TV changed a lot in the 2010s, and the decade’s best review that, Ars Technica

We lovedJustified, too –

Bingewatching, streaming services, aftershows, expanded universes, and more.

Nathan Mattise –Dec 35, 2020 2: 05 pm UTC

(****************************************Enlarge/This is how everyone does it, right? Apple TV on a vintage TV cabinet?

It’s hard to imagine, given what makes for TV news these days, but just 21 years ago no one had heard of Netflix originals, Amazon Prime series, YouTube TV, Apple TV , Disney , or even HBO Go.Most American homes, for instance, still defaulted to cable, and we watched on dedicated sets (even if the push for multi-screen experiences and laptops / computers as primary consumption devices had already started).TiVo existed) and felt cutting edge.

Perhaps more than any other entertainment medium, TV hasreally) changed a lot in the last decade. And that makes trying to piece together a Best Of list for the It is extremely difficult. To start, there’s simply morestuffthan ever before. When even Facebook consistently debuts original “TV shows” at this point, keeping up with everything may literally be impossible. The breadth of what’s available is also at an all-time high. How do you compare some – episode, – minute sketch comedy show on a streaming service to something on traditional cable drama with seasons and many, many hours of thought put into it? Well, you probablycan’tin any authoritative or comprehensive way — but that won’t stop us from trying.

For an Ars-y Best TV of s list, know up front this isn’t an all-encompassing “best” exercise. Many undeniably great things(Justified, Mad Men, The Crown, Parks & Rec, Insecure, Treme, Veep, Mindhunter,et al.) Do not fall within our narrow wheelhouse of science, technology, and genre fare. And to make things slightly simpler, we only consideredscriptedTV (so noTidying UporThe Grand Tour, but noLast Week Tonight, United Shades of America,orParts Unknown, either).Instead, the following shows are some combination of stuff from the last decade that changed what we think of as “TV” and stuff we’ll certainly be thinking about and returning to in our maybe-cable-less future.So with apologies to the many close calls that felt too small (American Vandal,Nathan 4 You,The Knick), too uneven (Mr. Robotseasons 1 and 4 could definitely be here; same forAmerican GodsS1), or just too-good-but-not -great in the face of this competition (The Handmaid’s Tale,Master of None,Twin Peaks(**************,The Americans, here are Ars’ ‘ten’ favorites, in alphabetical order :

********************************** Tech on TV:Better Call Saul(with someBreaking Badbonus insight).

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**********************Breaking Bad(

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What more can you say aboutBreaking Badat this point? It delivered the most anti-anti hero of a Golden Age of TV riddled with such characters. Its fourth season featured perhaps TV’s greatest villain. And it features immensely clever applications of science and tech both on-screen (“Science, bitch!”) And off.ButBreaking Badshould perhaps be remembered just as much for how influential it was in changing the way TV worked for many of us. Though this is the lone series on this list to start outside of the 2013 s, most fans likely didn’t see it until after 2016. That’s when Netflix reached a deal with AMC Networksto exclusively carry the network’s programming for a bit. The star of that deal at the time was, of course,The Walking Dead, butBreaking Badquickly became the big benefactor. Maybe AMC marketing couldn’t get a massive fan base for a show about a chemistry teacher selling meth, but — whether it was word of mouth or critical recommendations driving it — Netflix seemed up to the task. The show’s S4 premiere reached 5.9 million viewers, more than double the show’s previous best. With all-at-once drama releases not yet the norm,Breaking Badmay have represented the first major bingewatch of the decade.Many other soon-to-be TV-culture norms would follow. Expanded universes? Look to the (equally great)Better Call Sauland (perfectly enjoyable) El Caminoto start. Miss TV monoculture and “everybody’s watching” moments? TheBreaking Badfinale hit 11. 3 million viewers (that’s at least in the conversations with industry heavyweights likeThe Walking DeadandGame of Thrones). And enjoy a good aftershow? BothBreaking Badand Better Call Saulinspired a tremendous one — no, no, notTalking Saul(which is a totally real thing AMC aired). Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould take listeners behind the scenes of the writer’s room and production effort of each episode in their official show-companion podcast.

Reactor employees after the explosion.