TV in 2000 was in a sad state, as remnants from the ’90s like ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ and ‘Boy Meets World’ left the airwaves and reality TV swept the world with the first seasons of ‘Survivor’ and ‘Big Brother’ leading to an onslaught of bottom-feeder horrors like ‘Who Wants to Marry A Multi-Millionnaire’, on which two strangers were married on live television, invaded the boob tube.
But what a difference 20 years makes, as TV is now turning out projects that blow away theatrical films in terms of emotional weight and jaw-dropping shockers. TV of the 2000s and 20-teens has hosted such winners as ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Mad Men’, ‘Dexter’, ‘Sons of Anarchy’, ‘The West Wing’, ‘Downton Abbey’, and sooooo many more. Nowadays, streaming is king, delivering newer buzzy hits like ‘Fleabag’, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, and ‘Orange is the New Black’.
But what are the absolute BEST shows of the 21st century? The UK’s Digital Spy asked readers that very question. In honor of their first digital issue, available through Amazon News+, the publication took a poll, and the results…?
Well, for starters, none of the shows I mentioned are on the list.
Hoist your chalice! ‘Game of Thrones’ has “officially” been crowned the Greatest TV Show of the 21st Century! Yes, despite the sharp downturn the series took towards its end, fans still enjoyed the series overall enough for it to take the top spot.
#2 went to ‘Stranger Things’. I know some people feel the second and third seasons fell short, which I sort of agree with, but I still think they’re better than a lot of what’s out there, and remember that first season! That was the retro-80s kick we all never knew we needed until it arrived!
Keep in mind, Digital Spy is based out of the UK and most voters also live there, so the votes are skewed in that direction. The Top 5 could easily be the same choices that Americans would have voted for, but the bottom five… well, most Americans have never even heard of them. But here are the results:
- Game of Thrones
- Stranger Things
- Doctor Who
- Sherlock
- Breaking Bad
- The Great British Bake Off
- Killing Eve
- Gavin & Stacey
- Line of Duty
- Chernobyl
Hmmm, definitely skewed. ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Sherlock’ have large followings in the US, but are still sort of cult favorites. ‘Killing Eve’ is great, but once again, not a true mainstream “sensation.” ‘Chernobyl’ won a lot of awards, but didn’t generate the buzz of HBO’s latest miniseries smash, ‘Watchmen’.
Also, this list skews very new. A lot of these are still being made.
Go ahead and disagree! What do you think were the best shows of the last 20 years?
