Your top 10 TV shows of the 2010s (1 Viewer)

[benbess]

As this decade draws to a close, we are experiencing one of the greatest eras ever for good television. What are your personal top 10 favorites for shows that premiered starting in 2010? Here's my preliminary list, although probably I'm forgetting something.

1. Westworld 2016-
Even though it's only had one season, I think this sci fi/Western hybrid is my favorite so far.

2. Stranger Things 2016-
The two seasons of this horror/sci fi/80s nostalgia show are really good imho.

3. Game of Thrones 2011-
Probably a lot of people rank this as number one, and even for me it's number 3.

4. Downton Abbey 2010-2015
Really enjoyed this British drama.

5. Longmire 2012-2017
This detective show set in Wyoming was saved by Netflix and has run for a satisfying 5 seasons. Last season is set to start in a few weeks.

6. Bosch 2014-
Love this old fashioned/new wave/gritty cop/detective/buddy show set in my old hometown of LA.

7. Star Trek: Discovery 2017-
I have some issues with it, but overall Trek is back!

8. Orange is the New Black 2014-
This show sort of lost me this last season, but still makes my top 10.

9. The Man in the High Castle 2015-
This epic Amazon show, based on Philip K. Dick's classic novel, is good stuff.

10. Turn: Washington's Spies 2014-2017
Looking forward to the last season of this quality show from AMC.

Honorable Mention: Transparent, Sherlock, Boardwalk Empire, The Expanse, Gravity Falls, etc.

 

[TravisR]

Off the top of my head and using shows where the majority of seasons aired in 2010's, I'd say (alphabetically):

The Americans, Better Call Saul, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, The Leftovers, Mad Men, Mr. Robot, Parks And Recreation, Twin Peaks and Veep.

Honorable mention to Fargo, Girls, Star Wars: Rebels and Treme. And there's only been 8 episodes/1 season of The Deuce but I loved it.

 

[benbess]

Off the top of my head and using shows where the majority of seasons aired in 2010's, I'd say (alphabetically):

The Americans, Better Call Saul, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, The Leftovers, Mad Men, Mr. Robot, Parks And Recreation, Twin Peaks and Veep.

Honorable mention to Fargo, Girls, Star Wars: Rebels and Treme. And there's only been 8 episodes/1 season of The Deuce but I loved it.

Good list....

But to get technical, a few of them started before 2010, including Breaking Bad (2008), Mad Men (2007), and Parks and Rec (2009). I wasn't meaning for us to try to do all good TV shows of the 21st century, just those that started in 2010 or later.

But Boardwalk Empire, which started in 2010, should at least be on my honorable mention list. I still need to finish the last season of that show.

 

[TravisR]

I'll stick to the rules and say: The Americans, Better Call Saul, Boardwalk Empire, Fargo, The Leftovers, Mr. Robot, Star Wars: Rebels, Treme, Twin Peaks and Veep.

Honorable mention to Girls and The Deuce and to the series that aired the bulk of their episodes in the 2010's: Breaking Bad, Mad Men & Parks And Recreation.

 

[Hanson]

1 Game of Thrones - What can I say? Sure, its like saying The Godfather is your favorite movie, but I don't know of any series in the 2010's that had me as breathlessly waiting for the next episode for as many seasons as it has managed. A lot of genius shows peter out after season 2, but GoT has kept up its quality and brilliance for all 7 seasons. The show is simply relentless. And yes, my favorite movie is The Godfather.

2 Rick and Morty - This show is incredible scifi as much as it is everything else, which is profane, nihilistic, and rip snortingly funny. It's funny in every way imaginable, with the kind of joke density that demands rewatching and voice acting that can induce rip snorts of laughter from delivery alone. It's just fucking brilliant.

3 Star Trek Discovery - I was going to put it right behind GoT, but it felt like cheating to even have it in the top ten since it's only run for all of 7 episodes. The thought that it would become my favorite Star Trek TV show or movie was so inexplicable that the thought never even crossed my mind. If anything, I thought there was a 70% of the show being DOA. But this is Star Trek in the peak TV era, and it's amazeballs. I have Disco Fever, and it's severe. I'm obsessed with the show.

4 Sherlock - Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu update the -- just kidding, I'm talking about the Benedict Cumberbatch iteration that's the cleverest thing on TV.

5 Happy Endings - It has a joke density that was unrivaled in the decade until the arrival of Rick and Morty. I watched all the episodes like 4 times. I will watch anything starring the cast, even if it sucks balls, as a way of saying thank you. I miss it so much. Eliza Coupe is a national treasure. Steak Me Home tonight.

6 The Last Kingdom - I really should place this higher, it's the best historical drama on TV. I mean, real but fudged history, not made up period piece. Both seasons are on Netflix, you'll be hooked by the end of episode 2, and it will be 5 am before you know it.

7 Key & Peele - Not just brilliant sketch comedy, but brilliant mini movies. I've watched each episode so many times.

8 The Expanse - The best pure scifi show on TV. It's so nuts and boltsy on top of brilliant acting and storytelling.

9 Louie - Smart and funny and at times brilliant.

At this point, I had four shows tied for 10th, so I said "screw it" and just kept ranking them.

10 Broad City - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

11 You're the Worst - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

12 Catastrophe - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

13 Orange is the New Black - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

14 Black Mirror - There are a couple of duds, but most are at least interesting and a half dozen are brilliantly crafted scifi.

15 True Detective - So this is strictly for season 1, which was transcendent television (season 2 fell off a cliff). It was simply too good to last.

16 Homeland - So this is mostly for season 1, which was transcendent television (season 2 has it's moments and then fell off a cliff with season 3). It was simply too good to last.

17 Selfie - Probably the show I miss the most because it only got 13 episodes. The purest of romantic comedies, Karen Gillan and John Cho had charisma to burn, and I've rewatched the scene Eliza singing Chandelier dozens of times (it sounds meaningless out of context, but it still gives me goosebumps). Also, David Harewood, post Homeland, is screamingly hilarious.

18 The Jeselnik Offensive - Basically went out of it's way to shock and offend and it succeeding in making me laugh uproariously. Some of laughter was a reaction to the audacity, but at their core, the jokes were brilliant.

At this point, I said, "screw it" and decided to make it a top 20. And a couple of more.

19 Veep - Consistently screamingly funny.

20 Silicon Valley - At times screamingly funny.

Okay, a few more

21 The Goldbergs - I love the cast so much. And it's screamingly funny sometimes. The nostalgia is a plus.

22 The Amazing World of Gumball - I don't know how this gem of absurdist humor isn't more popular than it is. One of the few things I watch with my kids.

23. Gravity Falls - It's a cartoon. For kids. And it's amazingly deep in its scope. It's as intricately plotted and fleshed out as anything made for The Demo.

 

[TravisR]

15 True Detective - So this is strictly for season 1, which was transcendent television (season 2 fell off a cliff). It was simply too good to last.

I think the second season, while deeply hard to follow, was still very good. If it had followed the same structure as the first year with the video interviews, the show would have been much better received because they could have explained what the hell was happening. The second season was written with no exposition given in teh dialogue and they rarely even adequately established supporting character names, locations, loyalties, etc. but the characters would then talk about all of them like the viewer knew all the info so it was easy to be confused. It may be a realistic way of speaking but it makes it nearly impossible to follow the episodes with one viewing. Seeing the show a second time with a knowledge of what was what, I found the show to work much better.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

In (roughly) chronological order:

Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)
Game of Thrones (2010-present)
Justified (2010-2015)
Terriers (2010... a one-season wonder)
The Americans (2013-present)
Fargo (2014-present)
Halt and Catch Fire (2014-2017)
Outlander (2014-present)
Better Call Saul (2015-present)
The Man in the High Castle (2015-present)

Honorable mentions:

Ray Donovan (2013-present)
Daredevil (2015-present)
Jessica Jones (2015-present)
Ash vs Evil Dead (2016-present)
Luke Cage (2016-present)
Iron Fist (2017-)
The Defenders (2017-)

 

[Walter Kittel]

In no particular order...

Person of Interest - While some of the case of the week episodes brought the overall impact of the series down; the development of the series' story arcs particularly in the latter seasons were brilliantly realized. It created an alternate 'heightened' reality that always felt like something that was plausible, in terms of the broader strokes.

Better Call Saul - A terrific prequel to Breaking Bad. Even though we know where it is headed, it is satisfying to see how it gets there.

Fargo - Easily one of the best shows of the '10s. Each season has been a gift.

Legion - Only eight episodes, but what an eight episodes.

Game of Thrones - An obligatory choice. The production values alone merit placing it in the list, but it has a lot more going for it than just that component of the show.

The Americans - Sometimes the story seems a bit muddled, but the acting is superior and the ethical conflicts the show creates are engaging.

Limitless - Very disappointingly canceled after one season. It makes the list because of its ability to visually organize information. Incredibly entertaining and the various mechanisms the show employed to highlight Brian Finch's enhanced thought processes were always a highlight of the show.

The Expanse - Probably the best SF show (at least for me) since the re-boot of Battlestar Galactica and Fringe (see below.) It really captures the feeling of a gritty, well realized future that details mankind's expansion into the solar system.

Westworld - Wow, what a show. Brings all the production prowess of an HBO enterprise to a deep, intricate SF framework. Eagerly anticipating where season two goes (next year?)

Longmire - Nothing particularly revolutionary about the series, just a deeply satisfying procedural that uses the settings to great effect. I was surprised just how much I enjoyed this series.

There are a few shows on other folks lists that I've enjoyed and a few on other's lists that I should probably check out; but the ten I listed are shows that I enjoyed a great deal (warts and all in a few cases and no warts whatsoever in a few.)


I sort of feel like I need to give Fringe an honorable mention since it crossed over from 2008 to 2013. Loved just about every aspect of this show; particularly the cast. Just a great, endlessly entertaining series.

- Walter.

 

[benbess]

1 Game of Thrones - What can I say? Sure, its like saying The Godfather is your favorite movie, but I don't know of any series in the 2010's that had me as breathlessly waiting for the next episode for as many seasons as it has managed. A lot of genius shows peter out after season 2, but GoT has kept up its quality and brilliance for all 7 seasons. The show is simply relentless. And yes, my favorite movie is The Godfather.

2 Rick and Morty - This show is incredible scifi as much as it is everything else, which is profane, nihilistic, and rip snortingly funny. It's funny in every way imaginable, with the kind of joke density that demands rewatching and voice acting that can induce rip snorts of laughter from delivery alone. It's just fucking brilliant.

3 Star Trek Discovery - I was going to put it right behind GoT, but it felt like cheating to even have it in the top ten since it's only run for all of 7 episodes. The thought that it would become my favorite Star Trek TV show or movie was so inexplicable that the thought never even crossed my mind. If anything, I thought there was a 70% of the show being DOA. But this is Star Trek in the peak TV era, and it's amazeballs. I have Disco Fever, and it's severe. I'm obsessed with the show.

4 Sherlock - Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu update the -- just kidding, I'm talking about the Benedict Cumberbatch iteration that's the cleverest thing on TV.

5 Happy Endings - It has a joke density that was unrivaled in the decade until the arrival of Rick and Morty. I watched all the episodes like 4 times. I will watch anything starring the cast, even if it sucks balls, as a way of saying thank you. I miss it so much. Eliza Coupe is a national treasure. Steak Me Home tonight.

6 The Last Kingdom - I really should place this higher, it's the best historical drama on TV. I mean, real but fudged history, not made up period piece. Both seasons are on Netflix, you'll be hooked by the end of episode 2, and it will be 5 am before you know it.

7 Key & Peele - Not just brilliant sketch comedy, but brilliant mini movies. I've watched each episode so many times.

8 The Expanse - The best pure scifi show on TV. It's so nuts and boltsy on top of brilliant acting and storytelling.

9 Louie - Smart and funny and at times brilliant.

At this point, I had four shows tied for 10th, so I said "screw it" and just kept ranking them.

10 Broad City - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

11 You're the Worst - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

12 Catastrophe - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

13 Orange is the New Black - The first two seasons are flat out brilliant and absolutely hysterical.

14 Black Mirror - There are a couple of duds, but most are at least interesting and a half dozen are brilliantly crafted scifi.

15 True Detective - So this is strictly for season 1, which was transcendent television (season 2 fell off a cliff). It was simply too good to last.

16 Homeland - So this is mostly for season 1, which was transcendent television (season 2 has it's moments and then fell off a cliff with season 3). It was simply too good to last.

17 Selfie - Probably the show I miss the most because it only got 13 episodes. The purest of romantic comedies, Karen Gillan and John Cho had charisma to burn, and I've rewatched the scene Eliza singing Chandelier dozens of times (it sounds meaningless out of context, but it still gives me goosebumps). Also, David Harewood, post Homeland, is screamingly hilarious.

18 The Jeselnik Offensive - Basically went out of it's way to shock and offend and it succeeding in making me laugh uproariously. Some of laughter was a reaction to the audacity, but at their core, the jokes were brilliant.

At this point, I said, "screw it" and decided to make it a top 20. And a couple of more.

19 Veep - Consistently screamingly funny.

20 Silicon Valley - At times screamingly funny.

Okay, a few more

21 The Goldbergs - I love the cast so much. And it's screamingly funny sometimes. The nostalgia is a plus.

22 The Amazing World of Gumball - I don't know how this gem of absurdist humor isn't more popular than it is. One of the few things I watch with my kids.

23. Gravity Falls - It's a cartoon. For kids. And it's amazingly deep in its scope. It's as intricately plotted and fleshed out as anything made for The Demo.

Great list. I agree that Gravity Falls should be on my honorable mentions list. And from your list I also want to try The Last Kingdom, and maybe a few others.