The Greatest Series of The Past Decade

When one tries to rank the greatest shows of a decade that was filled with them, there are many benchmarks you can use. High quality acting, writing and directing, groundbreaking tropes, setting new benchmarks in what the medium can do. But what I’d looked for when I was establishing my list was consistency. Sustained excellence, ideally over its entire run, superb performances all the way through, and above all, a superb finish.

I’ll admit, when you look at my list, you will see some surprises. I don’t believe a series that may have been a watercooler series that was rewarded by the Emmys (like Game of Thrones) a groundbreaking popular series (like The Walking Dead), or a series that for a time was one of the greatest (like Mad Men) will be here because they were either were too violent or sexual in the first case, or had there best moments prior to the decade beginning in the last case. And there are some series that frankly don’t appeal to me at all (Downton Abbey always left me cold) or had moments of peak that ended too soon, and were inconsistent the rest of the way. Homeland is the perhaps the best example of this. And there are some series that have been brilliant in the beginning but are nowhere near their end. (The Crown and Atlanta are extraordinary series that still haven’t run long enough for me to consider them.) I’m also willing to combine series that take place in the same universe or setting.

Are these series the most famous of the 2010s? Maybe not. But if you’re looking for a list of series that will, decades from now, be considered among the pantheon of greatness, in my mind, the list starts here.

10. The Good Place (NBC)

Technically, this series is an outlier among my contenders because it has yet to finish its run (there are still four episodes to go next year before it concludes.) But few comedies have been as consistently funny, been more willing to deal with daring ethical issues, feature some of the most memorable twists of the decade (‘Michael’s Gambit’ is one of the greatest of all time) or do things that completely reshape the format of the episode (Janets was a mindbender that made your head and your heart ache.) I’m not sure which issue concerns me more as the series wraps up: whether humanity can be saved or whether Eleanor and Chidi end up together for eternity. What I know is that this show is brilliant because it knows both are equally important. And considering that this series has proven once again that Ted Danson is one of the greatest talents of all time, that’s worth in its itself.

9. Masters of Sex (Showtime)

This decade proved that Showtime was in the same market as HBO, and while this series may not have been as successful as Shameless or Homeland, or even got a proper finale for its characters, in my opinion, it was the most consistently engaging. With Michael Sheen playing William Masters as a man who wanted to revolutionize the scientific world but not disrupt his own and Lizzy Caplan more then demonstrating her dramatic chops as Virginia Johnson, a woman fighting for equality every step of the way, these two leads led us through more than a decade of a brave new world. Featuring one of the greatest guest casts ever assembled, from Beau Bridges and Allison Janney to Niecy Nash and Betty Gilpin, and some of the most incredible episodes in the history of the decade (‘Fallout’ in Season 1 and ‘Fight’ in Season 2 rank among the greatest I’ve ever seen) this series never got the proper appreciation from either the Emmys or its audience. Its four seasons on the air seemed not long enough and just right, which is the perfect way for lives like theirs to be measured.

8. Jane the Virgin (CW)

It’ was always going to be a battle as to which of this show or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was going to be on this list. And while Crazy was more creative and energetic, and certainly could deal with dark subjects as well, the final vote went for the more daring ways that both the title character and the series were willing to completely shake up the format. It had one of the most heartbreaking turns of the decade (Michael’s death) and the biggest shock (Michael’s actually still alive.) It dared to suggest that it is possible for a person to have more than one soulmate in their lives. And it was willing to deal in love in a way that few series in any medium will even try any more. Perhaps the biggest crime existing today is that Gina Rodriguez, as well as the series, were completely ignored by the Emmys for their entire run. The fact that the Emmys will recognize services that aren’t even on TV, but ignore a network on broadcast television appalls me to this day. But I’m sure reacting to all this, Jane would just say: ‘Eh. The world never did know how to deal with telenovellas.”

7. Fargo (FX)

This decade has seen a resurgence in the anthology series, and FX has been at the forefront of this change. None have been more true to their source material or consistently excellent as Noah Hawley’s tribute to the Coen Brother’s classics that has nothing in common with the movie and is yet completely faithful to it. Watching Billy Bob Thornton inflict chaos and violence on everyone and everything he approaches to seeing Kirsten Dunst leave a man in her windshield and come home to make dinner to seeing Ewan McGregor play twin brothers, each about to enter their own world of misery has been some of the greatest joys I’ve ever seen. There is utter mayhem and carnage and insanity and there are the forces of good let by the authorities such as Alison Tolman and Patrick Wilson and Carrie Coon – always being outflanked by the law they try to enforce. I don’t know how many more ‘true stories’ we’ll get before Hawley runs out of ideas – we’ve had to wait more than three for Season 4. But its always a wonder to go into the snow and ice.

6. American Crime (ABC)

I was reluctant to include another anthology series on this list, but this incredible piece of work (from ABC!) was either number 1 or 2 on my top ten list all three seasons it was on the air. A series which each year took most of the same actors and put them into stories involving some of the most impossible issues of our day (racism, homophobia among teenagers, illegal immigration) put some of the most impressive characters and just let it boil if never explode (we never saw the actual crime that instigated the series) could be utterly incredible. The series had no comic relief and offered no easy solutions, which is probably why it couldn’t survive particularly on a network dedicated to all things Shondaland. But watching this incredible group of actors (particularly Timothy Hutton, Felicity Huffman and the awe-inspiring Regina King) create characters this indelible made you realize that broadcast TV could still good great thing. This was as close to The Wire as the network will ever approach. You owe it to yourself to watch it.

5. Parenthood (NBC)

One of the most extraordinary accomplishments of the decade – a remake of a series that had already failed. That Jason Katims’ incredible portrait of the Braverman family managed to last one season, much less a hundred episodes, speaks volumes about the state of NBC’s programming at the time and their faith in a series that was unlike any we ever saw before. A family dealing with hosts of obstacles – a child on the spectrum, a mother with cancer, children who kept slipping on the path to adulthood, the parents who never lost faith in them, and the ability to have trust and love throughout three generations – this was one of the sheer joys of the decade, not to mention the fact that this series has seventeen regular cast members and none of them – from Peter Krause and Monica Potter to the astonishing Mae Whitman – ever seemed to be underutilitzed. Only the Emmys continuing blindness to the fact that network programming can be as exceptional as cable kept it from being recognized by them, as well as the fact it had to struggle for renewal ever single year. There are rumors that they may do a reunion. As much as I’d like to see the characters again, why mess with perfection?

4. Mr. Robot (USA)

The greatest dystopian vision of the decade involved no zombie apocalypse or female repression. Instead, it took the far more daring idea that we’re living in it now, and we signed up for it. Sam Esmail’s incredible work was by far one of the most radical and daring vision that only a few have managed to ever match in TV history.  From its incredible teasers to some of the most brilliant experiments in the history of the decade – opening like a USA sitcom, an episode edited  as if it was all one shot, another where there was no dialogue, and a battle of wits that climaxed in the biggest revelation the series would ever do. Rami Malek justifiably became the superstar he deserved to be, and every other actor in the cast from Christian Slater to B.D Wong on down was more than up to the challenge. And yet for a series that blatantly lived in darkness, the ending came with shoots of optimism we thought possible – and proved that saving the world can be nearly as important as saving yourself. Esmail has already proven that he is no one-hit wonder with his work on Homecoming last year. I can not wait to see what dangerous visions he will take us through next.

3. The Americans (FX)

Without question, the single greatest television series of the decade was this FX series that started out as a period piece about Communist sleeper agents in Reagan-era D.C. and ended up being more relevant than even its producers could ever have imagined it being. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell gave two of the greatest performances of all time as Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, two agents whose commitment to doing often unspeakable things for their country led them into territory so dark that it took more and more out of them each season. Their unlikely friendship with their next door neighbor – who worked in the FBI – led to one of the most bizarre cat and mouse games that climaxed in the final episodes with one of the most powerful confrontations of all time. A series that had a longer memory that so many of the others – storylines started in Season 2 paid out in the final year – and had the good sense to let things simmer rather than boil. This series, more than any other on television, managed to realize its vision because of the support of critics – though the Emmys did eventually come around in the back half. The final episode was one the greatest and most satisfying last episodes in the history of TV – the Jennings escaped, but it cost them everything. It’ll be along time until we see a series like this one again.

2. The Good Wife/The Good Fight (CBS/CBS All Access)

Until the last troubled season, The Good Wife was the greatest single accomplishment of the 2010s. Starting out as what is becoming a dying entity – the legal drama – it became a series that was completely impossible to quantify by its end, following Alicia Florrick through the world of law and politics (office and local), and watching her try to negotiate a world that was forever chaotic. Few series – network or anywhere else – would be willing to complete change the game as frequently or brilliantly as The Good Wife did, and few series have ever had such a magnificent cast of supporting characters – from Alan Cumming and Chris Noth, to the incredible group of opposing attorneys and judges they face. (I still believe Carrie Preston’s character should’ve gotten her own spinoff.) And it was more than willing to bite the hand that fed them and the Peak TV world that it existed in.

The ending was a disappointment, but it directly linked to the extraordinary spinoff. As easy as it could’ve been to simply be ‘The Good Wife with swearing’, watching Christine Baranski and company negotiate the insanity that surrounds the world around us now just as well as its mother series handled the Obama era. It’s been willing to deal with some of the most relevant issues facing us, knows when and how to use regulars from the original series, and states that the only way to deal with the insanity of a world gone mad is handle your own. Robert and Michelle King are the greatest showrunners of the 2010s and have created an incredible universe. But even though their world is extraordinary, it’s still second fiddle to…

1.       Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul (AMC)

My greatest flaw as a critic was coming so late to a series that so many expected to be Weeds 2: The Methening. As anyone who’s seen Breaking Bad – and the number of viewers keeps growing every year – it was anything but that. Watching Bryan Cranston create one of the greatest characters of all time in Walter White and watching him turn from ‘Mr. Chips to Scarface’ – even though he never really was either – was one of the greatest accomplishment that you’ll see in any medium. And Cranston was just the lead with some of the greatest performances in history: from Aaron Paul’s heartbreaking work as Jesse to Dean Norris’ dogged perseverance as Hank this deserved its place in the Pantheon of a great shows. When Walter finally admitted to Skyler the true nature of its darkness, it was a great moment, though the costs were Hank’s life, Jesse’s soul, and Skyler’s dignity. The Emmys got it exactly right when they gave it sixteen awards over its remarkable five and a half years, and it deserves recognition as one of the four or five greatest series of all time.

After it all ended, you think that a  prequel series about Saul Goodman, the attorney who mercifully brought come lightness into Vince Gilligan’s vision would’ve just been pleasing the fans. But Better Call Saul has gone from being one of the greatest spinoffs in history to one of the greatest shows on television in its own right. Where as Cranston was brilliant at painting a picture of a man who was letting his inner monster out, Bob Odenkirk is heartbreaking as Jimmy, a man trying to be good against a world that won’t let him – and that, in the last episode of Season 4, he has surrendered too. Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito have been so good in recreating their greatest accomplishment that they make you forget they will become victims of Heisenberg’s rise to power. With a cast including such brilliant performers as Michael Mando and Rhea Seehorn, and teasers and visuals that more than rival the ones we saw on the parent series, the Albequerque that Gilligan and company have created is a world nearly as remarkable as the Seven Kingdoms and far more harsh to live in. Even George R.R. Martin thought so.