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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 2012

Top 500 most popular Drama series that started in 2012

All Drama 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 74 Adult 0 Adventure 32 Animation 36 Biography 16 Comedy 183 Crime 104 Documentary 12 Drama 966 Family 27 Fantasy 39 Game-Show 0 History 51 Horror 23 Music 18 Musical 5 Mystery 51 News 0 Reality-TV 8 Romance 138 Sci-Fi 12 Short 16 Sport 6 Talk-Show 1 Thriller 36 War 13 Western 0

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 2 Stuck the Landing 0 Grew the Beard 1 Rock Solid 1 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 2 Gritty 6 Dark tone 12 Feel-good 2 Cozy 0 Wholesome 3 Melancholic 8 Tense 10 Unsettling 5 Whimsical 1 Campy 1 Cynical 2 Hopeful 2 Sentimental 6 Nostalgic 2 Bittersweet 7 Chaotic energy 0 Deadpan cool 1

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 3 Fast-paced 2 Episodic 4 Serialized 15 Procedural 4 Mystery box 6 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 4 Sprawling saga 4 Tight limited run 15 Puzzle plot 1 Vignette style 1

Humor style

Dry humor 1 Absurdist 2 Satirical 2 Cringe comedy 1 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 6 Dark comedy 3 Warm humor 5 Raunchy 0 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 1

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 8 Detective mystery 12 True crime 1 Heists & cons 0 Legal 1 Medical 5 Political intrigue 5 Espionage 1 War & military 6 Family saga 6 Coming of age 9 Workplace 7 School & campus 7 Love story 17 Friendship 3 Found family 5 Survival 3 Post-apocalyptic 1 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 6 Space & sci-fi 0 Near-future tech 1 Time travel 1 High fantasy 0 Urban fantasy 2 Monster horror 1 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 1 Mental health 1 Faith & religion 1 Sports 1 Music scene 4 Food & cooking 0 Nature & science 0 Real history 9 Royalty & aristocracy 2 Small town 3 Big city life 1 Rural & frontier 2 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 4 Immigrant experience 1 Queer stories 2 Female perspective 9 Social commentary 3 Philosophical 1 Existential dread 1 Revenge 2 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 15

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 3 Morally gray 7 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 13 Central duo 1 Strong female lead 12 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 3 Genius lead 1 Working class 1 Elites & privilege 6 Unreliable narrator 1 Character study 8 Banter chemistry 1

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 6 Adrenaline 2 Intellectual challenge 1 Comfort rewatch 0 Romantic yearning 7 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 0 Mounting dread 3 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 2

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 7 Visually striking 3 Stylized direction 1 Naturalistic 1 Big-budget spectacle 0 Lo-fi charm 0 Atmospheric 10 Distinctive score 2 Experimental 0 Deep worldbuilding 1 Tight writing 3

Format & audience

Sitcom 3 Adult animation 0 Anime 10 Kids & family 2 Young adult 3 Soap & telenovela 6 Event miniseries 9 Reality competition 0 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 0 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 27 Contemporary life 2 Long-runner 1 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 15 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 2 Turkish drama 2 Indian TV 0

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 4 Disturbing 1 Sexually explicit 1 Family-safe 4 Emotionally heavy 7 Easy watching 9

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

19K 34 2012–2015

Detective mystery

Smash

19K 32 2012–2013

Music scene · Soap & telenovela

666 Park Avenue

19K 13 2012–2013

Supernatural · Urban fantasy

The Finder

19K 13 2012–2012

Procedural · Episodic

Major Crimes

18K 105 2012–2018

Procedural · Detective mystery

The River

17K 8 2012–2012

Unsettling · Tense

A Young Doctor's Notebook & Other Stories

17K 8 2012–2013

Medical · Dark comedy

The Bletchley Circle

16K 7 2012–2014

Detective mystery

Magic City

14K 16 2012–2013

Period piece · Criminal underworld

The Paradise

14K 16 2012–2013

Period piece · British TV

Copper

11K 24 2012–2013

Period piece · Gritty

Parade's End

11K 5 2012–2012

Period piece · British TV

Dallas

11K 40 2012–2014

Soap & telenovela · Family saga

Rita

11K 40 2012–2020

School & campus

Farouk Omar

11K 31 2012–2012

Faith & religion · Real history

Jane by Design

11K 18 2012–2012

Young adult · Coming of age

Last Tango in Halifax

10K 24 2012–2020

British TV · Family saga

Hunted

10K 8 2012–2012

Espionage · Serialized · Tense

Missing

10K 10 2012–2012

Strong female lead · Serialized

Bunheads

10K 18 2012–2013

Dialogue-driven · Witty banter

World Without End

9K 8 2012–2012

Period piece · Event miniseries

GCB

9K 10 2012–2012

Campy · Female perspective

Lab Rats

9K 98 2012–2016

Kids & family · Family-safe

Men at Work

9K 31 2012–2014

Friendship · Sitcom

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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.

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