LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- HitFix (http://www.hitfix.com) announced today that "Breaking Bad" has been chosen as the top television series of 2012 in HitFix's First Annual Television Critics' Poll.  The AMC network and Sony Pictures Television's Emmy winning series was followed by "Homeland" (Showtime) and "Mad Men" (AMC).

The First Annual HitFix Television Critics Poll was compiled with the top 10 picks of more than 40 participating television critics and journalists from across the country. HitFix decided to host this poll after realizing there was a lack of prestige year-end honors for television programs.

"A number of respected film publications have provided unheralded and under-the-radar films their due for decades with annual year-end critics' polls," HitFix's editor-in-chief and co-founder Gregory Ellwood said, "We hope the results of this new yearly poll will do the same for equally deserving television programs."

Following "Breaking Bad," "Homeland" and "Mad Men," the rest of this year's list includes (in the following order) "Louie," "Game of Thrones," "Girls," "The Walking Dead," "Parks and Recreation," "Downton Abbey" and "Sherlock."  The vote totals for each critic including every show that received a vote are available at HitFix.com/TVCriticsPoll. 

Critics from outlets such as Slate, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, NPR, Buzzfeed, TVLine and USA Today participated in the HitFix poll.

"There's so much great TV and so much great writing right now.  We wanted to gather together some of the brightest minds on the subject and find a consensus on the absolute best of the best," said Alan Sepinwall, HitFix's Sr. Editor and TV Critic as well as the author of "The Revolution Was Televised." "From 'New Girl' to 'Scandal' to 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' a wide range of shows were highlighted and in the end 'Breaking Bad' and 'Homeland' rose to the top."

Each critic submitted their top 10 television programs of the year and the votes were determined on a ranked system (#1 pick receives 10 votes, #2 pick receives 9 votes, etc.) A complete list of all this year's critics and programs can be found at HitFix.com/TVCriticsPoll. 

About HitFix
Co-founded by Jennifer Sargent and Gregory Ellwood, HitFix is the top destination for 18-34 year old consumers to discover what's next in entertainment news and events. HitFix calls on the talents of renowned entertainment journalists such as Alan Sepinwall, Drew McWeeny, Daniel Fienberg, Kris Tapley and Melinda Newman to produce wide-ranging news, interviews and commentary on all aspects of entertainment.  On a monthly basis, the site reaches over 3 million uniques directly and over 50 million users across their multi-platform video distribution. For more information visit www.HitFix.com, www.facebook.com/hitfix, www.twitter.com/hitfix or www.youtube.com/hitfix.

SOURCE HitFix