Because of its extended timeline (the U.S.
version pales in comparison to the ruthlessly dramatic U.K. But if you've had the pleasure of watching the British original, you know that, while sweet and entertaining in its own way, the U.S. If you only watched CBS's Love Island, you probably thought it was a surprisingly earnest show in which several couples appeared to find themselves in loving, healthy relationships. Snapped has a knack for surfacing the most bizarre, salacious, and macabre cases on television. (Remember that episode about the girl who went viral for her nonstop case of the hiccups and then went on to get life in prison for murdering somebody? I do.) It's also confirmation that not all true crime has to be misogynistic torture porn in almost all of its cases, the murderer or perpetrator is a woman. Twenty-four seasons into this true-crime favorite, Snapped is still proof that truth is stranger than fiction.
How to watch: Oxygen, Amazon (available for purchase) Here's hoping Season 2 holds it together better than Weeds did. Season 1 culminated in a cliffhanger ripped out of Sunset Boulevard. Applegate is the star here, absolutely owning the thing while barely breaking a sweat ( her Emmy nomination is truly deserved), but Linda Cardellini matches her as the shattered Judy, and James Marsden brings his robotic Westworld smile to the proceedings as Judy's smarmy ex. Fortunate, then, that the show itself is sneaky great, equal parts hilarious and tragic, as it deals with grief and female friendship and consistently finds new things to say about both.
Dead to Me is Netflix in pure binge mode, with quick-burst episodes that build to outrageous cliffhangers and basically force viewers to keep watching. What if Weeds, but good? That's kind of what Dead to Me pulls off while also providing Christina Applegate with a meaty return to episodic television. (You can check out the 20 rankings here.) 100. These are the 100 best shows at this very moment. That some favorites were left off our definitive list speaks to the era never has watching television been more rewarding than right now.
That's our take, at least: Whittling down the list of best shows right now from some 1,700 options in this age of Peak TV was a painstaking task, and our editors and writers spent weeks arguing over which shows should make the cut. And who hasn't gotten sucked into a marathon of SVU or Snapped at least once over the past year? This lineup will only grow in the future, with the launch of Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max, NBCUniversal's streaming platform, and, heck, even Quibi? Quibi! (Say it out loud, it's fun.) Maisel, Supernatural, and The Good Fight before their new seasons premiere.
In the last month alone, viewers have been able to watch new episodes of GLOW, Succession, Dear White People, and Power, and catch up on beloved series like The Crown, The Marvelous Mrs. But even after the conclusion of so many important series, thus rendering those programs ineligible for our ranking of the 100 best shows on right now (words mean stuff!), the caliber of content may be stronger than ever before.