My Top 10 Shows of the 2010s · 11:23pm Dec 31st, 2019
As the 2010s come to an end, I've decided to make a list of my personal favorite series that aired/streamed in the past ten years. Without further ado, I'll give you the short list and then my explanations.
10) Shark Tank
9) The Big Bang Theory
8) Over the Garden Wall
7) Dragons: Race to the Edge (Riders/Defenders of Berk)
6) Stranger Things
5) Phineas and Ferb
4) The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
3) A Series of Unfortunate Events
2) Gravity Falls
1) My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Honorable Mentions:
Once Upon a Time
Octonauts
Explanations
10) Shark Tank
As unscripted competition shows go, this one has held my attention the longest. Each episode has new entrepreneurs that the Sharks (Laurie Grenier, Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, and a regular rotation of guest business tycoons) either make deals with or turn down. The constant new faces and products keep the series from becoming stale, and after I watched for awhile, I had fun predicting how each Shark would react to a new company.
9) The Big Bang Theory
This show first aired in 2007, but I'm counting it because more than half of the episodes were made in the 2010s. I know this show has its haters, and honestly, I understand why. It does come across like the show's writers are attempting to portray nerd culture without really understanding it, and some of the dialog feels forced at times. What keeps me coming back to it, though, is the talented actors who can take a line that wouldn't look that funny on paper and deliver it in a way that makes me chuckle. Sure, the show starts to feel like it's run its course when the characters start getting married and having kids, but, like MLP, even the worst seasons aren't bad, they just aren't as good as the earlier seasons.
8) Over the Garden Wall
If you missed this miniseries from 2014, you should check it out. It aired on Cartoon Network and follows two brothers, Wirt and Greg, who are lost and trying to find their way home. In the first episode, they meet a talking bluebird and a foreboding man ranting about a beast, and things get weirder from there. This show looks like rural New England in the 1800s, giving it a wonderful Halloween vibe, although it can be watched any time of year. The series is balanced in the way it reveals information, confusing the audience just enough to keep them interested, until everything starts to come together.
7) Dragons: Race to the Edge (Riders/Defenders of Berk)
This series went through a few name changes, but it has pretty solid continuity as it fills in the gaps between the first and second How To Train Your Dragon movies. The first series aired on Cartoon Network, and then the franchise moved to Netflix and made the characters a bit older. This show reminds me a little of MLP in the way that it emphasizes teamwork, loyalty, and living in harmony with the dragons. And although the Vikings love weaponry, they minimize casualties as much as possible. Hiccup is also somewhat similar to Twilight with his ability to plan and his inquisitive mind. But unlike MLP, this show steers clear of magic and supernatural forces, and instead offers realistic explanations for its strange happenings (by cartoon standards, at least).
6) Stranger Things
What can I say about Stranger Things that hasn't already been said? If you tried watching it and couldn't get past the first two episodes, give it one more chance. It takes a while to set everything up, but once the story gets going, it takes you on an amazing ride as the characters attempt to solve the mysteries without getting killed by the Demogorgon from the Upside-down. The next seasons get . . . less stellar as the series progresses, but it's still worth watching. The acting, effects, and soundtrack remain excellent, even if the cast starts to feel bloated and the plot begins to suffer.
5) Phineas and Ferb
This is the most formulaic show I've ever seen, and yet somehow the writers manage to keep it entertaining and funny. Every episode has the exact same formulas for the A and B plots. In the A plot, Phineas and Ferb make or do something crazy, and Candace tries to get their mom to see it. In the B plot, Dr. Doofenshmirtz creates an -inator (usually with the intent to take over or just annoy the tri-state area) and Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus thwarts his evil plan. More often than not, the A and B plots combine to cancel each other out at the end. Oh, and another part of the formula is that it's always summer vacation, like the theme song says. This formula works for far longer than you'd expect, due to the variety of projects the characters come up with. It also helps that the characters are hilarious and endearing. I remember being annoyed with the forth season when I first viewed it, but later I re-watched some of the episodes and realized that I had been overly critical. Season 4 of this show is still better than 90% of cartoons today, IMO.
4) The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
This nearly flawless Netflix miniseries is a prequel to the 1980s movie, which means you don't have to watch the movie to understand the series, although it helps you appreciate it more. The blend of practical and digital effects is incredible, and the big budget and attention to detail is evident in each frame. Even though it stars puppets, it's not for young children, since there are some scenes that are scary and intense. But the lore is fantastic, and the longer screen time allows the writers to show more character development than the movie did.
3) A Series of Unfortunate Events
This is a rare show that stays true to its source material while improving on it a little. Based on the children's books by Lemony Snicket, this quirky series follows three orphan siblings as they constantly run from the evil Count Olaf, who wants to steal their family fortune. This show has a talented cast, a great soundtrack, and some of the best and most interesting editing I've ever seen. Like in the books, I was never really sure what time period or parts of the country it was set in, which adds to the surreal quality. Where it improves on the source material is that it fleshes out some of the supporting characters such as Count Olaf's henchmen and even Lemony Snicket himself (who appears as the narrator played by Patrick Warburton). Honestly, this show might not be for everyone, but if you enjoyed the books, or if you love weirdness and mystery, you'll like this series.
2) Gravity Falls
This show is like a cross between Phineas and Ferb and Invader Zim, but that description doesn't do it justice. It strikes just the right balance between goofy comedy and dark mystery as crap gets more and more real as the series reaches its conclusion. What I admire most about this show is that the writers had a clear vision from beginning to end. The show was well-received, and they could have kept it going at least another season or two, but instead the producers chose to end it in perhaps the best series finale I've ever seen – which is the main reason I ranked this show so much higher than Stranger Things.
1) My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Yeah, I'm sure it doesn't surprise anyone that this is my favorite show of the decade. If I'm being honest, the quality isn't as consistent as some of the other shows on my list, but to be fair, good quality is much more difficult to maintain over nine seasons than two seasons. And I still adore the first five seasons, and even the last four seasons aren't awful - they're just not as enjoyable. Still, no other show has captured my imagination and tugged at my heartstrings the way this show did. There was just something about these magical talking miniature horses that made me keep coming back to them and writing about them.
Honorable Mentions
Once Upon a Time
If I could isolate only the first three seasons, this show would have made my #2 spot. Unfortunately, it kept going even after the writers lost track of the rules of magic they had established, and appeared to get orders from Disney to insert Frozen characters at the expense of the plot that had already been set up in the previous season. I quickly started to hate-watch it instead of watching it for pure entertainment. But the first two seasons in particular are well-crafted, and most of the actors are excellent, especially Lana Parilla as the Evil Queen Regina and Robert Carlisle as Rumpelstiltskin. I just wish the later seasons had given them better material to work with.
Octonauts
I became an aunt a few years ago, and as a result, I became familiar with some of the little kids' shows that I wouldn't have sought out. One of the least annoying preschool shows is Octonauts. Led by a polar bear named Captain Barnacles, a team of anthro animals travel around in their Octopod and help aquatic creatures in need, learning about different species along the way. The show educates viewers about aquatic life and the ecosystem, and even I learned a few things from watching it. Also, almost every character has a different accent, which makes it fun to listen to compared to other little kids' shows. My main criticism is that the “Creature Report” song at the end of each episode gets repetitive, although it is catchy.
And that's a wrap for the 2010s! I hope the 2020s will be even better. Thanks for reading, and happy new year!
Have you seen Milo Murphy’s Law? We learn at the very end of the first season that it’s the sequel to Phineas and Ferb. There’re time travel shenanigans, alien garbage collection, and a main character that sounds suspiciously like Cheese Sandwich.
Did I mention that there’s a crossover? No? There’s a crossover.
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I watched a few episodes of Milo Murphy's Law a year ago, but I lost track of it because I couldn't find all of the full episodes online. I should try to find more episodes because it seemed like a fun show.
The 2010s was a golden age for television, with a vast array of critically acclaimed and popular shows airing across various networks and streaming platforms. Here are my top 10 shows of the decade:
These shows represent just a fraction of the incredible television that was produced during the 2010s, a decade that will undoubtedly be remembered as a landmark era in television history.