Yeah, I know, it's been a while. That said, I've already covered all the reasons a more curated critical experience is beneficial and how I'm trying to drive that into your heads. But the Power Rankings! are their own thing, and so let's not blame events (Peak TV, life, college tours one might have taken, vacations to recover from college tours, vacations to get away from TV, that kind of thing) that may or may not have derailed their return. Instead, let's get to it.
A quick update on the rules: A series is eligible for a year after its last episode aired, or the date the whole thing dropped on a streaming service. I've written about why I instituted the yearlong rule, but in short it's a nod to Peak TV and how we all consume television in vastly different ways than in that past. You might just be discovering The Americans right now, for example. Lucky you.
Also, the Power Rankings! often shift between being drama-specific or comedy-specific, with the odd unscripted one tossed in, but in this version I'm allowing in comedies that are also serious — I'd argue there are at least three pretty clear ones here.
But here's a key change: I've dropped the "In Peril" and "In the Mix" addenda because they don't really apply in the latest incarnation of what the Power Rankings! has become. Meaning, some series won't be in peril because they are so damn good they could make every version of this list that comes out for a full year (whereas in the past it was more of a weekly or monthly thing). And, let's face it, with nearly 500 scripted series, the number of titles "in the mix" is staggering. Suffice it to say a lot of excellent series didn't make it, but are still being considered. One thing that still applies and will always apply is that no one person can watch every series airing currently or every episode, so this list only comprises series I've seen enough episodes of to make a judgment.
There are two sets of numbers attached to the shows below. The one on the left is its current ranking, the one on the right its last ranking, with a "0" denoting it was ineligible or failed to make the previous list.
