The Best TV Shows on ESPN

Every ESPN Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Check out the most acclaimed shows on ESPN, with a catalog of over 20 series updated for August 2025. Leading the pack on ESPN are The World's Strongest Man and Pardon the Interruption, with their initial broadcasts in 1977 and 2001. Across the timeline from 1977 to 2025, ESPN has presented audiences with over 20 captivating shows.

  • The Kingdom
    The Kingdom (2025)10.0

    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 Last Dance
    The Last Dance (2020)8.2

    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)8.1

    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

  • Tilt
    Tilt (2005)7.3

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

  • 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.

  • The Bronx Is Burning
    The Bronx Is Burning (2007)7.0

    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.

  • Basketball: A Love Story
    Basketball: A Love Story (2018)7.0

    '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.

  • 30 for 30: Soccer Stories
    30 for 30: Soccer Stories (2014)6.9

    ESPN Films, creators of the critically-acclaimed 30 for 30 film series, will premiere a new series in April surrounding the 2014 FIFA World Cup on ESPN. 30 for 30: Soccer Stories will include a mix of standalone feature-length and 30-minute-long documentary films from an award winning group of filmmakers telling compelling narratives from around the international soccer landscape.

  • Lance
    Lance (2020)6.9

    This documentary chronicles Lance Armstrong's cycling triumphs, his cancer diagnosis, and the controversy that upended his career.

  • 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.

  • Pardon the Interruption
    Pardon the Interruption (2001)6.2

    Pardon the Interruption is a sports television show that airs weekdays on various ESPN TV channels, TSN, ESPN America, XM, and Sirius satellite radio services, and as a downloadable podcast. It is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, who discuss, and frequently argue over, the top stories of the day in "sports... and other stuff". They had previously done this off-air in The Washington Post newsroom. Either Tony Reali or the uncredited "producer over the loudspeaker" serves as moderator for parts of the show, which is filmed in Washington, D.C.; Around The Horn also originates from the same studio.

  • 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.

  • Playmakers
    Playmakers (2003)4.8

    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.

  • In the Arena: Serena Williams
    In the Arena: Serena Williams (2024)4.5

    After 27 years in professional tennis, Serena Williams shares a personal account of her most meaningful Grand Slam appearances and deconstructs the milestones of her career.

  • 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.

  • The World's Strongest Man
    The World's Strongest Man (1977)N/A

    Athletes compete for a place in the World Finals.

  • 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.

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

  • Running with the Wolves
    Running with the Wolves (2025)N/A

    Follows daytime television icons Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa as they dive headfirst into the high-stakes world of Italian football—not as spectators, but as team owners. Set in the heart of southern Italy, Running with the Wolves chronicles the couple’s bold journey as owners of Campobasso FC, a gritty Serie C soccer club known as the “Lupi” (Italian for “Wolves”). Since taking the reins in 2022, Consuelos and Ripa have helped breathe new life into the once-struggling team and reignited passion among the club’s loyal fanbase.