Television is the escape we all need. Whether it be reality TV, great dramas, animated shows for children and adults, or the news of the world, oraction, tv delivers a communal message back and forth between creator and consumer, and that is that humans will always hold the practice of being entertained in high regard, and great storytelling is forever a part of life that captivates us, especially through the medium at hand.
But enough of trying to sound like the scriptwriter for a presenter at the Oscars. We’re here to talk about the genre of television shows that captivates us with their adrenaline-fueled thrill rides known as ‘episodes’. Action is a genre we mainly see in movies; it works in a ninety-minute to two-hour block of time, but if you’re able to stretch it out to forty-five to one-hour episodes and make ten or more of them, there’s a chance you can get some bonefied classics.
Related:The Best TV Shows of 2024 So Far, Ranked
TV is known for its drama, and these shows do have that, but they also pack a mean punch, carry heavy weapons, and dodge big explosions. These are the best of the best in the history of action-packed TV shows.
20Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999)
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Co-created by genre film icon Sam Raimi,Hercules: The Legendary Journeysis a blend of camp and mythical legends that captivated audiences in the 1990s. Kevin Sorbo plays the iconic title character, who is half man, half god, roaming the earth with his mortal companion, Iolaus (Michael Hurst). Of the many giant creatures and mythical beings Hercules must battle, his arch nemesis is his half brother Ares and his evil stepmother Hera.
Why Was Hercules Canceled?
The show’s sixth season only aired eight episodes before going off the air, as the network decided to cancel it while it was in production. Many people criticize the show for its camp, or becauseKevin Sorbo is a polarizing figure these days.
However, nobody can discredit the comfort and popularity that the show gave audiences in the mid-1990s. Kevin Sorbo, for a time, did embody the appearance of a character that is always changing in aesthetic. For many years after its cancelation,Hercules: The Legendary Journeyshung around in syndication, airing in the middle of the day or late at night to fill time slots.
19Fallout (2024 - Present)
Falloutblew audiences away just last month on Prime Video. The video game adaptation follows three different intertwining stories of life in the wasteland of the world after nuclear war leveled the human race.Falloutcomes fromWestworldshowrunner Jonathan Nolan and lived up to the hype, having fans breathe a sigh of relief that their favorite video game adaptation was a success.
Too Soon to Label Fallout One of the Greatest?
Maybe it is too soon, maybe it isn’t, but the list ofvideo game adaptationsbeing this well-received is very short. For an open-world game to be adapted this well with amazing story arcs in just eight episodes, one would argueFalloutwas one of the best to do it.
The set design and little quirks of the show were so in tune with the world of the video game, while also standing on its own two feet as a piece of compelling drama and action that you can’t take your eyes off of. In ten years or so, maybeFalloutwill even be a little higher on the list.
18Banshee (2013 - 2016)
Banshee is an action television series that aired in 2013 and centers around Anthony Starr as an ex-con who takes on the identity of a murdered sheriff Lucas Hood to hide away from pursuers. Set in Banshee, Lucas assumes the stolen identity while falling back into his old criminal ways, struggling to balance the two properly.
Many callBansheethe best action television show you have never heard of. Premiering on Cinemax, the show follows an ex-convict named Lucas Hood, who takes on the role of a Pennsylvania town sheriff. He also reconnects with his old flame and former partner in crime, who has reinvented herself as the wife of the town’s prostitution lawyer. Hood’s past is also creeping up on him, as gangsters who he betrayed are hot on his trail.
Anthony Starr’s Role Before Playing Homelander
If you need another reason to bewowed by Anthony Starr’s acting, go watchBanshee. Fans may now know Starr on Amazon Prime Video’s hit showThe Boysas he plays the sociopathic superhero, Homelander.
Bansheeis a show that may have been downplayed a bit during its run because it was on Cinemax, a channel many have forgotten about over the years. However, it’s oneyou need to go back and watch. It’s a redemptive tale of honor and justice, and there are a lot of great fight sequences to make it earn its ranking among the best in terms of action shows.
17Chuck (2007 - 2012)
Chuckis the show that made a lot of us admire the charm and charisma that Zachary Levi brings to the table. On the show, Levi plays a computer geek by the name of Chuck Bartowski. Chuck opens an email one day with government information encoded in it that puts him in danger. Now, with the help of CIA Agent Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski), he becomes an unlikely government spy.
Loveable Loser
Chuckwas not a show that did too many new things to separate it from the pack. However, sometimes you don’t need something fresh. Many people want comfort food in their television shows;Chuckdid that for millions of viewers a week when it aired on NBC. The loveable loser quality of the show’s title role never gets dull.
Yes, we are here talking about action shows, butChuckhas a lot of heart and sentimentality to it that never makes it cringeworthy. Levi and Strahovski’s chemistry is off the charts as it invests audiences in the pair’s relationship for five seasons.
16The Fall Guy (1981 - 1986)
BeforeThe Fall Guyever got abig screen adaptationwith Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, there was the action-packed television series. The show follows a Hollywood stuntman by the name of Colt Seavers (Lee Majors), who moonlights as a bounty hunter in and around Los Angeles. His skills of being able to handle vehicles in high-speed chases and being able to survive jumping off buildings aid him as he wrangles criminals.
Hollywood Hereos
Hollywood has always liked shows and movies about their industry.The Fall Guydoes that while mixing in fun thrills for episodic television. Like the recent film adaptation, it’s cleverly written, and Lee Majors was an icon of this era of TV tough guys. However, this era of TV lovers may not get what’s so great about it. Shows likeThe Fall Guywarrant some long attention spans to get invested. The payoff is in the show’s car chases and other stunts.
15Xena: Warrior Princess (1995 - 2001)
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princesshit the ziegeist at the right time. Lucy Lawless stars in the title role as a, you guessed it, warrior princess with a dark past. She’s set on redeeming herself as she wonders through the ancient world, battling creatures, warlords, and mythical gods.
Feminist Icon
Who would have thought a fantasy-action television show about an ancient female warrior would hit like it did in 1995? That’s not to sayXenadoes not deserve its flowers; it does. Lucy Lawless dominated the title role. The show even knocked its predecessor,Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, out of the ratings wars of syndicated television. The show met its end in 2000, when it was canceled, and would air its finale in 2001. It still to this day holds a massive cult following.
14Daredevil (2015 - 2018)
Daredevilhad a three-season run on Netflix from early 2015 to 2018. The show follows blind lawyer Matt Murdock by day, who then dawns a suit to become a vigilante by night, known to the people of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil. The vigilante squared up against many different villains, including Elektra, Kingpin, and many organized crime figures in New York City.
Daredevil Packed a Mean Punch
The only Marvel show to make this list,Daredevil,had some of the roughest fight scenes ever put to screen throughout its three seasons on Netflix. No wonder there was some chatter about how they were going to make this version of Matt Murdock work in the MCU.
Many remember a few of the single-take fight sequences, the arrival of The Punisher on the show, and the brutality of Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin. The show also led into a few spin-offs,and a reboot is coming exclusively to Disney+ soon.
13S.W.A.T. (1975 - 1976)
S.W.A.T.was actually a spinoff series from the showThe Rookiesback in 1975. The series follows the high-stakes missions of the Special Weapons and Tactics team of the fictional police department, the W.C.P.D. If the job got too dangerous for the police, S.W.A.T. was always called in, led by Lt. Hondo (Steve Forrest) and Sergeant Kay (Rod Perry).
S.W.A.T. only lasted two seasons and yet still left a mark. When you hear someone say “S.W.A.T.” even if it has nothing to do with the show, the theme song to it can easily run through your mind. It’s an earworm of a tune.
The action was also a little more brutal than maybe ABC network executives expected, which was a factor that led to its cancellation. Still, the show’s legend went on, with many crediting it for moving the subgenre of police procedurals forward. 2003 saw the release of the movieSWAT,which has tonal differences from the show but is still a lot of fun. Right now,S.W.A.T.also has a reboot on CBS that has lasted seven seasons.
12Alias (2001 - 2006)
Jennifer Garner plays Sydney Bristow on the showAlias. She’s a young woman who was recruited as a freshman in college by the SD-6 branch of the C.I.A. Years later, she lets it slip to her husband about her double life, leading him to be killed by SD-6. Sydney learns the truth about the organization she has worked for and then begins her vengeance, as she becomes a double agent fighting terrorists and rival agents from all over the world.
Jennifer Garner Became a Star Due to Alias
Jennifer Garner’s career launched into the stratosphere, withAliasbecoming a hit in the early 2000s. This was an era of shows on ABC likeLost, 8 Simple Rules,andDesperate Housewiveshitting big for the network.
Aliaswas one of their bread and butter shows that had high-stakes drama and incredible action. Sydney Bristow was tough as nails, and what helped that was that Garner did a lot of her own stunts on the show.
Related:Why Jennifer Gardner Is the Best Thing About 2003’s Daredevil
11Smallville (2001 - 2017)
Smallville
The Superman origin story gets a long, stretched-out story that lasts 10 seasons on The CW (when the series started, it was called The WB).
Smallvillegives us a glimpse into the life of a young Kal-El, the last son of Krypton, who crash-lands on earth and is adopted by the Kents to become Clark Kent. Many complicated matters begin to surface throughout the seasons ofSmallvilleas Clark tries to suppress his powers, and the presence of kryptonite is found within the town, creating mutations of people and creatures all around the area.
Smallville Still Holds Up
With the surge of superhero adaptations that have made their way to television over the last decade, it’sSmallvillethat kind of started it all and thrived while doing it. Superman’s origin story is always crammed into the film adaptations, giving us the same beats of the pod crash landing from the sky, Jonathan Kent’s death, and Clark deciding to go to Metropolis.
In the original Superman film, all of that takes up about ten minutes of screen time.Smallvillestretches out a lot of great character arcs and plot points in Superman’s origin, some of which die-hard fans know are coming, but it makes you invested in what these characters will soon become. There is no better look at how Clark Kent became Superman.
