Here are some of the best TV show intros we’ve ever seen. We’re covering a wide variety of TV shows, but they all have visually striking intros that look absolutely fantastic.
17. Game of Thrones
In the Game of Thrones intro, the camera moves over a 3D mechanical moving map of the world. The locations that are shown change in relation to the events of a particular episode, so it even offers a bit of foreshadowing and anticipation!
16. Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan has a lot of different intros—sometimes they change even part-way through a season—but each one is wild. I’ve never even seen this show and I personally know nothing about it, but even I know that these title sequences are awesome.
15. True Detective (Season One)
This title sequence for the first season of HBO’s True Detective sets the mood of the series perfectly. You don’t know what you’re in for (yet), but you begin to get a sense of how dark and weird its going to get. Not to mention the Southern vibes!
14. Batman: The Animated Series
The intro to Batman: The Animated Series still remains as one of the greatest TV show title sequences of all time. The animation style on display here represents one of the most emblematic interpretations of the character to date.
13. Star Trek: Discovery
With a few exceptions, the numerous Star Trek TV series all have great TV intro sequences. Star Trek: Discovery breaks from the usual theme of spaceships flying around celestial wonders and instead does some really cool animations of technology schematics and other illustrations. The ingenuity of this title sequence puts it above most, but it also just flat-out looks better than almost anything else out there.
12. Cowboy Bebop
The intro to Cowboy Bebop sits in a category of title sequences that I don’t know what to name or how to describe. Other TV show intros in this category include Archer, The Venture Bros, and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. They all have the same type of noir-comic animation with a similar style of music that plays as the soundtrack theme. They’re all great, but Cowboy Bebop did it first among the group—and is still the best version in this mold.
11. The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man’s TV show intro is full of retro space and computer imagery that still looks awesome all these years later. There’s a reason this intro sequence has been parodied multiple times long after it originally aired—it’s iconic and enduringly cool.
10. Rick and Morty
There’s a lot going on in the Rick and Morty intro. It changes with each season, but even if it didn’t, you would keep noticing new things with each watch. Some of what’s shown is exclusive to the intro, but some of it’s from episodes of the show.
9. Westworld (Season One)
There are many valid criticisms of Westworld as a TV series, but none of them include the show’s visual qualities. The opening sequence changes with each season, and they all look great, but the first season’s title sequence was entirely majestic.
8. Bojack Horseman
The intro to Bojack Horseman changes based on what’s happening in the show. Yeah, Bojack is always wandering through the same places, but the background details clue you in to what’s happening in his life. Definitely one of those TV intros you shouldn’t skip!
7. The Expanse
The Expanse as a whole is acclaimed for its visual production, so it comes as no surprise that its title sequence also looks spectacular. Honestly, this intro is easily one of the best sci-fi TV show intros of all time, even besting Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek.
6. Airwolf
Cool helicopter footage with a retro 80s look. I’ve never seen Airwolf but this title sequence rocks. What more is there to say?
5. Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack as a whole always looks great, so of course the intro sequence is going to look awesome as well. The show’s creator Genndy Tartakovsky was also the mastermind behind Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and Primal. Everything his name is attached to is quality material. He also did a pilot for a show called Korgoth of Barbaria that never took off. Check it out on YouTube if you get a chance!
4. Luther
Luther is a great detective TV show that has an equally great TV intro. It doesn’t get as much recognition as True Detective’s first season title sequence, but it’s just as good. It also came out a few years earlier, which makes it even better.
3. His Dark Materials
The sleek intro of His Dark Materials is packed with spoilers and plot teasers. But you don’t have to worry about noticing them because the eye candy of this trippy fantasy sequence will distract you from all of that. What a fantastic intro sequence!
2. Aqua TV Show Show
Aqua Teen Hunger Force, one of the most iconic and popular cartoons on Adult Swim, played around with a lot of different intros in their later seasons. Yet while most of them are really cool and interesting, this one stands out among all of them.
1. The Twilight Zone
It doesn’t get more classic than Rod Sterling’s The Twilight Zone. If you haven’t seen the Futurama spoofs of The Twilight Zone called The Scary Door, you can find a compilation with a quick search on YouTube. Go ahead and check ’em out! They’re quite funny. Read next: The greatest Twilight Zone episodes
