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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 Drama TV Series of 2008

Top 500 most popular Drama series that started in 2008

All Drama series All series from 2008

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Genres

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

Action 52 Adult 1 Adventure 32 Animation 40 Biography 14 Comedy 136 Crime 84 Documentary 8 Drama 771 Family 22 Fantasy 31 Game-Show 0 History 35 Horror 8 Music 5 Musical 5 Mystery 41 News 0 Reality-TV 7 Romance 130 Sci-Fi 13 Short 6 Sport 3 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 27 War 10 Western 2

Decades

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

2020s 15153 2010s 12095 2000s 6142 1990s 3041 1980s 2162 1970s 1372 1960s 637 1950s 386 1940s 31 1930s 5 1920s 2 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 1449 2025 2989 2024 2392 2023 2296 2022 2211 2021 2019 2020 1797 2019 1714 2018 1552 2017 1490 2016 1338 2015 1194 2014 1082 2013 1003 2012 966 2011 929 2010 827 2009 801 2008 771 2007 784 2006 715 2005 646 2004 559 2003 513 2002 463 2001 476 2000 414 1999 384 1998 355 1997 371 1996 326 1995 292 1994 291 1993 292 1992 238 1991 250 1990 242 1989 262 1988 238 1987 238 1986 230 1985 232 1984 221 1983 203 1982 179 1981 182 1980 177 1979 188 1978 183 1977 155 1976 156 1975 128 1974 143 1973 106 1972 129 1971 97 1970 87 1969 94 1968 74 1967 77 1966 68 1965 65 1964 58 1963 56 1962 44 1961 44 1960 57 1959 59 1958 43 1957 40 1956 37 1955 49 1954 36 1953 29 1952 34 1951 25 1950 34 1949 21 1948 5 1947 2 1946 2 1945 1 1938 2 1937 1 1931 1 1930 1 1929 1 1928 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 3 Grew the Beard 0 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 0

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

Tone & mood

Bleak 6 Gritty 7 Dark tone 10 Feel-good 3 Cozy 3 Wholesome 5 Melancholic 3 Tense 11 Unsettling 1 Whimsical 2 Campy 1 Cynical 4 Hopeful 1 Sentimental 2 Nostalgic 3 Bittersweet 3 Chaotic energy 1 Deadpan cool 0

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 4 Fast-paced 0 Episodic 5 Serialized 9 Procedural 5 Mystery box 4 Anthology 1 Cliffhanger-driven 2 Sprawling saga 2 Tight limited run 9 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 2 Absurdist 0 Satirical 1 Cringe comedy 0 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 2 Dark comedy 0 Warm humor 3 Raunchy 0 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 0

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 4 Detective mystery 7 True crime 1 Heists & cons 0 Legal 0 Medical 0 Political intrigue 2 Espionage 1 War & military 2 Family saga 4 Coming of age 3 Workplace 1 School & campus 3 Love story 11 Friendship 2 Found family 1 Survival 3 Post-apocalyptic 1 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 4 Space & sci-fi 2 Near-future tech 1 Time travel 3 High fantasy 2 Urban fantasy 3 Monster horror 1 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 0 Mental health 1 Faith & religion 2 Sports 0 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 1 Real history 5 Royalty & aristocracy 0 Small town 1 Big city life 1 Rural & frontier 1 Suburban underbelly 1 Class divide 2 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 0 Female perspective 5 Social commentary 3 Philosophical 1 Existential dread 1 Revenge 1 Redemption 1 Secrets & lies 6

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 6 Morally gray 5 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 10 Central duo 2 Strong female lead 7 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 2 Genius lead 3 Working class 0 Elites & privilege 1 Unreliable narrator 1 Character study 5 Banter chemistry 2

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 3 Adrenaline 1 Intellectual challenge 1 Comfort rewatch 3 Romantic yearning 6 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 2 Warm glow 2 Gut punch 4

Craft & style

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

Format & audience

Sitcom 2 Adult animation 0 Anime 4 Kids & family 3 Young adult 2 Soap & telenovela 3 Event miniseries 5 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 13 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 3 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 10 Nordic noir 1 K-drama 0 Turkish drama 1 Indian TV 1

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 6 Disturbing 1 Sexually explicit 1 Family-safe 4 Emotionally heavy 4 Easy watching 9

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

Breaking Bad

2.7M 62 2008–2013

Sons of Anarchy

358K 92 2008–2014

Criminal underworld

True Blood

272K 81 2008–2014

Sexually explicit · Supernatural

Fringe

272K 100 2008–2013

Deep worldbuilding · Mystery box

The Mentalist

238K 151 2008–2015

Genius lead · Detective mystery

The Heroes

171K 73 2008–present

Sprawling saga · Real history

Merlin

94K 65 2008–2012

Friendship · Coming of age

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

66K 31 2008–2009

Strong female lead · Tense

Generation Kill

65K 7 2008–2008

War & military · Naturalistic

90210

48K 114 2008–2013

Young adult · Soap & telenovela

John Adams

40K 7 2008–2008

Real history · Period piece

Legend of the Seeker

38K 44 2008–2010

High fantasy · Adrenaline

Being Human

28K 37 2008–2013

Urban fantasy · Supernatural

Sanctuary

24K 59 2008–2011

Supernatural · Strong female lead

Toradora!

24K 25 2008–2009

Romantic yearning · Anime

Dead Set

22K 5 2008–2008

Monster horror · Survival · Bleak

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

22K 121 2008–2013

Coming of age · Soap & telenovela

Murdoch Mysteries

21K 335 2008–present

Detective mystery · Period piece

Flashpoint

20K 75 2008–2012

Procedural · Tense

In Treatment

19K 130 2008–2021

Dialogue-driven · Character study

Forbidden Love

18K 79 2008–2010

Turkish drama · Love story

Wallander

18K 12 2008–2016

Nordic noir · Detective mystery

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah

15K 4525 2008–present

Long-runner · Indian TV · Sitcom

The Andromeda Strain

15K 4 2008–2008

Event miniseries · Tense

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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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