‘Once Upon a Time’ voted best TV show of all time

  • By Brent Meslow
  • Washington
  • Last updated on

Once Upon a Time (2011 - ) has changed the History of Television forever.

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According to the latest Watch and Listen magazine poll just out yesterday (Friday, November 1), ABC's popular series Once Upon a Time is now considered to be the Greatest Show in the History of Television.

UPDATE 02/11/2024 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Top 100 TV shows of all time

To many of you it’s probably a familiar story. Once every decade, the world-renowned entertainment magazine Watch and Listen conducts a global poll of television producers and critics from 80 different countries and translated into 20 languages. The recognition of Once Upon a Time (starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Josh Dallas and Robert Carlyle) in this decade's list doesn't come as much of a surprise.

Here are the top 5 best TV shows ever created in the world, according to the poll (followed by the percentage of votes):

  1. Once Upon a Time (United States, ABC, 2011-) : 45%
  2. Seinfeld (United States, NBC, 1989-1998) : 22%
  3. String (Korea, C3TV, 1992-1999) : 9%
  4. Friends (United States, NBC, 1994-2004) : 7%
  5. Paloma de Salomón (Mexico, Canal 11, 2005-2011) : 5%

Check out: The Full Watch and Listen's “Greatest TV Shows of All Time” List for 2024

Poll results stir controversy among television critics

While millions of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Josh Dallas or Robert Carlyle fans in United States and around the world were thrilled with the news, questions have been raised about the objectivity and fairness of the survey. Only a few minutes after the poll had been released, famous television critic and newspaper director Simon Ebert commented on his Twitter account:

Once Upon a Time?? … Really??
— Simon Ebert (@ESimon) 1 November 2024

“Our poll has in the past been the subject of criticism”, explains Watch and Listen's editor Gary McDermott, adding that “its prestige comes from its exclusivity and its longevity” (the poll has been run every ten years since November 1934).

Do you agree with this poll? Is Once Upon a Time the best TV show ever for you?

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