Sport series 18 series

The sport on screen is rarely the point. A good sports series uses the match, the season or the broadcast as a clock, something that must be won or lost by Friday, so the people around it have to show us who they are. What we judge is whether the series cares as much about the dressing room as the scoreboard, whether the games are shot so we can follow them, and whether it earns its sentiment rather than simply applying it. Our shelf leans towards comedy, which suits a genre that has always known losing is funnier than winning.

Start with Friday Night Lights, scored 86, for Kyle Chandler's patient authority and its care with people under pressure. Then Sports Night, 82, Aaron Sorkin's first newsroom and his best, fast and small enough to stay honest. Dear England, 80, gives Joseph Fiennes a persuasive Gareth Southgate and makes leadership worth watching. After those, try Rivals for adult soap with a sense of humour, or GLOW for wrestling kinder than its Lycra.