Like many of you out there, I have had a lot of time on my hands lately. Stuck in quarantine people have lots of time to binge television right now. I was inspired by Jared’s always fantastic tournament of names bracket to create one of my own. This one has nothing to do with sports though. I have pitted the greatest TV shows out there against one another and one will emerge the best of the best. You choose who moves on by voting each week for your favorites.
Below is the bracket. You might notice it looks quite similar to Jared’s in style, that is because his looks amazing and I am stealing his hard work. Deciding all of the competitors for the tournament was a very difficult process and I am sure almost everyone will notice some shows that you love that did not make the cut. I referenced IMDB’s top 100 most viewed shows list, many other lists other websites had done, and discussed with other people to figure out the most deserving shows. I then seeded the shows straight up based on their IMDB ratings. It’s not a perfect process but should make for some fun matchups and upsets throughout the tournament.
Now that you have looked at the bracket, let’s do some pre-voting analysis. I named the four regions after the best characters in each of the top seeded shows. That gives us the Walter White, Tyrion Lannister, Valery Legasov, and Richard Winters regions.
Walter White Region
Key Matchups:
Breaking Bad(1) vs. Grey’s Anatomy(16). This is a tough opening round matchup for the overall top seed. Grey’s Anatomy has been running since 2005 so they have to be doing something right. I don’t think an upset will happen but you never know.
Dexter(8) vs. Mad Men(9). The 8 vs 9 seed matchups should be close and I expect this one to be a nail-biter with two very solid shows.
Overall this region has some solid contenders in it. It is no secret amongst my friends that I think Breaking Bad is very overrated. I do like it, quite a bit, but I think it is far from the greatest show of all time. I would love to see the superior Dexter upset it in the second round. There are other shows here that could beat it like The Sopranos and Sherlock. My prediction though, is that Breaking Bad will easily make it into the final four, unfortunately.
Tyrion Lannister Region
Key Matchups:
House of Cards(6) vs. Prison Break(11). It is the battle of the shows that started out strong and got worse! That might not be too fair to House of Cards which remained fairly solid until Kevin Spacey was fired. I could see this one going either way again, but am pulling for the upset.
The Office(3) vs. The Good Place(14). This is the battle of the two very successful NBC comedies. I think the Office should have no problem here, but you never know.
The Wire(2) vs. You(15). I have unfortunately never seen The Wire but I hear great things. I have seen You however and it is very entertaining and very popular. Will enough longtime fans come out to support The Wire compared to the many new fans that You has? This might be closer than it seems.
There are plenty of solid shows in this region, but I just can’t see any of them beating Game of Thrones. The Handmaid’s Tale is underrated but don’t think it emerge. The only show that I think has any chance to move on is The Office, who has many diehard fans. If the GOT fans are still bitter over the ending then it is possible.
Valery Legasov Region
Key Matchups:
Chernobyl(1) vs. The 100(16). This is another one that might be closer than people think. I somehow have not seen Chernobyl, but I only hear great things. That being said, The 100 is wildly popular. Is it mind-blowing critically acclaimed television? No. But it is so entertaining.
Curb Your Enthusiasm(7) vs. Community(10). Two very popular comedies going at it in the first round. I don’t know Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I know the fans of Community, myself included, feel very strongly about their show. My money is on Community here.
I could see a few different shows emerging on top of this region, but I feel pretty strongly that it is not going to be Chernobyl. I think it will be either the very underrated The Walking Dead or Friends. My official pick is The Walking Dead to move on to the final four.
Richard Winters Region
Key Matchups:
The West Wing(5) vs. Lost(12). The only thing I remember about The West Wing is that my parents used to watch it and I thought it was very boring as a kid. I know that it is extremely popular though and I am sure I would like it more as an adult. But I have to believe Lost, my second favorite show ever, is going to come out with a strong upset in the first round.
House(6) vs. Person of Interest(11). I don’t think either of these shows has what it takes to make it to the final four, but they are both very solid. I think this one will be very close and hope Person of Interest can move on.
Death Note(3) vs. The Big Bang Theory(14). This one might seem like the seeds should be reversed. Anime shows are often rated very highly and that is because there are many fantastic anime out there, and Death Note is one of those. But The Big Bang Theory is one of the most watched shows of all time and I imagine it will unfortunately trounce Death Note in the first round.
This region has some of my favorite shows in it so I am excited to see how things play out. I have not seen Band of Brothers, but have only heard great things about it. Lost, Avatar, and Black mirror are some of my favorite shows so I am pulling for them. I’m going big and predicting Lost will make it out of this section.
I am very excited to see how this bracket plays out. Make sure to get your votes in before each Sunday as I will be doing one round of the tournament per week and will update the draw each Sunday. Please comment below your predictions or tell me why you think my opinions I talked about are wrong. Lastly, below is the link one more time to vote. Please share with your friends, I want as many people voting as possible!
