The 10 Best Opening Credits Sequences of All Time
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Time to light the lights, get yourself a gun, and go where everybody knows your name: Musically, the most important part of any series is the TV theme song, so this week, Consequence will explore just why that is with TV Theme Song Week, celebrating this proud tradition with features, interviews, and lists. We’ve also launched our “I Never Skip Intro” merch collection, to honor those who know how to appreciate a classic theme; get yours at the Consequence Shop now.
To talk about TV theme songs without bringing up the delicate art of the opening credits sequence would be like reviewing a movie but only talking about the soundtrack. Okay, that’s an extreme comparison, but there’s no denying that while a TV theme song has an impact beyond its use in an actual episode of television, we more often than not connect them with the images that flash by, in the prelude to the action.
So below, Consequence has picked the ten best opening credits sequences to date. This isn’t just an opportunity to celebrate a few shows that we weren’t able to include in the top 50 TV theme songs of all time — though that is a bonus. It’s more importantly another opportunity to explore just why these sequences have such an impact on us as viewers, and why you should never skip intro.
— Liz Shannon Miller
Senior Entertainment Editor
10. Severance (2022-present)
Apple TV+ series have a universal loyalty to the concept of the opening credits sequence, with every episode featuring a lengthy one. Many of these have proven to be pretty intriguing, but the best of them to date is the 2022 Emmy winner for Outstanding Main Title Design. The Severance credits offer up a trippy rendering of its central question — is work/life balance really possible? — while also playing up the lingering loneliness and isolation of the series. Thanks to the digitally rendered likenesses of its characters, the whole sequence draws the viewer into this surreal world, one split in two until both sides come crashing back together. — L.S. Miller
09. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996)
Everything about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air title credits sequence is quintessential ’90s: the graffiti graphics, the fisheye lens, the neon-colored styling. (Hey kids, this is what was hip and cool 30 years ago, and don’t act like you aren’t completely obsessed with the “vintage” look right now!) In context, it’s essentially a music video for the theme song, with its literal depiction of the equally literal lyrics as Will Smith raps directly to camera about the playground brawl that led to his move to Los Angeles. With the track as earworming as it is and the visuals so perfectly matched, there are particular movements that are instantly recognizable as belonging to this credit scene, like the hand-out-jump-start as Smith leaves the cab, or his head swivel when he knocks on his new home’s door. Bet someone who grew up in the ’90s that they can’t recite the entire theme song and recreate it shot for shot, and you’ll likely lose that bet. — Ben Kaye
08. The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)
The Brady Bunch played a modest part in the sexual revolution by suggesting that two consenting adults might have had sex before their current marriage. The opening credit sequence made that at-the-time daring premise seem safe with a jaunty theme song from Brady creator Sherwood Schwartz and composer Frank De Vol, which said “here’s the story” of a wholesome blended family with lots of smiles. It works because of the visual presentation — simple, iconic, and often parodied — which presents the matriarch and patriarch on one side of the screen opposite a neat stack of children. To parents, it promises a fantasy, not sexual but still extremely wild: that the chaos of six children can occasionally be corralled into something not only loving, but tidy. — Wren Graves
07. Battlestar Galactica (2003-2010)
While the 2003-2010 Battlestar Galactica is a reboot of the classic 1970s sci-fi series, its opening credits borrow from another TV show of the era — the original Mission: Impossible. The first half of Bear McCreary’s opening theme is a melodic, almost eerie accompaniment to a brief recap of the show’s premise: The destruction of a civilization, and an ever-dwindling count of survivors “in search of a home… called Earth.” The number of survivors changed every episode, as did the second half of the credits: As McCreary’s beloved taiko drums kick in, the credits flash through quick shots of what’s to come in the episode ahead, a tantalizing preview of the space battles, sexytimes, and despair awaiting the viewer. It’s as much of an adrenaline rush as a Viper shooting through the launch tube, Cylons in its sights. — L.S. Miller
06. Mad Men (2007-2015)
The man in the suit is falling and we can’t quite see his face. In this way, the opening credits to Mad Men capture almost all of the series’ story without giving away a single plot point. Over lush strings and period-appropriate bongos, he falls like the fall in Vertigo, past skyscrapers covered in women’s body parts — and occasionally a glass of whisky, a ring, a shoe, another product on offer. But it’s the sex that sells, as the falling man will understand better than most. The tone of Mad Men can be hard to describe, but the credits set it up masterfully with wit, brevity, and above all, style. — W. Graves
05. Cowboy Bebop (anime) (1998-1999)
The opening credits of this beloved anime feel like the beginning of the most exciting heist of all time, its rough patchwork aesthetic echoing the series’ own genre-bending nature. Utilizing split screen in fresh and compelling ways, this sequence never stops moving, the powerful drumbeat accompanying flashes of action and lingering shots of spacecraft. In many ways, an opening credits sequence’s most important job is to both encapsulate as well as amplify everything that makes the show one you want to watch, and the dazzling blend of music and animation here do the job and then some. — Liz Shannon Miller
04. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Even for the most ardent fantasy fans, keeping track of mythological lands’ geography can cause utter confusion. That’s why so many genre novels include detailed maps in the opening pages — and why the award-winning team behind the Game of Thrones title sequence adapted the concept for the opening credits. Each episode began with a flyover of a Renaissance-style model of Westeros, gears turning to raise cities up from the map. It was visually striking, but also vital storytelling; the locations would vary depending on each episode’s action, and the structures themselves would change to reflect the evolving narrative. Remember the first time you saw The Wall broken through, tiles turning as the White Walkers marched south? Or Winterfell smoldering in the aftermath of Season 2? Or Season 8, when we were taken inside the main strongholds with intricate — and eventually broken — details? These were all powerful representations of the complex story that had so many viewers hooked, presented with truly stunning animation craft. — B. Kaye
03. BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)
In a way, the opening credits for Bojack Horseman are a fucked up, drug-fueled, fun-house mirror reflection of those from The Simpsons. Both take the audience around the important landmarks of the show’s setting while featuring character cameos and an ever-changing element of surprise. Instead of a new couch gag every week, however, Bojack Horseman’s opening sequence evolves with its story. Bojack’s ottoman got burned in the previous episode? It’s now reflected in the shot of his living room. The “D” of the Hollywood sign has mysteriously gone missing? The sequence now takes place in Hollywoo. It’s detail-oriented, impressively animated, and boasts an absolute banger of an opening theme by The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and his uncle Ralph Carney. Really, there’s not much more you can ask for. — Jonah Krueger
02. The Sopranos (1999-2007)
It’s maybe the most iconic car ride in TV history — so simple in its execution, yet so effective in setting up just what this show is. Creator David Chase told The Art of the Title in 2014 that he had “the idea for the journey from New York to New Jersey” as soon as the show was picked up to series. However, he had to battle with HBO over the fact that it only features James Gandolfini, as opposed to the other series regulars: “They made us do a bunch of shots where we drove past the pork store and you saw Christopher and Dr. Melfi getting out of a car and some other nonsense. They wanted us to include that in the sequence and we all looked at it and said, ‘No. It’s not going to happen.'”
It was a fight worth fighting, once you see the results. With Alabama 3’s rhythmic bass adding just enough tension right from the beginning, the skyline outside changes from far-off New York City to the grime of the turnpike to, eventually, the aspirational splendor of Tony Soprano’s home. As he pulls up to what is clearly his beautiful house, with his beautiful wife inside, we know exactly how he got here… and where he came from. — L.S. Miller
01. The Simpsons (1989-present)
Nothing in television is flawless. There is always something that could have used a little more work — except for The Simpsons’ opening credits, that is. That iconic, ever-adapting piece of animation doesn’t have one single blemish.
Soundtracked by Danny Elfman’s extremely hummable theme, the intro for The Simpsons accomplishes an astonishing amount of world-building, character setup, and tone-setting in its brief runtime. It whisks the viewer around the sprawling town of Springfield, offering cameos of recurring side characters and familiar landmarks while giving each member of the titular family space to establish their respective personality: Bart’s troublemaking, Lisa’s overachieving, Marg’s suburban motherhood, Maggie’s intelligent innocence, and Homer’s oafishness. Then, of course, there’s the tradition of the couch gag, which caps off an already impeccable introduction with a fresh, Simpsons-esque joke each and every week.
Much like the show in its prime, it’s cartoonish but grounded, satirical but wholesome at heart. It’s remarkably Simpsons through and through. No notes; they really did it. They crafted the best opening credits in television history. — J. Krueger
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The 10 Best Opening Credits Sequences of All Time
Consequence Staff
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