The Best TV Shows on The CW

Every The CW Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Icons of The CW, WWE SmackDown and Gilmore Girls made their debut in 1999 and 2000, setting industry standards. The CW has over 20 shows broadcast from as early as 1999 and as recent as 2018. As of June 2025, we’ve curated over 20 of The CW’s premier shows for your viewing pleasure.

  • Tai Chi Chasers
    Tai Chi Chasers (2007)9.0

    After a strange and devastating attack on his home, a young boy named Rai is shocked to discover he’s a secret descendent of the Tigeroids: an ancient race of peaceful beings locked in a struggle with the ruthless and cunning Dragonoids. In a parallel universe called Suhn, the Tigeroids and Dragonoids are battling furiously to recover 500 lost tai chi characters. Whoever retrieves these precious and potent symbols will possess the ultimate power to rule their realm... and destroy their enemies. As Rai hones his innate tai chi skills to fight the Dragonoids, he must find the lost tai chi and battle to become one of the champion Tai Chi Chasers!

  • The Originals
    The Originals (2013)8.6

    A spin-off from The Vampire Diaries and set in New Orleans, The Originals centers on the Mikaelson siblings, otherwise known as the world's original vampires: Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. Now Klaus must take down his protégé, Marcel, who is now in charge of New Orleans, in order to re-take his city, as he originally built New Orleans. Klaus departed from the city after being chased down by his father Mikael, while it was being constructed and Marcel took charge. As Klaus has returned after many years, his ego has provoked him to become the king of the city. "Every King needs an heir" says Klaus, accepting the unborn child. The child is a first to be born to a hybrid and a werewolf.

  • Riverdale
    Riverdale (2017)8.4

    Set in the present, the series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surreality of small-town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade.

  • Supernatural
    Supernatural (2005)8.3

    When they were boys, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America ... and he taught them how to kill it. Now, the Winchester brothers crisscross the country in their '67 Chevy Impala, battling every kind of supernatural threat they encounter along the way.

  • The Vampire Diaries
    The Vampire Diaries (2009)8.3

    The story of two vampire brothers obsessed with the same girl, who bears a striking resemblance to the beautiful but ruthless vampire they knew and loved in 1864.

  • Smallville
    Smallville (2001)8.2

    The origins of the world’s greatest hero–from Krypton refugee Kal-el’s arrival on Earth through his tumultuous teen years to Clark Kent’s final steps toward embracing his destiny as the Man of Steel.

  • All American
    All American (2018)8.2

    When a rising high school football player from South Central L.A. is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds - Compton and Beverly Hills - begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.

  • Reign
    Reign (2013)8.1

    Mary, Queen of Scots, faces political and sexual intrigue in the treacherous world of the French court.

  • Gilmore Girls
    Gilmore Girls (2000)7.9

    Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.

  • The 100
    The 100 (2014)7.9

    100 years in the future, when the Earth has been abandoned due to radioactivity, the last surviving humans live on an ark orbiting the planet — but the ark won't last forever. So the repressive regime picks 100 expendable juvenile delinquents to send down to Earth to see if the planet is still habitable.

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)7.8

    When four pet turtles were bathed in alien ooze, they began to mutate and became the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Raised in New York City sewers by their foster father and wise sensei, Master Splinter, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael wage war against crime. Led by Master Splinter, the four turtles learn the ancient martial art of Ninjitsu, mastering skills of stealth, weapons, and fighting. They stop evildoers in all forms, whether barbaric gangs, lowlife crooks, deranged cyborgs, or even the crime syndicate The Foot, led by their archrival, The Shredder.

  • One Tree Hill
    One Tree Hill (2003)7.8

    In Tree Hill, North Carolina two half brothers share a last name and nothing else. Brooding, blue-collar Lucas is a talented street-side basketball player, but his skills are appreciated only by his friends at the river court. Popular, affluent Nathan basks in the hero-worship of the town, as the star of his high school team. And both boys are the son of former college ball player Dan Scott whose long ago choice to abandon Lucas and his mother Karen, will haunt him long into his life with wife Deb and their son Nathan.

  • The Flash
    The Flash (2014)7.8

    After being struck by lightning, CSI investigator Barry Allen awakens from a nine-month coma to discover he has been granted the gift of super speed. Teaming up with S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry takes on the persona of The Flash, the Fastest Man Alive, to protect his city.

  • The Game
    The Game (2006)7.7

    When her boyfriend Derwin Davis is chosen as the new third-string wide receiver for the San Diego Sabers, Melanie Barnett decides to attend a local college so she can be with him. While Derwin worries about the plays on the field, Melanie adjusts to her new lifestyle. She gets a play-by-play account of the lives and relationships among NFL wives, girlfriends and mom/managers who use their best game to help their men stay on the field and on their arm.

  • Whose Line Is It Anyway?
    Whose Line Is It Anyway? (2013)7.7

    Comedian Aisha Tyler hosts this improv comedy show where the actors on the show - Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles along with a special guest each episode -must put their comedic skills to the test through a series of spontaneous improv games, prompted only by random ideas supplied by the studio audience.

  • WWE SmackDown
    WWE SmackDown (1999)7.5

    The superstars of World Wrestling Entertainment's "SmackDown" brand collide each and every Friday on WWE Friday Night SmackDown.

  • DC's Legends of Tomorrow
    DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016)7.3

    When heroes alone are not enough ... the world needs legends. Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat — one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known?

  • Arrow
    Arrow (2012)6.8

    Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.

  • America's Next Top Model
    America's Next Top Model (2003)5.3

    Aspiring models compete for a chance to break into the business with a panel of judges critiquing their progress throughout the competition.

  • The Tyra Banks Show
    The Tyra Banks Show (2005)5.0

    The Tyra Banks Show, also known as and shortened to Tyra or The Tyra Show, is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks. The last new episode aired on Friday, May 28, 2010. The show featured many special guest stars which include Mike Epps, Cheryl Tiegs, Miley Cyrus, LL Cool J, Rihanna, Michael Rapaport, and Robbi Morgan.