The 2010s undeniably ushered in television’s golden age. While great shows existed before, the decade saw a surge in prestige dramas and high-budget productions, attracting A-list talent. TV transformed from a career graveyard into a thriving platform for complex characters and storytelling. Despite countless exceptional options, the following series not only defined the decade but also elevated the medium to new heights.
Fleabag
The first season of ‘Fleabag’ was a massive critical success in 2016 and it’s rare for a show to return and be as beloved by fans in its second outing but that’s exactly what Phoebe Waller-Bridge did this year with season two. Fleabag is a show that is unapologetically dark in its comedy but also carries so much emotional weight, you find yourself thinking about it long after the credits roll. Packed with relatable, if often unlikeable characters, it’s a story about a woman, a real-life woman, depicted on-screen with all her flaws for the world to see. The refreshing audacity of it all.
Besides it being some of the sharpest writing on TV in recent years, ‘Fleabag’ is also a show about the deep, cutting impact of grief and the unpredictable coping mechanisms that come with it. It’s also about the strange dynamics of a family that you only know if you are in it. It can be totally effed up and tragic and hilarious and it’s life, right there reflected back at you on the screen. In a television landscape drowning with new shows, ‘Fleabag’ holds its own and stands proudly as a shining example that you can still surprise people.
The Crown
Never have the goings-on of Buckingham Palace seemed quite as gripping as they do in Netflix’s spectacular drama ‘The Crown’. Each season follows roughly a decade of the queen’s reign, with showrunner Peter Morgan making the unprecedented move of bringing in a whole new cast to play the royal family in later years. Olivia Colman has made the role of Queen Elizabeth her own in season 3 (although we do still miss Claire Foy) while the show continues to go from strength to strength. Through the lens of the royal family, you get a birds-eye view of major historical events along with incredible cinematography, marvellous performances, and a pitch-perfect score from Hans Zimmer.
The Haunting of Hill House
This horror series was an unexpected hit back in 2018 and was even our number one show of the year. Loosely based on the iconic book of the same name by Shirley Jackson, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ was adapted and directed by Mike Flanagan (‘Doctor Sleep’). The reason this series was so good is that it was far more than a horror – although it is perfectly paced one with some truly fantastic jump scares. It’s also a story about family, and grief and all the many ghosts that we live with. While there are moments you want to hide behind the couch in fear, this show also packs a very real emotional punch and it sticks with you long after the credits roll.
The Leftovers
The premise of ‘The Leftovers’ alone was enough to hook you in. The brainchild of ‘Lost’ co-creator and writer Damon Lindelof, ‘The Leftovers’ was set in a world where 2% of the population mysteriously vanished all at the same time. Everyone left behind became the titular ‘Leftovers’. Starring Justin Theroux, ‘The Leftovers’ stands out for being a perfect three-act structure set over three seasons. It was a beautiful triumph of storytelling with superb character development and excellent performances along with an ending that will go down as one of TV’s finest.
Peaky Blinders
Five seasons in and one decade of drama later, Steven Knight’s ‘Peaky Blinders’ continues to enthrall thanks to excellent scriptwriting, visually stunning cinematography and a phenomenal performance from Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby. There hasn’t been as good a gangster family to watch on screen since ‘The Sopranos’, with each of them bringing their own menace and madness to their characters. A riveting series that has also brought us one of the decades most iconic antiheroes.
Schitt’s Creek
This sleeper hit of a show has become more and more beloved by its fans over the years. It’s a basic enough duck-out-of-water premise about a wealthy family who suddenly finds themselves completely broke and forced to live in their sole remaining asset – a small town named Schitt’s Creek, which was bought as a joke for son David’s 18th birthday back in 1991. What makes ‘Schitt’s Creek’ stands out is its fantastic characters who you watch evolve over time and honestly grow so attached to despite them seeming like the worst of humans when you first meet them. ‘Schitt’s Creek’ has also been widely praised for its depiction of LGBT relationships, primarily because of how it simply doesn’t give homophobia a look in. It’s a family production too, written by and starring father and son team Eugene and Daniel Levy (who play Johnny and David Rose), while Eugene’s daughter Sarah Levy also stars. It’s funny, it’s charming and it’s got a goddamn heart of gold, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ is simply a treat of a show and we’ll be devastated to see it go next year.
Mad Men
Mad Men began leaving its mark in the 2000s but it wasn’t until 2015 that the curtain was finally drawn on Don Draper, another who made it onto our iconic tv characters of the decade list. Created by former ‘Sopranos’ writer Matthew Weiner, it was undoubtedly one of the main shows who helped introduce the golden age of TV to the 2010s. Primarily because, like ‘Breaking Bad’, it came from a US cable channel and raised the standard to new heights for what could be achieved on cable TV, giving premium channel HBO a run for its money in the process. It was anchored in star-turning performances from Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks and is unparalleled in terms of its impact on fashion, advertising and design.
Succession
‘Succession’ is another show that is winning over more and more people over the day. The HBO series, created by Jesse Armstrong, follows the dysfunctional Roy family, owners of a global media empire. They are left fighting for control of the company amidst uncertainty about the health of the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy (Brian Cox), in what makes for an almost Shakespearean plot. A satirical comedy-drama crammed pack with devious double-crossing and power plays with an extremely sharp and witty script to boot. ‘Succession’ already feels like one of the shows we’ll still be talking about by the end of the next decade.
Game of Thrones
It’s disappointing that the final season of Game Of Thrones didn’t quite live up to expectations but let’s not forget all the times it well and truly surpassed it. The Red Wedding, The Battle of the Bastards, and Hardhome, are all incredible episodes of television that left us breathless in our appreciation. ‘Game of Thrones’ changed the rules for TV early on by killing off its lead protagonist and leaving the whole world gobsmacked (well, besides the book readers) by essentially murdering off half the cast as the seasons rolled on. Excellently weaving together stories across countless locations and characters, ‘Game of Thrones’ reached unprecedented levels of popularity across the globe. The sheer scale of this show alone needs to be commended along with its groundbreaking visual effects. It was also one hell of a story that engrossed the world for almost a decade. Not many shows can or will ever be able to claim that.
Queen’s Gambit
Beth Harmon, a child prodigy turned chess champion, is technically a fictional character, but real-life chess grandmasters consulted on the story. An adaptation of Walter Tevis’ novel of the same name, The Queen’s Gambit, set largely in the swinging ’60s, is stylish, smart, and chic, with costumes and sets that are as mesmerizing as Beth’s chess moves.
Sanya Bhattacharjee is a final year student currently studying at Bennett University, pursuing BA in Journalism and Mass Communication.
