As 2019 draws to a close, so does the decade! That can only mean one thing: lists analyzing the past decade!

We’ll start with TV shows, since they currently have better quality and are more originals than most movies being released.

In order to be featured in this list, the TV show must have premiered either after 2010 or during the 2009/2010 season. 

10. The Handmaid’s Tale

Based on the book by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale shows a harrowing dystopian future where the United States becomes Gilead, a country ruled by religion, where women are treated are slaves. It is true that the first season is far superior than the following ones, but the show is still relevant and terrifying. You may want to, but you cannot look away.

9. House of Cards

Despite the problems in the last season involving Kevin Spacey, there’s no doubt that House of Cards helped changing the way we watch television. It was the first Netflix original show and it presented the audience with the possibility of watching all the episodes back to back, as the whole season was available for streaming. Read our review of the last season here.

8. Homeland

As a fan of 24, I was easily drawn to Homeland. After all, it’s about spies and how to avoid threats in the USA. The difference is: the main character is bipolar, which means her decisions are not always the best ones. Claire Danes is perfect as CIA agent Carrie Mathison and Damian Lewis played Sgt. Nicholas Brody so well that you, indeed, spend the whole first season trying to figure out if he’s betrayed the US or not. 

7. Sherlock

Based on the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock brings the famous detective to today’s London. Watson (Martin Freeman) is also there, documenting Sherlock’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) adventures online. With a great cast and shorter seasons (though the episodes are longer than regular shows), it created the Cumberbatch-mania and introduced these wonderful characters to a new generation. 

6. The Good Wife

Even though the first season premiered in September, 2009, the show is being considered as part of this list, since it ended in 2016. For 7 seasons, we see Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) growing as a lawyer and standing her ground when it comes to tolerating her husband’s behavior. The drama and the politics are very interesting and the writing was one of the smartest on television during those years. You can see our review of the final season here.

5. Veep

When its first season originally aired back in 2012, Veep sounded way too crazy to resemble the truth of what happens in Washington, DC. As the years passed by, however, the political scenario change and the show started looking too familiar – but always extremely funny. Julia Louis-Dreyfus masters the despicable Selina Meyer on her never ending journey to power.

4. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

A housewife in the 1950s decides to become a stand-up comedian. That alone was enough to make this show interesting. But then you add the incredibly smart and peculiar dialogue of Amy Sherman-Palladino (Gilmore Girls) and the perfect cast and you have a wonderfully entertaining show. You can read our review here.

3. Downton Abbey

It is hard to explain what actually happens in Downton Abbey because it is mainly the story of British life in the 1910s – 1920s. There’s the rich family, the Crawleys, who live “upstairs” in this giant state called Downton Abbey. We also follow the lives of their servants, who live “downstairs”, with much less luxury. It is now a movie, equally entertaining and visually stunning. Also, two final words about this show: Maggie Smith.

2. The Crown

Ah, the British Royal Family! Always a fascinating topic, regardless of the period being covered. Netflix’s clever idea of doing one season per decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign allows the viewers to delve into many events that would otherwise not be included in a regular show. The cast of the first two seasons was perfect, with Claire Foy’s spectacular performance as the Queen. She’ll be replaced by Olivia Colman on season 3 and we cannot wait to see it.

1. The Americans

The Americans is one of those rare occasions when a television show gets everything right. It has spies, good music, politics, tension, and drama among the characters. As it follows two KGB spies pretending to be Americans in Washington, DC during the 1980s, the show manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, building up the tension among the characters. You can read the full review of season 6 here.

I hope your favorite show made into the list!