The 2010s were perhaps one of the greatest decades in television, so we decided to come up with a personal list of our favorite scripted TV shows or limited series from the years 2010 through 2019. A primary rule was that the TV series must have broadcast a majority of its episodes in the 2010s. With those criteria, we came up with a list of nearly 40 shows to trim that list down to 20, we’ll be using the average audience score on Rotten Tomatoes to count down the top 20 TV shows of 2010. With that, out of the way, let’s get started,
1) Sons of Anarchy
First up on our list of Best TV Shows is Sons of Anarchy a crime drama that follows the outlaw motorcycle club SAMCRO in the fictional town of charming California. It was broadcast on the FX network for seven seasons from 2008 through 2014. The show stars, Charlie Hunnam, Jax teller who struggles to balance family issues and involvement in the motorcycle club trying to protect the town from rival gangs.
2) Stranger Things
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Stranger Things as a science fiction, horror created by the Duffer Brothers that premiered on Netflix in 2016. It’s set in the early 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins Indiana. The show follows a group of people as they deal with supernatural forces. Three seasons are available now and have been renewed for a fourth. No release date has been announced yet.
3) Longmire
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Longmire a modern Western crime drama that was broadcast on the A & E Network for its first three seasons, when canceled by A & E, Netflix picked it up for seasons Four, through six, the lead is played by Australian actor Robert Taylor, as Walt Longmire, who is a sheriff in Wyoming investigating crimes while also coping with the death of his wife.
4) Halt and Catch Fire
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Halt and Catch Fire, an AMC drama that aired for four seasons in 2014 Through 2017, spanning more than ten years, it follows a group of renegade techies, beginning with the personal computer revolution of the 1980s, through the growth of the worldwide web of the early 90s.
5) Person of Interest
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Person of Interest a science-fiction crime drama on the CBS network, with Five seasons broadcast from 2011 through 2016, it’s about a former CIA agent and wealthy programmer who team up to stop crimes before they happen. Since the show went off the air, fiction in the show is becoming more of a reality. With the pervasive surveillance tactics of our governments and the invasive nature of our corporations, odds are more likely than ever that you are being watched.
6) Broadchurch
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Broadchurch a British serial crime drama that was originally broadcast on ITV in the UK from 2013 through 2017. The show follows a pair of detectives played by David Tennant and Olivia Colman as they solve crimes in a small coastal community. All three seasons are now available to binge-watch on Netflix.
7) Fargo
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Fargo, a dark comedy crime drama on the FX network that premiered in 2014. It is inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers, a film of the same name. Each season features an all-new storyline set in the Dakotas and Minnesota, with a colorful cast of eccentric characters. Three seasons have already been broadcast, but season four is expected sometime in 2020.
8) The Americans
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is The Americans, it has yet another series on the FX network. It aired from 2013 through 2018 for six seasons. The spy thriller takes place during the Cold War in the 1980s. It follows two Russian KGB spies named Philip and Elizabeth Jennings living as an American couple with two kids in Washington DC. The show also focuses on their neighbor Stan Beeman, who is an FBI agent working in counterintelligence.
9) Mr. Robot
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Mr. Robot a drama thriller on the USA Network that ran for four seasons from 2015 through 2019 created by Sam SML. It stars Rama Malik, who plays an antisocial computer programmer and vigilante hacker who’s recruited by a group of hacktivists, known as a society, to help bring down a corrupt corporation.
10) Narcos
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Narcos a biographical crime drama on Netflix, with three seasons available from 2015 through 2017 set and filmed in Columbia. The show follows the exploits of a drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar for the first two seasons and the Cali cartel in the third, along with their interactions with agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration. A spin-off series is now available on Netflix called Narcos Mexico, which is also worth watching.
11) Hannibal
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Hannibal a psychological horror-thriller that was broadcast on NBC from 2013 through 2015 for three seasons. The show is centered on criminal profiler will Graham played by Hugh Dancy and his relationship with Dr. Hannibal Lecter played by Mads Mikkelsen. Season 1 Truthfully is not the greatest, the second and third seasons are fantastic.
12) Peaky Blinders
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Peaky Blinders a British crime drama produced by the BBC. The story is set in England after World War I and follows the notorious peaky blinders gang led by their ambitious crime, boss, Tommy Shelby. It premiered in 2013 and all five seasons are available on Netflix Season 6 is not expected until at least early 2021.
13) Mindhunter
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Mindhunter a flecks original crime thriller. Its first season was released in 2017, with the second dropping in 2019. It’s about two FBI agents and a psychologist who interview imprisoned serial killers to understand how they think, with the hope of using that knowledge to solve open cases. There’s been no official word from Netflix if Mindhunter will be coming back for a third season.
14) Justified
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Justified a neo-Western crime drama on the FX network. It was broadcast for six seasons from 2010 through 2015 and it’s based on an Elmore Leonard short story in the show. Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a no-nonsense US Marshal in the coal mining town of Harlan Kentucky.
15) Better Call Saul
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Better Call Saul that crime drama spin-off prequel of Breaking Bad it premiered in 2015 on AMC and was created by Vince Gilligan, and Peter Gould set in the early 2000s. It follows conman Jimmy McGill played by Bob Odenkirk as he transforms into ambulance-chasing attorney Saul Goodman. Four seasons are available to watch right now, with season 5 premiering on February 23rd, 2020.
16) Boardwalk Empire
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Boardwalk Empire a period crime drama on HBO it premiered in 2010, with its fifth and final season ending in 2014. This series is set during the 1920s in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Steve Buscemi stars in the lead role as Nucky Thompson, a politician playing both sides of the law during the Prohibition era.
17) Mad Men
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Mad Men a drama on the AMC network that was broadcast for seven seasons from 2007 through 2015 set primarily in the 1960s in New York City. The series is about a prestigious Madison Avenue ad agency, with Don Draper being played by Jon Hamm. Being the focus of the show.
18) Happy Valley
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Happy Valley, a show that most of you have never heard of it’s a BBC-produced crime drama that premiered in 2014. It follows a police sergeant who investigates drug cases in a community in northern England. The show excels due to its excellent writing and attention paid to character development. Two seasons are on Netflix right now and have been renewed for a third season.
19) Chernobyl
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Chernobyl, a 2019 five-part miniseries on HBO that was produced in association with Sky UK. This historical drama covers the events of the largest nuclear disaster in Soviet history. At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, characters are played superbly by Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, and Emily Watson. It received 19 nominations at the Emmy Awards and one for outstanding, limited series directing and writing.
20) Breaking Bad
Next up on our list of Best TV Shows is Breaking Bad taking the top spot won’t be a surprise for most of you. This crime drama on AMC was broadcast for five seasons from 2008 through 2013. It stars Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After being diagnosed with cancer, he joins forces with former student Jesse Pinkman played by Aaron Paul to produce and sell meth to help secure his family’s financial future before he dies. A sequel film, starring, Aaron Paul, called El Camino was released in October of 2019 on Netflix.
Thanks for reading.