If you think it's difficult for movies to get the coveted 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, then spare a thought for long-running TV shows.
To recap: RT aggregates the scores of numerous critics, so it's a measure of consensus, and puts those shows that are very widely reviewed at a disadvantage – because the more people who review it, the greater chance there is that someone won't like it.
Even established classics like The Wire (96% due to season one's 83%) and The Sopranos (97% due to season two's 92% and season six's 91%), and current favourites such as Game of Thrones (94% with no single season getting 100%) haven't managed it, but there are a handful of shows that – at the time of writing – have successfully charmed the critics throughout their runs.
Just to be fair, we've excluded shows that have only had one season so far (or ever) and also one-shot miniseries (sorry, Band of Brothers).
1. Deadwood
David Milch's sweary western is widely regarded as one of the best shows of all time and the critical reaction over its three-season run confirms its status. That long-awaited revival movie – set to start shooting in autumn 2018 – has a lot to live up to.
2. Master of None
We still don't know if we'll get a third season of Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari's hit Netflix comedy, but it will go out on a high if it doesn't come back since the show has received more than 100 reviews to date across its run and all of them are fresh.
3. Jane the Virgin
Its title might not make sense anymore, but that hasn't stopped critics loving The CW's comedy-drama across its three-and-a-half seasons so far. Maybe the second half of season four will see it lose its 100% rating, yet history suggests it'll carry on clearly being a better show than The Wire.
4. Insecure
HBO's comedy following two black women (Issa Rae and Yvonne Orji) as they navigate the perils of love and careers in Los Angeles has proved such a success that a third season was confirmed before the second had ended. Whether it can continue its unblemished record to date remains to be seen.
5. Catastrophe
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan's filthy and frank comedy has been a hit on both sides of the pond and its three seasons to date have had a perfect score. We might have to wait a while for the fourth season, but if it proves as good as the first three seasons, we know it will be worth it.
6. White Collar
USA Network's police procedural about an FBI agent who teams up with a con artist to solve white-collar crimes has the honour of being the longest-running show with 100%, having run for six seasons without a single criticism from reviewers. Well, according to Rotten Tomatoes, in any case.
7. Chewing Gum
Michaela Coel's hit E4 sitcom went out at the top of its game with its two seasons earning universal critical acclaim, with Coel confirming last year that the show won't be back for a third season and promising fans it was "only the beginning" for her.
8. Happy Valley
Clearly the reason we're having to wait so long for a third season of Sally Wainwright's brilliant drama is that they're worried about losing that 100% rating, with both seasons to date also having the honour of being "certified fresh" too. That's some standard to meet.
9. Review
Probably the one show on this list that will be unheard-of for UK audiences, mockumentary series Review ran for three seasons and centred on a professional critic who reviews real-life experiences, such as "going into space", "being Batman" and "leading a cult".
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
