‘Chernobyl’ Is the Highest-Rated TV Show Ever on IMDb
Although the subject matter might have kept some skittish audiences away, viewers who have tuned in to Chernobyl, HBO’s five-part miniseries about the 1986 nuclear disaster, have loved the show — calling it one of the most intense and scariest series in years. And that feedback has been borne out over on IMDb, where this most un-crowdpleasing show has become the highest-rating series ever on the site.
Here’s the current top 10 for the database’s “Top Rated TV Shows” list:
- Chernobyl - 9.6
- Planet Earth II - 9.5
- Band of Brothers - 9.4
- Planet Earth - 9.4
- Breaking Bad - 9.4
- Game of Thrones - 9.4
- The Wire - 9.3
- Our Planet - 9.3
- Cosmos (2014) - 9.2
- Blue Planet II - 9.2
Man, do people on IMDb love their nature documentaries. Fully half of the top-rated series of all time are nature-related. Someone should do a study that explains how that phenomenon happens in the first place.
Back to Chernobyl: It now rates ahead of all the other fictional series on the list (three out of four of which are also HBO shows, with AMC’s Breaking Bad the sole exception). Band of Brothers, Game of Thrones, and particularly The Wire were all hugely critically acclaimed in their time so they all make sense. (The Sopranos, if you’re wondering, currently sits at #13 on the list. Deadwood is #77. Mr. Bean is #171.)
On paper, Chernobyl sounded like nowhere in the same category as those hits. Who’s going to tune in to watch people slowly succumb to radiation poisoning? Clearly, this is why HBO executives are as good at their jobs as they are and why I ... do this. Anyway, if you want to vote for any of these shows, go to IMDb and make your voice heard. I suggest giving Nailed It!, the true best show on television, a 10/10.
Gallery — The Best TV Shows of the Year: