It’s Consequence’s 15th anniversary, and all September long we’ll be publishing a series of retrospective pieces encompassing our publication’s own history — and the entertainment landscape in general. Today, Senior Entertainment Editor Liz Shannon Miller runs down her favorite television shows of the last 15 years.
I enjoy all forms of entertainment, but my first love was television, a medium I became obsessed with back in the days when there were no DVRs, no streaming services, no DVD box sets — just your butt in front of a TV tuned to the right channel at the right time. Stressful, but also magical in its own way.
It’s a good thing watching television has gotten a lot easier in the 21st century, because there is now a lot more than there used to be. Thus, when faced with this assignment, and with conservatively one bajillion TV shows having been released over the course of the last 15 years, a lady had to make some rules as to how to narrow it down.
In this case, I decided to focus specifically on shows which have reached an end as of publication. (This tragically eliminated Paramount+’s The Good Fight, the best sort of narrative chaos disguised as a legal drama — its final season debuts this fall.) In addition, while every show has a bad episode from time to time, if a series was objectively fantastic for most of its run except for one season, that led to its disqualification. (Don’t be mad at me, be mad at Lost Seasons 2 and/or 3, Community Season 4, Friday Night Lights Season 2, and Game of Thrones Season 8.)
And then, also, there were a few shows that I objectively agree are some of the best television ever made (The Americans, Twin Peaks: The Return, Better Things, Halt and Catch Fire) but for whatever reason were not what I would put on my personal list. After all, the amazing thing about this particular period of time in TV history is the diversity of stories being told, and stories connect differently with different people at different times. Your list and mine might differ. But that just speaks to the power of television.
Like this list? Check out our ranking of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time, and then snag some of our “Legends” merch (posters, T-shirts, and tote bags) at the Consequence Shop.
