Making a great television show can be very hard, but it is doable. Modern shows like Better Call Saul and genre affairs like House of the Dragon have shown that the golden age of television is still alive and well.
Making a perfect show, however, is obviously more challenging. In a full-season run, there surely has to be some filler or questionable decisions, but some still manage to get incredibly close to flawlessness. According to some people over at Reddit, there is such a thing as a perfect TV season. From comedies to dramas, Redditors have shared the shows they aren't afraid to call perfect.
True Detective Season 1
Very few shows can say that they started out perfect, but according to Redditor UltraDangerLord, True Detective did that in its first season. The anthology show featured Woody Harrelson and Mathew McConaughey. Its success led to multiple other seasons featuring fresh casts each time.
Fellow user deadbandit19 said, "This is by no means my favorite show, but it is hands down the best season of anything I've ever watched." The show was nominated for numerous awards and continued McConaughey's 2010s hot streak, which saw him reinvent himself as a serious actor.
Person Of Interest Season 3
Reddit's user bros402 had a very straightforward answer when they said, "Person of Interest Season 3 was amazing." Person of Interest had an all-star cast featuring Jim Caviezel and Taraji P. Henson, and it lasted from 2011 to 2016 on CBS, receiving critical and audience success.
Season 3 was the last season Henson was a main cast member, marking a blow to the cast of the show. However, the show retained its quality and continued to be a fan favorite. Its intriguing premise of sci-fi mixed with crime made it a show that appealed to many people while staying wildly original.
The Office Season 2
Reddit user Larry_Version_3 had a few shows that they believed to have been perfect seasons, one of them being the second season of The Office. "The Office (American) Season 2 was the best of the entire show," they argued. While the first season struggled to find its own tone and voice, the characters and plotlines fully diverged from the British original in season 2, allowing Michael Scott and his coworkers to truly shine.
Season 2 is where The Office becomes the cultural behemoth that it is. While many argue that the show eventually strays too far from its original feel, season 2, and season 3 after it, are commonly cited as some of the best comedy television of all time.
Walking Dead Season 3
Larry_Version_3 had high praise for Season 3 of AMC's zombie drama, saying, "The Walking Dead Season 3 was pretty good in my opinion. It was that sweet spot where the show still had tricks up its sleeve and hadn’t become self-parody."
The Walking Dead is infamous for its quality dropping as the show went on. The deaths and departures of many of the more popular early characters lead to a sour taste in people's mouths. However, the early seasons, like season 3, are what made the show so good in the first place. It was must-watch TV for so many across the world.
Episodes Season 1
When sitcoms starring Matt LeBlanc are brought up, Episodes is not usually the first one that comes to mind. However, one of the best shows about making a show was well received and had fans, such as yeshua1986, arguing, "For comedy, Season 1 of Episodes was pretty great. A little ham-fisted in its critiques of Hollywood, but still probably the most grounded version of the Hollywood trope."
Critics praised the chemistry between LeBlanc and the Lincolns. The show ended up running for five seasons, making it one of the more successful post-Friends sitcoms for any of the cast members. In addition, it earned LeBlanc a Golden Globe for his work on the show.
Freaks And Geeks
It is quite odd looking back on Freaks and Geeks, the quickly canceled show with a huge amount of future star power both in front and behind the camera. Reddit's user NightStu pointed to the show as their example of a perfect television season. The show's young cast shined, but NBC pulled it quickly, leaving it as one of TV's biggest what-ifs.
Regardless of if it is the only season, Freaks and Geeks does a great job showing adolescents in a fairly realistic way. It captures the awkwardness of teenage years and the struggle (and sometimes comedy) involved in trying to find out what kind of person one wants to be. A couple more seasons would have been great, but the one that did happen was great on its own.
Parks and Recreation Season 3
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Very few shows had as large of a quality improvement as Parks and Recreation between seasons 1 and 2. However, it was season 3 where the show really hit its peak. "Season 3 is basically a perfect season of television. Not a bad episode or filler to be found," said Reddit user greendakota99.
The additions of Adam Scott and Rob Low did wonders for the show. What seemed destined to be a run-of-the-mill Office clone became a great show in its own right. The cast is legendary, the plot lines are well-thought-out, and the quality of the show remained great for the rest of the run.
Breaking Bad Season 2
When a show is famous for having no bad seasons, it can be hard to pick a perfect season, but a deleted account did just that with Breaking Bad season 2. "This was my personal favorite ... The character and plot progression were flawless. Aaron Paul really established himself as being just as vital as Bryan Cranston in this season to me."
In addition to Aaron Paul's improvement, many other things happened in this season, such as the introduction of Saul Goodman. The show is where Walt's true evil begins to show as he continues down the path of becoming a monster. A truly perfect season for a beloved show.
Community Season 2
Community is one of the most endearing shows of the last 20 years, and Reddit user BuckeyeBrian103 had the popular consensus that season 2 was when the show was at its peak. Expanding upon the successes of the first season, Season 2 is when the show got really experimental and became much more than anyone could have ever imagined.
With everything from claymation episodes to a two-part paintball episode, the show really was in its stride here. Even episodes that could be considered filler are parodies of filler episodes. The show takes what worked from the first season and improves it, giving fans an even better show as a result.
Game Of Thrones Seasons 3 and 4
According to Reddit user somalipirates, Game of Thrones had two seasons that were perfect, saying "season 3 or 4. Both were excellent." The show's entire run, outside its controversial last season, was a star-making turn for everyone involved and led to some of the TV's greatest moments in recent memory.
While many are still upset about the ending, Game of Thrones is still alive in the cultural mindset. With the new spinoff, it is clear many people still love the show. While it could have ended a lot better, it provided fans with some of the greatest TV moments ever, and that counts for something.