☰

Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best Action TV Series of 2012

263 Action series that started in 2012, ranked by popularity

All Action series All series from 2012

Filter & sort

Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Action 263 Adult 0 Adventure 79 Animation 89 Biography 3 Comedy 59 Crime 48 Documentary 3 Drama 74 Family 6 Fantasy 9 Game-Show 3 History 12 Horror 6 Music 0 Musical 0 Mystery 5 News 0 Reality-TV 3 Romance 7 Sci-Fi 14 Short 4 Sport 4 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 9 War 2 Western 0

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

2020s 2764 2010s 3051 2000s 1559 1990s 843 1980s 431 1970s 271 1960s 159 1950s 43 1940s 6 1930s 2 1920s 1 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 183 2025 418 2024 421 2023 473 2022 431 2021 435 2020 403 2019 345 2018 368 2017 371 2016 329 2015 321 2014 301 2013 301 2012 263 2011 257 2010 195 2009 212 2008 189 2007 196 2006 148 2005 152 2004 148 2003 140 2002 123 2001 132 2000 119 1999 116 1998 114 1997 108 1996 101 1995 81 1994 91 1993 65 1992 48 1991 63 1990 56 1989 60 1988 40 1987 48 1986 45 1985 53 1984 56 1983 43 1982 26 1981 31 1980 29 1979 41 1978 22 1977 31 1976 32 1975 19 1974 32 1973 34 1972 27 1971 23 1970 10 1969 16 1968 20 1967 27 1966 33 1965 13 1964 15 1963 14 1962 6 1961 8 1960 7 1959 9 1958 8 1957 3 1956 4 1955 5 1954 2 1953 2 1952 4 1950 6 1949 4 1944 1 1940 1 1938 1 1937 1 1929 1

Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 1 Stuck the Landing 1 Grew the Beard 3 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 1

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 0 Gritty 1 Dark tone 4 Feel-good 0 Cozy 0 Wholesome 0 Melancholic 1 Tense 6 Unsettling 2 Whimsical 1 Campy 3 Cynical 0 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 1 Nostalgic 0 Bittersweet 1 Chaotic energy 5 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 1 Fast-paced 4 Episodic 3 Serialized 11 Procedural 4 Mystery box 1 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 3 Sprawling saga 5 Tight limited run 4 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 1 Absurdist 4 Satirical 0 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 1 Witty banter 1 Dark comedy 1 Warm humor 0 Raunchy 2 Parody 1 Ironic & meta 2

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 2 Detective mystery 7 True crime 0 Heists & cons 0 Legal 1 Medical 0 Political intrigue 1 Espionage 1 War & military 3 Family saga 2 Coming of age 4 Workplace 1 School & campus 2 Love story 3 Friendship 1 Found family 3 Survival 3 Post-apocalyptic 1 Dystopia 3 Supernatural 1 Space & sci-fi 1 Near-future tech 2 Time travel 1 High fantasy 4 Urban fantasy 0 Monster horror 1 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 0 Mental health 0 Faith & religion 0 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 0 Real history 2 Royalty & aristocracy 0 Small town 0 Big city life 0 Rural & frontier 1 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 2 Immigrant experience 1 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 0 Social commentary 1 Philosophical 2 Existential dread 0 Revenge 1 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 5

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 1 Morally gray 3 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 6 Central duo 0 Strong female lead 5 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 0 Genius lead 1 Working class 0 Elites & privilege 0 Unreliable narrator 0 Character study 1 Banter chemistry 0

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 12 Intellectual challenge 0 Comfort rewatch 0 Romantic yearning 1 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 1 Mounting dread 1 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 0

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 1 Visually striking 3 Stylized direction 2 Naturalistic 0 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 2 Atmospheric 4 Distinctive score 2 Experimental 1 Deep worldbuilding 9 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 1 Anime 9 Kids & family 8 Young adult 2 Soap & telenovela 1 Event miniseries 1 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 5 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 1 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 2 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 0 Turkish drama 1 Indian TV 0

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 3 Disturbing 2 Sexually explicit 1 Family-safe 7 Emotionally heavy 0 Easy watching 6

Sort

263 series

Arrow

462K 170 2012–2020

Revenge · Serialized

The Legend of Korra

153K 52 2012–2014

Strong female lead · High fantasy

Elementary

127K 154 2012–2019

Detective mystery · Genius lead

Revolution

88K 42 2012–2014

Post-apocalyptic · Survival

Chicago Fire

72K 296 2012–present

Workplace · Ensemble cast

Continuum

67K 42 2012–2015

Time travel · Serialized

Sword Art Online

64K 100 2012–2020

Anime · Near-future tech

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

59K 193 2012–present

Stylized direction · Anime · Campy

Longmire

44K 63 2012–2017

Rural & frontier · Atmospheric

Alcatraz

41K 13 2012–2012

Mystery box · Detective mystery

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

27K 5 2012–2012

War & military · Tight limited run

Psycho-Pass

26K 41 2012–2019

Dystopia · Anime · Dark tone

Last Resort

23K 13 2012–2013

Star vs. the Forces of Evil

22K 78 2012–2019

Whimsical · Chaotic energy

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

18K 124 2012–2017

Kids & family · Found family

Major Crimes

18K 105 2012–2018

Procedural · Detective mystery

High School DxD

18K 65 2012–2018

Anime · Sexually explicit

The River

17K 8 2012–2012

Unsettling · Tense

Ultimate Spider-Man

17K 104 2012–2017

Ironic & meta · Kids & family

Dragons: Riders of Berk

16K 40 2012–2014

Kids & family · Family-safe

Video Game High School

14K 21 2012–2014

School & campus · Young adult

Copper

11K 24 2012–2013

Period piece · Gritty

Parade's End

11K 5 2012–2012

Period piece · British TV

Ben 10: Omniverse

11K 80 2012–2014

Kids & family · Family-safe

‹ Prev1 2…11 Next ›

‹ 2011 2012 2013 ›

Browse by genre

Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Rating data from IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets.

About Contact Privacy Impressum © 2026 Bingerator