You think picking the best TV shows of the 2010s was easy?
TV became something far beyond just the square box that sat in our living rooms.
But regardless of what you call it, television as a medium still blossomed during the 2010s.
The CW successfully rebranded under the Arrowverse and teen-friendly melodramas likeRiverdale.
Now at the end of it all, its time to reflect upon the decade that was.
Gathered here are the best and most important TV shows of the decade.
Mischa and Nadezhda had always been relevant from its opening moments to its brilliant final episode.
If all that isnt a recipe for success, then I dont know what is.
Oh, and brutally violent, dontcha know.
The iconic red cloaks are everywhere, from our newsfeed to our protests to memes about the first family.
Watching Ann Dowd win the Emmy for Aunt Lydia was almost as charming as her performance is maddening.
It is into this pressure cooker of a situation that Kieren and fellow PDS sufferers return.
KB
Justified
One of the best things any TV show can capture is a sense of place.
FXsJustifieddid so in spades.
This chatty adaptation of an Elmore Leonard short story stars Timothy Olyphant as U.S. Michael Ahr
Mr.
Robot
A lot of creators describe their TV shows as a x-hour movie.
Its a mostly bullshit way to describe a series, butMr.
Robotcreator Sam Esmail gets a pass from us if he wants to describe his cyberpunk thriller that way.
Emmy-winning star Rami Malek is at once magnetic and deeply uncomfortable to watch.
NH
Orange is the New Black
In hindsight, the success of Netflix seemed inevitable.
How lucky are we though that Netflixs first hit turned out to beOrange is the New Black?
So why does it deserve a spot on this list?
But theres also a story about broken people self-sabotaging and back-stabbing in a modern Shakespearean power struggle.
Regardless of how you watch, this band of contemptible buffoons has us enthralled.
Its the guiltiest of TV pleasures, like bingeing on ortolan every Sunday night.
Rushed into production after the first, the second season was lacking a sense of joy and creativity.
Or is it going to be a Southern Gothic mystery?
A parody of local TV news?
A terrifying horror movie starring corpse-like recluse Teddy Perkins?
Above all else, FXsAtlantais a vehicle for all of Donald Glovers best ideas.
And as it turns out:Donald Gloverhas a lot of good ideas.
Filled with humor, pathos, and tension,Barryquickly establishes its dramatic stakes with an inventive hitman story.
NH
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Has any show taken bigger swings thanCrazy Ex-Girlfriend?
Its pretty much impossible not to binge every new season immediately we just hope they keep em coming.
Phoebe Waller-Bridges carefully crafted character study is one of the best shows of this decade…or any other.
AB
GLOW
IsGLOWeven really a comedy?
Mike Cecchini
The Good Place
The original concept ofThe Good Placewas fantastic enough.
But of course Michael Schurs series ended up being far more than that.
It gave Abuela a genuine love life and showed people of faith with dimension.
It made puns like no tomorrow.
It called out human rights violations and microaggressions from season-long arcs to on-screen hashtags courtesy of the narrator.
But itsKey & Peelethat left the most indelible impact.
The show came along on Comedy Central in 2012 with little fanfare and few bells and whistles.
For five seasons this was, above all else, just damn good sketch comedy.
Just kidding (barely).
Come for the famous Levy eyebrows, stay for the community theater productions ofCabaret.
Lets right that wrong here.
Still, every now and then theres an anime series that goesseriouslymainstream.Attack on Titanis one of those blessed few.
UltimatelyAttack on Titanunderstands that the only thing more terrifying than a horde of cannibalistic giants is ourselves.
AB
BoJack Horseman
BoJack Horsemandidnt put its best foot forward when it premiered in 2014.
It wants to leave you with something more substantial to think on long after its done.
But the things that stick most with you are the cast, including the villains.
It was truly something special.
Unlike so many other shows,The 100doesnt let its characters off the hook.
That all changed this decade with the excellent, excessive, and expensive fantasy series based off George R.R.
Some of the more successful ones decided to deviate from their source material and instead remix the original work.
No it does not.
MC
The Magicians
The Magiciansdoesnt have to be as good as it is.
That is, untilThe Mandalorianrode into town courtesy of Disney+.
But the true appeal ofStranger Thingsis in its authenticity.
On a creative level, the deck is very much stacked againstThe Walking Dead.
The show that launched the largest live-action exploration of the DC universe in history.
The show that launched four spinoffs (and counting).
The show that successfully made Green Arrow, of all frakkin characters, into a household name.
Were gonna miss it when its gone.
The first and most successful Arrowverse spinoff might now be the most important show in the CWs entire stable.
Its impossible to separate the character from the show shewasthe show.
MC
Watchmen
There should never be aWatchmenadaptation or sequel on television.
On this much we all agreed upon going into 2019.
And on this much we are all completely, blessedly wrong.
AB
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