The Best TV Shows on ESPN

Every ESPN Show Ranked From Best To Worst

As of January 2026, we’ve curated over 20 of ESPN’s premier shows for your viewing pleasure. Leading the pack on ESPN are World Class Championship Wrestling and Around the Horn, with their initial broadcasts in 1982 and 2002. ESPN has delivered an expansive roster of over 20 shows, dating from 1982 all the way to 2025.

  • Highly Questionable
    Highly Questionable (N/A)10.0

    Lively sports commentary with a rotating cast of columnists and commentators.

  • E:60
    E:60 (2007)9.5

    E:60 is a weekly investigative journalism newsmagazine show. It premiered on ESPN on October 16, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. PT. The show is one hour long. E:60 covers stories that relate to both American and international sports. Reporters from the network interview those surrounding the stories, and they also discuss what was involved in covering the stories. Many of the stories' subjects are of a serious nature, such as a story featured on the premiere show about Jason Ray, the student who portrayed the North Carolina Tar Heels' mascot Ramses, being killed after he was struck by a car. Reporters and contributors on the show include ESPN personalities Jeremy Schaap, Rachel Nichols, Lisa Salters, Jeffri Chadiha, Michael Smith, and Chris Connelly.

  • The Last Dance
    The Last Dance (2020)8.3

    A 10-part documentary chronicling the untold story of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty with rare, never-before-seen footage and sound from the 1997-98 championship season – plus over 100 interviews with famous figures and basketball’s biggest names.

  • O.J.: Made in America
    O.J.: Made in America (2016)8.0

    The rise and fall of American football star, O.J. Simpson, from his days growing up in Los Angeles to his murder trial that polarized the country.

  • 30 for 30
    30 for 30 (2009)7.4

    30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

  • Basketball: A Love Story
    Basketball: A Love Story (2018)7.3

    'Basketball: A Love Story' is a series of 62 interconnected short stories that creates a vibrant mosaic of the game, featuring 165 exclusive interviews. The cast encompasses basketball's most prominent figures and explores the complex nature of love as it relates to the game.

  • The Bronx Is Burning
    The Bronx Is Burning (2007)7.2

    In the summer of 1977, New York was a city in crisis. Paralyzed by a citywide blackout, political strife, and the Son of Sam killing spree, the Big Apple was burning. Rising out of this troubled urban landscape to bring hope and inspiration came one of baseball's most storied franchises, The New York Yankees.

  • The Contender
    The Contender (2005)7.0

    A reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted.

  • Tilt
    Tilt (2005)6.8

    Young poker players must navigate their past along with the best players in the world to win.

  • The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius
    The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius (2020)6.7

    In the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, famous Paralympian Oscar Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend, model and paralegal Reeva Steenkamp. The question was why?

  • The Kingdom
    The Kingdom (2025)6.6

    In 2024, the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs aimed to make history by becoming the first NFL team to win three straight Super Bowls. "The Kingdom" – a new six-part ESPN Original Series – chronicles the Chiefs’ dramatic pursuit of a three-peat, the legacy of the franchise, and the unforgettable characters who built its modern-day football dynasty.

  • The Ultimate Fighter
    The Ultimate Fighter (2005)6.3

    The next generation of UFC stars are produced in an intense elimination tournament that separates the contenders from the pretenders.

  • Jim Rome Is Burning
    Jim Rome Is Burning (2003)5.0

    Host Jim Rome interviews sports figures, gives personal opinions on a few of the day's sports stories and is joined by analysts to discuss controversies in sports. Weekly correspondent segments featuring athletes take viewers closer to an aspect of a sport -- inside a team's locker room, a practice or a day in the life of the featured athlete or team.

  • Galácticos
    Galácticos (2021)5.0

    This three-part documentary series charts Florentino Perez’ Galactico revolution at Real Madrid at the turn of the century. The documentary includes fascinating insights from a stellar cast of Real Madrid legends, including Iker Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Fernando Hierro, Claude Makélélé, Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Manager Vicente del Bosque, alongside individuals closest to Perez. The three-part series traces Real Madrid’s time under Perez, from his Presidential win and controversial transfer of Luis Figo from bitter rivals Barcelona in July 2000, to the resignation of his first term as Real Madrid President in February 2006 following the fallout from his ‘Galáctico’ vision.

  • Around the Horn
    Around the Horn (2002)4.4

    Around the Horn is a daily, half-hour sports roundtable on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, as part of a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption. The show is currently hosted by Tony Reali.

  • Playmakers
    Playmakers (2003)4.3

    The series is a gritty ensemble drama about the off-field lives of a group of players on a pro football team and how they deal with the pressure of being on the professional level.

  • World Class Championship Wrestling
    World Class Championship Wrestling (1982)N/A

    From the Sportatorium comes the groundbreaking sports-entertainment brand World Class Championship Wrestling, featuring legendary competitors such as The Von Erichs, Bruiser Brody, The Fabulous Freebirds and more.

  • College Football Live
    College Football Live (2007)N/A

    College Football Live is a show that airs weekdays during the college football season on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPNU. Its premiere was on Monday, July 23, 2007. Wendi Nix serves as the lead host, and it also features ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard, Joey Galloway, David Pollack, Trevor Matich and others. College Football Live also features Live interviews with college coaches and players.

  • Scripps National Spelling Bee
    Scripps National Spelling Bee (N/A)N/A

  • World Series of Poker
    World Series of Poker (N/A)N/A

    The World Series of Poker is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players.