1001 TV Series You Must Watch Before You Die (2015)

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Created by Apu.

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This is the 1st edition (October 2015) and the latest addition to the bestselling and highly acclaimed 1001-series.

"From "Leave it to Beaver" to "Breaking Bad", "The Honeymooners" to "Homeland", this compilation of important and groundbreaking television shows is packed full of trivia and will be sure to make you want to pick up the remote or start streaming. Selected by an international team of experts and covering a worldwide spectrum of programs from the classics of the 1950s to the cutting-edge shows of today, 1001 TV Series is one of the most comprehensive books ever published on the topic of television."

This volume is virtually impossible to finish (as you have to watch every single episode of every single entry). Not to mention many of the shows are still running this very day.

If the authors instead chose to focus only on TV-series/TV-Mini-series/TV-movies you might have had a chance, but unfortunately, TV shows - including Game shows, Reality and Talk shows - are also included.

NOTE: the book contains some TV-movies or stand-alone episodes from TV-series, but the vast majority of the entries are either TV-series, TV-Mini-series or TV shows.

The genres are:

Action/Adventure: 43
Animation: 13
Awards show: 3
Biography: 1
Comedy: 246
Comedy/Drama: 31
Crime: 1
Crime/Mystery: 101
Documentary: 18
Drama: 226
Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi: 107
Game show: 26
Historical drama: 60
Music/Musical: 13
Reality: 31
Soap opera: 28
Sports: 2
Talk Show: 16
Variety: 22
Western: 13

= 1001

TV-series/shows/movies that, according to the introduction by Robb Pearlman, "could not be included" (it is never argued why):

The Winds of War (1983)
Lonesome Dove (1989)
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) [???????]
Sybil (1976)
Gia (1998)
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
Duel (1971)
V (1983)
Recount (2008)
Game Change (2012)
An Early Frost (1984)
And the Band Played On (1993)
Brian's Song (1971)
Mildred Pierce (2011)
Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001).

Some entries that most likely will cause some problems in terms of checking them are the Awards shows: Academy Awards (#17), Golden Globe Awards (#50), MTV Video Music Awards (#365) as well as "Eurovision Song Contest" (#32). Instead of adding every single annual event for these shows, I decided to add only the earliest entry I could locate on IMDb (as if you care about those shows and/or will finish this list anyway).

NOTE: "1001 TV Series You Must Watch Before You Die" and "1001 TV Shows You Must Watch Before You DIe" have identical entires (1948-2015) - as well as the same page total (960) - although they're two different books. Generally speaking, the only differences between the two books are:
- the introduciton is longer in "Shows" (an introduction by Robb Pearlman) whereas "Series" have a much shorter introduction and instead have an additional index (Index by Genre). The "Index by Genre" is not featured in "Shows".
- "Shows" is in hardcover whereas "Series" is in paperback.
- The front and back cover are different.

If you spot any errors (or if any of the abovementioned series/shows I've listed earlier has been added to IMDb), or if you have any questions about the entries or the list as a whole, please don't hesitate to PM me.

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    The 100

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  2. 365 new

    1st Annual MTV Video Music Awards

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  3. 824 new

    2 Days 1 Night

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  4. 50 new

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  5. 101 new

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  7. 17 new

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  10. 790 new

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  18. 48 new

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    1963 — a.k.a. Dinner for One, in 0 top lists Check
  20. 349 new

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    Act Without Words I

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  25. 649 new

    Act Without Words II

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  26. 107 new

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  27. 27 new

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    1955, in 0 top lists Check
  28. 364 new

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    1984, in 0 top lists Check
  29. 16 new

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    1952, in 0 top lists Check
  30. 142 new

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    1967, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 1020 new

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  32. 1028 new

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    2012 — a.k.a. Real Humans, in 0 top lists Check
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    1986, in 0 top lists Check
  35. 24 new

    Alfred Hitchcock Presents

    1955, in 0 top lists Check
  36. 642 new

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    2001, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 454 new

    Alien Nation

    1989, in 0 top lists Check
  38. 285 new

    All Creatures Great and Small

    1978, in 0 top lists Check
  39. 181 new

    All in the Family

    1971, in 0 top lists Check
  40. 165 new

    All My Children

    1970, in 0 top lists Check
  41. 586 new

    All Saints

    1998, in 0 top lists Check
  42. 607 new

    All stars: De serie

    1999, in 0 top lists Check
  43. 528 new

    All-American Girl

    1994, in 0 top lists Check
  44. 337 new

    'Allo 'Allo!

    1982, in 0 top lists Check
  45. 573 new

    Ally McBeal

    1997, in 0 top lists Check
  46. 218 new

    Am laufenden Band

    1974, in 0 top lists Check
  47. 644 new

    The Amazing Race

    2001, in 0 top lists Check
  48. 756 new

    American Dad!

    2005, in 0 top lists Check
  49. 206 new

    An American Family

    1973, in 0 top lists Check
  50. 972 new

    American Horror Story

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
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Last updated on Nov 3, 2023; source