Spoiler Alert !!!The following article contains spoilers for Attack on Titan, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Arcane, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Television has come a long way in the past few years. With the advent of streaming, international audiences have been exposed to global media in a manner that was never possible before. While there have been instant classics that have now reached a global audience, some TV shows have endured despite all odds.

Now, personally, there are many shows that I would love to watch for the first time again, but these five shows have something that simply goes beyond personal taste. Be it the grip they have had on global pop culture or the enduring presence that they have had after they came to an end, be it animated or live action, these are the shows I wish I could watch for the first time again.

1. Karl Fritz, Wipe My Mind, I Wanna Watch Attack on Titan Again

Attack on Titan thrived on its story, having endless twists. All of them were expertly teased. Even if the ending of the story had critics and audiences divided, it cannot be overstated that the show had some brilliant moments. Be it the reveals, the action, or even the moments of high emotion, Attack on Titan rewards repeat viewing, but is very much a treat for first-time watchers.

The show takes its time to set up some great twists, and also has a setting that is unique. The titan-shifting power system also has some very hard rules, which make its use in the story brilliant and creative when it is used for non-combat purposes.

All in all, I feel that the show has a quality that audiences often expect from high-profile shows like Game of Thrones, which not only makes its themes universal but also allows it to be diffused in a story that reconstructs and deconstructs shonen manga/anime tropes.

2. The Sopranos Would Be a Breath Of Fresh Air among Modern TV Shows

The Sopranos has been widely regarded as heralding the Second Golden Age of Television. Heralding the focus on prestige dramas on television, the therapy sessions of Tony Soprano managed to attract an audience to the medium like nothing before it.

In many ways, The Sopranos managed to pave the way for shows like Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, training the audience for high-profile prestige dramas in its historic eight-year run. To be fair, the plot of The Sopranos was largely in the background, and what carried the show was the characters. This trait of the show is often found missing in modern shows, and what managed to elevate the story to stardom anyway.

I feel that The Sopranos was able to rewrite what audiences expected from television, making the medium a genuine competitor for cinema. Characters like Tony Soprano paved the way for other anti-heroes to find a footing in the television space. I would like to see where it all started, given that shows that usually follow a trend are not able to live up to what the progenitor of the genre did in the first place.

3. Avatar: The Last Airbender Was, Is, And Will Be Peak Forever

Perhaps the first show that I was introduced to on this list, Avatar: The Last Airbender, did something for Western Animation that it sorely needed. It rewarded repeated viewings in the sense that themes and messages that were lost on children were consumed by the same audience many years later. However, witnessing what is essentially a children’s cartoon work with themes of genocide and authoritarianism, while still being kid-friendly.

What stood out to me the first time I watched the show was Toph learning to metal-bend, the siege of Ba Sing Se, and above all else, Ozai and Ang’s fight. Witnessing them the first time was a treat, and being able to do that again would be worth it.

Further, the show does something that I feel big studios today are failing at again and again: representation. The show was able to work with disabled characters, and characters that represent asian and southeast asian cultures, albeit in a fantasy setting. Having my memory erased to watch this show would be worth it. For what it’s worth, it would get me to watch Legend of Korra again, too.

And then I would wish my memory was wiped.

4. Arcane‘s Story Is Rewatchable Even Without A Mind Wipe

The most recent entry on the list, Arcane, is perhaps the show that is freshest in my mind. Perhaps I could watch The Sopranos again and experience a very close facsimile of what it would be like to watch it for the first time. However, Arcane is still imprinted in my head, not just because of how much I loved it, but how much of a phenomenon it became in just two seasons.

Every fight that the show had, with a brilliant cast of characters like Jinx, Vi, and Silco, put forth a story that was unlike any that I could have expected from a video game adaptation. But then again, Netflix did Castlevania, so I shouldn’t have doubted them.

Arcane takes the story that League of Legends put in place and made it into something that was not only able to wow general audiences but also please fans of the franchise. It was able to tell a story that got representation right, but was also able to dive deep into the psyche of its characters. For an IP that really did not have much going for it for general audiences before the first season dropped, Arcane managed to do something that most shows hope they do in their first season, especially in the animated medium.

5. I’d Do It for ‘Ozymandias‘ Alone, If Not Breaking Bad

You probably saw this coming as soon as you read the title. For all the series and shows that I have watched that failed to reach wider audiences, I am glad Breaking Bad is the cultural phenomenon that it is. Tony Soprano walked so that Walter White could run, and run Walter White did. ‘Ozymandias‘ alone would be worth a complete memory erasure, let alone the entire run of Breaking Bad.

Of the shows that are on the list, Breaking Bad has arguably been the most culturally impactful even after it’s been off the air for a while. Watching the show for the first time is a privilege for those unfamiliar with the material. With actors from the show getting new, exciting roles in shows like Invincible, the memes (and by extension the show) have been getting boosts that make it ever-present in the zeitgeist.

There are some very niche shows, like Scavengers Reign and Re: Creators, that I could have put on the list. But these are shows that are often lost in the sea of mainstream content, and easily forgotten anyway. However, the more popular shows, like the five that are mentioned here, are masterpieces for all the right reasons, and very, very difficult to forget.

Name of the ShowIMDb ScoreRotten Tomatoes ScoreWhere to StreamAttack on Titan 9.1/10 (as of May 3, 2026)96% || 95% (as of May 3, 2026)CrunchyrollThe Sopranos9.2/10 (as of May 3, 2026)92% || 96% (as of May 3, 2026)Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video Avatar: The Last Airbender9.3/10 (as of May 3, 2026)100% || 98% (as of May 3, 2026)Paramount+Arcane 9.0/10 (as of May 3, 2026)100% || 87% (as of May 3, 2026)NetflixBreaking Bad9.5/10 (as of May 3, 2026)96% || 97% (as of May 3, 2026)Netflix

Which shows would you like to be wiped from your memory so that you could watch them again for the first time? Let us know in the comments!
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