Jeffrey Dean Morgan Reveals His Favorite TV Shows (They're Surprisingly Mainstream)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan has killed it in film (Watchmen, Rampage, Batman v Superman) and absolutely dominated television — most famously as Negan, the barbed-wire-bat-swinging wildcard from The Walking Dead.
He's also done time as Papa Winchester on Supernatural, and now he's in The Boys, because of course he is. The man has become a small-screen staple.
So when someone finally asked him what he actually watches, the answer turned out to be… exactly what everyone else was watching 20 years ago.
While walking the red carpet at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Morgan appeared in a YouTube video on the NOWAYFARER channel, where he was asked to name his favorite TV shows. He didn't hesitate:
"I'm going to say Lost," he said — prompting his friend next to him to immediately mock him for it.
He then rattled off the usual suspects from the golden age of prestige cable:
- The Wire
- Deadwood
- The Sopranos
- And yes, Lost again, despite the ending.
His friend tossed out The Simpsons, which set Morgan off on a minor rant — not about the writing or longevity, but about the ethics of Mr. Burns:
"The character that I hated the most — Mr. Burns is a great villain. Oh, Mr. Burns. But I like Mr. Burns. I don't hate him. I wouldn't want to live under his reign."
So no deep cuts, no weird indie picks, no hidden gems — just four of the most obvious "Greatest Shows of All Time" choices, plus a quick sidebar on The Simpsons, a show Morgan's never actually guested on (one of the last five actors alive who hasn't).
For context, all the shows he named aired during the early 2000s — The Wire debuted in 2002, Deadwood in 2004, Lost the same year, The Sopranos even earlier. In other words, he was grinding away as a working actor just as these series were redefining TV. Makes sense that they'd stick with him. Doesn't make them interesting picks, but sure — they're solid.
And for the record: The Simpsons has already parodied the zombie genre Morgan helped popularize, particularly in Treehouse of Horror XX's Don't Have a Cow, Mankind. Morgan himself never showed up in Springfield — probably because they used the budget for three Danny DeVito cameos instead.
In the end, Morgan's picks say less about his taste and more about his place in TV history: part of the machine, fan of the machine, not pretending otherwise. He likes what works. He doesn't pretend to be too cool for the obvious choices. And if you've got a problem with that?
He's still got Lucille.