Mistakes from the 50 best TV shows of all time
Mistakes from the 50 best TV shows of all time
Almost 100 years ago, the invention known as television burst into the world for mass consumption when Philo Farnsworth introduced the first straight-line television in 1927. Since that time, all manner of television programs—from sketch shows, to hard-hitting news programs, to sitcoms that make you laugh and the drama series that make you cry—have found their way to the airwaves to the delight of thousands, millions, and eventually billions of people around the world.
While the way television shows are consumed may have morphed over the years—from three major channels, to satellite, to cable, and to streaming—what has remained the same is that consumers look to television as a wonderful form of escape from reality, even if only for a few moments out of the week. You can get lost in the lives of others whose storylines, in some part, resonate with your own life experiences. You see yourself in their heartbreak. You feel yourself in their triumph.
No matter how lost fans may get in the plot lines, shocking reveals, and nail-biting "to be continueds," that doesn't keep viewers from noticing some fairly obvious mistakes, goof-ups, and continuity errors. In fact, the love of the show might put viewers on even higher alert because they're searching for hidden Easter eggs or clues they may have missed and wind up discovering mistakes … by mistake. Even the most highly acclaimed shows aren't immune from these slips—the third season of "The Bear" had several such errors, including a character's wedding ring disappearing and reappearing mid-scene, while the final season of "Yellowstone" unexpectedly changed one cowboy's last name in December 2024.
With those wonderful and not-so-wonderful oops moments in mind, Stacker compiled some of the best mistakes, mix-ups, and mishaps from the best 50 shows of all time, as ranked by IMDb. These include everything from misspelled credits, to accidental time travel, to characters dying, coming back to life, and dying again with no explanation—this list has a little of everything. Scroll through and see if some of your favorites popped up, or if there are even mistakes that were missed.
#50. Peep Show
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2003-2015
If you're a die-hard "Peep Show" fan, then you may have noticed the hypocrisy perpetrated by Mark. At the end of Season 6, in a discussion about the film "Jaws," Mark shrewdly points out that, "The shark isn't called Jaws, the movie is called 'Jaws,'" and the audience reacted with a deep sigh of relief as someone pointed out the truth. They then are backstabbed by Mark at the end of Season 9, when he says, "That'll clear the place like Jaws at the beach." Pick a side Mark, pick a side.
#49. Friday Night Lights
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2006-2011
Who doesn't love a fairly obvious flub? The kind you can see, clear as day, without having to go back, or rewind and pause, to catch it. Well if that tickles your fancy, check out Season 3, Episode 3 of "Friday Night Lights." About 90 seconds into it, you can easily spot a cameraman kneeling off to the left of the scene. Whether the show's director didn't catch it or decided to leave it in as a fun little Easter egg for moments like this, it may never be known.
#48. The Shield
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2002-2008
In some cases, it can be difficult to find the subtle flubs, the continuity errors, or the accidental cameraman. The popular 2000s show "The Shield" is not one of those cases. The show was filmed from multiple camera angles and moved at a fairly quick pace. As such, there were more than a few errors that popped up. In the pilot episode alone, there were multiple shots that prominently featured the camera crew in the scene, though clearly not a part of the storyline.
#47. Oz
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 1997-2003
The television show "Oz" was known for its gritty portrayal of a men's prison. The show was extremely visceral, raw, and often violent. As much research as the writers may have done, one thing they seemed to ignore boldly was that prisons don't allow prisoners access to any sort of bladed instrument. Despite this, the show often featured prisoners using everyday objects such as knives and scissors.
#46. Top Gear
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2002-present
While the "Top Gear" series has been running for what seems like countless seasons, and considering the kind of show it is, with random races, vehicle upgrades, and odd feats of endurance to test out a variety of cars from around the world—it's no wonder there would be a few continuity issues. There's been everything from bumpers being in one shot and magically not being in the next, to stickers appearing in shots before they were applied in the storyline.
One of the bigger bloopers people picked up on was the infamous red or blue car switch. For whatever reason, the hosts wanted to race a boat against a rented blue Toyota Camry. During the race, host Jeremy Clarkson takes a turn and crashes. The show footage makes it seem as though they returned the blue car and got a new red one. An accidental shot that reveals the interior of the car, however, still shows a blue B-pillar. The crew just painted over the previously damaged blue one.
#45. Star Trek: The Next Generation
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 1987-1994
The iterations of the Star Trek franchise seem nearly endless, but one of the most successful ones was the "Next Generation" series. Starring an ensemble cast of actors ranging from Patrick Stewart to LeVar Burton and Whoopi Goldberg, the talent alone made the show hard to ignore. Unfortunately, it was also hard to ignore some of the continuity errors in the series.
In the science fiction realm, writers are often forced to find a balance between the fantastical and the realistic, melding real science with wild concepts to make the worlds created as believable as possible. In the instance of "Next Generation," however, one of the main data points was the ship's computer having an odd need to breathe in the middle of sentences. Considering it was supposed to be all function and not a human form, a breathing computer seemed a little too far-fetched for fans.
#44. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2017-2023
The holidays are often a stressful time of year, and for the character of Midge (Rachel Brosnahan), they seemed to be not only stressful, but also highly confusing, at least when it came to keeping her stories straight.
In Season 1, Episode 4, as Midge and Susie (Alex Borstein) walk through a record store, Midge waxes poetic about her love of Bing Crosby—that is until Susie gives a more than negative response. After that, Midge swears to never watch "White Christmas" again. A couple of seasons later, Midge says she's not familiar with the song since she's Jewish when asked to join in on a chorus of "White Christmas" during a USO show. It's a slow burn, but it's one of those continuity errors that you spot as time goes on.
#43. Six Feet Under
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2001-2005
"Six Feet Under" showed viewers how to accept, process, and grieve death in a dark comedic way as members of the ensemble cast struggled with their own demons as they ran a small funeral home. With such a heady topic, it's no wonder minuscule errors and continuity issues sprung up. Such was the instance in the pilot episode of the series.
When Nate (Peter Krause) is attempting to comfort his mother (Frances Conroy), you might notice a bracelet magically disappearing and reappearing from his wrist consistently over the course of the scene. But, face it, in a show full of the supernatural, this might not be that out of the ordinary.
#42. This Is Us
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2016-2022
The tear-jerking family drama had millions of fans tuned in each week to watch another heart-wrenching scene between one character or the next. Perhaps it was because of all the emotional moments and vision blurred from tears that allowed some of the mistakes in "This Is Us" to slide by unnoticed. Through a series of flashbacks and forward, viewers learn about the complex lives of each character, including Kate (Hannah Zeile as a teen, and Chrissy Metz as an adult), in the final episode of Season 4.
In the episode, it's revealed that Kate got pregnant as a teen. As the camera zooms in, she's holding the positive pregnancy test in her hand and a … box for an ovulation test? The confusion turned into a fan-fueled frenzy as some began to speculate they were insinuating Kate got pregnant on purpose. It threw everyone for such a loop that the producers eventually spoke out about it, ensuring it was not a plot twist and just a flub.
#41. Severance
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2022-present
The premise of this Apple TV series is one that feels so fictionalized you can't help but wonder if it could be real. In the series, office workers are subjected to a form of mindwipe technology that separates their consciousness from their work life and their life outside of it. The editors might have gone through their own temporary mindwipe when it comes to a glaring inconsistency in the series' first episode of the first season.
Throughout "Good News About Hell," images are shown of the watch worn by Mark (Adam Scott), but the date on the watch jumps back and forth, showing it as a 4, then a 5, then a 4 again. So unless Mark not only split his consciousness, but also split the space-time continuum, something's off.
#40. Battlestar Galactica
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2004-2009
Another science fiction favorite that brings the best of space and a vivid imagination together is the sci-fi series, "Battlestar Galactica," which began as a miniseries and morphed into an episodic tale that ran for five years.
Interestingly, one of the biggest mistakes in the show came from the transition between the miniseries and the series itself. Through the Glen Larson-helmed franchise, viewers were introduced to the 12 Colonies of Kobol, all with names derived from the zodiac signs; including Sagittaron. The only issue with that? In the miniseries, the colony was called Sagittarion.
#39. Fleabag
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2016-2019
This Phoebe Waller-Bridge project practically swept the Emmys when it was released. This BBC/Amazon series broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to the audience about topics of grief, love, loss, and all the emotions that can come in between those major milestones. The show was so well-loved by both critics and fans that it was a little difficult to find too many things wrong with it.
There was, however, the matter of the flip-flopping sandwich that couldn't help be noticed. In Season 1, Episode 3 of the series, Martin (Brett Gelman) is holding two sandwiches in one hand. Suddenly, like magic, in the next scene, he's holding one in each.
#38. Rome
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2005-2007
One of the pitfalls of basing a television show on history is that it's pretty easy to get it wrong if you aren't doing your research. While the series "Rome" got a lot of things right in terms of keeping people's attention, if you paid close attention, you caught a good amount of mistakes and continuity errors.
In Season 1, Episode 4, "Stealing From Saturn," the episode begins as Caesar has taken Rome and a large party is thrown in his honor. During the party, Octavia recites a verse from "The Aeneid," a poem by Virgil published in 19 B.C. This may not seem like a problem until you realize that Caesar died in 44 B.C., more than two decades before the poem was released. Apparently, Octavia was also a time traveler.
#37. Yellowstone
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2018-2023
Another show steeped in historical inspiration is the Paramount Plus hit "Yellowstone," which follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, as they navigate the Wild West during a time when the desire to develop land could lead to more than a bidding war, with violent battles over imaginary borders. The show also crossed the time-space border from time to time.
In Season 5, sharp-eyed fans spotted more than a few issues with Episode 3 that defied time and space. A Crown Royal bottle appeared behind the young John Dutton (Josh Lucas)—which couldn't have happened considering the show takes place in America's timeline before Crown Royal did, and from scene to scene, Walker (Ryan Bingham) went from having a very prominent brand on his chest, to suddenly none at all. Not sure what happened on the editing room floor of Episode 3 when these errors slid through, but Crown Royal may have had something to do with it.
#36. Downton Abbey
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2010-2015
There are plenty of reasons to love "Downton Abbey." From the amazing costumes to the episodic period dramas, to the delightful accents and fanciful manner of speech that makes you feel like you've traveled back in time. Unfortunately, it was the language that may have gotten a bit jumbled, at least when it came to certain words being used.
The character of Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) often tossed the word "pregnant" around, which might not seem out of place until you realize that the word was considered taboo up until the late '50s—so much so that it was censored on television—and "Downton Abbey" was set during World War I. It's not overtly noticeable to most, but it certainly caught the ears of some of the most ardent etymology-loving fans.
#35. Mad Men
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2007-2015
Another time, another period piece and another fan favorite, "Mad Men" reminded viewers of sharp suits, drinks at the office, and the golden age of advertising. The ensemble cast, featuring Jon Hamm as Don Draper, ran for eight years and received countless awards and acclaim. Yet much as the downfall with any period piece, it can be difficult to replicate a time 50 years in the past.
In the instance of "Mad Men," Seasons 1-3 featured rotary phones. On brand for the era, right? The only problem is that the show's rotary phone featured a clear, plastic wheel, which was not introduced until 1964. Before that time, the wheels were black and made of metal.
#34. Arrested Development
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2003-2019
The Bluth family was always fun to watch. The ensemble cast featuring Portia de Rossi, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Jessica Walter, among others, was so popular that after the show was originally taken off the air in 2006 after only three seasons, Netflix decided to pick it up and produce Seasons 4 and 5. You could say there was something magical about it, and we're sure Gob (Arnett) would back everyone up on that.
Somehow a sandwich magically jumped from one side of the counter to the other during a conversation between him and his brother Michael (Bateman). Or maybe it was just a continuity error that wasn't caught in the editing room.
#33. House
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2004-2012
The long-running Fox medical drama "House," featuring the talent of Hugh Laurie as Gregory House, M.D., was one that managed to combine the intensity of the medical profession with the intensity of the personality of House and the doctors who did their best to avoid his wrath. It was an extremely technical show that brought a wealth of information to the table, and with eight years' worth of episodes, it only makes sense that there were a few mistakes.
For example, in Season 3, Episode 18, House and his love interest Lisa Cuddy, M.D. (Lisa Edelstein) are on a flight, when suddenly it all goes south. A mysterious disease breaks out, and House and Cuddy run theories that the pilots must have eaten the same food, and that's the origin of the disease. Except, historically, pilots were supposed to avoid just this situation. While that rule has been relaxed, it wasn't during the time of the episode.
#32. House of Cards
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2013-2018
Long before the allegations against Kevin Spacey came to light and his court date was imminent, he and the cast of "House of Cards" were making waves, and so was Netflix with the first original content series it produced. The dark political drama followed the lives of ruthless politicians who would do anything—yes, anything—to get to the top of the bureaucratic food chain.
However, as good as the plot and show may have been, it wasn't without its faults. In the end credits of Season 2, Episode 11, Spacey's character Frank Underwood, is credited as Francis Undwerwood.
#31. The Mandalorian
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2019-present
It almost goes without saying that the Star Wars franchise has an intense fan base and making a mistake during a franchise show comes under the watchful eyes of millions. When the new Disney+ original series "The Mandalorian" was released, tons of people tuned in to watch the epic saga that acted as an origin story for today's franchise.
Those tuned-in and turned-on fans were the first to spot a carbon copy Mandalorian in a scene from the episode "Chapter 23." Two identical Mandalorians, standing practically in formation, seemed a little too "twinsie" for fans, as they called the show out for accidentally copying/pasting the crowd.
#30. The Boys
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2019-present
In a world where superheroes are not only celebrated, but monetized, "The Boys" came to Amazon Prime to show the world that all that glitters isn't necessarily gold with superheroes in the mix.
The series shows the kind of mistakes made when heroes go commercial. In the instance of Season 1, Episode 5, a scene that features Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) and Homelander (Antony Starr), Barrett is seen jumping from behind Homelander to the front of him in less than an instant. They do have superpowers, but that had to be a continuity error.
#29. Black Mirror
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2011-present
If you ever wondered what a modern dystopia could look like, then look no further than the dark, "techno-paranoid" drama series "Black Mirror." Each season acted as a stand-alone, telling a variety of stories to shed light on some of the ugliness of humanity. Even that kind of plotline wasn't enough to keep fans—particularly photographers—from noticing a glaring error in the Season 6 episode "Mazey Day."
In an episode that delves into the world of the paparazzi, Bo (Zazie Beetz) is seen lurking in a car, taking pictures. Pretty standard for a photographer, correct? It seems only right that it would be photographers who would spot the problem. While Bo takes pictures, she moves her lens as if she is manually focusing, but viewers are able to discern that the noise the camera is making is actually that of its autofocus feature.
#28. Dexter
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2006-2013
It's hard to make serial killers lovable, but Michael C. Hall somehow managed to pull it off for seven years in the hit series "Dexter," the antihero you hate to love. By day, he's a forensic expert who helps solve the crimes running rampant in Miami. By night, he's a serial killer who hunts down the very people who keep him in business—criminals.
None of that explains how Dexter manages to have a stubbled morning beard right after he shaves. In the opening sequence of each episode, Dexter is seen partaking in his daily routine. In each sequence, Dexter first shaves, and then fixes breakfast. Yet, every time he sits down to eat that breakfast he has stubble. That's an impressive rate of growth.
#27. Stranger Things
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- On air: 2016-present
The saga of "Stranger Things" became a sweeping cultural phenomenon almost the moment it hit the small screen. The Netflix original series feels like a walk down memory lane if the lane had monsters, supernatural happenings, and an upside-down world filled with demons. With so many layers of space to keep track of, things are bound to slip through the cracks—or in this case, more like a vortex—including a slip that threw fans into a tizzy and forced the series' creators to "pull a George Lucas."
A Season 4 slip on a certain day of the calendar made it seem like everyone forgot Will when his birthday, which originally is March 22, came and went without mention in the episode. The show's creators, the Duffer brothers, spoke out after fans caught the slip and admitted that not only did they miss it, but that it would be too sad not to fix the error. Through what they called "George Lucas magic"—going back and editing the mistake even long after release—they are going to change Will's birthday to May.
#26. Chappelle's Show
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2003-2006
The run of "Chappelle's Show" may have been short, but it left a major impact on television, and an even bigger impact on the industry when Dave Chappelle walked away from a $50 million deal with Comedy Central to extend the popular sketch show. The entertainer is well known for characters like Clayton Bigsby, the world's only Black white supremacist; bringing out the dark side of Wayne Brady; and a laundry list of even more. The show was so funny that it's hard to say if continuity mistakes were accidents or just inside jokes.
Like the scene from "Little Foot, Long Foot" where Chappelle falls on a skateboard, and when he comes up from the fall, the blood streaming down his forehead constantly changes depending on the shot. From barely there, to dripping down his mouth, and back to barely there. Maybe it was an homage to the scene? Little blood, long blood?
#25. Monty Python's Flying Circus
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 1969-1974
Another classic sketch comedy show, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" featured an absolutely stellar cast of comedic geniuses ranging from John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, and Carol Cleveland among others.
With so many comedians on set, and laughs flying left and right, it can probably be a bit difficult to keep track of characters, or in the instance of the "Scott of the Antarctic" sketch, military ranks. At the start of the sketch, he is introduced as Lieutenant Scott and is later called Captain Scott. Promotions don't usually tend to work that quickly.
#24. Fawlty Towers
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 1975-1979
Speaking of John Cleese, the show he created and starred in, the situational British comedy "Fawlty Towers," has long been held in high esteem with fans—considering it ranks so high on this list despite going off the air more than 40 years ago in 1979. Loosely based on the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, England, which Cleese stayed in with the Monty Python cast and found creative inspiration, the show spent four years giving viewers plenty of reasons to laugh.
Every so often, however, the show gave you a reason to make you go "hmmm," as in the case of the mystery of switching license plates. In Season 1, Basil (Cleese) drives an Austin 1100 Countryman with a license plate that reads WLG 142E, but by Season 4 it reads OYF 747R. Perhaps Basil was secretly running a chop shop on the show … who knows?
#23. Curb Your Enthusiasm
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2000-present
Larry David was hitting it big with back-to-back sitcom successes with "Seinfeld" and then "Curb Your Enthusiasm," a show not-so-loosely based on David's real life. With the show somewhat steeped in reality, you would think it might be a little less difficult to keep storylines straight, but a major continuity error between seasons definitely had more than a few people baffled.
In Season 4, Episode 4 "The Weatherman," Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) talks about his mother having been dead for more than 10 years while speaking at his father's funeral. Sad. Cut to Season 6, Episode 3, "The Ida Funkhouser Roadhouse Memorial," and you find out that she just died in a freak wheelchair accident.
#22. Freaks and Geeks
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 1999-2000
Almost hitting the top 20 when your show was only on for a season is an impressive feat and one that the series "Freaks and Geeks" achieved on this list. Centered around two groups of teens in a fictional Michigan high school, the show became a cult classic and featured a ridiculously stacked cast, including Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Jason Segel, John Francis Daley, Busy Philipps, and many more.
Perhaps if there was more than one season, the small mistakes would have been caught. The show's storyline took place between 1980-1981, but Nick Andropolis (Segel) has ZZ Top's "Eliminator" in his room, which didn't come out until 1983. The amount of time traveling that happens on TV is astonishing.
#21. Twin Peaks
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 1990-1991
David Lynch created something so mind-bendingly enthralling in his series "Twin Peaks" that you may not be able to tell if there are continuity errors because, with Lynch, it often seems that even the accidents are on purpose. The show centers around the murder investigation of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) and the surreal situations that follow.
In Season 2, Episode 9, there was a good old-fashioned miss. It features a scene in which Leland (Ray Wise) is locked in a cell when he suddenly starts screaming and frantically running back and forth, throwing himself against the walls of the cell. The only problem is that the walls wobble with him. Combine that with the gaggle of goofs with crews winding up in shots, and either editors missed a few things, or you missed a secret clue to a Lynchian world.
#20. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2005-present
The woes and hijinks of the misanthropic gang from "It's Always Sunny" have been making you laugh with their almost dystopian look on life. The series cleverly makes fun of everyday problems in America by showing the root issue—humanity—and what people are willing to do to survive.
In the Season 5 premiere, the gang shines a light on the economic crisis by buying a foreclosed home. In a scene where they argue with the family who previously owned the house, you see mom, dad, the kids, and … a random cameraman over their shoulders who we assume shouldn't be at the house.
#19. Ted Lasso
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2020-2023
When it comes to the game of soccer—or football in most of the world—there are plenty of rules and regulations to follow. You learn about many of them in the series "Ted Lasso," an Apple TV original series that features Jason Sudeikis as Lasso, an American football coach who ends up hired to manage a British soccer team. Clearly, hilarity ensues, but the show also takes a deep look at Lasso's mental health throughout the process.
In Season 2, this comes to a powerful head when Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández) accidentally kills the Richmond club's mascot, a dog named Earl, with a penalty kick. Horrible and heartbreaking as it is, it also is a mistake. Both Premier League and English football clubs in general, do not allow animals on their grounds—even if they are a mascot.
#18. The Last of Us
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2023-present
Previously, you read about "pulling a George Lucas" when it comes to fixing production mistakes. The new Max series, "The Last of Us," based on the Naughty Dog/Sony-produced video game, has already made use of Lucas' tactics in Episode 6 of the series titled "Kin."
Fans took to Twitter almost immediately after the credits rolled to laud creators for how brilliant it was, but also to point out that crew members were very clearly shown in an overhead shot and they shouldn't have been. Co-creator Neil Druckmann even responded to the callout with good humor. Less than a week later? The crew members were no more, and the error could no longer be seen on Max. Lucas should be proud.
#17. Narcos
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2015-2017
There are few figures in modern times whose name is more well known than Colombian cartel leader Pablo Escobar who made a name for himself as one of the most violent, lucrative, and ruthless drug lords on Earth. The story of his life was used as the basis for the series "Narcos," starring Wagner Moura as the man everyone is afraid to cross, and Pedro Pascal as the Drug Enforcement Administration agent tasked with hunting him down.
Considering how feared the Escobar name is, taking on the story while Escobar's family is still alive and presence still felt was a bold choice. Especially when Sebastian Marroquin, Escobar's son, spoke out against the show and the mistakes it made, including refuting the show's portrayal of his father forcing his children into his lifestyle, saying instead that his parents placed a heavy hand on them receiving an education.
#16. Peaky Blinders
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- On air: 2013-2022
The world wasn't so great after the Great War, as is evidenced by the period piece "Peaky Blinders," starring Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Natasha O'Keeffe, and a plethora of others. Set in Britain in the aftermath of World War I, the show centers around the Peaky Blinders crime gang that roams the streets, sewing fear into the fabric of the community, and razor blades into the peaks of their caps. Despite being set in the past, the show apparently knew how to predict the future.
In the Season 4 premiere, titled "The Noose," Tommy (Murphy) and his son spend Christmas Eve together honoring old traditions like leaving a mince pie for Santa and Rudolph. The problem? The series takes place directly after World War I, meaning even if time stretched somehow, the season would have taken place in the early 1920s, and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" creator Robert L. May hadn't published the story introducing the character until 1939.
#15. The West Wing
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- On air: 1999-2006
Another political drama that maintains high favor in the minds of fans is "The West Wing," the award-winning ensemble series that took a sharp look at the daily lives of the people who work in the White House during a fictitious presidential administration. Led by President Jed Bartlett (Martin Sheen), the show gave viewers a glimpse into the man behind the curtain, his cabinet, and the people tasked to serve the nation. It's no surprise that the Secret Service would be included.
Unfortunately, the show may have gotten a few things wrong, including scenes where Secret Service agents were shown carrying things in their hands. Secret Service agents are required to keep their "hands at the ready" while on duty, meaning that their hands must be free of encumbrances at all times. Lesson learned—you can't drop the ball if you don't have one in your hands to begin with.
#14. Succession
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- On air: 2018-2023
The Kardashians have nothing on the family drama of the Max original series "Succession." It follows aging founder and CEO Logan Roy (Brian Cox), who heads up one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, a plot that pulls heavily from the real-life inspiration of Rupert Murdoch and his family.
Throughout the series, you watch infighting break out as the Roy children fight over their father's empire and fortune. In moments of trauma, it can feel like time stands still, and in the instance of the episode "S**t Show at the F**k Factory," the children are gathered around their unconscious father in a hospital bed, arguing over him. The argument lasts for a solid few minutes, but somehow the clock in the scene never changes from 3:26.
#13. Seinfeld
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- On air: 1989-1998
For nearly a decade, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards filled television screens every week in the show-about-nothing, better known as "Seinfeld." There was no plot, no real romances to follow, each episode was just a random, ridiculous slice of life.
One such episode was "The Boyfriend," in which George (Alexander) is trying to scam unemployment by creating Vandelay Industries, a fake company that wants to hire him as their latex salesman. He convinces Jerry to pretend his house number is the company. It's all for naught though, as Kramer (Richards) bungles it and answers the phone instead, all while George is indisposed in the bathroom. George runs out, pants around his ankles and as he gets tangled in his pants, stumbles to the ground. That's where the mistake comes in.
The scene shows a newspaper next to George, but as the camera cuts back and forth, the newspaper mysteriously switches sides, and at the same time the carpet in the shot switches patterns completely.
#12. Fargo
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- On air: 2014-2023
The 1996 film "Fargo," about a small Midwestern town going through a big murder investigation, was so inspiring and so beloved that its adaptation managed to make it to a small screen almost 20 years after it was originally released. In the television series, each season acts as a stand-alone murder investigation in different towns throughout the Midwest that reveal themselves to be more connected than viewers thought.
The seasons bounce through timelines, which could explain why anything is possible, including the Season 1 episode "Who Shaves the Barber," where a whiteboard that had writing all over it magically doesn't a second later.
#11. True Detective
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- On air: 2014-present
Another crime anthology to find its way to this list is "True Detective," a series that features a new and stellar cast each season, new crimes to solve, new locations to explore, and sometimes new continuity issues to catch.
In Season 1, Episode 7, titled "After You've Gone," a scene unfolds where Tuttle (Jay O. Sanders) is being interviewed in his office. As he sits behind his impressively massive desk, you notice the contents of his desk constantly change, shift, and sometimes disappear and reappear completely. Based on the Reddit threads, quite a few fans took notice of the lack of attention paid to continuity throughout the show, but it didn't seem to sully their love of the series.
#10. Friends
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- On air: 1994-2004
"Friends" dominated the globe for a decade, averaging more than 20 million viewers per episode. Yet, when a show first airs, producers and writers can't possibly be certain how long the show is going to run, so it makes sense that important plot points might not be fully mapped. However, in the instance of "Friends," there were more than a few moments that made fans scratch their heads in confusion.
For instance, neither Rachel nor Ross seems to be aware of their own birthdays. Ross (David Schwimmer) jumps backward from December to October between Season 4 and Season 9, and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) goes from her birthday being in May when Gunther (James Michael Tyler) asks, but she's an Aquarius, and her birthday would fall between Jan. 21 and Feb. 18, when she gets pulled over with her expired license. You may have heard about people lying about their ages, but making themselves older by just a matter of months seems like a stretch.
#9. Firefly
- IMDb user rating: 9
- On air: 2002-2003
The short-lived Joss Whedon series "Firefly" was centered on a rogue crew 500 years in the future, bounding through space after a universal civil war, and attempting to avoid warring factions while simultaneously trying to survive flesh-eating Reavers that live on the outskirts of the galaxy.
With such stressful circumstances, the crew gets into its fair share of back and forth. In one scene during Episode 11, "Serenity" Simon (Sean Maher) and Mal (Nathan Fillion) are arguing and Mal punches him. As Simon falls, though, you can visibly see crew members' hands extend to catch him.
#8. Better Call Saul
- IMDb user rating: 9
- On air: 2015-2022
One of the most well-received spinoff series, "Better Call Saul," takes the character of Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) from "Breaking Bad" and gives his origin story a deeper look in this long-running series. The show, which is based in the early 2000s, doesn't have to try too hard to replicate the look of the times, as many things remain the same.
Unfortunately, one thing that wasn't, appears in Season 1, Episode 9, "Pimento," which features a parking lot scene with an AT&T building—replete with a huge logo—in the shot. It wouldn't be a problem, but that particular logo didn't exist in the timeline of the episode and was actually introduced about three years later.
#7. The Office
- IMDb user rating: 9
- On air: 2005-2013
You couldn't help but love, or at least love/hate, the mockumentary-style series "The Office," based on the British version created by Ricky Gervais. It starred Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and many more. The crew of Dunder Mifflin Paper spent its days almost working, team building, and going through ridiculous situation after ridiculous situation.
With so many cast members to keep track of, it can be understandable for certain plotlines to be forgotten. For example, Pam (Fischer) comes in to save the day in the volleyball tournament that happens in Season 5. The only problem is in an earlier season, Pam made mention of the lengths she went to in order to get out of playing volleyball in P.E., which let's face it, seems antithetical for someone who played all through high school and college.
#6. The Twilight Zone
- IMDb user rating: 9.1
- On air: 1959-1964
This series created by Rod Serling was so far ahead of its time with its fantastical and suspenseful plotlines, that you can almost forgive it for any mistakes it has. Considering the first episode aired in 1959, and the special effects were nowhere near what they are today, it's more than understandable.
For example, in Season 1, Episode 13, a street scene makes it more than obvious that the horizon you are staring into is a painted background on a television set.
#5. Sherlock
- IMDb user rating: 9.1
- On air: 2010-2017
The BBC really hit it big with its modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's infamous sleuth in the series "Sherlock," starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Amanda Abbington, and Rupert Graves among the list. Viewers follow the ramshackle cast members as they ramble about Baker Street solving a variety of crimes that somehow all seem to lead back to Moriarty (Andrew Scott).
With one of the brightest minds on the case, it's hard to understand how Cumberbatch missed this error in Season 1, Episode 2 "The Blind Banker." During a scene where Sherlock Holmes (Cumberbatch) finds his way backstage at the circus, he draws a line with yellow spray paint across a mirror. Only, from one shot to the next, the line completely changes shape.
#4. The Sopranos
- IMDb user rating: 9.2
- On air: 1999-2007
Depending on who you ask, the biggest mistake this stellar mob-family series' producers made was ending it the way they did, but those aren't the kind of mistakes viewers are talking about today. The HBO drama ran for eight years, led by Edie Falco and the late James Gandolfini as the matriarch and patriarch of the Soprano crime family, and they were definitely a family you didn't want to cross.
This is maybe why no one said anything about this on-screen mistake that made it through on the pilot. When compulsive gambler Alex Mahaffey (Michael Gaston) is walking in the scene with his full leg in a cast, somehow his trousers are tucked into the cast. Unless he plans on wearing the same trousers for six to eight weeks, this was definitely a wardrobe mishap.
#3. Game of Thrones
- IMDb user rating: 9.2
- On air: 2011-2019
It would be remiss if "Game of Thrones" didn't appear on this list. Not just because the series, based on the novels by George R.R. Martin, is one of the most watched television series of all time, but because the show creators were subject to one of the most infamously memed TV mistakes of all time during the infamous Starbucks incident, which came about in the final season of the series.
As the characters sat around a table, celebrating the victory against Winterfell and the Army of the Dead, raising cups of mead and ale—there it was—a to-go cup from Starbucks. It appeared to be a grande, judging by the size of it.
#2. The Wire
- IMDb user rating: 9.3
- On air: 2002-2008
The grimy and hyper-realistic series "The Wire" followed the storylines of multiple characters implanted throughout different factions of the Baltimore drug scene, from dealers to buyers, and from police officers to journalists who attempted to keep track of it all.
Based on the real-life crime beat of writer David Simon, there were constant storylines to juggle, which makes it understandable that certain things fell through the cracks. For example, a dead bodyguard in a scene was magically breathing during the shot in Season 2, Episode 10 "Storm Warnings." But considering the show provided an introduction to amazing actors like Michael B. Jordan and Idris Elba, they are forgiven.
#1. Breaking Bad
- IMDb user rating: 9.5
- On air: 2008-2013
Saul Goodman's been mentioned, so it only makes sense that the show which spawned "Better Call Saul" is on this list as well, the fevered fan favorite "Breaking Bad." It starred Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a high school science teacher who after learning he has cancer, decides to make sure he has enough funds for his family by getting into the manufacturing of meth. You can't help but root for him, despite his less-than-savory methods of saving himself and his family, but that doesn't mean you have to root for his knowledge of science.
One major plot point in the show revealed that White may need a little more schooling in the chemistry world. During the episode in which they are attempting to get rid of Emilio's body, White tells Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) that they can use hydrofluoric acid to destroy any trace of his body. In the process, it also destroyed the ceramic bathtub and the wood flooring underneath it. An impressive feat considering science shows hydrofluoric acid can't actually do that much damage.
Story editing by Robert Wickwire. Copy editing by Lois Hince. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick.