What TV show starts and finishes as a 10?

I'm going to go with Monk! I don't know how that show managed to mix together sadness, humor, and hope flawlessly while also giving interesting mysteries to solve time and time again.

The Good Place, but the end might be an 11.
- I have a question about this show that I mean in absolute good faith but be forewarned that it’s going to come off in a “I am actually very smart” way.
  
  ~~Your spoiler tags aren't working.~~
  It's something you can pick up on, but if you don't, it's an interesting twist. But the show isn't "over" just because you predicted it! There's still so much more.
  
  I just watched the whole series recently. Yes, I agree, that big twist was so blindingly obvious from the series title. If it helps, the producers and writers knew that, too, and the reveal comes relatively early in the series, so no, that's not the big conceit of the whole show.
- 11? They phoned in the end, very disappointing. It was an easy out to a complex situation.
  
  Really? It's one of my favorite show endings because it doesn't take the easy way out.
  
  They had that ending planned from the beginning. It's one of my top endings of all time
  
  I dropped off after the first season, I thought Ted Danson was amazing but I found the rest of the cast grating.

Firefly.
- 🍃
  
  😭
- I tried watching this after the Reddit/Lemmy hype and I thought it was hot garbage. Not for everyone I guess.
  
  Then you have terrible taste.
  
  Having accidentally seen the movie first and after (what I thought was) an incredibly strong pilot, I was surprised by how filler-y the average episodes were, in that way pretty much all T. V. was before Prestige T. V. came around, but I still thought it was pretty solid.
  What made it garbage, for you?

Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Like... Second episode, zuko is fighting that fire general, and it's all about footwork. The strong stance is part of the fire bending power. There's use of fire to dispel fire. Zuko wins by breaking his footing and pushing him back
  It's interesting little stuff and I'm tickled that it's done in the second episode. At that point they had no idea if the show would survive past the episodes they were paid for, but were trying to give little things more depth.

The Wire.
Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. 1&2.
Samurai Champloo.
Trigun.
Cowboy Bebop.
Six Feet Under.
- Stand Alone Complex! Good, I was just thinking about rewatching it!
  
  Felt like every bit of script was essential to building the story. Both seasons are so well written.

Mr. Robot 🤌🔥
- Came here to say that.
- You must be a petty shallow being, when looks of a character are more important than the story itself.
  You should really reflect on that and change your attitude.

Generation Kill
- I love me some Generation Kill. I tell people it's the closest show/movie to being deployed as I've seen. The downtime bullshitting and the incompetent higher-ups trying to look good was just so good.
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9uXLzZyucI
- That's on my list! How does it compare to band of brothers
  
  Less pathos, more grit, more realism, funnier.

Breaking Bad is my default answer, but here's another one: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Tight, engaging plot in an interesting world with unique German aesthetics, cool side characters with great character arcs, killer soundtrack and animation that hits at the right times without looking like computer effects bonanza (looking at you, Ufotable), evocative magic system hitting just the right spot of the hard vs soft magic spectrum...
- Everything in Breaking Bad stems from the wife being a bitch. Well, like the first 2 or so seasons I watched.
  Why in the world would you buy an RV and try to cook out in the middle of nowhere?
  Like that's the dumbest plan of all. Difficult, and you stick out like a sore thumb.
  "Hunny, I'm dying from cancer. I'm going to play with my chemistry set in the basement. DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING. Thanksss"
  Cooks meth, sells it to Tuco, the end.
  Everything becomes so complicated in the show because it wouldn't be a show without it being complicated.
  It's like the writers just said "How can we stop Walt getting to his goal?" And did that every episode.
  Oh no, what's going to happen in this episode to make cooking meth hard?
  
  It's like the writers just said "How can we stop Walt getting to his goal?" And did that every episode.
  average lemming discovers concept of dramatic tension
  
  Yikes. If my husband of decades started clearly acting WAY out of character and denying any form of help from legitimate means, then going missing, etc. I would act just like Skyler
  
  Problems are mostly because of walts ego. Picks fights with Jesse, causes him more problems. The wife was a bitch, but not the problem.

Hmm. That's a tall order for most shows.
There are some that were good but so short lived it's hard to say if they count. Better Off Ted, Firefly, Black Books.
Longer ones tend to screw themselves up at some point.
- Yep, very true... the longer it is, the more likely it is to go shit

The Expanse

Fringe

Band of Brothers
1883 (prequel to Yellowstone)
Hell On Wheels
- Good call on Band of Brothers one of my favourites of all time
- I just finished Yellowstone and it was one of the better TV series I've ever seen. I've been trying to find something to watch next but I'm so damn picky. I tried giving Longmire a chance but just couldn't get into it. However, 1883 seems promising. I didn't know there was a prequel to Yellowstone - only heard the rumors of a sequel focused on the lives of Beth and Rip.
  
  Justified is a fun modern western, it's got a lot of Timothy Olyphant shooting people and being angry.

How about a spread across genres in no particular order:
Death Note (controversial, considering the ending)
You're the Worst (underappreciated masterpiece)
Avatar the Last Airbender
The Good Place
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (incomplete, but has maintained a 10)
Breaking Bad, which is worth listing again even though you mentioned it.
I wouldn't say it's quiiite there, but honorable mention to Modern Family, which is the best episodic sitcom I can think of. Has some meh moments but starts and ends as a 10.
- You still think sunny is a 10? It might be just nostalgia for me but I think the newer seasons have fallen off so much.
  
  Absolutely. I believe they shortened the seasons a while back to give themselves more time for each episode, and it shows. On subsequent watches, the newer episodes are just as great as the old ones.
- Death Note (controversial, considering the ending)
  death note was mid all the way through, and absolutely an artifact of its time.
- S02 of You’re the Worst drags a bit but overall it is so good.

-Breaking Bad -Avatar Last airbender

I have to throw Black Sails in the hat as well. Easily one of the best executed shows, start to finish. At no point did any characters change for the plot, they always stayed consistent with what they would do based on experiences you watch them have on the show. Not to say they don't change, just that they do so in accordance with what we've shown them to do. And after the entire thrilling ride, they stick the landing and finish the show off in a satisfying way. Could not recommend this show more.

Netflix's DARK. Best thing they ever made.
- The same team did a show called 1899. It was 🔥. Then they cancelled it…
  
  Indeed. I was very, very annoyed about that.

Dipping into the Wayback Machine: Columbo.
- the reboot wasn't so hot though
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-n5qVwn-Xc
  Columbo in... "Backwards Liability" was a good episode though.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnDe2u5M7e8
  
  the reboot wasn’t so hot though
  They rarely are.

Person of interest

Task Master. I fucking love it, rewatching the whole show on YouTube again right now. :)

Heroes, gets better every season
- Controversial...

Spaced
- This so much. Kinda teary at the end though.

Deadwood
Kino no tabi
Fleabag
I second Firefly and BoB, too.

It's super recent but I feel like The Pitt was pretty steady

Helix. At the end of every episode you think „they can’t possibly top this“ and then the next episode turns it up another notch

I'd say doctor who but I'm afraid it won't end anytime soon
- Yep it's been going for literally decades

Bookie. But it's not a fair comparison because MAX cancelled it after just one perfect season
- Yep I nearly said amazon's the patriot but it only lasted 2 seasons
- Bookie had 2 seasons though

Preacher

Can it go down in between?

Utopia (the original version, though the Amazon version isn’t bad either)
- I'll agree with you on the original version, but the Amazon version was hot garbage.
  
  If you ignore the source and just watch it like it’s fresh, I didn’t have much of a problem with it

Still Game

Irresponsible Captain Taylor.
Underappreciated hidden gem of an old school anime. Dude bumblefucks his way into joining the military, starting an intergalactic war, becomes three captain of his own ship of misfits and starts winning said war by accident, and that's the first three episodes.

Guardian of the Spirits [Seirei no Moribito]
A truly excellent anime based on a truly excellent series of books.

Vinland saga

Breaking bad