In this golden age of television—and at least since The Sopranos opening song became as infamous as the drama itself—theme songs have become decidedly more cinematic. And like all the best jingles, a good theme song burrows in your head for years to come—just try thinking of Sex and the City without hearing its marimba jazz opener in your ear. Here, we rank the theme songs of this year’s crop of Emmy-nominated television shows, in both the drama and comedy categories.
Drama
1. True Detective
Wins for featuring a song that we’d listen to on its own, show or no show, and summing up the outlaw theme of the story pretty much better than anything else could.
2. Mad Men
A close second—RJD2’s score feels like the ideal balance between an orchestral melodrama and just listenable electronic music.
3. Downton Abbey
_Downton Abbey’_s antique theme alone is enough to make us cry—a string orchestra? Gets us every time.
4. House of Cards
A great song, but it could work for almost any show on this list, and so doesn’t feel as one-of-a-kind as the show itself.
5. Game of Thrones
For such a fantastical show, its song is not—but bonus points for inspiring the Buckingham Palace Queen’s Guard to surprise tourists by playing it one day.
6. Breaking Bad
For such a unique show, _Breaking Bad’_s theme song feels standard—just not the best chemistry (pun intended!).
Comedy
1. Louie
As soulful, weird, memorable, and New York as Louie himself.
2. Orange Is the New Black
Always smart to go with a reliable artist for your theme song, and Regina Spektor hits this one out of the park.
3. Veep
Performs its task perfectly.
4. Silicon Valley
Not terribly surprising, but it sounds edgy and gives the show an almost Comedy Central–like young appeal.
5. Modern Family
Sounds a bit more like a commercial than a TV theme song.
6. The Big Bang Theory
Barenaked Ladies is an odd choice for a show about physicists.
