What Didn't Make the Cut and Why It Should've: A Rebuttal Against The New York Times

It’s been a week since The New York Times published its abomination of a list, “The 100 Best TV Shows of The 21st Century,” and I am still raging.

Okay, abomination may be a bit extreme — perhaps monstrous is the right word. Alright, fine, I’m exaggerating, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the list, to put it simply, is bad. 

I mean, ranking “Scandal” at 100 was a ridiculous move on the staff’s part, as you’re essentially arguing that “Friday Night Lights” and both versions of “The Office” are better than the Shonda Rhimes political drama — which is a horrific hill to die on. 

In this blog post, I discuss the painfully infuriating exclusions from this god-forsaken list.

"GLEE"

Not including Ryan Murphy’s “Glee,” which has shaped generations and created a distinct genre of people — “Gleeks” — is despicable. The series has won numerous Emmy awards, four Golden Globes, and was honored with a Peabody award in 2009. 

As great as the acting and writing in that show is, it is revered for its soundtrack — which holds the all-time record on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a group or cast with a whopping 207 entries.

Its exclusion has sparked such upset that the New York Times published a piece praising the series two days ago as a way to fan the flames.

While I do consider myself a “Gleek” and am a huge fan of the series, the murmurs of a potential reboot are something I need to be silenced. The industry is in a reboot and sequel epidemic, and “Glee” is a show that needs to be left untouched

“How I Met Your Mother”

The writers of  The Times sure do love their sitcoms, including nearly every single one, except “How I Met Your Mother.” Granted, the show had arguably one of the worst series finales in television history — I’m still upset Barney and Robin didn’t end up together — it’s blacklist was unnecessary. 

The legend–wait for it–dary sitcom featured stellar performances from Josh Radnor and Neil Patrick Harris, memorable bits that people still reference til this day.

Similar to “The Bear,” despite being labeled as a “comedy,” the series has a way of making viewers feel. I still cry every time I think about Marshall (Jason Segel) unexpectedly losing his dad, or Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) meeting his estranged father after all these years. 

“This Is Us”

I remember where I was when I was introduced to Jack Pearson and how I felt watching his death episode. NBC’s hit drama series  “This Is Us” deserved a spot on this list.

After being shut out during award seasons in its final run, I cannot believe history has sadly repeated itself. 

The drama series was so popular that, following the Super Bowl matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, NBC aired the episode titled “Super Bowl Sunday,” in which Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) dies from smoke inhalation, and it garnered over 26 million viewers. 

The show’s powerful performances from leads Mandy Moore and Sterling K. Brown received critical acclaim, as did the series’ unique concept and storytelling.