The Ben Shapiro Show - September 25, 2026


The #1 TV Show of the Century, According to Ben Shapiro

Hosted by
Ben Shapiro
Mentioned
Breaking Bad Downton Abbey Vance Gilligan Ted Williams Craig Mazin Babe Ruth Shogun Chips Forks
The MAHA Wins RFK Is Touting

Episode Stats


Length

8 minutes

Words per minute

218.41

Word count

1,882

Sentence count

172

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

8

sentences flagged

Hate speech

2

sentences flagged


Transcript

Transcripts from "The Ben Shapiro Show" are sourced from the Knowledge Fight Interactive Search Tool. Explore them interactively here.
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 All righty, so the New York Times has a list of the top 100 TV shows since 2000.
00:00:04.000 The list is, shall we say, not good, not good at all.
00:00:07.000 There are many, many shows that they put in their top 10 that probably do not belong in the top 50.
00:00:12.000 And there are shows that certainly belong in the top 10 that don't make the top 60.
00:00:15.000 Okay, so their top 10 is Breaking Bad in the Wire.
00:00:20.000 There's always an arguable, right?
00:00:21.000 Those are always the top two.
00:00:23.000 This is like arguing in baseball over, you know, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, like who are the best hitters in major league history?
00:00:31.000 It's always the same names at the very top.
00:00:33.000 Then things start to get not great.
00:00:35.000 So at number three, they have Mad Men.
00:00:37.000 Mad Men is one of the most overrated shows in the history of television.
00:00:40.000 I know this is somewhat unpopular opinion.
00:00:42.000 Mad Men's first season is well written, and then it is just repetitive beyond belief.
00:00:47.000 You're following a bunch of obnoxious people who are miserable because, of course, the 1950s, we were being told, were a time of true misery in America beneath the placid surface of American life.
00:00:58.000 And it required the joy of the 1960s and 70s to sort of fix America and put her in the right direction.
00:01:03.000 That, of course, is not true.
00:01:05.000 Mad Men, they have it.
00:01:05.000 Number three.
00:01:06.000 Number four, they have Succession.
00:01:07.000 Now, again, I liked Succession.
00:01:09.000 I liked it just fine.
00:01:10.000 But the reality is that Succession is kind of a sitcom, meaning that every episode is sort of a repeat of the prior episode.
00:01:16.000 And it's really obnoxious people being obnoxious. Doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but there's no effective arc in Succession.
00:01:22.000 The characters kind of end up where they started as characters.
00:01:26.000 Nobody has an actual transition in character, a development in character.
00:01:30.000 What makes Breaking Bad and The Wire so good is that you see characters change over time.
00:01:36.000 And you see a revelation into a thing you didn't know that much about, right?
00:01:39.000 That is what makes the shows really interesting.
00:01:41.000 There's an interesting sort of moral gray area that is brought to the fore and then clarified in both of those shows.
00:01:46.000 That is not true in succession, where everybody who is corporate minded is basically disgusting and they remain disgusting for the entire show.
00:01:53.000 Fleabag is number five on the New York Times list.
00:01:56.000 Fleabag was, again, this critically acclaimed but not particularly well watched show.
00:02:03.000 And again, putting that at number five is a wild overrate.
00:02:07.000 They've got Game of Thrones at number six, which I think is probably about right.
00:02:11.000 Number seven, they have Veep.
00:02:13.000 Again, an extremely overrated comedy, starring Julia Louis Dreyfus.
00:02:18.000 It is funny.
00:02:19.000 It's entertaining, but does it belong in the top 10?
00:02:22.000 Probably not.
00:02:22.000 I'd put Veep in probably my top 30.
00:02:24.000 I'm not sure that it makes the top 20.
00:02:25.000 They've got 30 Rock at number eight, which, again, I like 30 Rock.
00:02:30.000 There is no way it's the eighth best show of the 2000.
00:02:35.000 It's just not real.
00:02:37.000 At nine, they have Curb Your Enthusiasm.
00:02:39.000 And at 10, they have Atlanta.
00:02:40.000 Atlanta is the biggest stretch in this whole group.
00:02:42.000 I'm not sure that seven people have ever watched Atlanta.
00:02:45.000 That is not so.
00:02:46.000 So, that list, I would say that they got the top two basically right, kind of.
00:02:51.000 But the rest of the list, meh.
00:02:53.000 So, here are the actual best TV shows since the turn of the century.
00:02:53.000 Okay.
00:02:57.000 Number one, which they have rated number 28, is Band of Brothers.
00:03:00.000 Band of Brothers is the best thing that has ever been aired on TV because they included miniseries here.
00:03:04.000 Band of Brothers is a masterpiece.
00:03:06.000 Band of Brothers tells the story of the 101st Airborne from training all the way through the end of World War II.
00:03:12.000 And every episode is a gem.
00:03:14.000 All the acting is incredible.
00:03:15.000 The cinematography is wonderful.
00:03:17.000 The writing is terrific.
00:03:18.000 You will come away with a better feeling about your country and about America.
00:03:21.000 It's awesome.
00:03:22.000 Band of Brothers is easily the best thing that has ever been on TV.
00:03:25.000 It is not a particularly close call, actually.
00:03:27.000 So, Band of Brothers at number one.
00:03:29.000 Number two got Breaking Bad.
00:03:31.000 Vance Gilligan said that it was the story of taking Mr. Chips and turning him into Scarface. 1.00
00:03:34.000 That's accurate. 1.00
00:03:35.000 Breaking Bad is wonderful. 0.99
00:03:36.000 Breaking Bad, you know, as somebody who loves film and TV, the thing I like the best about Breaking Bad is that no stupid decisions are made by the writer. 0.76
00:03:44.000 As a matter of plot and character, They don't take the easy out when they write Breaking Bad, where somebody just does a dumb thing to get you out of trouble. 0.68
00:03:51.000 It's just clever.
00:03:53.000 Number three, I have The Wire.
00:03:54.000 Again, those two are inarguable.
00:03:56.000 Number four, which they had at number 19, is Chernobyl.
00:03:58.000 We'll get to that in just a moment.
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00:05:02.000 Chernobyl is a mini series about the meltdown at Chernobyl, which is an extraordinary look by Craig Mazin at the devolution of the Soviet system and why Chernobyl melted down and what happens when bureaucracy takes over and all the rest.
00:05:16.000 It is extraordinary.
00:05:17.000 It's a great, great series.
00:05:18.000 If you haven't seen it on HBO, Chernobyl, one of the best things in the history of TV.
00:05:21.000 I've got that at number four.
00:05:22.000 They had it at number 19, which is crazy.
00:05:25.000 I had Game of Thrones at number six.
00:05:26.000 Now, again, I say that kind of with an asterisk because the reality is that the first three seasons of Game of Thrones are kind of wonderful and then it just.
00:05:34.000 Falls apart.
00:05:34.000 The last season of Game of Thrones is not good at all.
00:05:38.000 So I've got Game of Thrones at number five.
00:05:39.000 They had it at number six.
00:05:41.000 I've got Severance, which is still airing.
00:05:41.000 Okay.
00:05:43.000 So we'll see where it ends up.
00:05:44.000 I've got that at number six.
00:05:45.000 Why?
00:05:46.000 I've watched, I've seen so many TV shows, so many movies.
00:05:49.000 I love it when the writers take me a place I didn't think they're going and where I just have to sort of trust where they're going.
00:05:54.000 And the writing is so good that I do trust where they're going.
00:05:56.000 Severance is that show.
00:05:57.000 Severance is incredibly clever.
00:05:59.000 It's really compelling.
00:06:02.000 It's one of those shows where if you watch the first couple of episodes, you will have to watch all the rest.
00:06:06.000 And you will be waiting with bated breath for the next week to see what happens.
00:06:09.000 It's a mystery based show in the same way as my number seven show, Lost.
00:06:12.000 So, Lost, again, is a show kind of like Game of Thrones in the sense the first three seasons of Lost are extraordinary and then it kind of falls apart.
00:06:19.000 But the first three seasons revolutionized TV, they made serialized TV a thing.
00:06:25.000 And so, Lost, which again, my entire family would get together, including my grandmother, we'd all get together.
00:06:30.000 It was on Wednesday nights and we'd watch Lost at my parents' house.
00:06:34.000 They have that at number 22.
00:06:35.000 I've got that at number seven.
00:06:37.000 I've got The Office at number eight.
00:06:39.000 Because The Office, again, probably the best American comedy of all time, certainly the most iconic.
00:06:45.000 And they had it at 11, so not that far off.
00:06:48.000 Number nine, Downton Abbey.
00:06:50.000 So Downton Abbey is terrific.
00:06:54.000 They had it at number 52.
00:06:55.000 I don't see 51 better shows than Downton Abbey.
00:06:57.000 Again, maybe I'm being a populist here.
00:06:59.000 I think this is a fairly popular opinion.
00:07:01.000 Downton Abbey is beautifully written, it's wonderfully acted, it's really entertaining.
00:07:06.000 Again, the last couple of seasons didn't work as well as the first season, but the first season is great.
00:07:10.000 Okay, then I've got The Shield at number 10.
00:07:14.000 Again, The Shield sort of revolutionized TV in the same way as The Wire.
00:07:18.000 So they're kind of two sides of the same coin.
00:07:20.000 They've got that at number 70, which is unthinkable.
00:07:22.000 The Shield is not the 70th best show since 2000. 0.71
00:07:25.000 That's ridiculous.
00:07:27.000 So check out The Shield, it was aired on FX originally.
00:07:30.000 And then I'll give you a couple of extras.
00:07:31.000 So The Bear, which they rank at number 74.
00:07:35.000 I have it number 11, not because all three seasons of The Bear were a masterpiece, but because The Bear is responsible for the single best episode of TV probably ever aired.
00:07:42.000 It's called Forks, it happens in season one.
00:07:45.000 And it's just great. 0.93
00:07:46.000 First of all, the bear is competence porn.
00:07:47.000 It's about how, if you are good at things, this can also help you become a better person. 1.00
00:07:52.000 And that's what happens to one of the main characters, Richie, who's kind of a drunk and a derelict and an idiot. 0.99
00:07:57.000 And he's put in a position to learn to be good at things. 0.98
00:07:59.000 And his character transition over the course of the series is wonderful.
00:08:02.000 It's the thing that makes the series worthwhile.
00:08:04.000 That episode, Forks, is something you should show to pretty much every teenager.
00:08:08.000 Because what it says is that hard work, perfectionism, focus on competence is a good thing.
00:08:13.000 And finally, I'll give you one extra, another extra Shogun.
00:08:17.000 Shogun, which they have ranked at 86, but beautifully produced and wonderfully acted and just incredible to watch.
00:08:24.000 Shogun, which came out, I think, last year, is great.
00:08:26.000 All righty.
00:08:27.000 So those are the top TV shows.
00:08:28.000 What an amazing video you just watched.
00:08:30.000 Wasn't that amazing?
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