From heartwarming comfort shows likeTed LassoandParks and Recreationto fiendishly complex mysteries likeTwin PeaksandThe Twilight Zone, there are some TV shows you can’t just watch once.The Sopranoshas so many ambiguous scenes that are open to interpretation that it takes a few viewings to wrap your head around them.Lostbegs so many questions throughout the first run that it’s fun to go back and rewatch it with all the answers at your disposal.
Some ofthe best sitcoms, like30 RockandArrested Development, are so chock full of jokes, both front and center in the foreground and subtly hidden in the background, that they hold up to endless repeat viewings. Dramas likeMad MenandBreaking Badare so complex and carefully crafted that they reward a rewatch. You can’t just watch theseclassic must-see TV showsonce and be done with it.
20Gilmore Girls
Comfort shows don’t get much more comforting thanGilmore Girls. This heartwarming mother-daughter dramedy is one of the most rewatchable shows ever made. Its characters are lovable, its dialogue is razor-sharp, and it perfectly balances its serious dramatic elements with its more lighthearted comedic elements. And since its central characters are from two different generations, it appeals to audiences of all ages.
19Game Of Thrones
Game of Thronesmay not have stuck the landing in its last couple of seasons, but for the most part, it’s a riveting, devilishly intricate saga. The series takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, but it tackles universal themes from the real world. It’s a complex web of corruption, intrigue, and betrayal, and it can’t be fully absorbed from just one viewing.
18Avatar: The Last Airbender
On the surface,Avatar: The Last Airbendermight seem like a run-of-the-mill kids’ cartoon. But it deals with some of the heaviest real-world issues imaginable, from genocide to imperialism to political corruption to the class divide. This curious blend of anime and western animation styles is one of the most profound shows ever made disguised as children’s entertainment.
17Ted Lasso
Ted Lassoamassed a huge fan base across the world because it offered a refreshingly optimistic outlook at a really bleak time. Ted’s unwavering hope in the face of constant defeat and disappointment is really inspiring to see. Whenever you’re going through a rough patch, it’s the perfect time torewatchTed Lassoand laugh and cry all over again.
16Lost
Lostkept audiences captivated for six seasons with its mystery-box storytelling. Viewers were pondering the show’s many unanswered questions around the water cooler for the better part of a decade. After you reach the end of the series and have all those questions answered, you have to go back and rewatch it at least once. It’s a whole new experience to watchLosta second time with all the answers.
15Modern Family
Everyone who watchesModern Familybecomes so endeared to the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan that they start to feel like their own family, and you’ll want to visit that family again and again. The writing is so sharp that it can’t be fully appreciated on the first viewing. The writers managed to give every character their own storyline in each episode, and wove in dozens of clever jokes along the way.
On paper,Mad Mensounds dry and boring; it’s about the office politics of a bunch of ad executives in the 1960s. But it’s a testament to Matthew Weiner and his team of writers that, at the height of Peak TV, it was as captivating asBreaking BadorGame of Thrones.Mad Menholds up to a rewatchpurely for the chance to experience those powerful performances and that amazing writing a second time, but you have to watch it twice to catch all the historical details and subtle character moments.
13BoJack Horseman
Who knew a cartoon about a talking horse could be so profound? It might not be easy to watchBoJack Horsemanmore than once — especially in its darker episodes — but the show has so many important life lessons about dealing with mental health and fixing self-destructive behavior that it’s worth watching a couple of times. BoJack is a terrible role model, but we can all learn a lot from his grim emotional journey.
1230 Rock
Very few sitcoms are layered with quite as many jokes as30 Rock. In every absurd comedic scenario, the writers of30 Rockput a hat on a hat on a hat. With cutaways, non-sequiturs, and a gleefully absurdist sensibility,30 Rockoften plays like a live-action cartoon. It’s an incisive satire of the media, but it’s also just a delightful workplace comedy jam-packed with colorful characters and multidimensional gags.
11Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan revolutionized television withBreaking Bad. Where TV shows had traditionally maintained a status quo to go on indefinitely,Breaking Badwas driven by change. A mild-mannered chemistry teacher gradually descends into a cold-hearted monster. It’s fascinating to go back and watch that dark descent again, knowing where it’s going, andBryan Cranston’s performance as Walter Whiteis too incredible to only watch once.
