The Best TV Shows on ABC Family

Every ABC Family Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Stay up-to-date with over 20 of ABC Family’s elite series, with our list refreshed for June 2025. Leading the pack on ABC Family are Madeline and Bordertown, with their initial broadcasts in 1988 and 1989. ABC Family’s extensive portfolio includes more than 20 shows, spanning the years from 1988 to 2013.

  • Pretty Little Liars
    Pretty Little Liars (2010)8.0

    Based on the Pretty Little Liars series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard, the series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison. One year later, they begin receiving messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.

  • Whose Line Is It Anyway?
    Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998)7.8

    The show where everything's made up and the points don't matter. Not a talk show, not a sitcom, not a game show, Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a completely unique concept to network television. Four talented actors perform completely unrehearsed skits and games in front of a studio audience. Host Drew Carey sets the scene, with contributions from the audience, but the actors rely completely on their quick wit and improvisational skills. It's genuinely improvised, so anything can happen - and often does.

  • The Middleman
    The Middleman (2008)7.7

    Struggling female artist Wendy Watson, recruited by a secret agency, struggles to wrap her head around her bizarre new job -- fighting dangers humanity isn't prepared to face -- under the guidance of a handsome and relentlessly wholesome hero who calls himself "The Middleman" in this tongue-in-cheek adventure series.

  • So Little Time
    So Little Time (2001)7.6

    So Little Time is an American sitcom starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen that aired on Fox Family. The first half of the series aired from June 2, 2001, to August 15, 2001. The series then went on a four-month hiatus owing to network management changes. By December 2001, Fox Family had become ABC Family, and the remaining episodes aired until May 4, 2002.

  • Make It or Break It
    Make It or Break It (2009)7.6

    Set in the world of competitive gymnastics, the series follows a group of teen Olympic hopefuls as they train for their day in the spotlight.

  • Switched at Birth
    Switched at Birth (2011)7.5

    The story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.

  • The Fosters
    The Fosters (2013)7.5

    Stef Foster, a dedicated police officer, and her partner Lena Adams, a school vice principal, have built a close-knit, loving family with Stef's biological son from a previous marriage, Brandon, and their adopted twins, Mariana and Jesus. Their lives are disrupted in unexpected ways when Lena meets Callie, a hardened teen with an abusive past who has spent her life in and out of foster homes. Lena and Stef welcome Callie and her brother, Jude, into their home thinking it's just for a few weeks, until a more permanent placement can be found. But life has something else in store for the Fosters.

  • W.I.T.C.H.
    W.I.T.C.H. (2004)7.4

    The Guardians must save Meridian from the evil sorcerer Phobos and Cedric who are searching for Phobos' sister, the long lost princess of Meridian and true heir to the throne. They later find her and the Guardians then set about saving her from Phobos. When Meridian is freed from evil and true heir takes the throne, a new mysterious sorceress named Nerissa frees Phobos' top henchmen and reforms them as the Knights of Vengeance. Once the Guardians learn more about the sorceress and her evil plan of reuniting former Guardians, they are able to defeat the Knights only to have more powerful Knights, in addition to the former Guardians attack them.

  • Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
    Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (1994)7.3

    It's all up to you. You must gather clues, note locations and facts, and finally fit all the clues together to help catch the greatest criminal mastermind in history--none other than the infamous Carmen Sandiego. She's bold, beautiful, and until now, uncatchable. But with your help, the ACME Detective agency might just have a chance at bringing her in.

  • Zorro
    Zorro (1990)7.1

    Zorro, also known as The New Zorro, New World Zorro, and Zorro 1990, is an American action-adventure drama series featuring Duncan Regehr as the character of Zorro. Regehr portrayed the fearless Latino hero and fencer on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993. The series was shot entirely in Madrid, Spain and produced by New World Television, The Family Channel, Ellipse Programme of Canal Plus, Beta TV, and RAI. 88 episodes of the series were produced, 10 more than the first Zorro television series, which was produced by Disney in the late 1950s. Since 2011, the series is currently airing in the United States on the Retro Television Network as The New Zorro. Peter Rodgers Organization is the distributor for this version of Zorro.

  • Power Rangers
    Power Rangers (1993)7.1

    A team of teenagers with attitude are recruited to save Angel Grove from the evil witch, Rita Repulsa, and later, Lord Zedd, Emperor of all he sees, and their horde of monsters.

  • Kyle XY
    Kyle XY (2006)7.0

    A suburban family that takes in a mysterious teen naive to the world around him. As Kyle begins to show signs of brilliance, solving the mystery of his origin and potential abilities becomes the family's mission.

  • The Lying Game
    The Lying Game (2011)7.0

    Emma, a kind-hearted foster kid who can't catch a break, finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton, who - unlike Emma - was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life. After their initial meeting, Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life for a few days while she pursues a lead on their birth mother. Initially excited to do this favor for her sister, Emma soon learns that Sutton has gone missing and could be in trouble. Now, Emma must decide whether to come clean to Sutton's family and risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister's true whereabouts, along with the truth about why they were separated in the first place.

  • Melissa & Joey
    Melissa & Joey (2010)6.9

    Mel is a local politician from a political family. When a family scandal leaves her niece, Lennox, and nephew, Ryder, without their parents, Mel takes them in. She hires Joe to become the family's male nanny, or "manny," after a Ponzi scheme leaves him broke.

  • Kong: The Animated Series
    Kong: The Animated Series (2000)6.8

    Kong: The Animated Series is an American television series for children that follows King Kong, the monster of the 1933 film of the same name. Kong was created to compete with Godzilla: The Series, and first aired on BKN in 2000. In May 2001, Fox Kids began airing reruns of the first 13 episodes. Then, Jetix began airing reruns on September 9, 2005, as a prelude to the release of Peter Jackson's King Kong. Additionally, two direct-to-DVD movies based on the series were released: Kong: King of Atlantis in 2005 and Kong: Return to the Jungle in 2007.

  • Greek
    Greek (2007)6.6

    Casey Cartwright is poised to become the most powerful girl in the Greek system. Rusty, her little brother, is new on campus and he's the geek. But he sees Cyprus-Rhodes University as an opportunity to create a whole new identity.

  • Bordertown
    Bordertown (1989)6.5

    Bordertown is a television western-drama series that aired from 1989 to 1991. It depicts the town formerly known as Pemmican that was later renamed Bordertown when the western border between the United States and Canada was surveyed in 1880, dividing the town.

  • Big Brother Jake
    Big Brother Jake (1990)6.0

  • The Legend of Prince Valiant
    The Legend of Prince Valiant (1991)6.0

    The Legend of Prince Valiant is an American animated television series based on the Prince Valiant comic strip created by Hal Foster. Set in the time of King Arthur, it's a family-oriented adventure show about an exiled prince who goes on a quest to become one of the Knights of the Round Table. He begins his quest after having a dream about Camelot and its idealistic New Order. This television series originally aired on The Family Channel from 1991 to 1994 for a total run of 65 episodes.

  • Madeline
    Madeline (1988)5.8

    A young girl embarks on a series of misadventures, causing her friends and teachers to be worrisome. Based on the children's books by Ludwig Bemelmans.