--- description: Here's how I chose my list, and why I left off that one show that you like. title: James Poniewozik's Top 10 TV Shows of 2014 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42e86ded07a4c9f2/6987694ff887dc03e1e886d4/jeffrey-tambor-and-amy-landecker.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Top 10 TV Shows of 2014: The Best and the Rest by [James Poniewozik](/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2014 9:20 PM CUT  Amy Landecker and Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent. Amy Landecker and Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent.Beth Dubber by [James Poniewozik](/author/james-poniewozik/) ## James Poniewozik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 2, 2014 9:20 PM CUT TIME’s annual collection of top-10 lists is up, including my [Top 10 TV Shows of 2014](http://time.com/3592239/top-10-tv-shows/ "undefined"). (Also up is my list of [Top 10 TV Episodes](http://time.com/3592240/top-10-tv-episodes/ "undefined"), which I explain in [a separate post](http://time.com/3592141/best-tv-episodes-2014-poniewozik/ "undefined").) Some of you will hate my choices–which, let’s be honest, is half the reason top-10 lists exist at all, so have at it. Others will have questions, and some of the same ones come up every year, so here’s a short FAQ: **\* Why do you hate \_\_\_\_?** This is not the Top 10 and Everything Else Sucks list. I liked far more than 10 shows on TV this year; these were tops. It’s not a matter of what was wrong with the shows I left off, but what was right with the shows I put on. **\* Don’t you like \_\_\_\_ anymore?** Sure I do. (Probably.) But there are no lifetime slots. Last year, for instance, _Mad Men_ and _Game of Thrones_ were on my list. I still love them! But this list is only about 2014: I didn’t feel the first half of _Mad Men_‘s last season gave me enough to put it on, and _Thrones_ just had a weaker season. (Both, though, are on my [Best Episodes list](http://time.com/3592240/top-10-tv-episodes/ "undefined").) **\* How is \_\_\_\_\_ better than \_\_\_\_\_?** Beyond the first few, honestly, the rank order is fairly arbitrary and apples-to-oranges. I didn’t measure these shows with a nuclear qualitometer. Think the #9 shows should be #6? Sure, fine. Print it out and rearrange them. For that matter, there are probably 20 shows that I could just as easily put in the bottom 5 of this list. **\* Aren’t top 10 lists just shameless trolling for readers?** You caught us! Also, they’re sort of a lie. Yes, this is, more or less, list of what I thought were the 10 best shows of the year. But I also think a list should be a document in itself–a statement, as a whole, of what I value in TV and what TV did best this year. So it’s, sort of, a list of the 10 best shows of the year and, sort of, a list of the 10 shows that represented the best in TV this year–which are related, but not exactly the same thing. **\* Um, it’s not the end of 2014 yet.** Thanks for pointing that out! Because of our production deadlines, I had to finalize this list early in November. They still kept making TV, though! I may be regretting some choices already–and it’s all undeniably unfair to shows, like _Jane the Virgin_, that just started their seasons–but at some point you just have to let it go. **\* So which shows would you pick for 11–20th place?** HA HA HA HA HA NO, nice try. I will be, however, be doing a 10 best new shows list for Hitfix’s poll, and I’ll post about that later. **\* You forgot \_\_\_\_\_.** Probably not! I keep a running list of potential shows starting in January, and revise it throughout the year. (My top-10 episodes list, about which I’ll post separately, is a different story–I can’t watch everything, and I almost certainly I did forget things.) This is a very subjective list, but if it’s a likely candidate, I’ve probably at least considered it. Apologia out of the way, here’s my list (but [read the full writeup](http://time.com/3592239/top-10-tv-shows/ "undefined") to see what I thought of each show)… 1\. Transparent 2\. The Americans 3\. The Good Wife 4\. Orange Is the New Black 5\. Fargo 6\. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 7\. Broad City 8\. Louie 9\. High Maintenance 10\. Silicon Valley … and here, in alphabetical order, are some shows I liked, considered for the list, but didn’t quite make it (here I’ve _certainly_ left some fine shows off)… Bob’s Burgers The Bridge The Comeback Cosmos Enlisted Friday Night Tykes Game of Thrones Getting On Hannibal Happy Valley The Honorable Woman Inside Amy Schumer Jane the Virgin Key and Peele The Knick The Leftovers Looking Mad Men Manhattan Masters of Sex Olive Kitteridge Orphan Black Outlander Rectify Review True Detective Veep And post your own top 10 in the comments. 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