Hopefully, you've caught at least one of these iconic TV shows over the past decade. Which one do you miss?
As we enter a new decade, we bring new TV shows with us, but it also may have been hard for us to leave a few behind! We Americans seem to have a VERY hard time parting ways with our cable and streaming companies when they take our entertainment away; we even feel personally attacked and betrayed. Yet, no good thing can last forever. Check out five TV shows we left behind this past decade, and if you haven't seen them, binge them.
5. The Americans
The Americans caught a lot of attention when it came out on FX, due to the show allegedly being based somewhat off of a true story in America. The plot involves two Russian sleeper-agents who are totally assimilated to American lifestyle and culture—and who are spying for the Russian government. Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) are undercover travel agents during the day, while full-fledged Russian spies at night (sometimes during the day as well … they tend to leave work a lot). The pair even have two children who are unaware of their parents' true identity at first. Oh, and the best part is that their neighbor (whom they become very close and good friends with) just so happens to be an FBI agent working counterintelligence against Russian spies.
Watch it on Amazon Prime.
4. Scandal
It is safe to say that Scandal defined Kerry Washington’s career in the best way possible. Whenever someone mentions or refers to someone as Olivia Pope (Washington), it is safe to assume that is a good thing … depending on who says it, of course! Olivia Pope is an extremely motivated, Type A alpha female who runs (literally) most government and political-ish things going on in Washington, D.C. But don’t be fooled; a lot of Pope’s work is BEYOND illegal. She also has an on-and-off relationship with the president of the United States (Tony Goldwyn) which is completely toxic, but we are all here for it.
Watch it on Netflix.
3. Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan (creator of Breaking Bad) somehow persuaded tons of Americans to think making meth in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was interesting. He did this through a high-school chemistry teacher named Walter White who has cancer (Bryan Cranston) and who recruits a high school burnout named Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to aid him in making and selling the best meth in order to secure financial freedom for his family before he dies. But this is not simply a “do bad to obtain good” story. White and Pinkman quickly get sucked into a life of crime they can’t escape even if they tried. White’s brother-in-law is also a DEA Agent, so there’s that.
Watch it on Netflix.
2. Orange Is the New Black (OITNB)
This one probably didn’t expect to blow up the way it did. OITNB hit Netflix in 2013 to tell the tale of Piper Chapman (Taylor Schiling) who is a public relations executive and living a totally normal life, when she is sentenced to federal prison for being associated with someone who had her run drugs 10 years ago. Totally not cut out for the prison life, Chapman quickly learns how to survive with many humorous and disastrous moments along the way.
Watch it on Netflix.
1. Game of Thrones (GOT)
This one goes without much explanation. Even if you did not watch GOT, you likely knew exactly what was going on each week due to 98 percent of people (unverified statistic) talking about it around you—or recapping you even if you don’t care. Either you were thrilled GOT officially ended in 2019, or felt upset every Sunday night. GOT is about two families fighting for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and arguably the biggest TV show of the decade. Fans seemed to be displeased with the final season, but the overall review seems to be a major hit. Word on the street is HBO had a $6-15 million budget PER episode, so you know avid GOT viewers were gladly helping them foot that bill.
Watch it on Hulu and HBO Now.
Did your favorite show make the list? Share your thoughts below!
