The Top TV Theme Songs of All Time: 2010 to The Present!

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TVLine’s ongoing review of TV’s all-time greatest theme songs has reached its end — at least as far as live-action series are concerned, this week serving up a bite of Fiona Apple, some Regina Spektor

DOWNTON ABBEY (2010)

Scottish composer John Lunn, who has also contributed music to series such as The White Queen and Grantchester, penned the period drama’s opening instrumental. Fun fact: Years later, he invited British songwriter Don Black to pen lyrics, resulting in the song “Did I Make the Most of Loving You?,” which was performed by Mary-Jess Leaverland for the show’s soundtrack but was never heard on-air.

PARENTHOOD (2010)

Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” is the track that first introduced us to the Braverman clan on NBC’s beloved familial dramedy. (Internationally, however, “When We Were Young” by Lucy Schwartz held that honor.) An official soundtrack was released for the series in August of 2010, which not only included the Dylan original, but also a cover performed by John Doe (co-founder of LA punk band X) and, oddly enough, Schwartz.

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS (2010)

“Secret,” by the Los Angeles-based bandThe Pierces, was actually suggested by cast memberAshley Benson, who played it for series creator I. Marlene King and co-stars while they were on their way back from a late-night Season 1 shoot. “We got into the van and you pulled up your phone and you were like, ‘I have an idea for the show’s theme song!’” recalls Troian Bellisario in this video. “We listened to it and were like, ‘Mar, you have to hear this,’ and it was our theme song.” Added King: “People think that song was written for our show, it’s so perfect.”

THE WALKING DEAD (2010)

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Determined to create “something that would get stuck in your head” but not “a full-on theme song in the traditional sense,” Bear McCreary chose a snippet of strings that is heard early in the series’ pilot, before the main credits even play, and then repeated it over and over. “That, to me, was the little hook — that little thing that, whenever you hear it, it takes you to the series,” he told MTV in 2010. “It takes you to that dark and lonely, spooky place.”

GAME OF THRONES (2011)

The title theme, aptly called “Main Title,” was written by Ramin Djawadi, a German score composer well known for his work on films like Iron Man, Pacific Rim and A Wrinkle in Time, in addition to other TV series like Prison Break, Jack Ryan and Westworld. He was twice nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for his work on the series, once in 2017 and again in 2019, but lost both times. He did, however, bag two consecutive Emmys for 2018’s “The Dragon and the Wolf” episode and the following year’s “The Long Night.”

NEW GIRL (2011)

“Hey Girl,” performed by series lead Zooey Deschanel, was written by Deschanel along with Michael Andrews, Elizabeth Meriwether, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer. This particular version was used for the first four seasons, until it was replaced with an instrumental cut later in the series. Deschanel moonlights as one half of She & Him, and has released six studio albums under that moniker with fellow artist M. Ward. Andrews, also known by the name Elgin Park, recorded a cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” with Gary Jules for the Donnie Darko soundtrack. He also performs with his San Diego-based band, The Greyboy Allstars.

SUITS (2011)

“Greenback Boogie” by the Los Angeles-based bandIma Robot— whose lead singer, Alex Ebert, is also the lead singer for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros — serves as the legal drama’s theme song, and is included on the band’s third album,Another Man’s Treasure.

THE MINDY PROJECT (2012)

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Best known for his work scoring TV shows like BoJack Horseman, Tuca & Bertie and The Baby-Sitters Club, Jesse Novak also delivered the punchy, vibrant jingle for The Mindy Project. Fun fact: Novak is the brother of actor/producer B. J. Novak, one of creator Mindy Kaling’s friends and former Office co-stars.

THE NEWSROOM (2012)

Thomas Newman is the composer who helmed the Aaron Sorkin drama’s patriotic piano-driven opening. Newman is mostly known for his work in film; he scored movies such as The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, The Green Mile, Finding Nemo, Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, and the war epic 1917. He’s been nominated for 15 Academy Awards (and sadly, lost them all), but has won two BAFTAs, six Grammys and an Emmy Award, the last of which was for his music on Six Feet Under in 2002.

THE AMERICANS (2013)

Nathan Barr — who has scored 40-plus films and who would later pen the theme for Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood — composed “The Americans Theme,” which received an Emmy nomination butultimately lost out to Bear McCreary’s Da Vinci’s Demons theme.

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE (2013)

Soundtracking the Andy Samberg-led cop comedy is head composer Dan Marocco featuring the assistance of Jacques Slade, Lamar Van Sciver and Frank Greenfield. “Musically, I started off thinking of the jazz scores of ’70s police shows that kind of defined the police genre,” Marocco told Meaww, “and combined that with an ’80s hip-hop sound, like the Beastie Boys that fit the tone of the show better. That led me into more of the funk sounds that were heavily sampled in retro hip-hop, and it has kind of grown from there.” The composer has also lent his musical chops to shows like Lie to Me, Life on Mars, Dirty Sexy Money, Flipped and more.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (2013)

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Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor wrote and recorded OITNB‘s main title theme song,“You’ve Got Time.” The track was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. Spektor, a Russian-born American pianist, has seven studio albums and two live albums in her discography. She broke through in 2006 with her bouncy piano-driven single, “Fidelity.”

THE AFFAIR (2014)

The super-moody “Container” was written and performed, mostly a cappella, by singer-songwriterFiona Apple. “If our show can approach one tenth of the depth and complexity of her song, I’ll be very happy,” series creator Sarah Treem once said. “We built the title sequence around Fiona’s song,” Treem also shared. “The idea that actions have ‘echoes’ or unforeseen consequences became crucial to both of us.”

THE FLASH (2014)

Blake Neely — who had previously composed the theme used for Barry Allen’s introduction during Arrow Season 2 — was tapped to compose the theme for the Arrowverse’s first spinoff, which bursts with momentum once it gets rolling. “They did tell me, ‘Hopefully we will build a bigger Justice League-type universe,’ so I tried to write in a style that was similar but gave him his own thing,” Neely told CBR. “Because Arrow has no superpowers, [but] Barry has all superpowers.” (A full, non-credits version plays above.)

HALT AND CATCH FIRE (2014)

The opening theme was composed by Danish electronic musician Trentemøller — and apparently close to the eleventh hour! “We actually only got to the music very late in the game, but it worked beautifully with the visuals,” Raoul Marks, the opening credits’ lead animator, told Art of the Title. “It straddles the line between contemporary electronica and more retro/analog sounds beautifully. It’s great when production goes the extra mile to get great talent like that.”

THE LEFTOVERS (2014)

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“The Leftovers (Main Title Theme)” was an original piece of music composed by Max Richter for the acclaimed drama’s first season. But for Season 2, the decidedly spooky theme was replaced with “Let the Mystery Be” byIris DeMent, a more spry, bluegrass tune (featured above). Season 3 would sprinkle in the occasional, different theme song (detailed here), but Season 1’s main title theme and “Let the Mystery Be” were brought back for the series’ final two episodes.

TRANSPARENT (2014)

Transparent‘s delicate piano theme was composed by Dustin O’Halloran, whose other credits include films like Marie Antoinette, Like Crazy, andEquals.Influenced by early 20th-century piano music, like Claude Debussy, O’Halloran told Vulture: “[Piano] can convey a lot of intimate stories and emotions. When I started writing the theme for the show, we were trying to find a balance between something that could encompass the family, show vulnerability and give a sense of melancholy and hope.” Fun fact: The piece above wasn’t initially intended to be the theme song, but when placed alongside the VHS images, the fit was undeniable.

TRUE DETECTIVE (2014)

“Far From Any Road”, analt-countrysong originally composed byThe Handsome Familyfor their 2003 albumSinging Bones, was used for the first season in 2014, while a condensed version of Leonard Cohen’s laconic, gravelly “Nevermind” (which was originally a poem, and can be heard here) was brought on to set Season 2’s own tone.

YOU’RE THE WORST (2014)

The FX comedy’s opening theme “7:30 am” was written and performed by Boston alt-rock band Slothrust. Before it was optioned for television, the track was released on the band’s 2012 debut album Feels Your Pain. (The full studio version is embedded above.)

THE CARMICHAEL SHOW (2015)

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Daniel Hall is the composer responsible for writing the show’s doo-wop flavored theme song. According to Hall, the creators of the series were seeking a song with levity that could help balance out the heavy issues it took on. “A mix of TGIF programming and Billie Holiday inspired my six-part vocal arrangement, which was performed by the cast and timed to introduce each character as they appeared on screen,” Hall wrote on his website.

CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND (2015)

Though the theme for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend changed season-to-season, the one we’ve chosen to highlight is “I’m Just a Girl in Love,” performed by Rachel Bloom for Season 2. Written by Bloom along with Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne) and Jack Dolgen, the track appeared on the show’s 2017 Season 2 soundtrack, alongside a demo version featuring Schlesinger and Stephen M. Gold. In the show’s third season, a gender-swapped rendition called “I’m Just a Boy in Love” was sung by Paul Welsh’s Trent Maddock.

UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT (2015)

Jeff Richmond (also known as Tina Fey’s husband) is the creator of Kimmy‘s theme, titled “Unbreakable,” in addition to serving as an executive producer on the show. The song was produced by the Gregory Brothers, and was written as a tribute to the brothers’ YouTube series Songify the News, which turned auto-tuned news into popular videos. Richmond is also well known for writing the 30 Rock opener, in addition to creating music for the Tony-nominated Broadway musical, Mean Girls.

BETTER THINGS (2016)

The series’ first two seasons used John Lennon’s “Mother” as its opening theme. Originally found on the 1970 albumJohn Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, the track addresses the singer’s abandonment by both of his parents when he was just a young boy. “I wasn’t even going to let the show be on television without ‘Mother,’” co-creator/showrunner Pamela Adlon told EW in 2016. Adlon wrote a “big Jerry Maguire mission statement plea” to FX to secure more money to pay for the track, and also wrote Yoko Ono a letter expressing how much the song meant to her. Though Season 1’s opening credits weren’t readily available at press time, you can hear Lennon’s ballad embedded above.

STRANGER THINGS (2016)

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Stranger Things’ ’80s-tastic soundtrack, including its theme song, was written by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the band Survive. Their heavy use of synthesizers and electronics sounds pays homage to sonic legends like Giorgio Moroder, John Carpenter and Goblin, providing Hawkins, Ind. with the perfectly spooky score to complement what lies below in the Upside Down. Creators the Duffer Brothers discovered the band through the 2014 movie The Guest, which prominently featured Survive’s music.

WYNONNA EARP (2016)

How did the supernatural drama about a cursed gunslinger find a tune so perfect that its mantra is “Tell that devil to take you back”? “I’d been gathering a ton of music that felt right for the show early on and there was this one that I kept playing over and over and over — ‘Tell That Devil’ (by Jill Andrews),” music supervisor Andrea Higgins shared in 2016. “[Showrunner] Emily [Andras] loved it, the producers loved it, and everyone on the crew responded to it. There was just something special about that one that grabbed all of us.”

BIG LITTLE LIES (2017)

The soulful croons of “Cold Little Heart” are provided by singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka. The track appeared on his second album, 2016’s Love & Hate, and in its original form, spans nearly 10 minutes. The melancholy ballad takes its time, jamming out for five full minutes amid strings and a choir, before segueing into the renowned lyrics popularized by the show.

THE GOOD FIGHT (2017)

David Buckley utilized a muffled piano, Middle Eastern percussion, guitars and cannon fire (!) to give The Good Wife‘s spinoff an edgier, more gritty feel. “It’s all over the place,” he conceded to EW. “I use that term because I think it’s not trying to adhere to anything.” Having come from Good Wife where on broadcast-TV time was a premium, Buckley embraced the opportunity to craft a proper, and Emmy-nominated, theme, saying, “I think it’s become quite a big deal for shows to have that 90-second territory to do something cool.”

ONE DAY AT A TIME (2017)

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“This Is It”, the theme song for the originalOne Day at a Time (which ran 1975 to 1984 and revolved around a white family), was composed by Jeff and Nancy Barry. For Netflix’s redo, it was re-recorded by Gloria Estefan, using a Cuban-flavored arrangement byEmilio Estefan. Alas, once the sitcom moved to Pop TV, time constraints demanded the tune get trimmed. “It’s OK, it’s on YouTube,” executive producer Gloria Calderón Kellett said at the time. “We’ll tell people it’s there, and we’ll still tweet about it. But we don’t have that 50 seconds, we need it for the show.”

SUCCESSION (2018)

“If the Roy family could imagine their own music, what music would that be?” That was Nicholas Britell’s approach to the acclaimed HBO drama’s theme song, for which he ultimately zeroed in on a “really dark, classical sound.” As he told NME, “To me, when I hear [the Succession theme], it has a feeling of drama but also a momentous becoming. Like you’re on the periphery of something happening.” One “something” that definitely happened was Britell won an Emmy for the tune, in 2019.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2019)

Like M*A*S*H, What We Do in the Shadows stuck with what worked, using the same theme song as the 2014 film which sired it. As for that origin story, Tom Eagles, editor on the film, says he was collecting songs with death-ly themes when he reached out to Norma Tanega to use her 1966 song, “You’re Dead.” (Upon finally tracking down Tanega for procure her permission, he discovered she was now a painter.)

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