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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

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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

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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

Tron: Uprising

10K 19 2012–2013

Visually striking

Hunted

10K 8 2012–2012

Espionage · Serialized · Tense

Missing

10K 10 2012–2012

Strong female lead · Serialized

Avengers Assemble

9K 127 2012–2019

Kids & family · Adrenaline

Lab Rats

9K 98 2012–2016

Kids & family · Family-safe

RWBY

8K 159 2012–present

High fantasy · Adrenaline · Anime

The Transporter

8K 24 2012–2014

Fast-paced · Adrenaline

Vegas

8K 21 2012–2013

Period piece · Criminal underworld

Kingdom

7K 155 2012–present

War & military · Anime

Karadayi

7K 115 2012–2015

Turkish drama · Soap & telenovela

Treasure Island

7K 2 2012–2012

Period piece · Tight limited run

The Firm

6K 22 2012–2012

Legal · Secrets & lies

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

6K 50 2012–2014

Anime · High fantasy

Btooom!

6K 12 2012–2012

Survival · Anime

Primeval: New World

5K 13 2012–2013

Action · Adventure · Drama

A Touch of Cloth

5K 7 2012–2014

Parody · Dry humor · Absurdist

From the New World

4K 25 2012–2013

Dystopia · Deep worldbuilding

Sinbad

4K 12 2012–2013

The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange

4K 62 2012–2014

Kids & family · Slapstick

The Big Lez Show

4K 36 2012–2019

Adult animation · Absurdist

Slugterra

3K 57 2012–2016

Action · Adventure · Animation

K: Return of Kings

3K 26 2012–2015

Action · Animation · Drama

Accel World

3K 26 2012–2023

Action · Animation · Romance

Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero

3K 19 2012–2013

Action · Animation · Fantasy

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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.

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