TV's 100 Greatest TV Shows: How Many Are On FAST?

Analyzing Variety's recent 100 greatest TV shows list, FASTMaster finds that 12 are already on FAST as single-IP channels.

Everyone loves an end of year list. That’s why we have so many of them (and perhaps why I’ve stayed away from doing one). My old friends at Variety recently published such a list, one of the greatest TV shows ever (from a US lens; one suspects UK folks would add at least Doctor Who to the list*).

*I am a Brit, well now Americano-Brit, who never cared for Doctor Who. DON’T TELL BETH. But I’m sure a British list would have Dad’s Army, Fawlty Towers, The Bill (don’t @ me) as well as the modern ode to the culture of the chavvy rudeboy, People Just Do Nothing.

What I found interesting, eyebrow-raising entries aside, was how a good number of these shows already are on FAST with dedicated channels. Equally interesting is the fact that only 15 of the 100 on the list are still producing episodes, and that many of the shows have libraries with serious weight behind them.

You know what that means…

MORE FAST CHANNELS.

If anything, this is a call to the studios who have shows on the list of what they could achieve if they follow the blueprint I laid out earlier in 2023 on how to use FAST, AVOD and SVOD cohesively as an all encompassing distribution model (with a shout out here to my good friend Alex Wellen of MotorTrend for being a pea in the same pod here and helping me to finesse my points when putting that together).

So, here’s an analysis of what in the top 100 TV shows of all time (according to some, certainly not to me) is on FAST, what used to be on FAST and what probably could never be on FAST. As well as where to find the best TV shows if they are on FAST.

1. I Love Lucy. Single-IP channel on Pluto TV.

2. Mad Men. Not on FAST, could follow the Nashville formula of popping up and going down every few months.

3. The Sopranos. Unlikley to be on FAST but could Nashville it.

4. The Simpsons. Would absolutely murder it on FAST. You could argue was one of the first FAST prototypes with the old FX Simpsons World CTV app which had 8 linear streams programmed by theme.

5. Breaking Bad. Not on FAST; Nashville (which will be the shorthand going forwards in this analysis for a show that could follow Lionsgate’s Nashville playbook).

6. Sex and the City. Not on FAST, could do some real damage.

7. The Wire. Not on FAST, I’d run it as a pop-up for Black History month every year.

8. Seinfeld. Not on FAST and won’t be given the license fees but OMG could it destroy if it were.

9. The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Not on FAST, which seems odd given the other shows from this era which are.

10. Roots. Not on FAST. Very few miniseries could be, but for Black History Month this would be a given.

11. Cheers. Not on FAST. Yet. Would be a strong Peacock channel.

12. Sesame Street. Not on FAST. I could see older episodes having a FAST channel at some point in 2024.

13. Succession. Only media luvvies would put Succession on the list and not the infinetly more popular Yellowstone (which features many of the same tropes, at least that’s what I noticed when watching them around the same time). Never a FAST channel.

14. The Twilight Zone. Not on FAST, could be for Halloween as a test.

15. Saturday Night Live. On FAST ever since Peacock launched. Current carriers: (Freevee, Peacock, Roku Channel, TCL TV+, Xumo Play).

16. All in the Family. Not on FAST, feels like it would do well.

17. The Oprah Winfrey Show. Not on FAST but if Dr. Phil has a channel, why doesn’t Oprah?

18. The Golden Girls. Not on FAST. Would do well.

19. Playhouse 90. Not on FAST, won’t be on FAST.

20. 60 Minutes. No on FAST which is surprising given 20/20 and Dateline are. Not 100% similar but show the format would work.

21. Game of Thrones. Not on FAST, won’t be on FAST.

22. 30 Rock. Not on FAST, would slay on FAST.

23. The Carol Burnett Show. On FAST (Freevee, Plex, Roku Channel, Sling Freestream, TCL TV+, Tubi, Vizio WatchFree+).

24. MASH. Not on FAST, yet.

25. The West Wing. Not on FAST, not sure even if a Nashville playbook would work.

26. Veep. Not on FAST but would slay.

27. Twin Peaks. Not on FAST, not enough episodes for FAST unless a Halloween pop-up.

28. The Civil War. Not on FAST. Maybe as part of a Ken Burns channel (the UK has a PBS documentaries diginet which would kick ass as a FAST channel).

29. Friends. Not on FAST, unlikely to be due to license value but would do damage.

30. Hill Street Blues. Not on FAST, should be.

31. Survivor. Been on FAST for a few years (LG Channels, Pluto TV).

32. Lost. Not on FAST, would do well on FAST.

33. Jeopardy. On FAST (Pluto TV).

34. ER. Not on FAST, should be.

35. Late Night with David Letterman. Not on FAST but could easily be, much like Concan and Johnny Carson are.

36. Curb Your Enthusiasm. Not on FAST and I don’t think it ever shall be.

37. Enlightened. Not on FAST, never will be.

38. The X-Files. Not on FAST but if you kept it only to seasons 1-7, it would do so well.

39. The Office. On FAST (Peacock).

40. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not on FAST but perhaps I am unique among people who watched this growing up - it has aged and I think would do better as a Halloween pop-up than a permanent channel.

41. The Real World. Surprisingly not on FAST unlike many other MTV reality classics.

42. The Americans. Not on FAST; Nashville.

43. The Larry Sanders Show. Not on FAST, could do well.

44. Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not on FAST as a single IP, but Pluto maintains two Star Trek channels (a gentle reminder that I would trust the data saying they are among Pluto’s top 5 channels with a very large pinch of salt after I reached out to Pluto in the summer to verify).

45. The Dick Van Dyke Show. On FAST (Freevee, Plex, Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Sling Freestream).

46. The Leftovers. Fantastic TV but not on FAST and won’t be (not enough episodes for a channel. Unless the rapture does happen then it will be very topical).

47. Friday Night Lights. Not on FAST, could Nashville it.

48. The Shield. Not on FAST, could do well.

49. Watchmen. Not on FAST. Only one season so maybe it would do very well for a Black History Month pop-up.

50. My So-Called Life. Not on FAST, won’t be.

51. Arrested Development. Not on FAST, maybe if it followed the Nashville formula (unique to say that for a comedy).

52. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. On FAST (Freevee, LG Channels, Local Now, Plex, Redbox, Roku Channel, Sling Freestream, TCL TV+, Tubi, Vizio WatchFree+, Xumo Play).

53. Six Feet Under. Not on FAST, won’t be.

54. Gilmore Girls. Not on FAST, could do well.

55. Bojack Horseman. Not on FAST, could do well.

56. Law & Order: SVU. On FAST (Peacock).

57. Chapelle’s Show. Not on FAST, unlikely to be given Chapelle’s stance on it making money while he receives nothing from it.

58. The Good Place. Not on FAST and I don’t see it being there.

59. South Park. On FAST if you are a lucky-ass Canadian. Americans, sorry.

60. In Living Color. Not on FAST, seems a slam dunk.

61. Orange is the New Black. Not on FAST, I’d say it’s a matter of time before it does a Nashville.

62. The Comeback. Not on FAST, won’t be.

63. Angels in America. Not on FAST, won’t be.

64. The Jeffersons. Not on FAST, would slay on FAST.

65. Freaks and Geeks. Not on FAST, won’t be.

66. The Bob Newhard Show. Not on FAST, could do well.

67. RuPaul’s Drag Race. Was on FAST until August 2020. There now is the Blue Ant channel for the global spin-offs.

68. Grey’s Anatomy. Not on FAST and I think would be the biggest FAST channel of all time if it were. Never underestimate the power of Grey’s. (I say this as someone who loathes the show).

69. Roseanne. Not on FAST, could do well.

70. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Not on FAST, won’t be. Also how is this on the greatst TV shows list, it is the first season of a series even if it did kick ass… (I know it’s an anthology but if this gets in, American Horror Story: Hotel can kick Freaks and Geeks out).

71. Living Single. Not on FAST, why is this not on FAST, it had better be launching for February.

72. The Wonder Years. Not on FAST, I think it would be okay on FAST but not quite the level of some other candidates.

73. NYPD Blue. Not on FAST. If Blue Bloods and Law & Order are on FAST, this would do very well.

74. Deadwood. Not on FAST, not really the type of show for FAST but if you haven’t watched it… go now.

75. Taxi. Not on FAST, could do well.

76. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Not on FAST, would do well.

77. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Not on FAST, could do well. All late night shows really should use the Conan channel as a blueprint.

78. Dallas. Not on FAST, could do well.

79. The Muppet Show. Not on FAST, could do well.

80. Scandal. Not on FAST, would slay. Like a 0.7 on the Grey’s scale.

81. Thirtysomething. Not on FAST, on the fence about it doing well.

82. Fleabag. Not on FAST, won’t be on FAST.

83. Stranger Things. Not on FAST, should be on FAST if Netflix ever listen to me.

84. Atlanta. Not on FAST, but what a great Black History Month pop-up it would be. Paper Boi, Paper Boi, All about that paper, boy.

85. Columbo. Not on FAST, would do well.

86. Girls. Not on FAST, on the fence if it could do well for a mainstream audience. Maybe as a pop-up for Women’s History Month?

87. Happy Days. On FAST (Pluto).

88. General Hospital. On FAST (ABC app).

89. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Not on FAST, would slay. Think of Gen Xers getting high at night… move over, Bob Ross Channel.

90. The Cosby Show. Not on FAST, unlikely to be which is sad given the ground it broke.

91. Daria. Not on FAST, how I wish it were, alongside Celebrity Deathmatch. Both of which can be found on Paramount+’s SVOD linear streaming channels.

92. St. Elsewhere. Not on FAST, I imagine it could do alright.

93. Will & Grace. Not on FAST, perhaps Peacock will pop it up for Pride Month.

94. I May Destroy You. Not on FAST, not going to be on FAST.

95. Black Mirror. Not on FAST, Netflix are you listening? Earlier seasons would be a great single IP to promote the next season.

96. The Good Fight. Not on FAST, combined with The Good Wife (like the Judge & Jury channel on Freevee) it could do well.

97. Top Chef. On FAST (Freevee, Peacock, TCL TV+, Xumo Play).

98. Homeland. Not on FAST but would do quite well, I think.

99. Hannibal. Used to be on FAST between August 2022 and April 2023, not any more though.

100. Community. Not on FAST, could slay on FAST.

You know what I thought was weird for its ommission on this list given some that made it in? Martin. That would be a sick channel to launch.

To end this piece, what channel would I most like to see in 2024? An Adult Swim one would lure me like a moth to a flame.

(Also now I am thinking of what the 100 top FAST channels would be… that’s something for a week that is totally clear!)