Transcription
The seven levels of TV shows explained.
Level one, trash.
The lowest form of TV show entertainment, where you trade the little time you have on this earth for garbage. Shows like The Idol, Velma, and Resident Evil embody this level. If you've ever seen an episode of any of these, I'm sorry. And if you've ever sat through the entire season like I had to, you're a massochist. I went into Velma blind and it was like getting labbotomized. The first scene was cockroaches having sex and a whole load of nudity front, right, and center. So, I'm rubbing my eyes checking to see if I pirated the right ver I mean bought the right version. The cringe edgginess and nudity for the sake of it isn't even what makes it trash. The writing is terrible and you get the impression that this person has it out against the world and is projecting it all over my beloved Scooby-Doo franchise. I have no problem with Velma being Indian, Shaggy being black, and Fred being gay. What I do have a problem with though is many of their extreme personality traits have no development and no dynamic between them. It's so self-depreciating at times in an unfunny way. Lazy and quite impressively boring at the same time. I have no idea who this show caters to. Certainly not kids and certainly not adults with more than a couple brain [music] cells. Just like the rest of this level, these shows lack any redeeming qualities that would class it as watchable. My IQ dropped watching the idol. You know that meme with the guy sweating because he doesn't know what button to press. Well, this show is like, hm, should the next scene have Lily Rose Depp have a cigarette or have her milkers out? It's literally corn. And I'm not talking about the one on the cob. And The Weekend is as bad as acting as he is good at singing. Every show in this tier fails at the basic level of film making, which is made worse by the fact that many of them hide behind major IPs like Resident Evil or Star Wars: The Acolyte, where the name does more of the heavy lifting than the writing.
Level two, bad.
These are the shows you would only put on if you were bored and have absolutely nothing to watch. So, you're like, "Hm, let me put on some Rings of Power because I loved Lord of the Rings. How bad could it be?" or let me put on some pear because I liked suits. Despite all the crap they get online which may or may not be deserved, when I watched them, I saw an attempt at storytelling and theme, but it's undermined by poor execution built on wobbly foundations. There's too many cliches and the characters behave for plot convenience. These shows fail not because they don't try, but because they misunderstand what makes their ideas work. And I get the impression that the team behind it also lacks talent. Take Pearson for example. Trying to do a show about Jessica that doesn't involve the law or running a firm was tremendously stupid [music] and wasteful of such an amazing character. It's like if I went ahead and made a spin-off for Breaking Bad without cooking meth. Okay, bad example. It's like if I made a spin-off for Game of Thrones, but there's no throne. You get my point. The series adds no meaningful insight into her character, relying instead on a thin political subplot. Similarly, Batwoman avoids the trash tier only through its surface level production, decent fight choreography, and costume design. And that's being generous. You're telling me Batman fought tooth and nail and trained with secret assassins for years in order to hone his craft to become the caped crusader, but stealing his tech and dawning the suit yields the same results. That's a terrible foundation to build a show from. You saw the love and passion in Lord of the Rings, and it's expressed through everything from the music, cinematography, acting, and the plot. Compare that to Rings of Power, which fails to capture the same emotional core. A contrast that perfectly illustrates the difference between entertainment shaped by a filmmaker who grew up loving the things he or she now make versus entertainment made by a committee following shareholders who want nothing but bigger numbers on their balance sheet. And just like the rest of the shows on this level, they insult the viewers's intelligence acting as cheap dopamine dumps or quick cash grabs rather than artistic creations.
Level three mid.
Level three represents the corporate pump and dump of television where the production reaches a professional standard, but the creative spark remains dim. The only important thing is to churn it out, resulting in dull, boring entertainment that have so much more potential layered beneath them, only to be reduced to nothing more than background noise. These shows aren't bad. They're just not good either, and certainly do not evoke any emotions, making them forgettable at best. I mean, name one other character from the book of Boba Fett, not called Boba Fett. You can't. And like the other shows on this level, they are defined by constraints of a formula. They follow the established tropes of their genre so closely that they become predictable and eventually lost in time. I don't know about you, but I've personally never heard someone say, "Yo, bro, put on that Cleveland show." We even have AAA powerhouse shows like vinyl on this list which proves that passion always beats out profit. While vinyl had the cinematic pedigree of Scorsesei and Mick Jagger, it became mired in repetitive tropes proving that high-end aesthetics cannot mask a narrative that is spinning its wheels. Rather than offering meaningful insight into the music business, artistic process or the cultural forces shaping the era. The narrative fixates on unlikable characters engaging in corny behavior and unbelievable amounts of white powder. There is little narrative progression. And I'm tired of the goofy ass accents. And don't even defend the cinematography because that was mid as well. And just like the other shows on this level, they're the definition of meh. The unfortunate professional standard of the contemporary entertainment industry. These shows are built to be consumed and then forgotten about because they do not bring anything new to the table.
Unlike Level four, Upper.
Now we're getting into actual entertainment that justifies your time. Some of these might even be your favorite shows. They cater to the wider population fueled usually by hype and marketing and will get an influx of casual viewership. These shows are consistently watchable and often genuinely entertaining with clear creative intent. What keeps Level 4 from climbing higher is inconsistency and restraint. The ideas are good but not fully pushed. And the characters are compelling but not exhaustively explored. And the show hints at greatness without committing to it. I'm going to upset a lot of people by putting Stranger Things into this category. But don't lie to yourself. It's okay. Not bad, not great, and it certainly cannot reach the next tier with its corny dialogue and predictable plot points. Season 1 was fantastically well- paced and a fun homage to 80s style Stephen Spielberg sci-fi and Stephen King style horrors. The acting was passable, especially for kids, and it had great coming of age adolescent stories that were reminiscent of ET and Standby Me without relying on plagiarism or being a nostalgia merchant. But from there, it just went downhill. The Witcher and The Flash also fall into this category. One season wonders with the overall consensus that it's good, but not any more than that. There's a lot of slow episodes that don't have purpose, some bad acting, and parts where we just keep going around in circles. The seasons also vary a lot from really good to just boring or [music] bad. Squid Game also falls into this category, which is sad as it started off excellent and was a breath of fresh air within Netflix. Season 1 balanced emotion, character, and suspense in a way no other series could. Guhan's arc from a broken man to a survivor with a conscience was powerful, and his desire to end the games and reunite with his daughter felt like the emotional soul of the show. Things went downhill from there and by the time we get to season 3, it just gave us predictable plot twists, abandoned storylines such as John Hose and turned Guihan into someone unrecognizable with a lot of symbolic moments falling flat. Unlike mid TV shows, these series do leave an impression. They spark conversations, build fan bases, and deliver standout episodes, but they rarely sustain excellence across every season or fully transcend the limitations of their format.
Unlike level five, great.
Every TV show from this point on deserves its flowers. These are shows with a clear creative vision, strong directorship, and poetic acting most of the time. The writing is layered. Characters evolve in ways that feel earned, and it understands when to be restrained and when to be bold. Even when episodes slow down, they're purposeful, building theme, mood, and character rather than stalling for time. This level has it all. The phenomenal brotherly bond between Michael and Lincoln in Prison Break, topped with a thrilling chaotic plot that constantly keeps you on your toes. The Machavevelian chess game of House of Cards, a chilling exploration of power that thrives on its fourth wall breaking intimacy. It uses cold, calculated aesthetics and sharp tongue dialogue to pull the viewer in into the dark corridors of DC. And don't forget about the dark but alluring world of Peaky Blinders. A masterclass in atmosphere that marries 1920s industrial Birmingham with a lovable crime family defined by Killian Murphy's gravitational performance as Tommy Shelby. But what all these shows have in common is that they fall just short of the highest tier because they either play within established conventions or let go of their greatness mantle. May it be for one season or even just an arc. Using Daredevil as an example, it has complete vision from the showrunners, backed by a cast with great chemistry. The grounded visuals were outstanding, and it had compelling character development, even from side characters, and The Punisher was the cherry on top. The one-shot fight scene speaks for itself. You felt a sense of danger as Daredevil isn't invincible, nor is he prone to plot armor like other superheroes, which ups the stakes. However, I have to say that there are some filler episodes, but what really stops it from reaching the next level is that the second season seemed to lose direction, which may be explained by the directors trying to set up the defenders. The Hand should have been given more backstory, and compelling characters such as Gal, Nou, and Electra should have been fleshed out more. Do not be mistaken, though. These are great TV shows that are memorable, rewatchable, and respected. They just lack either consistency or that one genre defining element to achieve the next tier. And before we move on, it would be a dream if you could help this channel [music] reach 1,000 subscribers and it's completely free. Thank you.
Level six. Amazing.
We are now witnessing art meticulously painted such that every stroke of the brush serves a higher thematic purpose. Every choice from the specific focal length of the lens to the silence between two lines of dialogue is a deliberate move in a grander psychological game. It takes the tropes we've grown comfortable with and deconstructs them, forcing the audience to confront uncomfortable truths or see the world through a completely different prism. This tier falls just short of the goat status only by the slimmest margin of time or cultural impact. Shows such as Mr. Robot and Snowfall demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship across every discipline from writing, performance, directing all the way to editing, sound, and thematic cohesion. But there is one that stands from the crowd. The fallen angel, if you may. Game of Thrones. One of the greatest pieces of media ever created alongside the Mona Lisa and the Cyine Chapel. Game of Thrones earns its place in the next level, but only falls back due to its ending. Besides that, it fundamentally transformed what television could aspire to be, not just in scale, but in storytelling, ambition, and emotional depth. From its outset, Game of Thrones had complex political chess games, moral ambiguity, and characters who felt as unpredictable and flawed as real people, making even heroic figures vulnerable and villainous figures sympathetic. The show shattered convention by making no one safe, most famously with the Red Wedding. Its richly imagined worlds, supported by immersive locations, meticulous design, and expansive battle sequences set a new benchmark for television spectacle and influenced countless of shows and movies that followed. Beyond visuals, it explored the beauty of power, betrayal, loyalty, secrets, magic, dragons, villains, and heroes. I could make a whole video dissecting each individual character and their complex layers from Ned Stark to Ramsay Bolton to Littlefinger. Each one of them with intricate webs of psyche. This show had it all until it abandoned all its values that made it immortal. Perhaps in another lifetime we would get the ending that it deserved and maybe even all the great arcs and characters we missed out on from the books such as Lady Stoneheart and Young Griff. But with that being said, the shows on this list represent what can be accomplished when ambition and talent collide at the peak. And maybe some of these shows might one day even achieve.
Level seven, goat.
Once in a lifetime art, diamonds that we are blessed to bear witness to in our lifetime. This is reserved for media that achieved true artistic immortality. These are shows with flawless execution, sustained excellence across every season, and an influence so deep it permanently reshaped cinema. They define the benchmark others are measured against. Everything from the music, the dialogue, the visual synergy, and the color palette used all weave together like a helix to bestow some of the greatest pieces of artwork with genre defining legacies. Criticism arises only because they are under the most microscopic scrutiny due to how high the previous episodes and seasons set a standard. I genuinely saw a negative review for Breaking Bad due to inaccuracies on depicting concentrated hydrofluoric acid. Are we serious right now? The shows on this list generate academic analysis and remain culturally dominant decades later. Take the grit and authenticity of the Sopranos showing how deeply emotional storytelling and morally gray characters can deliver a masterclass. Or the heart-wrenching minisseries that is Chernobyl that explores political corruption alongside a nuclear fallout. or the flawless portrayal of social realism in the wire that builds an immersive world that does the impossible by weaving so many societal issues so fluently into one narrative ranging from politics and urban development to schools and illegal substances. And before I turned 20, I had never watched a single anime before. And I stubbornly held the impression that it was either childish, extremely sexual, or just incapable of storytelling. [music] At this point in my life, I might have been the only Asian in the world to have never watched anime. Then I watched Attack on Titan and my life changed forever. I finally understand its narrative is extraordinarily intricate, built on long- form foreshadowing, symbolic imagery, and morally complex character arcs that evolve both internally and through their relationships. The series masterfully weaves tragedy, triumph, and political allegory using real world parallels to deepen its exploration of power, violence, and human nature. Despite debate surrounding its conclusion, the ending delivers thematic closure with intention, completing Aaron Jerger's arc in a way that reinforces the series's central ideas rather than undermining them. Attack on Titan ultimately transcends the genre, proving that anime can carry the same philosophical weight and narrative sophistication as the greatest works of liveaction television. The very few shows that make it onto this level have etched themselves into history and will be studied and analyzed for many decades more to come. And if you want to see the seven levels of horror movies, check out this video here. Don't forget to subscribe to get this channel to a th000 subscribers. We are so close. That would mean the world to me. And it's completely free.