45. American Vandal (Netflix – 2017 to 2018): 10/10 Ponch
“American Vandal” is a mockumentary comedy series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda. The series is a parody of modern true crime documentaries. The first season follows a high school prank of vandalism, with 27 phallic images drawn on the school faculty’s cars. Class clown Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro) is expelled after being accused of the crime by the school. A recorded investigation into the incident is launched by classmates Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and his friend Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck), to see if Dylan is truly guilty.
The second season takes us to a Private Catholic School where Peter and Sam investigate a new crime. Someone calling themselves “The Turd Burglar” dumps Maltitol into the school cafeteria’s lemonade, causing everyone to defecate all over the school during a day the students dub ” “The Brown Out”. Kevin McClain (Travis Tope) is the main suspect placed under house arrest after a forced confession of the Turd Burglar crimes. “American Vandal” was nominated in 2018 for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.
I know what you are thinking, that I ranked this too high because you have never seen it or never heard of it, but I didn’t. “American Vandal” is the greatest true-crime parody of all time and one of the only truly modern generational comedies on this entire list. This series wasn’t made for old stuffy Emmy voters; this was made by two guys who got their start at “Funny or Die”, “CollegeHumor” and “Screen Junkies”. It stars mostly unknown actors who you truly believe are in high school but do have large followings for their own YouTube channels with millions of subscribers. So someone, most likely your teenage or college-age relative knows who they are. Tatro should have been nominated for an Emmy, he was incredible. These are very modern creators who wanted to make fresh content. There are plenty of shows on this list from the primetime channels for Grandma and Grandpa, but Perrault and Yacenda wanted to make a very funny series parodying the modern popular crime documentary series like “Making a Murderer”, “The Jinx” and the popular “Serial” podcast. Not only did they make a great comedy series, they succeeded in making a superior show than the series they were mocking. The two seasons are far more than just potty humor. Per the creators, Netflix had to be assured the show was “more than just a d$@k joke sketch”. The series is full of heart to go along with both wacky and subtle humor. Both season’s plots and mystery are really engaging and realistic even though they are presented as potty humor. I really hope this series is picked up again or Perrault and Yacenda get a chance to do something similar. This is really thought-provoking commentary on the true crime genre and one of the funniest series of the last decade.
8.2/10 IMDB – 98% RT – 76% Metacritic
Streaming On: Netflix Subscription
44. 24 (FOX – 2001 to 2014): 10/10 Ponch
“24” is a long-running action drama series created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, a counter-terrorist secret agent. It’s the longest-running espionage or counterterrorism-themed drama in the history of television. “24” is shot in a unique method for television if it was in real-time where events are portrayed at the same rate at which the characters experience them. Each season, comprised of 24 episodes, covering one day or 24 hours in Bauer’s life with a clock countdown letting the audience know the exact time in the day. Each episode represented one hour. “24” often was shot with split screens or picture-in-pictures, another method that was rarely used in television at the time, showing events occurring at the same time, or the context in which various subplots are affecting each other. Most of the seasons play out like political thrillers with Bauer racing against the clock. There are tons of co-stars on “24” but only four other actors really worth mentioning who were in a majority of the episodes: Mary Lynn Rajskub as Bauer’s most trusted Analyst Chloe O’Brian, Elisha Cuthbert as Bauer’s daughter Kim, Dennis Haysbert as President of the US David Palmer, and Carlos Bernard as Tony Almedia another Senior Analyst. “24” was a groundbreaking show that received 68 Emmy nominations winning 20 times and including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama by Kiefer Sutherland.
“24” is one of the best action thrillers of all time and is quite possibly the bested edited show of all time. The sound, music, and camera work were pretty revolutionary if you add in its unique real-time episodic method, it makes for a very thrilling watch. Although it’s commonplace now because of the increase in production value in streaming and digital camera work, Sutherland was one of the first movie stars to go from film to TV where he became a bigger star because of “24”. He helped start the movement of movie stars not looking as television as a lesser medium, and this led to a lot of the great series’ stars we saw in the mid to the latter half of the decade. “24” was always action-packed and moved at an incredible pace, making it one of the more enjoyable shows on television. Sutherland proved it was more than just the unique real-time method that made “24” great, after spin-offs like “24: Legacy” and copycat series weren’t really as popular or entertaining. FOX should be given a ton of credit for not only pushing the television genre in editing and camera work forward but paying a bona fide star to lead the cast. “24” is easily one of the best action series of all time and typically will be considered in the top 50 shows of all time on most critics list.
8.3/10 IMDB – 86% RT –79% Metacritic
Streaming On: Hulu Subscription
43. The Defiant Ones (HBO – 2017): 10/10 Ponch
“The Defiant Ones” is a four-part music documentary series that tells the story and friendship between two music producing legends Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. They are two very similar men who grew up very differently, but became good friends and helped transform music and culture. Filmed over a three-year period by director Allen Hughes, starting in the 1980s when they met, leading up to the present day where they brokered a deal with Apple to purchase “Beats by Dre”. The series is mostly told by Dre and Jimmy but also includes commentary by Stevie Nicks, Kendrick Lamar, Trent Reznor, Eminem, Bono, David Geffen, Bruce Springsteen, Gwen Stefani, Jon Landau, DOC, Tom Petty, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube. Also featured is never-before-seen interviews and footage of recording and writing sessions from all of these artists. “The Defiant Ones” won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film in 2018 and was nominated for five Emmy awards, losing the Outstanding Documentary to “Wild Wild Country”.
This was an extremely captivating documentary series that was better paced than most of the other documentaries I saw in the decade. It did spend a lot of time really idolizing Dre and Jimmy, which was a little self-serving and overly gushy. The last episode of the documentary’s series was also the least enjoyable because it really just concentrated on the Apple merger. The first 3 episodes however were TV Gold or rather PlatinumX10. Viewers get an inside look at the beginnings of West Coast Hip Hop and really the history of the genre overall. You also get an insider’s look at how relenting the pair was to make it in the music industry. I really enjoyed the way they covered the writing and producing process. You learn that Jimmy can spot a hit from a mile away and Dre is one of the most talented people on Earth. The “Deathrow” and 2Pac aspects were also really interesting. Almost every music genre is touched upon with a concentration on the Hip Hop genre. Seeing those moments, where some of these very well-known artists could have easily not made it in the industry, was fascinating. That was the real engaging part about the documentary: Had something minor turned out differently or went a different way than it did, we would have never heard about some of them. Usually, one hit recording or one live show changed their entire lives. If you like music especially Hip Hop, you should definitely check this series out. “The Defiant Ones” is the best modern music documentary of the past ten years.
8.6/IMDB – 100% RT – 76% Metacritic
Streaming On: HBO Now/Go/Max Subscription
42. The Good Place (NBC – 2016 to 2020): 10/10 Ponch
“The Good Place” is a fantasy comedy created by Michael Schur (“The Office”,” Parks and Recreation”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Master of None”). The show follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), and three other people who arrive in what is portrayed as the afterlife. They are welcomed by Michael (Ted Danson) to what he describes as the “The Good Place”. “The Good Place” is essentially Heaven or at least a Heaven-like paradise that Michael helped design. Eleanor realizes that she was sent there by mistake and must become a better person while trying to hide her mostly immorally or unethical behavior. Other residents of “the Good Place”, are Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper)a deceased Ethics and Philosophy Professor and Eleanor’s love interest, Tahani Al-Jamil (Jameela Jamil) a deceased wealthy socialite and philanthropist and Jason Mendoza (Manny Jacinto) a deceased dimwitted drug dealer and DJ from Jacksonville, FL. Also, D’Arcy Carden plays an artificial almost omniscient being named Janet, who assists Good Place residents. “The Good Place” has received critical acclaim for its acting, writing, and originality even though it’s only been nominated for 7 Emmys without ever winning.
“The Good Place” is quite possibly the best-written comedy in the history of television. I’m not sure how Schur and the very diverse writing group even came up with the concept let alone all the twists. I imagine because of Schur’s track record, it allowed this group of creators to have a plan from the beginning without fear of being canceled. There are so many throwaway lines, you will often want to go back and watch full episodes and full seasons to see what clues you may have missed. “The Good Place” is so smart and well-executed by the actors. It’s rare that a comedy gets better every season and even more rare for it to go out on top, knowing exactly when to call it quits. That’s what so amazing about “The Good Place”; it somehow has an extremely satisfying ending, despite being based on subject matter that most philosophers and theologians haven’t really decided on or figured out yet. Danson and Bell are both terrific leads, and the supporting cast are all primed for bigger things especially Carden who showed a tremendous amount of comedy range. Although “The Good Place” never received the awards or reached the ratings heights that some of Schur’s other shows did, I believe Moral and Ethics, Philosophy, Broadcasting and Media Professors in colleges around the country are going to be using “The Good Place” as teaching material for many years to come. It will slowly be ingrained into the pop culture lexicon, as creators look back at how to properly conceptualized a series.
8.2/10 IMDB – 97% RT – 82% Metacritic
Streaming On: NBC On-Demand, NBC Peacock, Netflix Subscription, Hulu Subscription
41. True Detective (HBO – 2014 to 2019): 10/10 Ponch
“True Detective” is an anthology crime drama series broken up into three parts in three separate seasons with a different cast, very loosely tied together by creator Nic Pizzolatto. You do not have to watch all three seasons to get a full story. Each season tells its own full story. The series has been nominated 22 times winning five Emmy Awards with most of the nominations and wins coming in the first season.
In the first season airing in 2014, Louisiana State Police Detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) are brought back into the station in 2012, to revisit a homicide case they worked in 1995. As the inquiry unfolds in present-day through separate interrogations, the two former detectives narrate the story of their investigation, reopening unhealed wounds, and drawing into question their supposed solving of a bizarre ritualistic murder in 1995. Both Harrelson and McConaughey were nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The first season of True Detective is by far the best season and if this were considered a mini-series it would be ranked higher on this list. McConaughey and Harrelson are like two real-life stepbrothers and they shine in this HBO thriller. TV rarely gives us shows with two great actors in their prime in non-romantic roles. They have so much chemistry, that you would think the two actors were relatives, that knew each other, their whole lives. McConaughey’s portrayal of Cohle in 1995 and 2012 is especially captivating. He was robbed of the Emmy in 2014. He should have been the first actor to win an Emmy and Oscar in the same year if it wasn’t for Bryan Cranston’s “Breaking Bad” going away party. I love “Breaking Bad” but McConaughey was slightly better that year (even if the show wasn’t better) and this is one the best first seasons of any show ever produced. If this list was compiled of seasons rather than full series, season one of “True Detective” would be in the top three of the best seasons ever to be seen on the small screen.
Airing in 2015, the second season takes place in the fictional town of Vinci, CA. following the interweaving stories of California Highway Patrol Officer Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) who discovers the body of Ben Caspere a corrupt city manager on the side of a highway. Police Department detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division Sergeant Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) are called to assist in the murder investigation. Caspere was part of the rail project with Career criminal Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn). Frank wants to legitimize his underworld business with his wife Jordan (Kelly Reilly) when he loses his investment money in the rail project when Caspere is killed, prompting him to start his own investigation. Season two of the series isn’t a bad as most critics review it, it’s still a very engaging show but the issue is that it just pales in comparison to the first season. There were very high expectations for it and the actors were just not as strong in this season as McConaughey and Harrelson. Viewers can skip this season if they would like because you don’t need to view it for any continuity reasons, but it’s still entertaining enough if you like crime dramas and better than a lot of crime dramas on other networks. The sound mixing and atmosphere building are both still very good.
In 2019, the third season takes place in the Ozarks in Northwest Arkansas over three separate time periods 1980, 1990, and 2015, as two detectives Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali) and Roland West (Stephen Dorff) investigate a gruesome crime involving two missing children. Carmen Ejogo plays Amelia Reardon, who is a schoolteacher and then writer who eventually marries Hays. Season three primarily follows Hays and West as they try to solve the mystery behind the murders of the two children. In 1990, the unsolved case is reopened. Hays is informed that one of the children is still alive. 2015 focuses on present-day and the repercussions and possible mistakes the two detectives made in the case as a dementia-stricken Hays has trouble telling the difference between present-day reality, the truth, the past, and what he fabricates in his mind. The third season is looked at by most critics as a return to form for the series compared to a weaker second season, but it is still not nearly as good as the first season. The third season is carried on the backs of the phenomenal cast. Ali is one of the greatest actors of his generation and Dorff is really underrated, he consistently puts in great performances as he does in this series. Season three isn’t a must-see but it is worth watching just to view Dorff’s and especially Ali’s performance. Once again if you enjoy crime dramas, season three of “True Detective” should still be on your list to binge and it helped elevate this series higher on this decade’s list.
9.1/10 IMDB – 78% RT – 73% Metacritic
Streaming On: HBO Now/Go/Max Subscription
