Greg Berlanti’s 20 Best Shows, Ranked
Greg Berlanti has been a very, very busy man since getting his big break as a staff writer on Dawson’s Creek in 1998.
The prolific producer quickly rose up the ranks to become the showrunner of the hit WB teen series, then went on to create Everwood, Jack & Bobby, Eli Stone, Political Animals and many more beloved shows. Berlanti also returned to the family drama genre as the showrunner of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters before turning his eye to superheroes with the launch of The CW’s Arrowverse. And that’s not even counting all the series that he’s had a hand in as an executive producer via his Berlanti Productions, like Riverdale, YOU, Prodigal Son and Dirty Sexy Money.
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This Sunday, the 76th Emmy Awards (airing at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on ABC) will honor Berlanti with the 2024 Governors Award “in recognition of his significant impact on television and culture by depicting the underrepresented” as a creator, writer and executive producer on over 45 TV shows, the Television Academy announced last month.
To mark the occasion, TVLine has selected what we consider to be Berlanti’s 20 best series, some of which he created, and some of which he served on as an EP. Note: Since the Arrowverse was so big in scope, we limited our picks to just five shows from that franchise.
Keep reading to see which Berlanti drama topped our list, then hit the comments with your favorites!
20. No Ordinary Family
Before Berlanti became known as the force behind The CW’s Arrowverse, he co-created with Jon Harmon Feldman this ABC dramedy about a family (led by Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz) that develops powers following a plane crash. Though a far cry from Berlanti’s far more ambitious and faithful comic-book adaptations, No Ordinary Family, with its mix of heroics and family drama, hinted at what Berlanti was capable of in the superhero genre. — Vlada Gelman
19. The Tomorrow People
The timing was just a little bit off for this remake of the 1970s British series about young people with special abilities, courtesy of human evolution. Superheroes had yet to fully take over The CW’s lineup when the show launched — Arrow had been on the air for just one season at that point — so we like to think that The Tomorrow People just arrived too early to be fully appreciated. Unfortunately, the series — led by Robbie Amell, Luke Mitchell and Peyton List — was just finding its footing when it was cancelled after one promising season. We’ll always think of its potential (and the sweet Astrid/John ‘ship) fondly. — V.G.
18. The Flight Attendant
Max’s adaptation of the Chris Bohjalian novel soared right out of the gate in November 2020, with Kaley Cuoco winningly cast as an alcoholic, morally casual flight attendant who gets roped into a murder plot. Season 2, alas, hit some turbulence, bogged down by a new “mind palace” gimmick that somehow defied the promise of “The more Cuocos the merrier.” — Matt Webb Mitovich
17. Prodigal Son
Gone too soon was this spooky, twisty psychological thriller, cancelled after just two seasons at Fox. Sure, it wasn’t perfect: By the end of Season 2, Prodigal Son’s initially well-balanced tone leaned too campy for our tastes, and storylines like Edrisa’s creepy crush on Bright were a turn-off. Still, the show put an eerie and entertaining spin on the usual procedural format, and performances didn’t come more committed than Michael Sheen and Tom Payne’s turns as a dysfunctional father-son duo. — Rebecca Iannucci
16. Riverdale
We fully admit that The CW’s long-running teen drama went a little off the rails by the end there. (OK, a lot off the rails.) But it started out as an intriguingly moody murder mystery, with breakout stars like Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse adding psychological depth and sex appeal to the squeaky-clean Archie comics. And when it got weird, it got really weird, with killer cults, UFOs and mutant superpowers turning Riverdale into a wild WTF-fest you just had to see to believe. Like a delicious milkshake from Pop’s, we savored every last bit of it. — Dave Nemetz
15. DC’s Stargirl
Geoff Johns, who created the comic book character of Stargirl aka Courtney Whitmore back in 1999 (as a tribute to his late sister), told TVLine, “What Back to the Future did for time travel and E.T. did for aliens, our aim was to do that for superheroes,” by delivering a “grounded, family-oriented, fun, colorful” story. And that is precisely what viewers got for three star-spangled, Golden Age-themed seasons, with a wholesome cast led by Brec Bassinger and Luke Wilson. — M.W.M.
14. Eli Stone
Co-created by Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim (Arrow), the charming ABC dramedy, starring Jonny Lee Miller as a lawyer who has musical visions, pondered big questions — is Eli a prophet or is he suffering from a brain aneurysm? — while entertaining with delightful song-and-dance numbers. (George Michael even performed as himself!) The mix of fantasy, spirituality, musicality, legal drama and family and relationship issues was an ambitious combination, but Eli Stone skillfully pulled it off. — V.G.
13. Doom Patrol
Whether you need a good cry or a good laugh, any given episode of Max’s brilliant, bonkers DC Comics series is likely to get the job done, as it effortlessly weaves stories about mental health, sexual identity and overall trauma into the misadventures of a makeshift family of reformed supervillains. Despite its outlandish storylines and quirky cast of characters, however, Doom Patrol remains consistently grounded thanks to vulnerable performances from names like Brendan Fraser (as a dying man in a robot’s body who longs to reconnect with his estranged daughter) and Diane Guerrero (as more than a dozen different personalities created by a young girl to cope with a dark incident from her past). Oh, and there’s an army of carnivorous were-butts on the loose! Did we mention they love showtunes? Trust us, it all works. — Andy Swift
12. Dirty Sexy Money
Looking back, we can’t believe ABC let this cast go. Dirty Sexy Money, which revolved around the wealthy Darling clan and their family lawyer (played by Peter Krause), featured a stacked ensemble that also included Donald Sutherland, Jill Claybugh, William Baldwin, Natalie Zea, Seth Gabel, Lucy Liu and Blair Underwood, among others. A highly entertaining but sometimes uneven primetime soap, the show also memorably featured the first recurring transgender character on primetime television, courtesy of Candis Cayne, who played the mistress of Baldwin’s New York State Attorney General. — V.G.
11. The Flash
There’s no denying that The Flash, unfortunately, ran out of gas in its latter seasons, but let’s focus on the terrific early years instead, which brought joy, humor and verve to the superhero genre. Led by Grant Gustin’s effervescent performance as the Scarlet Speedster, the CW spinoff proved that there was more than one way to successfully tell a comic book story (and for a hero to rise up) at a time when dark and gritty was all the rage. — V.G.
10. YOU
Easily one of the top two book-inspired TV shows about Penn Badgley stalking beautiful women in New York City (xoxo!), this twisted thriller and its sardonic serial killer had us under their spell from Day 1. We’re talking Lifetime. Real ones remember. Thankfully, increased viewership on Netflix led to the show’s revival, allowing us to obsess over Joe Goldberg obsessing over other people for four more bloody good — and sometime just plain bloody — seasons. Wolf him or hate him, the guy makes for good TV. — A.S.
9. All American
Spencer James ran onto the South Crenshaw High football field in October 2018, and a new CW smash was born. In its six seasons thus far, All American has captured the essence of so many beloved teen dramas before it, expertly navigating love triangles, time jumps and a few heartbreaking deaths as its core characters mature beyond high school. More notably, All American — shepherded by showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, with Berlanti serving as an EP — has taken seriously its commitment to telling diverse stories and leaning into raw portrayals of the Black teenage experience, seen all too rarely in the modern TV landscape. — R.I.
8. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow and The Flash got more mainstream attention, but The CW’s zany mashup spinoff, which launched with characters from both shows, was the Arrowverse’s most creatively ambitious effort. With an ever-evolving cast, cheeky humor and rollicking time-travel adventures, Legends was an absolute delight that deserved so much better than to be unceremoniously axed after its Season 7 finale cliffhanger. Like the lovable, misfit crew of the Waverider, the offshoot was a winning underdog. — V.G.
7. Political Animals
Berlanti certainly left viewers wanting more — in a good way! — with this six-episode USA Network limited series, which he created in 2012. Evoking Hillary Clinton, the drama starred Sigourney Weaver as Secretary of State Elaine Barrish, who used to be the former First Lady to a cheating husband. The political intrigue, combined with family complications — James Wolk played Elaine’s son/Chief of Staff, while Sebastian Stan portrayed her openly gay son — made for compelling storytelling that had fans hoping for a series order. — V.G.
6. Brothers & Sisters
Oh, how we miss those boozy Walkers! Brothers & Sisters had everything you could want in a soapy primetime family drama: plenty of dysfunction and secrets, natural chemistry between its all-star ensemble of TV pros (Sally Field! Calista Flockhart! Rob Lowe! Rachel Griffiths!), and juicy relationship plots (remember when Dave Annable and Emily VanCamp’s characters thought they were half-siblings but also couldn’t deny their attraction?). Plus, the series is where we first fell in love with The Americans star Matthew Rhys, and for that, the ABC drama will forever hold a special place in our hearts. (Rhys’ Kevin was also part of the first same-sex legal marriage on network television.) — V.G.
5. Superman & Lois
When The CW’s take on the Man of Steel and The Daily Planet’s intrepid reporter first premiered, it was like nothing else in the Arrowverse, and that was a very good thing. The grounded and family-oriented feel was reminiscent of Berlanti’s earlier shows, with the loving and aspirational relationship between Clark and Lois at the heart of the series. The cinematically filmed super heroics were also impressive, contributing to one of the very best and underrated depictions of Superman in live-action media. — V.G.
4. Arrow
It was the show that launched a whole universe. First out of the gate, Arrow immediately made an impression with its more gritty and realistic take on the superhero genre — remember, no one had superpowers when the series first launched — and then paved the way for an entire franchise. Over the course of its run, Arrow introduced indelible villains (Slade!), shocked with memorable twists (Ra’s Al Ghul stabs Oliver and sends him tumbling down a snowy cliff!) and gutted us more than once with a heartbreaking death (R.I.P., Tommy). Oliver Queen & Co. set a high standard for all the CW superhero shows that would follow it. — V.G.
3. Dawson’s Creek
Berlanti didn’t create Dawson’s Creek — Kevin Williamson holds that honor — but his contributions to the seminal WB series can’t be overstated. After being promoted to showrunner, Berlanti revitalized the show by launching the now-iconic Joey/Pacey/Dawson love triangle in Season 3, and brought us the first romantic same-sex kiss between two men (Jack and Ethan) on network TV. (Even more moving was Jack’s coming-out arc, which Berlanti helped craft with Williamson.) While some might, mistakenly, write it off as a silly teen drama, Dawson’s Creek recognized that teenage emotions and tribulations were just as significant as anything else. — V.G.
2. Jack & Bobby
Berlanti’s critically acclaimed follow-up to Everwood achieved cult-fave status following its one-and-only season, which is, sadly, still not available to stream anywhere. Starring Matt Long and Logan Lerman as brothers being raised by a progressive mother (played by Christine Lahti), The WB’s Jack & Bobby had one heck of a hook: Interspersed throughout the current-day drama were flash-forwards from a documentary revealing that one of the brothers would go on to become the President of the United States in 2041. — V.G.
1. Everwood
It should come as no surprise that the first show Berlanti created is also his best. The exceptional WB family drama about a widower (played by the fantastic Treat Williams) who moves his two children to the picturesque and quirky town of Everwood following his wife’s death introduced viewers to the qualities that Berlanti excels at: heartfelt relationships, raw emotion (who can forget Andy and Ephram’s no-holds-barred verbal fight in the pilot?) and storytelling that isn’t afraid to tackle heavy topics. Berlanti later became known for his superhero shows, but it’s this very human tale about grief, love and family that stands the test of time. — V.G.
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