my favourite 25 tv shows of the decade
Gonna be honest, kinda forgot that TV shows were a thing worth doing wrap up posts about. Sorry! I’ve always been more of a film guy, especially since episodes of TV started becoming stupidly long. I mean, if you’re expecting me to sit down for an hour to watch something, I’ll round it up to two and just do a movie instead.
Big shoutouts to: The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, I’ve only seen the first two episodes but if I had watched more it would doubtlessly be ranking pretty high on this list, and RWBY, which is terrible but I devour every episode like a 5-year old with a bowl of jelly beans (but not black ones!!!).
Anyway,
25. The Newsroom
This show is kinda terrible and Sorkin doesn’t really manage to make it come together, but sometimes it does, like in that one scene (you know the one) and when it does I can’t help but love it. The Newsroom, my favourite kind of mess.
24. Stranger Things
Stranger Things is frustrating. season 1 was a perfect season of TV, absolutely perfect. But with each following season the writing has gotten weaker, the nostalgia thicker, and the show lazier. There are a plethora of great moments, and every scene with Will in season 2 is perfect. But every element like that there are five ‘Never Ending Story’ scenes. I still love the show, but i can see it becoming the kind of nostalgia bait that I can’t stand. Hopefully it wraps up in season 4, so I don’t have time to grow to hate it.
23. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
The best fantasy series of the decade, if only for the nostalgia factor, I’m nothing if not full of double standards. It is also consistently good unlike a certain HBO program.
22. Psycho-Pass
But only season 1. On this point I cannot be more adamant. Season 1 is one of the best pieces of philosophical/cyberpunk storytelling ever made. Season 2 is stinky poo poo garbage.
21. Rick and Morty
The fanbase is horrible! HORRIBLE! but also this show is so gosh darn original, The Ricklantis Mixup (or Tales from the Citadel), remains my favourite episode of television… ever. Whatdayagonnado?
20. The Crown
Oh we simply must dismantle the monarchy.
19. Star Wars: Rebels
A strange and uneven creature cursed by the success of its predecessor (more on that later), but still funky. Love the space wales.
18. Archer
As a principle I detest novelty quote books. That being said, if someone were to buy me one of Mallory Archer quotes I would not object.
17. Good Omens
The internet went full 2012 Superwholock Tumblr on this show but that shouldn’t turn you away. It is insane in a very good way. Exactly what you expect an adaptation of a book cowritten by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet to be.
16. The Tick
The Tick, the beautiful, strange fever dream that it is, was never long for this world. There’s a romantic subplot between a small jewish man and a sentient boat!!!
15. Parks and Recreation
Three words: Treat Yo Self.
14. HAIKYUU!!
Fine I admit it, I love the volleyball anime. Happy?
13. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Full blow, manic, king shit. It’s incredible how completely this show commits to being insane. I was gonna write a top five episodes but decided that was too hard. Then I was gonna write a top five memes from this show but that was too hard. Then I was going to rank the characters but that was too hard (Frank is number one though, love you Danny Devito).
Anyway, love that the central conceit is “our characters are as mean as any other sitcom characters, we’re just not gonna pretend that they’re nice”.
12. Young Justice
I’m going to say this once, very slowly, for all you dumb dumbs out there:
Young Justice is the best superhero anything currently being made.
11. Yuri On Ice
Ok, ok, ok, so yes, the gay representation in this show is super important fun (love to see queer coding used for good rather than evil for once). But I think the representation of anxiety is as important (if not a little bit more so?). Shoutout mental illness.
10. Rupaul’s Drag Race
Blah blah blah… LGBT+ rep…. blah blah blah…. lip-syncs… blah blah blah… the looks… blah blah blah…. the drama, ANYWAY! Here are my top ten queens:
10. Jasmine Masters
9. Alaska Thunderfuck 5000
8. Latrice Royale
7. Bianca Del Rio
6. Aja
5. Trixie & Katya (they’re a package deal)
4. Manila Luzon
3. Yvie Oddly
2. Jujubee
1. Sasha Velour
9. Bojack Horseman
Even if this show didn’t have excellent representation of depression, interrogations celebrity, realistic relationships, the underwater episode, the underground episode, the surprise party episode, the J.D. Salinger arc, and the ‘Hollywoo’ bit, it would still be ranked here. Why? The tongue-twisters.
8. Hunter x Hunter
Love any show that reads as one part Neil Gaiman, two parts extended lore from any given Nintendo game, with a dash of shōnen, and a sprinkling of Donna Tartt. What I’m trying to say is this show is science-fantasy adventure realness with immense amounts of male yearning (which, considering it’s anime I feel I should note, is appropriate re: character age’s, with one exception, but he’s a bad guy).
7. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The afore mentioned predecessor. Crazy that any of this works, let alone that it ended up being the best Star Wars output, period.
P.S. Ahsoka Tano is the best character of the 2010s.
6. Bobs Burgers
I have writing forthcoming about this baby, but to quickly summarise, I love that there’s a comedy where the main source of humour is that the main cast love and support each other. It’s nice to be nice.
5. Steven Universe
Listen, I’m a very simple boy, if you give me a brightly animated program about found family, with silly humour, and songs, then I will enjoy it. now, if you bake in themes of inter-generational trauma, fallout of colonialism, and idealism, well, I’ll call it a masterpiece and sing it’s praises until my dying day.
4. The Get Down
Oh, The Get Down. If only Netflix promoted you properly, if only they gave a shit. Alas, one of the best TV shows from this decade will go under-appreciated because instead of going with the obvious hook of “70s DJ RAP BATTLES” someone thought that the best way to market this show was “uh, Baz Lurhman… mixtape show?”
3. Over the Garden Wall
It takes less than two-hours to watch all of Over the Garden Wall. Seriously! It’s a fantasy-comedy-roadtrip show inspired by Brothers Grimm fairytales and it’s all contained into a tight 10-episode package. What’re you waiting for. Go watch it!
2. Sense8
The kind of nonsense only the Wachowski Sisters could cook up (“So these eight people are telepathically connected right? And they’re hunted by the government right? And that’s all a metaphor for the importance of empathy”). A perfect storm of batshit nonsense that I severely miss at least once a week.
1. Gravity Falls
:’)
