USA TODAY: The 25 best TV shows of the decade, from ‘The Americans’ to ‘Game of Thrones’
The world of TV in 2019 doesn’t look anything like it did in 2010.
“Grey’s Anatomy” and “Law & Order: SVU” are still on the air, but before this decade, Netflix mostly sent you DVDs in the mail, “Roseanne” had ended in the 1990s, singers were mostly unmasked and no one worried much about how many TV shows Hollywood was making.
Suffice to say, the 2010s were a significant decade for the television industry and for fans of the medium, who have more options for what and how to watch serialized stories than ever before.
Amid the hundreds of shows that aired or streamed during the decade, some stood far above the rest. They are this decade’s “The Sopranos” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” We won’t stop talking about them in 2020, or even 2030.
Choosing favorites among all the series that premiered in 2010 and beyond, we excluded some greats that started at the end of the ’00s but aired many ’10s episodes, including “Parks and Recreation” and “Mad Men.” But we picked the 25 best TV series of the 2010s: comedies and dramas, late-night talk shows and animated series. Their characters sang, danced, killed, buoyed and knocked each other down. Their subjects included British misanthropes, fantasy kings and Russian spies.
Above all, they reminded us of the power of TV as an art form, one that will dominate the technology and culture of the 2020s, for better or worse.
11. ‘Alias Grace’ (Netflix, 2017)
Underseen and underrated, this adaptation of a beloved Margaret Atwood novel far outpaces its more famous cousin, Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Sarah Gadon is a revelation as the eponymous Grace, a notorious 19th-century Canadian murderess who is being considered for a pardon due to “insanity.” Expertly written by Sarah Polley (“Stories We Tell”) and gorgeously directed by Mary Harron (“American Psycho”), the miniseries is time-twisting, potentially mystical and deeply spiritual. Even if you have read Atwood’s excellent book, it will surprise you.