Top 10 TV Shows of the 2010's

Greetings, reader! 

For the final installment of my look back at the past year and decade, I will be ranking the greatest television series of the 2010’s. To qualify, a show doesn't have to have started in said decade, but I will be judging them only by the seasons and episodes that aired in the decade, not the series as a whole. Here are my honorable mentions: 

13 Reasons Why, Barry, Chernobyl, Rick And Morty, Stranger Things 

And now for the top 10! 

10. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 

The five first seasons of FX’s ironic dark comedy It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia aired before 2010, but seasons 6-14 all aired in the 2010’s. The series has kept its level staggeringly well, with the show’s unique writing and the sheer comedy genius of Charlie Day bringing so much to the table with each episode. In the past decade, IASIP broadened its horizons into more high concept adventures (see: episodes such as The Gang Goes To Hell) while staying its main course as a satire making multi-layered humor of very serious issues (see: episodes such as Time’s Up For The Gang) and occasionally even taking a more artistic, spirit-lifting direction (see: the confusingly beautiful episode Mac Finds His Pride). Kudos to the It’s Always Sunny creators and cast for staying fresh all these years! 

9. The Good Place 

NBC’s high-concept sitcom The Good Place premiered in 2016, providing the viewer with a totally unique, bizarre and clever debut season of fantasy comedy television. After that, each season has taken the plot into countless new directions, constantly pulling the rug from under the viewers and changing the show’s very premise into something fresh and exciting. On one hand, the show succeeds as a conventional sitcom well enough, as the characters are likable and the humor is often very cozy and feel-good. On the other hand, The Good Place is so much more than that, as is evidenced by its strange premise, the constant deep and philosophical questions it raises, and the plot seemingly having no boundaries on what things between heaven and earth it might cover next. 

The cast also does an amazing job, with especially Kristen Bell and Ted Danson knocking it out of the park each episode. D’Arcy Carden provides possibly the most impressive sitcom acting feat I have ever witnessed in the season 3 episode Janet(s), where she plays the roles of all of her main castmates when their characters are temporarily stored in her void (it’s a whole thing). And the way the characters are written is extremely impressive, as their archs are so much more complex and powerful than what you would expect from a half-hour sitcom that has only aired for four seasons. 

8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The breakout mainstream sitcom of the 2010's was Fox's (and later NBC's) police comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. With a decent mix of intelligent humor and chill turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy elements, it manages to be a series one can watch at the end of the day for feel-good escapism yet also a series where one gets sucked into the longer story archs and subtly built larger themes. Never too serious for silly hijinks, yet never in bad taste with its dealing of more serious issues, Brooklyn Nine-Nine manages to be lots of fun for all sorts of different viewers.

The cast is beyond amazing: Andy Samberg proves to be a master of comedy as protagonist Jake Peralta, Stephanie Beatriz provides a thoroughly original sitcom character as Rosa Diaz, and Andre Braugher is pitch perfect as the precinct's captain Raymond Holt, just to name a few. This impressive mixture of heartfelt moments, hilarious gags and interesting storylines makes for one of the very best comedy shows of the past decade.

7. Breaking Bad 

If you’re a TV buff like me, you’re probably wondering what the hell AMC’s crown jewel Breaking Bad is doing here, instead of the first (or at the very least second) place. Let me explain: first of all the two first seasons aired before the 2010’s, and while the final three seasons are the series’ best, I do appreciate Breaking Bad as a whole so much that this does take it down a few pegs when talking purely about the best television of the decade. Secondly, I don’t hold the series quite as high in regard as most television enthusiasts do; don’t get me wrong, it is among the greatest shows ever made – there just are a select few from the last years that I personally liked even more. With this defense out of the way, I can now shortly explain the obvious reasons for why Breaking Bad is in my top 10. 

Bryan Cranston provides the possibly greatest TV acting performance of all time as Walter White, the modern-day Macbeth whose slow fall from good to evil is the main theme of the series. The unique soundtrack, cinematography and storytelling style of the show make from compelling, addictive and thrilling viewing. Best of all, creator Vince Gilligan had such a clear vision of the entire story from the very beginning, that the plot’s escalation into higher and higher stakes and bigger payoffs happens incredibly smoothly, with each season being more explosive and impressive than the previous one. This culminates in the show’s already-legendary final season, where the story intensifies to insane levels and comes to a perfect close. 

6. Sherlock 

2010 gave us the first season of BBC’s Sherlock, in which a modern-day version of the iconic detective (Benedict Cumberbatch) goes around solving crimes with his counterpart Dr. Watson (Martin Freeman). The first season was extremely impressive: Steven Moffat’s clever writing, Cumberbatch & Freeman’s sledgehammer performances and the show’s constant balancing of quirky and cute humor with gruesome crime cases and not shying away from Holmes’s darker sides (he’s portrayed as full-on sociopath and drug addict in this series) made for great viewing. Then, after a two-year break, the second season was somehow infinitely better, making me realize that I was watching one of the best TV products I have ever come across. 

Often genius in its twists and mysteries, often dark in its psychological looks at the main characters’ darker sides, and often so entertaining that I’ve watched most of the 90-minute episodes multiple times without feeling bored, Sherlock is an incredible achievement. Yet it isn’t quite my favorite quirky British series of the past decade... 

5. Doctor Who 

Created in 1963 and revived for modern audiences in 2005, the iconic British time travel extravaganza hit an unforeseen stride of greatness in the 2010’s. The decade begun with Matt Smith stepping into the role of The Doctor, and his seasons are in my opinion the very best the series has ever been: the combination of Steven Moffat’s writing, Smith’s one-of-a-kind chemistry with companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill), and Murray Gold’s exquisite soundtrack made for science fiction just as epic and adventurous as Star Wars. Smith’s era culminated in one of my favorite television episodes of all time; the show’s 50th anniversary special The Day Of The Doctor, in which multiple incarnations of the main character come together to fight their greatest enemies, and decades-old storylines come to stunning payoffs. 

The decade continued strong for Doctor Who after Smith’s departure, as Scottish actor Peter Capaldi took on the role. This led to three seasons of Capaldi’s trademark sarcasm mixed with the show’s trademark bizarre nature, culminating in an ultra-emotional sendoff. In 2019, Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to take on the role of The Doctor, and only based on her debut season became one of my favorites to every play the role; her version of the character manages to be everything the character is expected to be (an ultra-Brittish yet somehow also ultra-alien combination of weirdness, humor and heroism), while also putting a totally unique spin on the character with her charm and energy. The future looks bright! 

4. Twin Peaks: The Return 

I can’t believe that this masterpiece isn’t first on my list. That goes to show what an incredible time for television the 2010’s have been. And while there are three shows that barely made it ahead of this Twin Peaks revival, The Return is a season of television that I simply cannot praise enough. The two initial seasons of Twin Peaks from the early 1990’s are some of the best television ever made, yet somehow the ingenious David Lynch made this revival even better. 

Many of the shows I’ve watched have gotten ‘reboot seasons’ after a many-year break in the 2010’s: 24 and Prison Break had decent and enjoyable ones, even though they did mostly coast on nostalgia for the original series. While I don’t have major issues with that, I do respect Lynch’s decision to not go down that path for the Twin Peaks return: rather than just making a reboot, he goes full David Lynch and uses the season to ponder the very nature of a reboot, playing with nostalgia and the lack of it as an interesting stylistic device. At times, the style of The Return is absolutely nothing like the original series; while at other times, elements of it swell back in individual powerful moments that also have some strange twist to them. 

Lynch directed every single episode of The Return, building it as an 18-hour movie, which was then randomly cut into 18 hour-long episodes. This explains some of the season’s strangeness; the rest is explained by Lynch’s mere taste for odd directorial choices, bizarre dialogue, often incomprehensible symbolism and larger-than-life stories. Ultimately, the reason for this revival not feeling all that much similar to the original series is that it is even more Twin Peaks than the original Twin Peaks; all the elements that made the series great are upped to eleven, making for an even more strange, memorable and beautiful experience. 

3. Person Of Interest 

Jonathan Nolan’s tragically underrated sci-fi crime series had its entire five-season run in the 2010’s, and this is a series like no other. Someday I might just post a review of this series as its own entity, because 2-3 paragraphs are in no way enough to do this masterpiece justice, so I won’t bother trying. But here’s just a basic outline: the premise is creative and unique. The cast is impeccable. The balance of genres works flawlessly. Television tropes are played with, and subtle meta-humor spices up the more dramatic elements. The series gets better and better as slow, cleverly written larger storylines start to take hold over the episodic format, leading to a constant raising of stakes Breaking Bad -style. It culminates in a final season that is the best season of television I have ever seen, with Person Of Interest’s series finale being the single greatest episode of television I have ever seen. Please watch this show. 

2. Game Of Thrones 

My guess is that Game Of Thrones will go down in history as the moment when television rose to the level of movies in terms of cinematic grandeur, artistic storytelling and critical acclaim. No other series has been this cinematic, with Thrones’s production values being so stunning: the locations (shot in several countries across the world), the visual effects and overall look of the series and the large nature of its world are quite jaw-dropping. Then there’s the fact that the cast is just as flawless as you might expect from a high-budget HBO series, and the characters include many of the most compelling television characters of all times (see: Theon Greyjoy, Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark). 

The story itself is based on George R. R. Martin’s book series A Song Of Ice And Fire, and it works on many levels: on one hand, it’s a sort of anti-fantasy tale, with the typical tropes and romantic nature of medieval fantasy is replaced with cold, brutally realistic and often hard-to-watch elements drawn from the very darkest aspects of human nature. Yet is also works as a medieval fantasy tale, with its fictional world and its different families being intriguing to follow, the fantasy elements being majestic to behold while sparingly used, and there are plenty of good people and heroic acts to balance the show’s darker themes. Add to this the fact that I (unlike a lot of people) thoroughly enjoyed the show’s final season (more on this can be found on my list of 2019's best shows), and it becomes quite understandable why this series is so high on my list. 

1. Community 

Much like with Person Of Interest, I can’t blame you if you’ve never heard of this series, and I won’t even attempt to tell all the reasons for why this show is my favorite of all time, because that simply can’t be done in such a small amount of text – maybe someday I’ll do a specific review of this series as well. Suffice to say, Community is a sitcom that you should totally watch if you ever get your hands on it. I honestly consider that I am, to some degree, a better person than I would be had I not watched this show. Community’s six seasons provided more laughs (and tears) to me than any other series has come close to doing, and in no other series have I been as immersed in the fictional world or as invested in the main characters. Community is weird, it is crazy, and it is ultimately beautiful. 

Six seasons and a movie! 



P.S. With this being a movie blog, I just have to get this off my chest: I finally saw Sam Mendes's 1917 yesterday, and it was the best film I've seen in a long time. I urge each and every one of you to see this masterpiece in the cinema while it's still playing!

Tune in next week for my ranking of Quentin Tarantino's movies!

Top 10 Movies Of The 2010's

Welcome once more to my world of lists and rankings!

For this list, I have looked at the entire past decade and carefully picked and ranked my favorite movies of the 2010’s. It hurts to leave so many great ones out, but here are my honorable mentions of the ones that came the very closest to making it: 

BlacKKKlansman (2018), Dunkirk (2017), Get Out (2017), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Lighthouse (2019) 

And now for my list! 

10. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) 

Watching the epic Star Wars movies as a kid, I never thought I’d get to see one in the cinema. Then they announced this new trilogy. And sitting in the movie theater as the iconic Star Wars logo appeared while John Williams’s majestic score started to play - I simply can’t describe how bone-chillingly special this felt. What followed was over 2 hours of authentic nostalgia perfectly mixed with fresh new storylines and ideas. J.J. Abrams’s directing was perfect to combine the familiar Star Wars feel with the newer trilogy’s intricacies, and the new cast members Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac were fantastic. The final scene of the movie created a reaction even more mesmerizing and gratifying than the feeling I got when the movie started. While the other installments of this trilogy were also awesome, Episode VII takes the cake for me. 

9. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) 

Charlie Brooker has constantly surprised and challenged viewers with his philosophical and ultra-creative series Black Mirror. After four seasons of constantly new and revolutionary ideas, Black Mirror released its first movie, and they sure chose an out-of-the-box route: a Choose Your Own Adventure –story, where the Netflix viewer makes choices throughout the film, thus affecting the progression of the story. For the first major Choose Your Own Adventure film of all time, they could have impressed viewers enough with the mere concept, but they didn’t stick to “this door or that door” situations: in a very Black Mirror fashion, the whole thing turns into a mind-bending extravaganza of questioning one’s free will and whatnot. 

I hugely appreciate the amount of work that must have went into planning the different story paths and shooting so incredibly many different versions of so many different scenes, as well as the decision to make the adventure so much more with all its philosophical layers and multi-interpretational messages. I have watched Bandersnatch multiple times (at least once for each of the five main endings), and its genius never ceases to amaze me. Creativity is one of the aspects I respect most in movies, and this film sure has plenty of that to go around. 

8. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) 

Much like Star Wars, Harry Potter has a special place in my heart as I grew up with the franchise and have always felt very invested in its story. While the entire Harry Potter movie series did a phenomenal job adapting J.K. Rowling’s books, they truly saved the best for last; just as with the books, the final one is my ultimate favorite. The sheer dramatic, desperate high-stakes tension of the battle of Hogwarts translates so well from the pages to the big screen, as do many other moments leading up to the tear-jerking final scene. But what makes this film truly significant is one key change from the source material: in a very rare instance, a scene from the book is significantly altered and is actually better in the movie version. I’m talking about the final battle between Harry and Voldemort: without spoiling details (although what’s even the point in 2019), I honestly prefer the movie’s version of this clash much more. All in all, The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is an emotional and spectacular ending for a beloved fantasy franchise. 

7. Dark Knight Rises (2012) 

As I have mentioned in a previous entry, we truly are living the golden age of the superhero movie genre: two different comic book movies being on my top 10 list of the decade’s finest is a solid example. While Christopher Nolan’s trilogy-capping blockbuster split opinions among fans, I for one was extremely pleased with how it all went down. The dramatic Hans Zimmer score, the amazing performances from Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine and others, the impeccable story-building of Christopher Nolan and simply the ominous, larger-than-life intensity of the movie made for an unforgettable experience. From the suspenseful and adrenaline-filled opening scene all the way to the epic final montage, the film had me immersed in its events. Rarely has any movie of TV series come to such a perfect end, where every single story thread either gets the perfect closure, or then is left open in just the right way. 

6. Hacksaw Ridge (2016) 

As a pacifist who loves good war movies, this was truly the perfect fit for me. Hacksaw Ridge tells the remarkable true story of pacifist Desmond T. Doss (played here by the brilliant Andrew Garfield), who joined the ranks in World War II as a medic and saved several lives without firing a single shot. The story of Doss is beautiful and powerful enough on its own, but it is elevated even more through Garfield’s passionate performance, Mel Gibson’s dynamic directing, and cinematographer Simon Duggan’s intense camera work. The battle scenes are frightening in their realistic intensity, and the feeling of hope stemming from Doss’s heroic actions plays as a powerful contrast to the horrors of the war. Movies often create emotional responses in me, but almost no other film has touched me as strong and deep as this masterful work. 

5. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014) 

The “gimmick” of this critical darling – the whole movie consists of long interrupted camera shots, which transition into each other seamlessly creating the impression of the film being just one tracking shot – is on its own a feature so purely choreographed and cool to watch, that it’s enough to make me really like this movie. But much like Bandersnatch, Birdman also doesn’t settle in being a shallow concept movie, but rather brings a whole lot of substance into the mix. The cast is one of my all-time favorites: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis all contribute amazing performances. 

The story itself is about a washed-up movie actor trying to reinvent himself as a serious playwright, on the days leading up to the opening show of his Broadway debut. The plot and dialogue contain a lot of smart and poignant criticism of how corrupt and hypocritical the business of professional critics and common opinions can be at its worst – this makes Birdman’s Best Picture win quite amusing but very well-deserved. Between the world class cinematography, impeccable cast, bold message and overall vision of director Alejandro G. Iñarritu, this film is a huge favorite for me. 

4. Avengers: Endgame (2019) 

I already gave quite a full review of this film on my list of the top 10 movies of 2019, which you can check out if you want more detail on my deep-founded love for the final installment of the Avengers saga. Suffice to say here, a 22-movie behemoth with all of its many characters and stories comes to a magnificent, 10/10 climax, and as a fan of good endings (as one might guess from #8 and #7 of today’s list), this means a lot to me. You know what I’m talking about – if you’re reading a movie blog, chances are you’ve seen Endgame as well. 

3. Interstellar (2014) 

I find it funny how nearly all of the movies on this list were well-received for the most part, but also gained immense amounts of criticism from less-than-happy fans. The 2010’s have been a decade for divisive movies (or perhaps just hard-to-satisfy audiences), as is evidenced by my own favorites including the “pretentious” Birdman, “insanely stupid” Bandersnatch, “childhood-ruining” Star Wars VII, and of course the “absolute nonsensical fiasco” of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (these are all opinions that I have come across more times than I would care to count). While I respect everyone’s opinions, it does sadden me when a product of such incredible amounts of work and vision is teared apart by fans for often frivolous reasons. Sorry, I had to get this off my chest. 

Anyways, Interstellar was a nearly out-of-mind-and-body experience for me, as I truly felt some kind of trance while watching Nolan’s science fiction odyssey play out in the movie theater. Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and the rest of the cast are excellent. Nolan’s uniquely crafted atmosphere and rising levels of intensity are absolute gold. The visually mesmerizing worlds, creative sci-fi ideas, clever plot devices and mind-blowing resolution are all incredible. And words just aren’t enough to express how much I love Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack. Every time I hear the piece Cornfield Chase, I’m brought back to the exact feeling I had sitting in the theater, watching this masterpiece for the first time. Christopher Nolan, you are a genius. 

2. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012) 

Describing why I find this movie to be very good is easy. The story is compelling. Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller are all amazing as the three high school misfits at the center of it. The soundtrack is strange but absolutely perfect for this film. There’s a good amount of humor and some truly awesome feel-good moments, mixed with very gripping and hard-to-watch scenes. The directing and camerawork are on point, making for an all-around decent cinematic production that is entertaining but also emotional to view for pretty much everyone. (Everyone, by coincidence, is exactly who should watch this movie). 

But to understand why The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is second on my list of the very best movies of the decade, one must go deeper. Without getting specific about it, many of the film’s themes coincide a lot with my own life and things I have been through. No other movie has resonated with me on such a pure and deep level as this one. For me, this is the perfect example of cinema at its very best – in addition to providing entertainment and telling stories, movies can be therapeutic and healing in a very powerful way. That is what Perks was for me – a sobering reflection on aspects of my own life, beautifully told as a story so good that I’d enjoy this movie very much even if it didn’t have this personal connection to me. Of all movies I have ever seen (and there have been many; too many if you ask most of my friends), no other one has been as much of a moving and ultimately heart-warming experience. 

And number one... 

1. Inception 

Yes, out of the four movies Christopher Nolan made in the 2010’s, three made it onto my top 10 of the decade and even the fourth is in the honorable mentions. I don’t even feel like I have to defend this; Nolan deserves it all. He is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time and definitely my favorite of the past 10 years. And the crown jewel of all his achievements just has to be Inception. 

There is so much that a film can do with the mere concept of dreams – I think it’s one of the most fascinating aspects in all of life that we go to strange fantasy worlds in our minds when we sleep. When you add a heist-thriller format, a gargantuan soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and a cast of a-list actors such as Leo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and about 10 others of their gravitas, you have a film on your hands that you can’t really go wrong with. Especially when your name is Christopher Nolan and you happen to be a story-telling genius. 

With its intense set-pieces, Inception is a great action movie. With the clever use of its plot device of technology that lets people into other people’s dreams (not to mention how the film uses the idea of deeper dream layers moving slower in time to create magnificent amounts of tension), it’s a great science fiction movie. With its edge-of-your-seat heist sequences, it’s a great crime movie. And with the complex personal relationship between protagonist Dom (DiCaprio) and his wife Mal (Cotillard) and its emotional developments and reveals, it’s a great drama. Add to that one of the greatest endings in cinema history, and you have yourself a masterpiece. 

Next week I will end my saga of looking-back-on-the-year/decade -lists with my list of the best TV shows of the 2010’s! Stay tuned!