Ranking The 25 Highest-Rated TV Episodes Of The Past 25 Years

Depending on who you are asking, and how old they are, the ‘Golden Age of Television‘ either took place from 1947 to 1960 or from the year 2000 through present day. We fall into the latter camp. Hollywood has been on fire for the past quarter century and producing cinematic quality television unlike any other era in history.

Case in point, below we take a look at the 25 highest-rated TV episodes of the past 25 years. More specifically, these are the highest-rated live-action TV episodes of the past 25 years. That distinction is necessary because if you peruse the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) over half of the highest-rated episodes are from the Anime genre and many of them are extremely obscure series, so I have opted to not include those and went with all live-action for these rankings.

The 25 Highest-Rated TV Episodes Of The Past 25 Years

One thing that really struck me with these rankings is just how high the bar has been set. Some incredibly memorable episodes of television didn’t make the cut. For example, The Good Place finale ‘Whenever You’re Ready’ has a 9.6 out of 10 rating with 8,400+ reviews and it did not crack the top 25.

The same is true with ‘Ronny/Lilly’ from Barry which has a 9.7* rating and 18K reviews but its overall score only ranks #354 on IMDB’s list. Anyone who has ever watched Barry knows that episode is a true masterpiece. So now that we have established how high the bar for the top 25 has been set, let’s dive into the 25 highest-rated TV episodes of the past 25 years.

25. Scrubs S3E14 ‘My Screwup’

Score: 9.7 with 6.8K ratings

I’m not saying that ‘My Screwup’ broke the soul of everyone watching Scrubs back then but I still can’t hear The Fray’s music without thinking about that moment above. In a show that was often silly to the extreme, this episode tackled mental health in a way that floored viewers.

24. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ S5E16 ‘The Body’

Score: 9.7 with 9.4K ratings

Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for 7 seasons starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and won two Primetime Emmy’s. It does not seem to have quite the same cultural staying power as some TV shows from that generation but that means it is either perfect for a revival or some network needs to pick up the reruns. There are actually back-to-back ‘Buffy’ episodes in these rankings with the next one below being the other of the two.

23. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ S6E7 ‘Once More, with Feeling’

Score: 9.7 with 12K ratings

This episode premiered on November 6, 2001 and just makes the ’25 year’ cutoff. It is a musical episode with the Sunnydale residents randomly bursting into song throughout. Joss Whedon really knew what he was doing with this one and I daresay this episode was what laid the foundation for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog years later with Neil Patrick Harris.

22. ‘Chernobyl’ S1E5 ‘Vichnaya Pamyat’

Score: 9.8 with 74K ratings

HBO‘s Chernobyl occupies an interesting space where it is on television but it was a mini-series and never meant to go for more than one season, which it didn’t. But the show was a masterpiece and fans begged for more. Currently on IMDB, Chernobyl is the 5th highest-rated TV series of all time, wedged between Avatar: The Last Airbender at #6 and Band of Brothers at #4.

21. ‘Person of Interest’ 4E11 ‘If-Then-Else’

Score: 9.8 with 15K ratings

This episode revolved around a cyberattack on the stock exchange and reached depths that no other Person of Interest episode could ever. It aired on January 6, 2015.

20. ‘Game of Thrones’ S5E8 ‘Hardhome’

Score: 9.8 with 146K ratings

I still vividly remember watching this episode on TV and when one of the White Walkers raised his hand at the end I screenshot that, threw it on the old Twitter with the caption ‘Are you not entertained?’ Stealing the phrase from Gladiator was perfect and I’m fairly certain that tweet did 10K re-posts in the first 5 minutes… Ah, the old days of watching Sunday night Game of Thrones and live-tweeting were phenomenal.

19. ‘Heated Rivalry’ S1E5 ‘I’ll Believe in Anything’

Score: 9.8 with 76K ratings

HBO’s most popular new show of 2025 was Heated Rivalry and it wasn’t even close. The show set records, winning 16 categories at the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards. For a brief while, episode 5 above earned the coveted 10/10 rating on IMDB and tied Breaking Bad with that honor.

18. ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ S10E4 ‘Charlie Work’

Score: 9.8 with 14K ratings

When Always Sunny fans tend to think about the show’s best moments the early seasons often come up on conversation the most. But the show’s highest-rated episode, and the 18th highest-rated TV episode of all time, came in Season 10, Episode 4 ‘Charlie Work’ when Charlie Day was “determined to make sure Paddy’s Pub passes its health inspection.” At least within my circle, this is an episode that got a lot of my friends watching the show again.

17. ‘The Office’ S9E23 ‘Finale’

Score: 9.8 with 27K ratings

It is an extremely rare feat for a TV show to end on such a high note but The Office did exactly that, earning the #17 spot on the list of the highest-rated TV episodes of the past 25 years with S9E23 ‘finale.’ The brought back Steve Carell as Michael Scott for Dwight’s wedding and everything was perfect with one final ‘that’s what she said.’

16. ‘Breaking Bad’ S5E16 ‘Felina’

Score: 9.8 with 297K ratings

As the #1 highest-rated TV series of all time, Breaking Bad, it has several episodes on this list. First up is ‘S5E16 ‘Felina’ which marks Walter White return to Albuquerque, New Mexico to square up his business affairs.

16. ‘Succession’ S4E3 ‘Connor’s Wedding’

Score: 9.8 with 46K ratings

One of my personal favorites on this list, ‘Connors Wedding’ from S4E3 Succession was phenomenal from start to finish. Just a straight-up curveball in this episode and a masterclass of acting from everyone involved.

14. ‘The Office’ S7E22 ‘Goodbye, Michael’

Score: 9.8 with 22K ratings

Another episode of The Office to make the list is S7E22 when Steve Carrell’s character Michael Scott leaves Scranton. It was an emotional departure and one that the showrunners handled masterfully. For many, this marked the beginning of the end of The Office.

13. ‘Breaking Bad’ S4E13 ‘Face Off’

Score: 9.8 with 161K ratings

Where do we even begin with this episode? Walt solves his Gustavo problem. He is suffocating under the weight of Hank’s investigation. It was the Season 4 finale and the highest-rated episode that season.

12. ‘Community’ S1E23 ‘Modern Warfare’

Score: 9.8 with 17K ratings

There really is not enough ‘Comedy’ genre representation on this list of the highest-rated TV episodes of the past 25 years but it is nice to see Community get a no. I was a bit shocked that no 30 Rock episode cracked the top 25. ‘Milf Hunter’ is obviously a masterpiece.

11. ‘Dexter’ S4E12 ‘The Getaway’

Score: 9.8 with 46K ratings

When Dexter was at its peak the show was as good if not better than anything on television. Unfortunately, Dexter ran for four more seasons after this episode and ended with a historically awful finale. But S4E12 ‘The Getaway’ is as good of an episode of television as there ever was.

10. ‘Better Call Saul’ S6E8 ‘Point and Shoot’

Score: 9.8 with 59K ratings

As good as Breaking Bad was, and it is the highest-rated TV series of all time on IMDB, many diehards believe that Better Call Saul was even better. At #10 on the all-time list is S6E6 ‘Point and Shoot.’

9. ‘Better Call Saul’ S6E13 ‘Saul Gone’

Score: 9.8 with 81K ratings

here we have back-to-back Better Call Saul episodes. S6E13 was the Season 6 finale and series finale. They ended the show perfectly as far as fans are concerned.

8. ‘Mr. Robot’ S4E13 ‘Hello, Elliot’

Score: 9.8 with 32K ratings

Season 4, episode 13 ‘Hello, Elliot’ was the major reveal episode in Mr. Robot that sort of blew back the story and melted minds. The writing on Mr. Robot was simply on another level at the time and this episode was a perfect example of how it stood out amongst anything else on TV during its reign.

7. ‘Doctor Who’ S3E10 ‘Blink’

Score: 9.8 with 29K ratings

With approximately 892 known episodes of Dr. Who it only makes sense that at least one of them would make this list. ‘Blink’ has a 9.8* rating with over 29,000 reviews.

6. ‘Mr. Robot’ S4E7 ‘407 Proxy Authentication Required’

Score: 9.9 with 48K ratings

This episode marked the mid-way point of Season 4 of Mr. Robot and the show’s highest-rated episode of all-time. Sam Esmail’s writing in this episode was masterful. At its heart, the episode was 5 distinct stories all woven into one.

5. ‘Game of Thrones’ S6E10 ‘The Winds of Winter’

Score: 9.9 with 233K ratings

4. ‘Game of Thrones’ S6E9 ‘Battle of the Bastards’

Score: 9.9 with 314K ratings

The ‘Battle of the Bastards’ was the high point of Season 6 in Game of Thrones. It produced one of the most enduring images from the show’s history with Jon Snow on the battlefield alone welcoming a charging army. Looking back, this is one of those episodes that serves as a reminder of how great GoT was before it all went downhill in the end.

3. ‘Game of Thrones’ S3E9 ‘The Rains of Castemere’

Score: 9.9 with 187K ratings

I will never forget how I felt when I read this scene in the books. There was so much anger inside me I had to shut the book and go for a walk outside for an hour. At least when it came time for the ‘Red Wedding’ scene on TV I was prepared, unlike most of the known world who had a collective societal meltdown over how it all transpired.

2. ‘Better Call Saul’ S6E7 ‘Plan and Execution’

Score: 9.9 with 89K ratings

This episode marked the halfway point of Season 6 of Better Call Saul and it is the highest-rated episode in the show’s history. It also has a higher rating than any Breaking Bad episode which is saying a lot. Somehow, we have made it to the final two episodes, the two highest-rated TV episodes of the past 25 years (and of all time) and both are series finales. That is truly remarkable.

1. ‘Six Feet Under’ S5E12 ‘Everyone’s Waiting’

Score: 9.9 with 20K ratings

At #1, the highest-rated TV episode of the past 25 years AND of all time, is S05E12 ‘Everyone’s Waiting’ from HBO’s Six Feet Under. With how much representation HBO has on this list it is a wonder why any other TV network bothers competing with them.

The episode is described as “emotionally shattering” and “strangely comforting” which is to say it was the perfect ending to Six Feet Under. Alan Ball had the ultimate mic drop with this episode.