The way you open a TV show will in many ways define if the audience wants to stick around for the rest. Whether you prefer to go with a cold open first or jump right into the opening credits, make sure you create a title sequence so memorable that your viewers wouldn’t even think of skipping it.
The popularity of an opening sequence depends on many factors. Title design is as important as theme songs and visual sequences. All of this has to set the tone for what’s in store and hook the viewers in, while at the same time being as short as possible so as not to bore them. Some TV theme songs and opening sequences do an incredible job of this.
For this article, we collected some of the best TV show intros as named by audiences. How many of these do you agree with? Don’t forget to upvote them. Is there any TV show opening sequence you would never skip? Let us know in the comments.
#1 The Addams Family
The theme song for The Addams Family can be compared to the protagonist’s family: quirky, spooky, and absolutely indestructible. In the early ’90s, there were attempts to rewrite it for the remakes, but it is the 1964 classic that we all remember and love.
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12points
#2 The Simpsons
Imagine criticizing someone’s song… and then asking them to write a song for your show. That’s exactly how the cooperation between Matt Groening and Danny Elfman started. Fortunately for all of us, they never brought up the past, but instead created the timeless classic that is The Simpsons’ theme song.
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8points
#3 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
It plays in your head as you read these lines, doesn’t it? With a nod to the psychedelic flower rock of the decade when the show premiered, its lyrics also worked around the overall plot of the series.
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6points
#4 Duck Tales
You might be an adult with a very serious career, but if there’s anything that gives you the childhood level of positive energy and happiness, it is the opening theme from the DuckTales animated series. Be honest, you looked forward to it every Saturday as much as you did to the series itself.
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6points
#5 The Twilight Zone
Writing music for the horror genre can be twice as challenging because you have to create a sense of haunting trouble coming this way, but at the same time not scare the audience away. The Twilight Zone completes this task perfectly with Maurice Constant’s theme that would play at the beginning of each episode starting from season two.
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6points
#6 Mister Rogers‘ Neighborhood
Your theme song doesn’t have to be a complex musical masterpiece or have an impeccable performance. Instead of all this, Fred Rogers’ singing taught the kids for whom the show was intended that it’s absolutely okay to not be perfect and still pursue things you love.
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5points
#7 Sanford And Son
Working on the theme song for Sanford and Son fell in a period when Quincy Jones was swarmed with so many other deadlines. So he wrote it in 20 minutes, then proceeded to record it with his team. The sound they went for was like the jingle of a junk shop, which was the show’s main premise.
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5points
#8 Malcolm In The Middle
What better way to describe the life of a brilliant kid stuck between family members that do not understand him or do him justice than writing a song titled “Boss of Me”? They Might Be Giants penned the song and got their first Grammy for this track.
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5points
#9 Futurama
It takes enough effort to write a brilliant show full of witty humor and smart dialogue. But when just as much effort goes into writing the theme song and opening sequence, you know that show is bound to become an audience favorite, and that’s exactly what happened to Futurama.
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5points
#10 Cheers
Cheers is often called one of the funniest TV shows, yet the creators opted for a somber opening theme with lyrics that speak about the soothing experience of being accepted and acknowledged for who you are. Whether it is the contrasting effect or the soft wisdom of it, the song has always been liked by fans.
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5points
#11 The X-Files
The X-Files is not just a show, it’s an era. In many ways, they set the standard for sci-fi shows coming after them. The instrumental score that opens every episode is probably one of the most recognizable TV scores. It perfectly sets the tone for all the unexplained phenomena you are about to encounter.
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4points
#12 Mission Impossible
Before Mission Impossible became a movie franchise, it was a spy series that debuted in 1966. A lot of things were altered when it got remade into a feature film, but one thing the filmmakers knew to keep intact was the hook from Lalo Schifrin’s theme song he composed for the show. Back in the day, it became a trendsetter for other similar shows to come.
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4points
#13 Hawaii Five-O
If any show should have had a surf rock theme song, it’s undoubtedly Hawaii Five-O. Between fighting crime and presenting the breathtaking beauty of the island state, this show is remembered for many things, and the opening song is one of them.
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4points
#14 Phineas & Ferb
Phineas & Ferb take all their music numbers very seriously; that’s why songs are one of the major things this show is known for, and the theme song is no exception. Whimsical and clever in its structure, it will leave you with a smile and a nostalgic longing for the summer.
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4points
#15 Stranger Things
The ’80s were all about synth sound and neon lights, and Stranger Things is all about the ’80s. As the opening theme sends us back in time, it also keeps increasing the uneasy feeling of the horror that awaits the characters and the audience.
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4points
#16 The Rockford Files
You must have done something really right if the theme song of your show that was on air between 1974 and 1980 is still remembered. It perfectly captured the nature of its main character, Jim Rockford, and also incorporated a message he had on his answering machine.
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4points
#17 Twin Peaks
The calm and soothing theme of the TV classic Twin Peaks gives you a false feeling that you are about to step into an ordinary sleepy town where people lead ordinary lives. This makes the shock of what you are about to witness greater. One of the best decisions the producers made was to hire the same composer to write the music for both the 1990 and 2017 shows as well as the 1992 film.
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3points
#18 The Sopranos
It’s not easy to balance your life between your family and your mobster “family” but it is definitely interesting to watch. The creators of The Sopranos took “Woke Up This Morning,” performed by the British band Alabama 3, and turned it into one of the most memorable theme songs on TV.
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3points
#19 Lost
Lost has a number of memorable scores to fit every moment in the narrative, but the one that probably stayed with you the most is the 15-second-long ambient noise composed by the show’s creator JJ Abrams himself. Even if you don’t know what the show is about, this piece of melody will create the right mood before you start watching.
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3points
#20 The Jeffersons
If there is one theme song that makes you wanna dance, it’s “Movin’ On Up” from The Jeffersons. But beyond being just an infectious gospel number, its lyrics contributed to the story of George and Louise moving from working-class Queens to the luxury of Manhattan, with a touch on the American dream and class differences.
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3points