Let’s consider, for a moment, Jesse Pinkman. The 2010s saw a whole new era of television ushered in, a swell in programming so immense it’s difficult to comprehend. Want to feel old? FX’s John Landgraf coined the phrase “Peak TV” in 2015, when the total number of scripted shows on television was a whopping 422. Quaint, isn’t it? Now we’re not only up by dozens and dozens of series, but multiple new networks—two new streaming services in this month alone—and there’s no end in sight. And in there was Jesse Pinkman, the “yeah, bitch” guy. A walking GIF factory.
He was always more than that, of course. As played by Aaron Paul, Jesse sums up the best of what this decade of television has to offer, a messy, contradictory human being who was “Yeah, bitch! Magnets!” one moment and a guy playing peekabo with the criminally neglected child of two meth addicts the next. He got his ending, and a bonus besides, rounding out the decade with the Breaking Bad coda El Camino, arriving not on AMC but on Netflix. A genre-, emotion-, and network-jumping force. A great character in a great series, a meme and a marvel. Not every excellent character, nor show, in the 2010s found an audience, but viewers had more terrific options than they’d ever had before, and sometimes all it took was one big moment—one “yeah bitch,” one ATM to the face—to break through.
These 100 shows did, in spite of all the noise. They are daring and familiar, polished and wild. Some began before the decade did—our rule of thumb, for the curious, was that a series had to air at least half its episodes after January 1, 2010—while others are just getting started. But all caught our attention, not just for one GIF, but for hours of challenging viewing, enjoyable escape, or both. We’ve not yet seen Peak TV’s peak, and yeah, we’re overwhelmed and exhausted—but we’re grateful for all the incredible art, all the same. Dasvidaniya, 2010s—and thanks for the memories, Jesse.
100. Ash Vs. Evil Dead (Starz)
99. The Kroll Show (Comedy Central)
98. Dark (Netflix)
97. This Is Us (NBC)
96. The Great British Bake Off (BBC/PBS)
95. Review (Comedy Central)
94. American Vandal (Netflix)
93. The Bridge (FX)
92. One Day at a Time (Netflix)
91. Insecure (HBO)
90. GLOW (Netflix)
89. The Walking Dead (AMC)
88. Burning Love (Yahoo)
87. The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
86. Westworld (HBO)
85. Narcos (Netflix)
84. Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
83. Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
82. Broadchurch (BBC)
81. Jane the Virgin (CW)
80. On Cinema at the Cinema (Adult Swim)
79. Vida (Starz)
78. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
77. Superstore (NBC)
76. Sense 8 (Netflix)
75. The Night Of (HBO)
74. Peaky Blinders (Netflix)
73. The Jinx (HBO)
72. American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (FX)
71. Master of None (Netflix)
70. Luther (BBC)
69. Barry (HBO)
68. The Eric Andre Show (Adult Swim)
67. The Knick (Cinemax)
66. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
65. Terriers (FX)
64. Difficult People (Hulu)
63. Pose (FX)
62. Killing Eve (BBC/Amazon)
61. American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
60. Big Little Lies (HBO)
59. Queer Eye (OWN)
58. Better Things (FX)
57. Happy Endings (ABC)
56. Russian Doll (Netflix)
55. You’re the Worst (FX)
54. Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
53. Rectify (Sundance)
52. Show Me a Hero (HBO)
51. Jessica Jones (Netflix)
50. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
49. I Think You Should Leave (Netflix)
48. Last Week Tonight (HBO)
47. Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)
46. Ru Paul’s Drag Race (VH1)
45. Mindhunter (Netflix)
44. Orphan Black (BBC)
43. Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
42. Eastbound and Down (HBO)
41. Downton Abbey (BBC/PBS)
40. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
39. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
38. New Girl (FOX)
37. The Crown (BBC/Netflix)
36. Enlightened (HBO)
35. 11.22.63 (Hulu)
34. True Detective (HBO)
33. The Good Place (NBC)
32. Chernobyl (HBO)
31. Documentary Now (IFC)
30. Girls (HBO)
29. Better Call Saul (AMC)
28. Parks and Recreation (NBC)
27. American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (FX)
26. Bojack Horseman (Netflix)
25. Black Mirror (BBC/Netflix)
24. Broad City (Comedy Central)
23. Game of Thrones (HBO)
22. Community (NBC)
21. Fargo (FX)
20. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)
19. Making a Murderer (Netflix)
18. Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
17. When They See Us (Netflix)
16. Succession (HBO)
15. Hannibal (NBC)
14. Key and Peele (Comedy Central)
13. Justified (FX)
12. Steven Universe (Cartoon Network)
11. The Leftovers (HBO)
10. Halt and Catch Fire (AMC)
9. Atlanta (FX)
8. Veep (HBO)
7. Twin Peaks (Showtime)
6. Fleabag (BBC/Amazon)
5. Stranger Things (Netflix)
4. Nathan For You (Comedy Central)
3. Mad Men (AMC)
2. Breaking Bad (AMC)
1. The Americans (FX)