While television used to be considered a "step down" for Hollywood's A-listers, the late 90's and early 2000s saw shows like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" change how TV is appreciated by critics and audiences alike. In more recent years, shows like "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "Succession" and "Game of Thrones" have helped further the medium, often leading many to wonder where these acclaimed shows are set.
A state that has had its fair share of hits on the small screen is The Volunteer State, which is home to much more than just bachelorette parties and Tennessee sports betting.
World Television Day is November 21. To celebrate, BetTennessee.com wanted to find the best shows set in the state. We used IMDB ratings, Rotten Tomatoes Audience score, Rotten Tomatoes Critic score, and awards recognition to create a weighted scoring system to identify the top shows.
If stories like this are your cup of tea, also check out our list of the Most Famous Tennessee Celebrities.
Rank | Show | Total Points |
1 | Nashville | 60 |
2 | Swarm | 55 |
3 | Greenleaf | 34 |
4 | Memphis Beat | 30 |
5 | Hellcats | 29 |
T6 | Happy’s Place | 26 |
T6 | Country Comfort | 26 |
T8 | Filthy Rich | 25 |
T8 | Still The King | 25 |
10 | Sun Records | 21 |
Few women have a better claim to the "Queen of Television" than one Connie Britton. The veteran actress from Boston actually broke out in 1995 on the big screen in Ed Burns' "The Brothers McMullen," but then starred on "Spin City" for four years from 1996-2000. Then came a six-year run on the beloved "Friday Night Lights" before she headlined what has come in as the No. 1 overall show set in Tennessee.
ABC's "Nashville" debuted in 2012 with Britton as the established "Queen of Country Music," letting the show lean into the city's deep musical culture and letting Britton chew up the scenery opposite Hayden Panettiere, who played an up and coming rival singer. The show received critical acclaim upon its premiere, with critics and audiences eating up the mix of soap opera, music and political intrigue.
"Nashville" would run on ABC for four seasons, then an additional two more on CMT.
What other shows were notably set in Tennessee?
Amazon Prime's "Swarm" received critical acclaim last year as a satirical show around a young women who becomes obsessed with a pop star. "Greenleaf" premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on June 21, 2016 and ran for five seasons. The show focuses on a family's sprawling Memphis megachurch with predominantly African-American members.
Then there's the two-season "Memphis Beat," which ran on TNT from 2010-2011 and featured Jason Lee - of "My Name is Earl" fame - as a detective with a healthy respect for one Elvis Presley.
Each show above leaned into their Tennessee settings to give their viewers a sense of place, but for now - "Nashville" takes the crown as the No. 1 favorite among critics and audiences.
USA Today photo by Kevork Djansezian.
Author
Thomas Leary is a news editor and writer for BetTennesseecom. He previously spent six years at Sports Business Journal, where he helped identify emerging sectors across sports business, such as legalized gambling, and helped launch a digital newsletter division. Thomas lives in Charlotte, N.C.
