With its awe-inspiring spectacle, relentless thrills, and engrossing ability to mix excitement with tension, action is one of the most popular and successful genres to have ever graced the screen. When thinking of action, many envision blockbuster, cinematic events starring the likes of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, the genre has quietly been excelling on the small screen for decades, with action lovers blessed with options aplenty when they turn their attention to TV series.
Extending their stories across many episodes, often spanning multiple seasons over the years, action television faces the difficult task of building up tension and raising the stakes consistently. The best shows often do so, thanks to a brilliant hero leading the way. From the hardened heroes of modern spy thrillers to the quippy fan-favorites of 80s action epics, these badass heroes are nothing short of television icons, always ready to jump into action and kick some bad guy butt.
10 Angus MacGyver
‘MacGyver’ (1985-1992)
Famous not only for his action heroics but for his incredible resourcefulness, Angus MacGyver (Richard Dean Anderson) is one of the great icons of action television and the 1980s in general. A hit series that ran from 1985-1992, MacGyver followed the titular hero, a secret agent with great scientific knowledge and innovative genius. MacGyver overcame difficult assignments with his smarts and the resources he could find on hand.
Interestingly, while 80s action is famous for its machismo and machine guns, MacGyver was always an exception, thanks to his preference to refrain from using firearms and to find non-violent resolutions. With all of his ambitious solutions having some basis in real science, MacGyver proved that intelligence can be just as effective and badass as brute brawn.
9 Sarah Connor
‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ (2008-2009)
A criminally underrated action series boasting an equally unsung lead performance from Lena Headey, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was a bold and impressive extension of the sci-fi action movies. Disregarding Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, it follows on from Terminator 2: Judgment Day with Sarah (Headey) protecting her teenage son John Connor (Thomas Dekker), while also evading law enforcement and striving to prevent the creation of Skynet.
Capturing the grit, resourcefulness, and smarts of Linda Hamilton’s portrayal while also imbuing the character with a refined vulnerability, Headey excelled at honoring the part of Sarah Connor while still making it her own. With Summer Glau also thriving in the series’ action tone, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles proved to be a great show for female representation and empowering yet complex action heroines despite only lasting two seasons.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Release Date
- January 13, 2008
- Seasons
- 2
8 Raylan Givens
‘Justified’ (2010-2015) & ‘Justified: City Primeval’ (2023)
A meshing of neo-Western and crime drama with a penchant for snappy and impactful action, Justified is a great cop show with a distinct edge, thanks to its leading man. It stars Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshall with an old-fashioned approach to dispensing justice. When his actions land him in trouble, Raylan is sent back to his birthplace in Kentucky, where he clashes with many criminals he knows personally.
As quick on the draw as he is with a wry quip, Raylan has an old-school toughness akin to that of the lawmen of the wild West, imbuing him with a cocky self-assurance that it won’t be him getting shot if the bullets start flying. Usually, he is right, and his casual demeanor and composure under pressure make him one of the coolest lawmen to have ever graced the small screen. Raylan returned in Justified: City Primeval, and it was as if no time had gone by; indeed, Olyphant still has that Givens badassery.
Justified
- Release Date
- March 16, 2010
- Seasons
- 6
7 Michonne
‘The Walking Dead’ (2010-2022)
Blending elements of horror and action with character drama, The Walking Dead was one of the defining series of 2010s entertainment, following a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead. While the series changed plenty from the comic book series, one thing that translated flawlessly was the iconic standing of Michonne (Danai Gurira).
While she had a brief, teasing cameo in the season two finale, the character got a proper introduction in season three, where she quickly became a fan-favorite thanks to her stoic demeanor, chained zombie followers, and, most notably, famous katana. Going from a hardened outcast to an integral leader within Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group, Michonne was consistently the most capable and badass hero in The Walking Dead.
6 Billy Butcher
‘The Boys’ (2019-)
As sick and twisted as it is enthralling, The Boys has become a hit series off the back of its ability to blend superhero action with graphic violence and a hilarious yet disturbing sense of visual comedy. Set in a world where superheroes are revered as celebrities and have many of their heinous misdeeds swept under the rug, it follows a small group of rogue vigilantes who try to bring down the “supes” and even kill them when they can.
Leading the anti-supe squad known as “The Boys,” Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) has become an icon as a foul-mouthed, cynically twisted cockney Englishman obsessed with bringing the superheroes undone in the most violent and disgraceful ways possible. Urban plays Butcher with a psychotic effervescence that makes him a volatile lead character and one of the greatest, most entertaining badasses in television history.
The Boys
- Release Date
- July 26, 2019
- Creator
- Eric Kripke
- Seasons
- 4
5 Buffy Summers
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1997-2003)
Whereas most action heroes are adults with extensive, pre-existing skills, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is just an ordinary schoolgirl juggling her academic responsibilities with her vampire-hunting duties. She often wished she could just lead a normal life, but Buffy quickly embraced her fate, going from a superficial and snobby teenage girl to a courageous and capable hero. Indeed, Buffy is among the most badass women in fantasy television, paving the way for many who followed.
Often working with assistance from her closest friends, Buffy faces vampires, demons, robots, and even dangerous criminals while maintaining a unique lifestyle that suits her. The defining aspect of Buffy’s iconic standing was Gellar’s performance, with the actress’ background in martial arts imperative to the role. Her ability to nail the series’ ironic comedy gave Buffy an extra element during the action sequences.
4 B. A. Baracus
‘The A-Team’ (1983-1987)
Running through the mid-1980s, The A-Team was one of the first all-out action series made for the small screen. It follows a group of former Special Forces operatives who, after wrongly being branded as war criminals, find work as soldiers of fortune. While all four members of the rogue squad are certified badasses, it has always been Mr. T’s portrayal of B. A. Baracas that has stood out to fans of the series.
Hot-headed and mean, Baracus was the defining character of the series, favoring a more direct, all-guns-blazing approach compared to the subterfuge and stealth his colleagues often employed. However, he was also a brilliant mechanic, capable of crafting effective devices out of scrap parts while serving as the crew’s designated wheelman. Baracus was the show’s breakout character, paving the way for future Black heroes and ensuring the A-Team’s status as a cultural event from the ’80s.
3 Xena
‘Xena: Warrior Pincess’ (1995-2001)
Completely surpassing the original series it stemmed from—the sillier and less compelling Hercules: The Legendary Journeys—Xena: Warrior Princess quickly became a hit of 90s television with its titular heroine enduring as one of the great feminist icons of the decade. The fantasy action series follows Xena (Lucy Lawless), a powerful warrior princess with a dark history who sets out to redeem herself by fighting against evil forces accompanied by her dutiful friend and bard, Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor).
A hardened warrior, Xena’s past saw her excel as a pirate and a murderer, even earning the moniker the “Destroyer of Nations,” which was quite badass in itself. However, her quest to do good and atone for her past saw her become a true legend. As a master combatant, astute tactician, natural leader, and courageous warrior with her trusty chakram, Xena paved the way for many modern heroines and reinvented the then-struggling fantasy genre.
2 Jack Reacher
‘Reacher’ (2022-)
As one of the most notable action television series to hit screens in recent years, Amazon Prime Video’s hit series Reacher has given genre lovers all the rapid-fire storytelling and intense action spectacle they could dream of. A major reason for its success across its first two seasons has been Alan Ritchson’s portrayal of the titular hero, with the actor’s imposing physical presence doing justice to the character from Lee Child’s novels.
A retired Military Police Officer who uses his investigative prowess and combat skills to bring criminals to justice, Reacher is the perfect mix of brains and brawn. He has a hard-nosed, vigilante anti-hero aura that has won over millions of fans around the world. Whether looking into corrupt legal systems in small towns or tracking political figures looking to profit off terrorism, Reacher always has his finger on the pulse. A significant ratings success on the streaming platform, Reacher has already been renewed for a third season.
Reacher
- Release Date
- February 4, 2022
- Seasons
- 2
1 Jack Bauer
’24’ (2001-2010)
Becoming a smash hit with its penchant for outstanding action and its unique yet engrossing premise, 24 stands as a triumph of the genre, and Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) remains one of television’s greatest heroes. With the hour-long episodes seeing the story unravel in real time, each season follows Bauer, a Los Angeles-based counter-terrorist agent, throughout one tumultuous day.
The series ran for eight full seasons and a ninth 12-part season. Bauer did everything, from saving presidential candidates from spiteful assassination attempts to preventing nuclear bombs from leveling Los Angeles and even returning from his own fake death to uncover mysteries surrounding political assassinations and corruption. Taking on all manner of threats with the same uncompromising toughness, Jack Bauer is TV’s greatest-ever action hero and stands tall among the best protagonists the genre has seen in any medium.
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