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Best TV Episodes of the 2010s

April 9, 2020

jmunney Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Television 30 Rock, American Dad!, Atlanta, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Black Mirror, Bojack Horseman, Community, Inside Amy Schumer, Nathan for You, Review, Rick and Morty, TCGS, The Chris Gethard Show, The Eric Andre Show, The Last Man on Earth, Too Many Cooks, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks The Return 1 Comment

CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots

In assembling my picks for the best TV episodes of the past decade, I noticed that I was leaning heavily on the comedy side. This was unsurprising, as I tend to watch more sitcoms than dramas. But the difference was even more pronounced than usual. I think that makes sense, because on average, comedies tend to be specifically designed on an episodic basis moreso than dramas.

I should also note that I did not limit shows to any prescribed maximum. You’ll notice that certain programs keep popping up, like Community and Nathan for You. They deserve it, as they’re the types of shows that revolutionized themselves on the regular.

So here are the television morsels from the 2010s that shine within the context of their full works and also stand brilliantly on their own.

Best TV Shows of the 2010s

March 26, 2020

jmunney Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Television 30 Rock, American Dad!, Atlanta, Baskets, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Better Call Saul, Billy on the Street, Bob's Burgers, Bojack Horseman, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Community, Documentary Now!, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Halt and Catch Fire, Hannibal, Key & Peele, Mad Men, Man Seeking Woman, Nathan for You, New Girl, Pose, Review, Review (TV Series), Rick and Morty, The Eric Andre Show, The Middle, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks The Return 3 Comments

CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots

As a voracious consumer of Peak TV, I could have easily filled my list of the Best TV Shows of the 2010s with hundreds of entries. But instead, I chose to zero in on a golden set of 25 that I am absolutely sure I love and will continue to love for years to come. These are the shows that affected me profoundly when I first watched them and that continued to linger in my brain and my soul as the decade marched on.

Best TV Episodes of 2017

February 27, 2018

jmunney Best of 2017, Best of TV 2017, Television Angel Man, Better Call Saul, Big Mouth, Black Mirror, Bojack Horseman, Chicanery, Cryogenics; Lightning; Last Review, Dance Dance Resolution, eps3.4_runtime-error.r00, eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko, Finding Frances, Goodwill, Great News, Halt and Catch Fire, Hang the DJ, Honeypot!, Morty's Mind Blowers, Mr. Robot, Nathan for You, Requiem for a Wet Dream, Review, Rick and Morty, Ten of Swords, The Anecdote, The Good Place, The Ricklantis Mixup, Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories, Time's Arrow, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks The Return, Twin Peaks The Return Part 17, Twin Peaks The Return Part 18, Twin Peaks The Return Part 8, Who Needs a Guy Leave a comment

CREDIT: Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME

These episodes of television all originally aired in North America between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. I watched them, and I enjoyed doing so. I bet you will feel the same while watching them … if you haven’t already.

1. Twin Peaks: The Return – “Part 8”
2. Nathan for You – “The Anecdote”
3. Halt and Catch Fire – “Who Needs a Guy”
4. Nathan for You – “Finding Frances”
5. Rick and Morty – “Morty’s Mind Blowers”
6. Better Call Saul – “Chicanery”
7. Halt and Catch Fire – “Ten of Swords”
8. Black Mirror – “Hang the DJ”
9. Twin Peaks: The Return – “Part 17”
10. Halt and Catch Fire – “Goodwill”
11. Twin Peaks: The Return – “Part 18”
12. Mr. Robot – “eps3.4_runtime-error.r00”
13. Review – “Cryogenics; Lightning; Last Review”
14. The Good Place – “Dance Dance Resolution”
15. Great News – “Honeypot!”
16. Big Mouth – “Requiem for a Wet Dream”
17. Rick and Morty – “The Ricklantis Mixup”
18. Mr. Robot – “eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko”
19. BoJack Horseman – “Time’s Arrow”
20. Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories – “Angel Man”

Best TV Shows of 2017

December 30, 2017

jmunney Best of 2017, Best of TV 2017, Television Best of 2017, Better Call Saul, Downward Dog, Fargo, Halt and Catch Fire, Mr. Robot, Review, Review (TV Series), Search Party, The Good Place, TV, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks The Return Leave a comment

CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): Michael Gibson/FXX; Showtime; AMC; Kelsey McNeal/ABC

This ranking was originally posted on News Cult in December 2017.

In recent past best-of-year lists, I have pointed out the impossibility of watching every single program that airs on television. The medium is now saturated to the point that not only could one average viewer be watching a completely different set of shows than another average viewer, but so could one professional critic be similarly disconnected to another critic. It naturally follows then that no best-of is any more “correct” than any other. But this has been the case all along. The value of such year-end curating is not a matter of accuracy, but of insight and personal style. Thus, I encourage readers to seek out as many best-of lists as they find edifying, from as diverse a group of critics as possible. Think of each as the best according to a particular palette. Here is my contribution to that cornucopia.

(Shows that were top 10-worthy this year that I didn’t have enough room for include Baskets, BoJack Horseman, The Carmichael Show, Legion, Rick and Morty, Riverdale, Silicon Valley, Speechless, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Young Pope, and You’re the Worst.)

10. Review (Comedy Central)
If this list were determined by density of entertainment value alone, the three-episode final season of Review would easily take the top spot. Andy Daly’s career-defining work as “life reviewer” Forrest MacNeil brought his combination of explosive hilarity and existential despair to its logical eternally continuous endpoint. Great series finales tend to be either ambiguous or definitive; Review’s is somehow both open-ended and forcefully conclusive.

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Best TV Episodes of the 2010s

Best TV Shows of the 2010s

Best TV Episodes of 2017

Best TV Shows of 2017

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