The Best TV Shows of the 2010s
I Think You Should Leave: “Focus Group”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and the most wonderful time of the decade: time to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about, ranking and re-ranking, and counting down the best of the best! Over the next month, I’ll count down my favorite TV series of the past decade, while aiming for that sweet, sweet SEO with the “best TV shows of the 2010s” title. These shows are the ones I enjoyed watching and discussing the most, and the ones I want to rewatch more than any others.
What I continue to learn: ranking TV is tough! Like my year-end lists, I feel good about this ranking and also like I’ve made a series of terrible mistakes. There are some shows that I missed this decade that would likely make this list, like Mad Men, Eastbound and Down, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I apologize to each, and to Rachel Bloom especially. I am sorry. I will try to do better in the ’20s.
I’ll be updating this page and hoping to start a discussion on Twitter, @soulpopped. I’d love to hear what you think!
A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place:
- An Overview and the Rules
- Gone Too Soon
- Too Early to Tell
- Honorable Mentions
- “Best” Shows
- Oversights
- Other Awards
- My Favorite Episodes
My Favorite TV Show of the 2010s:
- #25: Bob’s Burgers
- #24: Fargo
- #23: Hannibal
- #22: Playing House
- #21: You’re the Worst
- #20: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- #19: Community
- #18: Better Call Saul
- #17: Atlanta
- #16: Succession
- #15: Sense8
- #14: The Good Place
- #13: Justified
- #12: The Americans
- #11: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- #10: New Girl
- #9: Nathan For You
- #8: Review
- #7: Kroll Show
- #6: Veep
- #5: Twin Peaks: The Return
- #4: Comedy Bang! Bang!
- #3: Parks and Recreation
- #2: Breaking Bad
- #1: The Leftovers
An Overview and The Rules*
*(though not, unfortunately, The Rules as played by Jeremy Strong in 2019’s greatest movie, Serenity)
Most of this is arbitrary nonsense. I still don’t fully understand the rules I set. (We’re going to get through this together.) I considered a number of questions to get where I wound up, which is this feeling of indecision, apprehension, and second-guessing that permeates each and every sentence and ranking.
- Does a show like Breaking Bad count, considering it began in the 2000s but had most of its seasons this decade? (Yes.)
- Does a show like 30 Rock count, considering half of its seasons ran in the 2000s? (Probably.)
- Does a show like Succession count, or is two seasons too soon to judge it? (It does; it’s not.)
- Does a show like Fleabag count, which aired only two seasons, but ended on its own terms? (Yes, of course. This is the dumbest question on this list.)
- Do reboots and revivals count? (Yes.)
The Best of the 2010s: “Gone Too Soon”
No Tomorrow
Before I count down my favorite shows of the 2010s, I want to shout out shows that didn’t make this list for one reason or another. First up: the shows that were “Gone Too Soon,” those cancelled before they (inevitably) joined my list. I’m sure that when I get to The OA, it’ll make this list, too. (I’m sorry, Brit Marling. I was the problem. I should have watched!) Here are my favorite shows from the last 10 years that suffered an untimely fate:
- Lone Star: Pushing the limits of what should be included on this list, Lone Star ran for two episodes (including one that didn’t even air!) before Fox cut it down in 2010. This show (like most of Kyle Killen’s work) never got to see its full potential, but the pilot was one of the best I’ve seen. It’s a bummer we never got more.
- No Tomorrow: What would you do if you thought the world was ending? That was the premise behind No Tomorrow, a wonderful CW romcom that lasted a single season before getting axed. I loved both leads and the premise, a great love story with just a tinge of sci-fi. (Honorable mention to Frequency, another one-and-done CW show that year.)
- Scream Queens: Better than American Horror Story has just about ever been, yet AHS gets to keep throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, while our beloved Chanels only got two seasons to shine. Ryan Murphy’s combination of horror and camp has never worked better than it did here, plus it had Chad Radwell.
- Siberia: Thinking about Siberia still makes me wonder if life is a fever dream. Marketed as a reality show, but featuring a pilot in which an “actor” dies, no one knew what to make of this one. I loved it. A bunch of “contestants” were dropped in Siberia with virtually no resources, and asked to survive the winter for $250,000. I’m not sure why anyone thought this was real. (Good marketing — or bad — I guess?) If you can find this show, watch it. I’ve never seen anything like it.
- Terriers: I’m far from the first to mourn the loss of Terriers, but I want to stress how wonderful this show was. It had such great performances and style and story, and could have been an all-time favorite if it lasted even a bit longer. It ended perfectly, though, giving it a nice self-contained feel. That’s me trying to find a silver lining here. It still hurts.
- The Grinder: When Fox debuted this and Grandfathered, my sister and I chose to watch Grandfathered. We liked it! Uncle Jesse! But then we binged the first 10 episodes of The Grinder on New Year’s Day and never looked back. It was supremely weird and silly and funnier than almost every other show this decade. Fred Savage and Rob Lowe and Natalie Morales (actually, everyone on this show) were so good. I really miss this show. The Grinder rests, forever.
The Best of the 2010s: “Too Early to Tell”
Euphoria
Please don’t let these shows suffer the same fate as those above! Below are my favorite shows of the 2010s that I don’t feel like I’ve seen enough to put in my Top 25. (Again, I’m taking this far too seriously, for absolutely no reason.) If these shows keep on keepin’ on, look for them in 10 years! These write-ups should be briefer than most others on this list, because (a) they’re still on TV, (b) you’ve probably heard of these shows, and (c) they’re still on TV, you dummy, I already said that, so go watch them.
- American Vandal: Okay, so I sort of lied. American Vandal isn’t on TV anymore. Cancelled after two seasons by Netflix, it’s currently looking for a home. American Vandal perfectly nailed its Making a Murderer-esque parody tone. The first season his hysterical, and while the second season was less funny, it was more satisfying. We’ll always have this GIF.
- Barry: This show balances brutal violence with humor in a way that just about no other show does. Plus, it gave us NoHo Hank, the greatest character on TV, Bill Hader’s best performance yet, and more D’Arcy Carden, which is always great.
- Big Mouth: I haven’t seen Season 3 yet (I’m too busy making lists!), but Big Mouth‘s first two seasons (plus its Valentine’s Day special) were wonderful. I’m not sure we need that upcoming spin-off about the Hormone Monster’s HR department, but I trust (and cherish) Nick Kroll.
- Euphoria: Spoiler alert: Euphoria was probably my favorite show of 2019. (Check back in December!) I shouted from every rooftop I could about how much I loved Assassination Nation, then Sam Levinson went out and one-upped himself with Euphoria. It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely for me.
- Homecoming: My July-a Roberts binge this year led me down a path of some great unseen movies, but nothing I saw stuck with me the way that Homecoming did. I talked all about it on on the Not Her Again podcast. so listen to that. This show is so good that I retroactively felt even worse that I haven’t watched Mr. Robot yet.
- I Think You Should Leave: The funniest sketch show since… I don’t know, Mr. Show?, this surprise Netflix drop was another one of my favorite shows this year. Mud pies, focus groups, gift receipts, and more: this show has everything.
- I’m Sorry: Did you know that truTV does original comedy? It’s tru(e)! (I’m so sorry. WAIT, ACCIDENTAL GREAT PUN.) Andrea Savage’s I’m Sorry is the funniest show I watch that I have literally no one to talk to about. Go watch it. The first season is on Netflix, and the second season is either there, too, or will be soon. I can’t check. I’ve got lists to write!
- Killing Eve: Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer are both outstanding on Killing Eve, and Villanelle is another one of TV’s greatest characters. While I didn’t like the second season as much as the first, I love seeing strong ladies trying to kill each other on screen. Plus, have I said how much I love Villanelle?
- Lodge 49: Kind of a spiritual successor to Terriers, Lodge 49 may be the best weird show on TV. I was stunned (in the best way) when it got a second season (which just ended). The first season’s on Hulu, so if you’re in the mood for a weird, slow burn of a show, filled with perfect casting and wonderfully deep and nuanced characters, get at it.
- Mindhunter: I’m only three episodes into the first season of Mindhunter, and I could wind up hating it. But so far, I’m into it, and I’m very, very excited to see where it goes next.
- Stranger Things: I know the second season of Stranger Things isn’t bad, but all I can think about is that one episode where Eleven runs away to Chicago and joins a gang or something? That episode was bad enough to knock this from the fringe of my Top 25 into the “not yet” list. (Only slightly joking.) The third season was its best yet, but I want to see where the show goes with its fourth season (and beyond?) before I bend the knee and crown it King of the 80s Throwback.
- The Young Pope: This is a show where Jude Law (as the titular Young Pope) gets dressed to “Sexy and I Know It.” It’s also a show that scratches my itch of subverting religious iconography for deeper reflection. I haven’t been able to get Jude Law chanting, “You must, you must, you must…” out of my head since I watched it… I don’t know, 3 years ago? I’m really looking forward to its second season in early 2020.
- W/ Bob & David: I already gave Mr. Show a shoutout above, and W/Bob & David is its spiritual (or direct? how do words work?) descendant. I don’t know which list to put this one on, but there are four great episodes, and rumors that the gang is getting back together to make a second season. I hope so!
- Westworld: This is another show that I don’t know where to rank. Too Soon? Just Missed? Top 25? I really, really like this show, and I’m incredibly excited to see how it grows. Of all the shows on all of my lists, this is the one that will likely cause me the most post-list regret about misranking it. (I’m sorry, future me.) Also: those Radiohead piano covers!
The Best of the 2010s: Other (What an Honor!)
Wayward Pines
Below is a weird mishmash of shows that didn’t fit anywhere else. It’s underwhelming.The list is short. Have I sold this enough?
- American Crime Story: Like some other shows above, American Crime Story could fit on a number of different lists. The tag-team combo of its first season with OJ: Made in America was one of the best one-two TV punches in a long time, and the Gianni Versace season was an easy lover. I’ve loved both seasons, but it’s wildly difficult for me to place an anthology show on a “best of” list. Will we get a season about Katrina, or Monica Lewinsky, or something else? Who knows! I’m ready for it, though.
- American Horror Story: Another anthology series, another Ryan Murphy series… but a series I just (mostly) like. I don’t think there will ever be a show with a wider discrepancy in how much I like specific seasons. (Maybe Dexter. Maybe.) I loved a handful of seasons, was underwhelmed by a few more, and couldn’t even finish one. QUICK POWER RANKINGS: (1) Roanoke (2) Asylum (3) Coven (4) Murder House (5) Hotel (6) Apocalypse (7) Cult (8) Freak Show. It’s too early to tell with 1984, but it’s looking likely to land near the 6-spot, unless they turn this ship around.
- High Maintenance: It’s an anthology show, but one far more focused (and better) than American Horror Story. High Maintenance is basically New York City: The TV Show, in all of the best ways. Not every episode is a home run, but this show is consistently great.
- Primal: I watched this show’s five 20-minute episodes after I made this list, and I have no idea if there’s a second season planned or not. I do not know where to put it, but I want to give it a special shoutout for being one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. If the idea of 100 minutes of brutally violent and wordless animation doesn’t scare you off, go watch this as soon as you can.
- Wayward Pines: One of the best episodes of TV I saw in the last ten years was a first season episode of Wayward Pines called “The Truth.” After establishing the premise of the show (“Things aren’t what they seem in this small town…”), we learn what’s actually going on toward the end of the first season. They nailed the reveal in every way. Once it grew beyond that, it skidded a bit, but man oh man, that hour was incredible.
The Best of the 2010s: “Best” Shows
Rectify
The only reason that I use the word “best” for this post is to hope people stumble across this page when searching “best TV shows,” recognize my exceptional taste, and give me lots of money and power to help make and select more good things. I think “best” is an absolute nonsense term and doesn’t mean much. I think we should all agree on what the “best” {whatever} is: the thing most finely crafted, best made, etc. Best is boring. That’s why I use the word “favorite;” it’s more interesting and I can more firmly defend why I like something than why I think it’s good.
That said, below are the shows from the 2010s that I thought were the “best.” For anyone interested in “the art of TV” (whatever that means), find and watch these shows. I’m skipping descriptions here, because they’d all be, “This is good and you should watch it.” So… do that. (Some of these shows show up on other lists. Forgive me. Also, I hope you’ve realized that adding section after section proves that I watch too much TV, and that I don’t want to exclude any of my favorite things.)
- Atlanta
- Barry
- Breaking Bad
- Catastrophe
- Chernobyl
- Enlightened
- Fleabag
- Horace and Pete
- Rectify
- Succession
- The Americans
- The Leftovers
- Veep
The Best of the 2010s: Oversights
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
I watch an ungodly amount of TV, but it’s still not enough! Okay, it’s way more than enough, but I still haven’t had time to see every show I wanted to watch. Here are my biggest oversights: the shows I regret having missed. I’d love to say that I’ll see them all soon, but there’s just too much TV, you guys. (Do you have a show that I absolutely have to do watch? Let me know!)
- Black Mirror (saw the first two seasons)
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- Eastbound and Down
- Fringe
- Galavant
- GLOW (saw the first season)
- Gravity Falls
- Halt and Catch Fire (started, bailed, then it got good!)
- Handmaid’s Tale (saw the first season)
- Ken Burns’ Country Music
- Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War
- Mad Men (saw the first two seasons)
- Maniac
- Mr. Robot
- Ozark
- Rick and Morty
- Russian Doll
- Schitt’s Creek
- Superstore (saw the first season)
- The Deuce
- The Girlfriend Experience (I’m sorry, Riley Keough)
- The Haunting of Hill House
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- The OA
- The Path
- Too Old to Die Young
- Transparent
- Treme
- Unbelievable
- Undone
The Best of the 2010s: Honorable Mentions
Enlightened
It’s time for my favorites! Or, I guess, my near favorites, since my actual favorites kick off tomorrow, with my #25 show of the decade. Some of these were close to making the Top 25. Others were not that close. I love them all. Onward!
- Archer: I’m kind of tired of Archer by this point, but that’s likely because it’s hard for a show to be this smart and funny for ten years. While I’ve enjoyed the past few seasons’ genre diversions, I’m excited for its return to a spy show in 2020.
- BoJack Horseman: This show may be too bleak and depressing for some people, but I’d argue its dark subject matter can be more easily tapped into because of the absurdity of its world. Bojack had some of the decade’s best episodes (hi, “Free Churro”) as well as the decade’s best game show: “Hollywoo Stars & Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let’s Find Out!” I’ll miss this show when it ends this January.
- Burning Love: Before Hollywood fragmented TV and forced everyone to pay for a dozen streaming services, a little show called Burning Love hit Yahoo! Screen and filled my heart with joy. I’ve never watched the Bachelor/ette, yet I still adored this show. The first season was great, the second was very good, and the all-star third was its best.
- Catastrophe: This feels like a show I should have watched far more than once, but so is the cross I bear. Catastrophe was one of the best shows of the decade, and because it’s British, the seasons are short and manageable and lovely!
- Enlightened: If I had all the time in the world, I’d have rewatched Enlightened and realized I made a terrible mistake by excluding it from my favorites list. Mike White’s show (featuring Laura Dern’s amazing performance) was one of the best shows I’ve seen. HBO axed it after two seasons. Keep your eyes peeled for Zouks before he was The Tick Tock Man!
- Fleabag: Like Catastrophe, I should have seen Fleabag a whole bunch by now. I still remember the magic I felt when watching the pilot. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the absolute greatest, and this show is smart, sweet, and heartbreaking in exactly the right mixture. I think it’s likely done after two seasons, so go watch it and love it… and then watch it again.
- Game of Thrones: Heard of it???
- Girls: This was never one of my favorite shows, but I pretty much loved it for its entire run. It’s one of the most interesting and most important shows of the 2010s. I liked when the group was together, but my favorite episodes were always the standalones focusing on Hannah or Marnie or Shosh, or whoever. “DON’T. JUST. TEXT. CARCRASH.”
- The Knick: We talked about this show a whole lot on Cinemakers!
- Legion: I loved how weird Legion got, but it kind of lost me as it went on. I don’t know that we’ll ever get another show like this, because how could you possibly? I am now a learn’d X-Man, thanks to X is for Podcast, and I know that David is an Omega-level mutant (and also that he is *spoiler redacted*). I’m just showing off. Is it working?
- Mike Tyson Mysteries: A former heavyweight champion, his daughter, a ghost, and a pigeon solve mysteries. What more do you need to know? Mike Tyson Mysteries started out grounded in reality (as much of a reality as you can expect with that premise), but quickly morphed into the supernatural and the surreal. It is the greatest.
- OJ: Made in America: I’ve never watched as much 30 for 30 as I “should,” but I was glued to my TV for the ten hour runtime of OJ: Made in America. It’s weird to grow up in the midst of something and have virtually no knowledge of it, but that’s me in a nutshell! The pacing and structure of this was masterful. Releasing (coincidentally?) the same fall as American Crime Story made me like this series even more. Remember: he’ll always be your Uncle Juice.
- Orphan Black: I will forever Stan (am I using this right?) Tatiana Maslany because of Orphan Black. While they kind of reined it in a bit toward the end, this show’s mythology got too big and broad and messy. I’ll give it credit, though, for inspiring me to pick a different favorite clone each season. Alison! Helena! The list goes on! Love ’em all!
- Portlandia: I heard the Portlandia theme song as an actual song for the first time last year and it broke my brain.
- Rectify: The best show that not nearly enough people watched this decade was Rectify. Warning: it is incredibly slow and methodical, but it thematically works so beautifully that it’s hard to argue anything about it should be changed. Plus, it gave me sweet, sweet street cred for knowing Gerri from Succession before she worked for Waystar!
- True Detective: I panicked last night when I realized I’d left True Detective off this list. I don’t know how it happened, and I wonder what other shows aren’t on this list. I love the second season more than just about anyone else I know (hi, Bezzerides!) and the third season was the show’s best. I’ll keep watching! Keep doing your thing, Nic Pizzolatto.
- UnReal: Is it weird that two of my favorite shows are alternate looks at a Bachelor/ette show? I don’t know! What I do know is that UnReal was one of the most unflinching looks at mental illness on TV, while still being wildly entertaining (and also the only thing on Lifetime I’ve ever watched). The Quinn/Rachel dynamic was one of TV’s best TV duos, largely because it was impossible to know what it’d look like from week to week.
The Best of the 2010s: My Favorite Episodes
Nathan For You: “The Anecdote”
I didn’t start tracking and logging and ranking the TV I watched until a few years ago. If I’d done it since 2010, this whole endeavor may have been easier. (Or not!) It was difficult enough to rank my favorite shows; doing the same thing with episodes would be impossible. That said, let’s try! Here are a bunch of episodes I loved. I’m almost certainly forgetting a ton, and some of my absolute favorite series of the decade aren’t even on this list. This is far from perfect.
- Atlanta: “B.A.N.” (or “Woods” or “Teddy Perkins”)
- Better Call Saul: “Chicanery” (or “Winner”)
- Big Mouth: “The Planned Parenthood Show”
- Bojack Horseman: “Free Churro” (or “Fish Out of Water”)
- Breaking Bad: “Ozymandias” (or “Fly”)
- Chernobyl: “1:23:45” (or, really, any of them)
- Community: “Modern Warfare”
- Fargo: “The Law of Non-Contradiction”
- Game of Thrones: “Hardhome” (or “Blackwater” or “The Mountain and the Viper” or “Battle of the Bastards”)
- Girls: “The Panic in Central Park” (or “American Bitch”)
- Horace and Pete: “Episode #1.3” (or “Episode #1.10”)
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: “Mac Finds His Pride”
- Nathan For You: “Finding Frances” (or “The Anecdote”)
- Parks and Recreation: “The Fight” (or “One Last Ride”)
- Review: “Pancakes, Divorce, Pancakes”
- Silicon Valley: “Optimal Tip-To-Tip Efficiency”
- Succession: “Prague” (or “This Is Not for Tears”)
- The Americans: “START” (or “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?”)
- The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit” (or “Janet(s)”)
- The Last Man on Earth: “Alive in Tucson”
- The Leftovers: “International Assassin” (or “Guest” or “The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother)”)
- The Night Of: “The Beach”
- The X-Files: “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat” (or “Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster”)
- Twin Peaks: “Part 8”
- Veep: “Veep”
- Wayward Pines: “The Truth”
- You’re the Worst: “Twenty-Two”
Also, I want to nominate the Shot of the Decade as the reveal of Reggie Ledoux at the end of True Detective’s third episode of its first season, “The Locked Room.”
The Best of the 2010s: My Favorite Shows
At long last, without further ado, here are my twenty-five favorite shows of the decade.
My Favorite Shows, #25: Bob’s Burgers (2011-????)
“NA-KA-TO-MI! NA-KA-TO-MI! NA-KA-TO-MI!”
Why I Love It: I missed the boat on The Simpsons, which may be my greatest TV regret. (I still plan to watch the first 10 or so seasons, but its references will never be burned into my brain the way they are for many of my friends.) While that show is still churning out new episodes, Bob’s Burgers more closely resembles what The Simpsons originally was: a middle-class family scraping by however they can, backed up by their (very weird but very real) love for one another.
I love that this show can deftly balance a grounded tone with absolute silliness. I love that there’s original music in just about every episode. I love the always-new pest control, adjacent shop, and burger special jokes each episode. I love that Tina is the heart and soul of this family*, while also being an absolute mess. I love the voice work (from the regulars, the rotating cast of series regulars, and extras/one-episode guests). I love that almost nothing has changed in 10 seasons, yet everything still feels new.
*The time I managed to really click into this show was after reading a thing saying that when Tina’s happy, the family’s happy. When Tina’s upset, things are no good for anyone.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Work Hard or Die Trying, Girl,” “The Equestranauts,” “Brunchsquatch,” every Thanksgiving episode
My Favorite Shows, #24: Fargo (2014-????)
“Your problem is you spent your whole life thinking there are rules. There aren’t. We used to be gorillas. All we had was what we could take and defend.”
Why I Love It: Before there was Legion, there was Fargo. (Also, coincidentally [or perhaps not so!], after there was Legion, there was more Fargo.) Reboots and revivals are a dime a dozen these days, and I remember thinking there was no reason we needed a series based on a nearly perfect movie. Boy, was I wrong! The show’s three seasons so far (spanning three eras) have all rivaled (or surpassed) the movie, filled with the types of characters and plots that made the movie so memorable.
I love that it pays respect to the movie, yet still manages to do its own thing. I love Lorne Malvo. I love Solverson. I love Carrie Coon. I love that each season has new actors and new characters, and they’re all perfectly cast. I love the little robot in “The Law of Non-Contradiction.” (“I can help!”) I love that it’s an anthology show (it is, right?) that works individually and collectively; I love the interdependence of it all, as well as the independence of it all.
My Favorite Episode(s): “The Crocodile’s Dilemma,” “The Law of Non-Contradiction”
My Favorite Shows, #23: Hannibal (2013-2015)
“This is my design.”
Why I Love It: Bryan Fuller created Dead Like Me, my favorite show that (a) wasn’t created by Damon Lindelof, or (b) didn’t star Gillian Anderson. Clearly seeking to gain my affection, he hired Gillian Anderson for Hannibal, likely the darkest and most violent show ever aired on basic cable. (But we’re heading toward the Idiocracy future, maybe that won’t be true for long.) I think The Silence of the Lambs is great (shoutout to everyone who came here for fiery hot takes like this!), but I love Hannibal even more. Also, I tweeted at Paul F. Tompkins to suggest having Mads Mikkelson as a guest on Speakeasy, and he quote-tweeted me: “TOO SCARY!” That was fun.
I love how dreamlike and surreal it is. I love the violence, but especially how creative the violence is. I love the casting. I love the expanded Lambs-iverse that I never dived into before. I love that Mads Mikkelson is able to play Hannibal in a way that you admire and fear and respect and love and hate in equal measures. I love the way Will Graham recreates crime scenes. I love the deer. I love the food! (I’m okay that it’s mostly people.) I love the unreliable narration of it all.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Apéritif,” “Mizumono,” “The Wrath of the Lamb”
My Favorite Shows, #22: Playing House (2014-2017)
“Sisters, by the way, have you heard, are doin’ it for themselves.”
Why I Love It: Len and Jess are some of my absolute favorite people in the Comedy Bang! Bang!-verse, so I was more than happy to follow them to Best Friends Forever, a show cruelly cut down after one season. They returned with Playing House, which was even better and funnier and sweeter and more emotional than BFFs. Featuring many wonderful supporting characters, Playing House is an absolute delight of a show that’s empowering and heartbreaking and hilarious. I don’t know what Len and Jess have planned next, but I’m already on board. Womp it up!
I love Len. I love Jess. I love how much Len and Jess love each other. I love that this show makes me cry for a whole bunch of different reasons. I love Bird Bones. I love that this show took real-life tragedy and made it okay to talk about on TV. I love that almost none of the GIFs I found online for this show make even a little bit of sense out of context.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Bird Bones,” “Officer of the Year,” “You Wanna Roll With This?”
My Favorite Shows, #21: You’re the Worst (2014-2019)
“The world is absolutely lousy with people, and I hate them all. I hate everyone but you.”
Why I Love It: Few shows have pivoted as swiftly (or as effectively) as You’re the Worst, which started out as a romcom about two people who hated everyone (including themselves and maybe each other) but quickly became a show that looked at clinical depression, PTSD, and more. But also it’s fun, you guys! (Even though it made me cry a whole bunch.) Everyone should be casting everyone (especially Aya Cash) from this show in everything. Also, one time, I ran into Desmin Borges (Edgar) on a plane, and we chatted about the show and he was super nice.
I love how this show melds raunchy with sweet. I love that everything (well, almost everything) about this show is believable. I love Sunday Funday (better than a Monday!). I love how honest and raw the show could get. I love that it ends in the perfect way (and with the perfect song). I love that the background characters managed to be comic relief while also having real stories and journeys of their own.
My Favorite Episode(s): “There Is Not Currently a Problem,” “Twenty-Two,” “Pancakes,” all Sunday Funday episodes
My Favorite Shows, #20: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-????)
“When I’m dead, just throw me in the trash.”
Why I Love It: Of all the shows on this list, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is likely the hardest to rank. It aired five seasons before the decade began, and I wouldn’t put it past Sunny to outlive every other show on this list. Clocking in at #20 is probably too low; I have no idea what I’m doing anymore, and I’m only six entries deep. While some early seasons this decade were hit or miss, the recent seasons have been as strong as ever. There are almost too many good episode, moments, and quotes to remember. You know this show. You love this show.
I love that there is absolutely no growth to these monsters whatsoever. I love that the show remains as topical and cynical as ever. I love the recurring jokes (even those that have outstayed their welcome). I love that this show seems to be time-proof. I love the way the show can remix its own episodes, and usually do so to great effect.
My Favorite Episode(s): “The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore,” “CharDee MacDennis: The Game of Games,” “Flowers for Charlie,” “The Gang Beats Boggs,” “Charlie Work,” “The Gang Goes to a Water Park,” “Time’s Up for the Gang,” “Mac Finds His Pride”
My Favorite Shows, #19: Community (2009-2015)
“Pizza, pizza, go in tummy, me so hungee, me so hungee!”
Why I Love It: While Community never got that movie (and while its sixth season wasn’t great), its early seasons were some of the funniest and best TV episodes of the decade. It premiered just before the decade began, and while the episode I realized that I loved this show aired in 2009 (“Introduction to Statistics”), its best episode (“Modern Warfare”) started this decade off right. Community was one of the smartest (and weirdest) comedies of the last decade. This is another show that’s probably ranked too low on this list. Alas!
I love how effortlessly this show broke every convention of TV. I love that it was (or at least it felt like) the first show made for the internet generation. I love the study group. I (especially) love Britta. I love Troy and Abed in the Morning. I love that YouTube video setting Childish Gambino’s “Sweatpants” to clips from the show. I love its heart.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Modern Warfare,” “Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design,” “A Fistful of Paintballs,” “For a Few Paintballs More,” “Remedial Chaos Theory,” “Introduction to Teaching”
My Favorite Shows, #18: Better Call Saul (2015-????)
“The lesson is… if you’re gonna be a criminal, do your homework.”
Why I Love It: I loved Breaking Bad (spoiler: it’s higher on this list), and often thought it was one of the funniest shows on TV. I loved the idea of a funnier version of Breaking Bad in the form a a Saul Goodman spinoff, so imagine my surprise when Better Call Saul was (on average) more serious than Breaking Bad. And yet… I don’t mind! Vince Gilligan and Co. know this world, know these characters, and know exactly how to tell the stories they want to tell. I had no idea how long this show would last, and now I don’t want it to end. There’s so much story left to tell!
I love learning more about these characters. I love Saul. I love Mike. I love Kim. I love expanding the world of Breaking Bad with characters we know, and with ones who feel like we’ve always known. I love how methodical this show is. I love how beautifully this show is shot. I love that it took almost four full seasons to turn Jimmy from Saul (spoilers, I guess?). I love seeing Gene, a few minutes each season. I love knowing where we’re going to wind up, yet having absolutely no idea of how we’re getting there.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Alpine Shepherd Boy,” “Chicanery,” “Lantern,” “Winner”
My Favorite Shows, #17: Atlanta (2016-????)
“The price on the can, tho.”
Why I Love It: I’m willing to let Donald Glover take as long as he wants between seasons of Atlanta because the show is that good. The first season was great, and the second (Robbin’ Season) was an all-timer. I’m beyond excited to see what’s in store next. Atlanta is perfectly cast, and each of its main characters is strong enough and well-rounded enough to sustain an entire episode without any of the other characters anywhere in sight. I don’t know if that’s true of many (if any) other shows on TV.
I love how surreal it all can be. I love how grounded it all can be. I love the music. I love that you never know who will be the focus of any given episode. I love Atlanta‘s Justin Bieber. I love that it made me love Arizona iced teas even more. I love that all of this show’s stars are (finally, rightly) being cast in everything else. I love Lakeith Stanfield. I love Brian Tyree Henry. I love Zazie Beats. I love Donald Glover.
My Favorite Episode(s): “B.A.N.,” “Alligator Man,” “Barbershop,” “Teddy Perkins,” “Woods”
My Favorite Shows, #16: Succession (2018-????)
“If I was to give Tom a letter grade, I’d give him a B+ for bad plus terrible.”
Why I Love It: Succession gets you to root for people with whom you have nothing in common, who are very clearly the villains, and who are not the heroes. It’s cruel and it’s smart and it’s wickedly funny. There’s a strong chance that this is my favorite show on TV right now, and also the best show on TV right now– and it isn’t close. (Special shoutout to the Tub Talk guys for loving this show and telling me to watch it.) It’s likely the funniest and the meanest show on TV, which may mean it’s the natural successor to another show ranking higher on this list. My only question: who will get the kiss from daddy?
I love nearly every actor on this show. I love how complex every character is. I love how corny Kendall is. I love everything about Greg. I love every insult. I love incorporating these insults into my vernacular. I love the theme song. I love the cinematography. I love the opulence. I love the recent internet push to celebrate this show.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Prague,” “Nobody Is Ever Missing,” “Hunting,” “This Is Not for Tears”
My Favorite Shows, #15: Sense8 (2015-2018)
“In the end, we will all be judged by the courage of our hearts.”
Why I Love It: If it had been able to finish out its run, Sense8 could have wound up being my favorite show of all-time. Instead, it was far too beautiful and weird (and expensive) for this world, and Netflix cancelled it after two years (though it let the show conclude its story with a feature-length episode). Spanning two seasons, a Christmas special, and its finale, nearly every episode of Sense8 (created by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer) included something I’d never seen before, and will likely never see again. The creativity and artistry of this show was off the charts, and its ability to weave its eight main characters’ stories and lives and bodies (wink) together was masterful. It was one of the most special shows that has ever been made. I want to be upset that it was cancelled after two seasons, but the fact that it even got a second season is a miracle.
I love the ingenuity of this show. I love how beautiful it looks. I love the way it incorporates music. I love each of the sensates (and their partners). I love its depiction of love and sexuality. I love its optimism. I love the awe I feel while watching it. I love not knowing what’s about to happen. I love how each of its characters pick up the rest. I love that it had a Christmas special.
My Favorite Episode(s): “What’s Going On?,” “You Want a War?,” “Amor Vincit Omnia”
My Favorite Shows, #14: The Good Place (2016-2020)
“Not a girl.”
Why I Love It: The only show on this list currently airing new episodes (and possibly updating its placement on this list in real time!), The Good Place is an absolute delight. It also may be the only show on this list that I can’t really describe or explain in any level of detail, because almost everything about where it’s gone since the end of its first season is a spoiler. There are eight or nine episodes left of this show, and I’m incredibly excited to see where Mike Schur takes this and how he (and the team) sticks the landing.
I love Janet. I love all these dumb-dumbs. I love the layered jokes and nuances and references that appear when you rewatch episodes. I love how recklessly (but in a smart and controlled way) the show tears through its premise(s). I love the dynamic between Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. I love having absolutely no idea where the show will go next, yet not worrying about that whatsoever. I love that I (finally!) predicted a twist this season.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Michael’s Gambit,” “Jeremy Bearimy,” “Janet(s)”
My Favorite Shows, #13: Justified (2010-2015)
“Hell, sometimes, I think the only way to get out of our town alive is to have never been born there.”
Why I Love It: From its pilot (a true all-timer), Justified was one of the most fun “prestige shows” on TV. I don’t know that the show ever got its due, which is a bummer; the chemistry (and antagonism) between Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins was one of the best hero/villain duos of the decade. Beyond just Boyd Crowder, though, Justified routinely had the coolest bad guys around. Once the show settled into its season-long “big bad” format, it was all systems go. Plus, this show cast Kaitlyn Dever (in a pretty big role) way before Booksmart, so I was “in the know” before most other people. I’m cool, you guys.
I love Raylan. I love Boyd. I love their relationship. I love that Boyd was supposed to die in the pilot (spoilers! he dies in the short story!), but Walton Goggins was too likable to kill off. I love Timothy Olyphant’s charm. I love Winona. I love Ava. I love all of the many strong women in this world. I love Wynn Duffy. I love how much Wynn Duffy hates everyone else. I love the setting. I love the language. I love the guff that all of Raylan’s co-workers (rightly) give him.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Fire in the Hole,” “Bloody Harlan,” “Slaughterhouse,” “The Promise”
My Favorite Shows, #12: The Americans (2013-2018)
“It’s easy to see things as very black and white. But the world’s complicated. And the more that you get that, the better off you’ll be.”
Why I Love It: The Americans may be the first (and only?) prestige TV show that I watched every week, from start to finish. (Sorry to brag.) I was hooked from the pilot, and I was ready to go wherever the show took me. I got to talk about my love of this show on Snark Squad, and we somehow condensed six seasons into a little over an hour. The Americans is a show that will likely work even better in binge form, as its dense plots and intricate storylines will be easier to follow. And if you stick around, you get to watch the finale, which is one of the greatest of all-time.
I love Mail Robot. I love the wigs. I love the costumes. I love the entire aesthetic. I love how good Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell are both individually and together. I love that they fell in love while making this show. I love the needle drops. I love the look inside the FBI. I love Paige’s character growth, even if I kind of hated Paige a lot of the time. I love Character Actress Margo Martindale.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Pilot,” “Do Mail Robots Dream of Electric Sheep?,” “The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears,” “Jennings, Elizabeth,” “START”
My Favorite Shows, #11: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-????)
“Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. No doubt, no doubt, no doubt.”
Why I Love It: It took a couple seasons for me to love Parks and Recreation (more on that later! spoilers!), but I was on board with Brooklyn Nine-Nine from the very first episode. Its characters are so well-rounded, especially as the seasons have gone on. They each have their weird quirks, but they also have honest moments and things they’re passionate about. More than just a workplace comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine also doubles down on serious matters and can almost always pull off an episode that’s meaningful and heartfelt as effectively as it can make Dianne Wiest infection jokes. Also, episodes like “The Box” let the cast and writing staff flex their dramatic muscles, giving this show layers and levels other comedies should be jealous of.
I love the Halloween episode each season. I love Hitchcock and Scully. I love Gina. I love everyone’s dumb catchphrases. I love the cold opens. I love how naturally all of its characters have grown and evolved over the years. I love Andre Braugher’s comedic timing. I love how much Jake loves action movies. I love when this show references Nicolas Cage (title of my sex tape?).
My Favorite Episode(s): All the Halloween episodes, “Adrian Pimento,” “Safe House,” “The Box,” “Jake & Amy”
My Favorite Shows, #10: New Girl (2011-2018)
“Wait! Is this a classic Cece and Winston mess-around?”
Why I Love It: It took most of a year for New Girl to figure out what it had, but it quickly became one of the funniest (and my favorite) shows on TV. I didn’t realize how much I missed this show until I started poking around for quotes and episodes this morning, and now all I want to do is re-watch all seven seasons. The show and the cast and the characters are all so charming and likable that even if a plot or a story isn’t great, there’s more than enough to pick up the slack. This was a great decade for comedy, and few shows made me laugh more than New Girl.
I love every single character on this show. I love True American. I love Julius Pepperwood. I love when this show makes me cry. I love classic Cece and Winston mess-arounds. I love Winston and Ferguson. I love how genuinely pure and kind this show often was. I love that my sister named her cats after characters on this show. I love that Nasim Pedrad joined the cast.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Elaine’s Big Day,” “Prince,” “Five Stars for Beezus”
My Favorite Shows, #9: Nathan For You (2013–2017)
“I love you.” // “Say it again.” // “I love you.” // “Again.”
Why I Love It: Nathan For You is one of the weirdest and most inventive TV shows ever made. The depths to which Nathan Fielder goes to “help” a small business are brain-breaking in the best ways. Some of his bigger stunts (like Dumb Starbucks) crossed over to the mainstream, but it’s the smaller endeavors (like trying to find friendship via a rebate for buying gas, or trying to find true love in a casting call) that are the most memorable to me. His two-hour finale, “Finding Frances,” is too wonderful and surreal to explain. I’m glad Nathan introduced us to Jack Garbarino, who taught me about what Steve Jobs was like as a child and how to properly teach jungle children. I follow The Movement. Do you?
I love Nathan’s deadpan delivery. I love his dedication to the show and to the bit. I love the honest reactions from everyone around him. I love that he somehow convinces small business owners to go along with his lunacy. I love his ambition. I love that Dumb Starbucks was so clearly a “Nathan idea,” yet no one linked it to him when the store opened.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Gas Station/Caricature Artist,” “The Claw of Shame,” “Dumb Starbucks,” “The Movement,” “The Hero,” “The Anecdote,” “Finding Frances”
My Favorite Shows, #8: Review (2014–2017)
“Or perhaps I simply understood, from the darkest corner of my soul, that these pancakes couldn’t kill me because I was already dead.”
Why I Love It: I love Nathan For You because of its episodic lunacy in the same way that I love Review because of the insane way it grows and shapes Forrest MacNeil’s twisted and ever-worsening personal narrative. The downfall that Andy Daly’s character took from man who seemed to have it all to someone with quite literally nothing left was wonderful. The commitment to the show within the show’s premise — reviewing life experiences, with a staunch rejection to refusing any, even after adding a veto button — meant even the smallest reviews could sometimes have horrifying and long-lasting repercussions. Forrest MacNeil endured a lot, but perhaps nothing worse than “Pancakes, Divorce, Pancakes.” A true masterpiece.
I love Andy Daly. I love Megan Stevenson as A.J. Gibbs. I love the premise of the show. I love the show’s continuity. I love the miscommunications. I love The Real Lisa Ching. I love the world of supporting characters. I love the requests for reviews. I love the semi-arbitrary scores/reactions Forrest would give to/have from many of his life experiences. I love how the second season ended. I love the way the show ended.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Pancakes; Divorce; Pancakes,” “Revenge; Getting Rich; Aching,” “Cult, Perfect Body,” “Conspiracy Theory,” “Cryogenics, Lightning, Not Reviewing”
My Favorite Shows, #7: Kroll Show (2013–2015)
“I do cardio. I throw bread at pigeons and then try to get it back.”
Why I Love It: Completing the trifecta of my favorite Comedy Central shows from the 2010s is Kroll Show, my favorite of the bunch. I’d watch these episodes on lunch breaks with a friend, and we’d laugh and love each bit more than the last. Each of Nick Kroll’s characters was wonderful, and each of his pairings (with Jenny Slate, Jon Daly, John Mulaney, Seth Morris, Jason Mantzoukas, etc.) was special. The way these characters’ stories and lives (?) intersected with one another delighted me, and I loved how honest and (usually) stupid they all were. Everyone knows Too Much Tuna, but everyone *should* know every other sketch from this show, too. I love them all.
I love George and Gil. I love the Lizzes. I love Dr. Armond. I love Aspen and Wendy. I love too many characters to name on this list. I love the supporting actors and characters that fill out this world. I love the way each of these shows and sketches and worlds continued to evolve and grow and merge. I love Gene Creemers. I love seeing the physical manifestation of characters I’d only heard Nick Kroll voice. I love that it’s based off their names. I love Dr. Ron Funches.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Blisteritos Presents Dad Academy Graduation Congraduritos Red Carpet Viewing Party,” “This Has Been Such an Amazing Experience” (but, really, all of them)
My Favorite Shows, #6: Veep (2012–2019)
“You’re not even a man… you’re like an early draft of a man, where they just sketched out a giant mangled skeleton but they didn’t have time to add details, like pigment or self-respect. You’re Frankenstein’s monster, if his monster was made entirely of dead dicks.”
Why I Love It: It took me a few seasons to really sink into the cruel humor of Veep, but once I did, it quickly became one of my favorite shows. Between Veep and Succession, HBO had a terrific year for poetic, soul-crushing insults. I admire the way this show grew and adapted to poke fun at a growing-crazier-by-the-day global political landscape. No matter what how the world lost its mind, Veep was there to insult it. I’d love go to back and watch the whole series again, especially knowing that it ends with one of the greatest series finales of all-time. It was perfect.
I love Richard Splett. I love how flawless Julia Louis-Dreyfus is in her portrayal of Selina Meyer. I love Selina Meyer’s arc. I love where she (and everyone else, and the show) winds up. I love how clearly defined each character’s voice is. I love the way each character knows exactly the right buttons to push for everyone else around them. I love the new blood this show brought in as it grew and evolved. I love that everyone was competent and yet an absolute, total idiot.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Nev-AD-a,” “Kissing Your Sister,” “Veep”
My Favorite Shows, #5: Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
“I am the FBI.”
Why I Love It: I think I like the original run of Twin Peaks more in theory than in reality. There was something magical about Twin Peaks: The Return, though, and how absolutely inscrutable it was. I admired how intentionally confusing and frustrating the narrative could be, and how committed David Lynch and Mark Frost were to slow-playing everything even remotely resembling an answer. It looked and felt and sounded like nothing else on TV. While there are rumblings that Twin Peaks could return (again) in some form or other in the near future, the fact that we got so much of the original gang back together, more than twenty-five years later, is remarkable. God bless you, David Lynch.
I love seeing all of our old pals again. I love the music. I love the look. I love Dougie Jones. I love Mr. Jackpots. I love all of Kyle MacLachlan’s characters. I loved finally meeting Diane. I loved learning more about the mythology and narrative with the books that Mark Frost wrote and published before and after the series. I love that rewatching episodes didn’t really help them make any more sense. I love Part 8. I love that Showtime let Part 8 exist. I love that Showtime let Part 8 air on primetime TV. I love Special Agent Dale Cooper. I love that he made me — and makes me — cry.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Part 8,” “Part 16,” “Part 17,” “Part 18”
My Favorite Shows, #4: Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012-2016)
“Spin to win!”
Why I Love It: Every episode of Comedy Bang! Bang! is a miracle. Every episode broke the talk show format (or, the TV format) in an entirely new way. The fact that Scott Aukerman and team managed to do 90 of these — including 40 in a single calendar year! — with no two being alike is mind-blowing. Then, for them to be *good*, too? It’s almost too much to ask! I can’t imagine there were too many people like me, who found the podcast through the TV show, but it worked for me, and now the podcast (and its family of related shows) are some of my absolute favorite things in the world. Seeing the characters I’d grow to love on the podcast represented on the show (in all of their weirdness and wonder) was amazing. (Especially Fourvel.)
I love Scott. I love Reggie and Cudi and Weird(o) Al. I love every one of the lunatics who guested. I love how game all the celebrities were who joined the show as themselves. I love the way each episode feels new and fresh and weird and wonderful. I love the banal naming conventions for each episode. I love the Scott name jokes each episode. I love the specific weird and funny world of CBB.
My Favorite Episode(s): All of them. It’s impossible to choose.
My Favorite Shows, #3: Parks and Recreation (2009–2015)
“Just give me all the bacon and eggs you have. Wait. Wait. I’m worried what you just heard was give me a lot of bacon and eggs. What I said was give me all the bacon and eggs you have. Do you understand?”
Why I Love It: Parks and Recreation may be my favorite comedy of all-time, and the upside to focusing on this decade is that it cuts out the show’s worst season! Parks is the perfect blend of funny and heartwarming, and it made me cry more often than I’d care to admit. I think the show could have ended after its perfect sixth season finale, but it came back for a seventh season, which was as good as the show had ever been. The comings and goings of cast members just about always felt like they happened at the right time, and the supporting players of Pawnee filled in the gaps in a wonderful way. I love the way the show grew and followed Leslie through her career, with Amy Poehler as the absolute perfect person to center this world around.
I love that the show was able to grow and evolve into what it became in its second season. I love Leslie’s optimism. I love Ben’s nerdiness. I love Ron’s gruffness. I love Burt Macklin. I love Snake Juice, and I love “The Fight.” I love the friendships on this show. I love the romantic relationships on this show. I love Li’l Sebastian. I love Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa. I love Perd Hapley. I love Crazy Ira and the Douche. I love waffles. I love Pawnee.
My Favorite Episode(s): “The Fight,” “Smallest Park,” “Halloween Surprise,” “Leslie and Ben,” “Moving Up: Parts 1 and 2,” “One Last Ride: Parts 1 and 2”
My Favorite Shows, #2: Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
“Do you really want to live in a world without Coca-Cola?”
Why I Love It: Are you ready for this hot take? I like Breaking Bad. A whole lot. I only started watching the show live ahead of its fourth season, but catching up (and keeping up) with what would quickly become one of my all-time favorite shows was one of my favorite TV experiences of the decade. There’s magic in this show: in the way it looks, in the way it’s paced, in the performance of every actor on screen. Vince Gilligan & Co.’s ability to back themselves into a corner and write themselves out of it was riveting and (literally? unsure [citation needed]) breathtaking, and it led to some of the most tense and unpredictable stories of the past decade, including the best hour of television I’ve ever seen: “Ozymandias.” (I still remember, and may never forget, watching this episode on an iPad in a hotel room in Indiana, my arms shaking as the show’s world rapidly crumbled apart.) Centering and grounding it are the top-tier performances by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, complementing one another, complementing the mastery of the writing, and complementing the performances from every supporting actor. I didn’t realize how much I missed Breaking Bad until watching El Camino, even with four seasons of Better Call Saul (also on this list!) having aired in-between. I’d say there may never be another show like Breaking Bad, but that’s not true; many, many shows have tried (and will try) to be exactly like it. The difference is that just about none will be as good.
I love Bryan Cranston. I love his commitment to the role and to the performance. I love Walter White’s ruthlessness, in spite of his newness to this lifestyle. I love his transformation from Mr. Chips to Scarface. I love Aaron Paul. I love his growth as both an actor and as Jesse. I love the pilot (one of the all-time greats). I love the finale. I love the unpredictability of the plots. I love the way the show plays with time. I love the cinematography. I love the score. I love the cold opens. I love the episode names, and the tricks the creators hid in them. I love the good guys. I love the bad guys. I love the characters in various shades of grey (also: Gray Matter Technologies?). I love Gus. I love Mike. I love Saul. I love Badger and I love Skinny Pete. I love Lydia. Rodarte. Quayle. I love Anna Gunn as Skyler. I love Walter Junior (sorry, I mean Flynn). I love this show the way Walter Junior loves breakfast. I love that just about everyone watched this show. I love that it may be one of our final “water cooler” shows.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Pilot,” “Crazy Handful of Nothin’,” “Better Call Saul” (<– these three are cheats because they aired in the 2000s, not the 2010s), “Fly,” “Half Measures, “Full Measure,” “Crawl Space,” “Face Off,” “Dead Freight,” “Gliding Over All,” “Ozymandias,” “Granite State,” “Felina”
My Favorite Shows, #1: The Leftovers (2014–2017)
“I killed you.” // “Nope.”
Why I Love It: If LOST isn’t my favorite show of all-time (I’m become scared to revisit it and tarnish my memories), then it’s Damon Lindelof’s other show that takes the cake. (Also an option: The X-Files.) At times, it felt like The Leftovers was a show made specifically for me. Nearly everything about it scratched an itch of mine in some way, specifically the way it blended religion and spirituality and nihilism and hopelessness and hope. It was often relentlessly bleak, but also powerfully optimistic. It was also weird as hell. I really liked the first season, but once the show moved past Tom Perotta’s novel and expanded into its own story, it transcended all of my hopes and expectations of what it could be. Each actor was outstanding in their role, and any time the show leaned on one for a character-centric episode, they shined. Justin Theroux was perfect at the heart of the show, and Carrie Coon matched (or surpassed) him in every step. Amy Brenneman, Ann Dowd, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Margaret Qualley… each part was perfectly cast and perfectly acted. The Leftovers is a very special show and one that I love dearly. It is my favorite show of the past decade, and maybe of all-time.
I love everything about this show. I love Justin Theroux’s performance. I love Kevin Garvey’s combination of determination and helplessness. I love how much Aimee loves Kevin Garvey. I love Kevin’s dream episodes. I love that the show seemed to make up its own rules and ideas of what it could become. I love Carrie Coon. I love how perfectly she blended Nora’s anger and doggedness and hope. I love that Damon Lindelof told us we’d never get answers, and I love that it didn’t bother me. I love the imagery of the Guilty Remnant. I love the idea of the Guilty Remnant. I love the determination of the Guilty Remnant. I love the way each season ended. I love the way the show ended. I love everything about this show.
My Favorite Episode(s): “Guest,” “International Assassin,” “The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother),” “The Book of Nora”
