended so perfectly.