The 100 Best Episodes of the Century

More than seven years ago, in July of 2018, The Ringer published its ranking of The 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century. The list came at a quasi-end of an era for television, which made its timing apt, and we as a staff sought to encapsulate the medium in all of its genre-spanning, highbrow-to-lowbrow glory. About a year later, both Disney+ and Apple TV+ launched, kicking off the streaming era in full and redefining the term “Peak TV.” (In 2018, 495 scripted shows were produced, a number that continued to rise annually, peaking in 2022 with 600 shows.)