Nickelodeon

2005 · 3 Seasons · Nickelodeon · Animated Fantasy / Adventure

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of those rare shows that fully earns its reputation as an all-time great. Across 61 episodes, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko built a world that feels lived-in and layered, populated it with characters who grow in ways that would be impressive in any medium, and told a war story with the emotional complexity of prestige drama while never forgetting that it was also supposed to be fun. Zuko's arc from villain to hero stands as one of the finest character transformations in television history, animated or otherwise. A handful of filler episodes in the first season and some childish humor are the only real blemishes on a show that gets better with every rewatch and continues to find new audiences nearly two decades after it first aired.

1999 · 16 Seasons · Nickelodeon · Animation, Comedy

SpongeBob SquarePants produced one of the greatest runs in animated television history during its first three seasons, establishing characters and comedy that became permanently embedded in pop culture. The decline after creator Stephen Hillenburg stepped back is real and well-documented, with several middle seasons delivering mean-spirited, creatively bankrupt episodes that bear little resemblance to what came before. Later seasons recovered some ground but never fully recaptured the original magic. At its best, nothing in animated comedy touches it. The problem is that its best represents only a fraction of what the show eventually became.

2001 · 2 Seasons · Nickelodeon · Animated Dark Comedy / Science Fiction

Invader Zim brought a distinctly dark, absurdist vision to children's television that felt unlike anything else on Nickelodeon. Jhonen Vasquez's singular aesthetic and the show's willingness to embrace the grotesque made it a cult phenomenon that outlived its brief two-season run by decades. Its cancellation was premature, but the episodes that exist showcase a creative voice so distinctive that the show remains instantly recognizable more than twenty years later.

2012 · 4 Seasons · Nickelodeon · Animation / Action / Adventure / Fantasy

The Legend of Korra is a bold sequel that chose to forge its own identity rather than repeat what came before, and that decision is both its greatest strength and the source of most of its problems. When the show is at its best, particularly across its third and fourth seasons, it delivers some of the richest storytelling in American animation. When it stumbles, mostly in its second season, the drop in quality is hard to ignore. The result is a series that rewards patience and never plays it safe, even when playing it safe would have been the easier path.

1991 · 7 Seasons · Nickelodeon · Horror, Fantasy, Anthology

Are You Afraid of the Dark? was the show that taught an entire generation of kids that television could be scary, and it did so with a craft and sincerity that set it apart from every other children's horror program of its era. The Midnight Society framing device gave the anthology format a communal warmth, and the best episodes delivered genuine chills within the constraints of a children's network. D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel understood that what kids find frightening is often more primal than what scares adults, and they built stories around isolation, identity, and the fear of being trapped that resonated because they took their young audience seriously. The show's quality varies across its seven seasons, and the later runs don't match the original's impact, but the first few seasons remain a high-water mark for children's horror television.