7 Forgotten TV Shows That Are Actually Great, Ranked

Given the sheer number of shows that are put out year after year, it’s no surprise that there are countless TV shows that have been forgotten over time. In fact, even with the larger cultural shift from a focus on cable TV to streaming services dominating the market, output hasn’t really seemed to slow down.

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If anything, it’s become harder to keep track of new shows, with myriad streamers putting out new and returning shows constantly. With that model, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Although harsh, the truth is, many shows also don’t earn being remembered for the long haul. However, that is certainly not true of these seven shows that are all but forgotten, despite actually being great.

Dead To Me

Dead to Me was released in 2019 on Netflix, and it was immediately well-received. The show stars Christina Applegate as Jen Harding, Linda Cardellini as Judy Hale, and James Marsden as Steve Wood and centers on the complex friendship that grows between Jen and Judy, amid Jen’s intense grief over the loss of her husband to a hit-and-run driver.

In addition to being star-studded (and, unsurprisingly, brilliantly acted as a result), Dead to Me is a captivating dark comedy that, at times, veers into psychological thriller territory. It’s true that the first season is the show’s strongest, but it’s an enjoyable watch all the way through, and it certainly deserves to be remembered more often than it is.

Workin’ Moms

Workin’ Moms, a Canadian original series that ultimately became available on Netflix, is a quirky, heartwarming show that is guilty of millennial humor—but that doesn’t make it any less fun to watch. The show centers on a group of moms who are far from perfect. From day drinking to cheating and countless very questionable parenting moments in between, Workin’ Moms is chaotic and genuinely funny.

Beyond the humor, though, Workin’ Moms also offers a look at motherhood that feels much closer to reality than other, more cookie cutter parenting-focused shows might have audiences believe. These moms are messy, flawed, and often just winging it as they go, and they are very, very far removed from the idea of gentle parenting.

Divorce

Despite Divorce being led by Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church, two brilliant and beloved actors, the show is criminally overlooked. As the title suggests, Divorce is about a couple, Frances (Parker) and Robert (Church), who realize that they just can’t make their marriage work. Rather than a comically awful end, though, Divorce opts for realism throughout its three seasons.

In fact, part of what makes Divorce so interesting—and absolutely worth a watch—is that it doesn’t use divorce as the starting point or the ending point of the narrative, as so many shows and movies have done. Rather, the entire show explores what divorce and co-parenting look like before, during, and after the dissolution of a marriage.

Good Girls

Of all the inclusions on this list, Good Girls perhaps became the closest to truly mainstream, but it still doesn’t get enough recognition. Good Girls was released in 2018 and starred Christina Hendricks as Beth, Retta as Ruby, and Mae Whitman as Annie. In a weird twist of fate, all three unassuming, suburbanite women end up engaging in a series of crimes that they then cannot get out of.

Like Dead to Me, the show’s earlier seasons are best, and unfortunately in the case of Good Girls, it was cancelled before it could truly conclude. Because of that, the show is far from perfect; however, it is a legitimately great show that deserves to be watched and remembered (and not just because “Get in the car, Elizabeth” is one of the best delivered TV show lines in recent memory).

Sharp Objects

Amy Adams has been a celebrated actress for decades, and she has more than earned that spot. However, if your first association with Adams is Disney, Sharp Objects is definitely worth a watch. This dark series is a murder mystery, but it doesn’t follow the typical formula. In fact, Adams’ character, Camille, is part of the murder investigation, but her own traumatic history and emotional turmoil are just as important to the narrative as the deaths are.

The show also contains two separate plot twists that not only are well-executed but also will actually take audiences by surprise. As a limited series comprising 8 episodes, Sharp Objects is also a tidy, self-contained narrative that completely works as a standalone. Given that, as well as Adams’ stellar performance, this show deserves to be remembered.

The Undoing

Like Sharp Objects, The Undoing is a star-studded, one-season murder mystery mini series that packs a punch. This show stars Nicole Kidman as Grace and Hugh Grant as Jonathan, a seemingly happy married couple that ends up entangled in a gruesome murder investigation when a young mother from their school is brutally killed.

This show, too, has its fair share of plot twists and shocking moments, although where it truly shines is in its performances. Kidman has been in a staggering number of movies and shows over the years, but The Undoing is some of her best work, particularly in the last decade, and it should be getting considerably more attention than it has.

Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

Finally, when Star Wars fans hear The Clone Wars, they will almost certainly think of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the canon 2008 TV show that features Ahsoka Tano and ran for seven seasons. However, years before that, in 2003, Star Wars: Clone Wars was released, and while it may not be among Star Wars canon movies and TV shows, it is an excellent Star Wars show that should get so much more attention and credit.

Like its canon successor, Star Wars: Clone Wars is set between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and focuses primarily on Anakin Skywalker. The show is unique in a number of ways, though, including with its 2D art style done by Genndy Tartakovsky and with the events that it depicts. It may not be canon, but Star Wars: Clone Wars absolutely should not be forgotten.

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