Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever

Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever
Slide Nr 1
Grey’s Anatomy, Homeland, 24, House of Cards, Broadchurch, Deadwood, Westworld, The Crown, Orange Is The New Black and Downton Abbey. Just some of the shows that didn’t make our list. Read on to discover which ones did…

0/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 2
Band Of Brothers (2001) – Few TV shows are fortunate enough to earn the instant respect that Band of Brothers did. HBO’s 10-episode miniseries presented the story of Easy Company as its men entered the European battlefield in World War II. The episodes were prefaced with real veterans recounting their memories, a decision which could easily have made the subsequent fictionalised drama seem fake, but instead the opposite was true: the show’s drama took on new meaning and depth in the knowledge that these or similar scenes were experienced by countless thousands of real young men – many of whom never came home.

1/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 3
The Office, UK (2001-2003) – Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant transformed television comedy with their mockumentary-style account of a paper supplies company in Slough, England. As if co-writing one of TV’s landmark comedies wasn’t enough, Gervais also played the central character, David Brent. The humour is often quite subtle, with its all-too-real depiction of office monotony, but at other times it’s grotesque and deliciously cynical, delivering more than a handful of “did he/she really just say that?” moments per episode.

2/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 4
The Office, US (2005-2013) – Released two years after the original British series concluded, and renaming fictional paper company Wernham Hogg as Dunder Mifflin, the US incarnation of The Office initially seemed very much like a pale imitation of the UK version. It was from Season Two, however, that the show truly came into its own – with not just Steve Carell shining in the lead role, but the entire cast as well. With its team of writers flexing their comedic muscles, it’s no surprise that the show powered its way to nine award-winning seasons – well beyond the two seasons that The Office (UK) achieved.

3/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 5
The Wire (2002-2008) – There are many reasons why The Wire is a contender to be the greatest television drama ever made: faultless acting that brought the likes of Idris Elba to a mainstream audience; the writing genius of former police reporter David Simon; its relentless realism with the often scathing depiction of life in Baltimore, Maryland. These are just a few, but for hardcore fans it’s also the patient, painstaking plot development that gradually illuminates a new dimension of the city in each season, adding depth (and despair) to the increasingly harrowing picture.

4/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 6
Lost (2004-2010) – Few shows have captured the popular imagination like JJ Abrams’s Lost. Blurring genres from mystery to supernatural and science-fiction, the show’s basic premise of air crash survivors stranded on a tropical island provided a powerful initial hook. A strong ensemble cast and lavish production values added to the appeal. Despite these more obvious attractions, no one should underestimate its skilled use of techniques such as flashbacks and flashforwards to maintain and manipulate the attention of the audience.

5/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 7
30 Rock (2006-2013) – This satirical sitcom is loosely based on Tina Fey’s experiences writing for Saturday Night Live. That simple description, however, fails to capture the mercurial brilliance of 30 Rock, whether through its inspired writing, ingenious techniques (such as cutaways) and the outstanding cast, with the likes of Jane Krakowski and Tracy Morgan starring alongside Fey. Make no mistake, 30 Rock remains an enduring landmark in television comedy.

6/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 8
The Killing (2007-2012) – Police procedurals were never quite the same after Forbrydelsen – or The Killing, as it was known to English-speaking audiences. Tough, gritty, even bleak at times, and with a liberal sprinkling of plot twists, the show introduced viewers to an entirely new kind of crime drama. Sure, there had been similar shows before, notably the original Swedish Wallander series, but it was The Killing that took Scandi noir mainstream.

7/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 9
Mad Men (2007-2015) – A contender for many learned critics’ “best TV show ever”, Matthew Weiner’s depiction of a plucky 1960s Madison Avenue ad agency keeping pace with bigger competitors, thanks to inspiration from head of creative Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and rising copywriter Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), first gained cult success before eventually earning universal acclaim and taking home all the major industry awards. That’s the simple take. An alternative view is that it changed TV forever by using its central theme as a backdrop to portray changes in gender politics, consumer culture and society in general. If you missed Mad Men first time around, then take a look for yourself.

8/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 10
The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019) – A controversial choice, given its consistently mediocre reception among critics and outdated use of canned laughter. What makes The Big Bang Theory stand out, though, isn’t so much its tired sitcom conventions, but rather its transformative celebration of geek culture. This is the show that demonstrated above all others that geek culture is now mainstream. More than that, the geeks are actually relatable and centre stage, instead of just being comedic props for the jock and prom queen.

9/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 11
Breaking Bad (2008-2013) – The tale of ailing chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) – who drifts into small-scale meth production as a way to finance his medical care and protect his family’s future – emerged as one of the most innovative and popular shows in television history. Cranston’s monumental performance is at the heart of every episode, with the character of Walter White changing almost completely from the first to last episodes. This was a deliberate ploy by the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, in defiance of television norms where TV shows and their characters fit familiar cookie-cutter shapes. It was bolstered by truly outstanding cinematography, a brilliantly spare script with never a superfluous line, and a streak of dark humour that lightened White’s transformation from suburban schoolteacher to malevolent drug boss.

10/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 12
Modern Family (2009-2019) – Taking its cue from the UK and US incarnations of The Office, with its mockumentary style and breaking of the fourth wall, the show proved that a conventional family comedy could also tackle bigger societal themes – in particular different forms of families (same-sex, step and nuclear), while still maintaining a relentless pace of laughs and pay-off lines from its brilliant ensemble cast.

11/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 13
Braquo (2009-2016) – French police drama Braquo was immediately labelled by critics as the Gallic answer to shows such as The Wire or The Shield; with its remorseless realism and toughness, you can understand what they meant. Despite such high praise, the show featured its fair share of clichés – honest cops who have to bend the rules to get things done, battling to clear the name of a maligned colleague, brutalisation of suspects that they’re sure must be guilty – but Braquo is nonetheless a compelling concoction of existential angst and crime drama.

12/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 14
Game Of Thrones (2011-2019) – Winter is coming… While fans might be despairing that even the best shows must eventually come to an end, now is an opportune moment to reflect on how Game of Thrones has impacted television drama, and what its legacy might be. Based on George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy saga A Song of Ice and Fire, non-readers would have been forgiven for expecting a Lord of the Rings knock-off with a hint of The Tudors for good measure. What they got was certainly a bit of that, but also so much more, with political machinations worthy of House of Cards and the continual shock of central characters being arbitrarily killed off. The result is a cultural phenomenon just as much as a televisual one.

13/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 15
Black Mirror (2011-present) – Defining Black Mirror probably says as much about its audience as it does the show itself. Is it science-fiction? Satire? Psychological thriller? Take your pick from any or more of these descriptions, and you wouldn’t be far wrong. This anthology series started on Britain’s Channel Four before moving to Netflix, and has been described as a modern equivalent to The Twilight Zone. Black Mirror’s greatest achievement, however, is its ability to examine contemporary anxiety about the future and our connection to technology through the medium of drama in a way that no documentary could ever hope to achieve.

14/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 16
True Detective, Season One (2014) – It remains to be seen how well True Detective stands up over time, but when first broadcast it was a revelation. Although it enjoyed near universal acclaim, some bolder critics ventured mild observations that the pacing was quite ponderous, while others questioned the show’s finale. Despite such mild doubts, the show is nevertheless a brilliant, brooding, auteurist masterpiece, and the haunting performances of both leading actors – Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey – are nothing less than spellbinding.

15/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 17
Mr. Robot (2015-2019) – As the seasons stack up, it’s inevitable that any long-running television drama has a few dips or uneven patches, but Mr. Robot has been more consistent than most in maintaining the high standards its fans would expect. Much of that standard derives from its smart, fast-paced storylines, but above all revolves around the central character of Elliot, played with luminous intensity by Rami Malek, who is beset by social anxiety and works as a tech engineer by day …but dons his hoodie superhero costume as an insurgent hacker by night.

16/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 18
Stranger Things (2016-present) – Netflix has taken binge-watching to a new level with this atmospheric and often genuinely spooky slice of ‘80s nostalgia. It feels like something Steven Spielberg might have conjured up himself during the ‘80s, or that JJ Abrams might have homaged 20 years later. Instead we have Matt and Ross Duffer to thank for this landmark drama built around a group of Dungeons & Dragons-loving young teens and set in 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana. While the plot may not always be as surprising as some viewers might want, the real standout is the young cast – with Millie Bobby Brown a particular highlight, ably supported (appropriately enough) by original ‘80s teen idol Winona Ryder.

17/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 19
The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-present) – This powerful dystopian drama is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name. Its profoundly disturbing story of fertile women forced into child-bearing servitude couldn’t be more timely, holding up a mirror to today’s cultural debates and prefaced by the #metoo movement. Centre stage is Elisabeth Moss, who has now been pivotal to the success of two landmark televisual shows in Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale.

18/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 20
Killing Eve (2018-present) – Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag fame, Killing Eve is a gripping action-spy thriller that tells the story of an MI5 security officer hunting down a dangerous assassin. Or is the assassin hunting down the security officer? All of which sounds like fairly pedestrian fare, and probably would be if it wasn’t for Waller-Bridge’s effervescent script, replete with earthy dialogue and killer one-liners – plus the fact that both characters are female and, not just that, but complex, three-dimensional female characters, not simply decorative props for a Bond-style hero.

19/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 21
Sex Education (2018-present) – Parents might be less comfortable with some of the themes of this bawdy yet heartfelt teen dramedy, but it’s refreshingly realistic compared to the majority of over-stylised and over-glamourised teen dramas. The show focuses on the sexual anxieties and emotional insecurities of 16-year-old Otis, whose mother is, ironically, a relationship counsellor. While Otis himself is working through his own personal issues, the show reveals how he is at least able to advise and support his circle of friends and fellow students.

20/21
Culture
Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever.
Slide Nr 22
The Sopranos (1999-2007) – Okay, we admit it, we lied when we promised you “Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever”. But rules are made to be broken, and there could be no better excuse for adding a 21st option to our list than to accommodate The Sopranos, which began in 1999 but was a prototype and influence in some way for almost all of the millennial shows on the list above. Modern television drama owes an eternal debt to David Chase’s tale of Tony Soprano and his fellow New Jersey mobsters. The Sopranos might be the last title on our list, but it all began here…

21/21
Editor's Choice
20 Film Sequels That Were Better Than The Original
Hollywood sequels tend to make a bang at the box office ...and then fizzle into obscurity. Not so with these cinematic gems, still outshining their predecessors to this day

19 Death-Defying Action Scenes That Were Completely Real
There may be lots of wires, but it’s not disbelief that’s being suspended in these real-life action scenes that had actors going above and beyond – quite literally

No Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

15 Movie Sequels That Were Worth The Wait

Better late than never: these highly anticipated movie sequels kept fans waiting – sometimes for decades – before becoming classics in their own right

Page-Turning TV: The Best TV Shows Based On Books

To watch or to read? That is the question when it comes to these 15 compelling TV shows that made the leap from the page to the screen – some of which might surprise you

Threads Of Change

Vanessa Barragaõ on weaving tradition and sustainability into captivating works of textile art

14 Iconic Cinemas Worth Travelling For

More than fresh popcorn and cushy seats, these picture palaces around the world offer a blend of fascinating history, stunning architecture and, yes, top-notch films

Your Next Read: 10 Books For Late Summer Enjoyment

From nail-biting thrillers to steamy romance and twisted short fiction, these books were made for devouring on a plane, in a beach chair or wherever your summer takes you

The Year In Art: 11 Incredible Exhibitions To Catch Now

From blockbuster biennales to captivating retrospectives and celebrations of famed creatives, these art exhibitions deserve a spot on your cultural bucket list this year

The 15 Greatest Animated Characters Of The 21st-Century

Once the purview of children, animated films have come into their own. From the funny to the heartfelt, we look at the most memorable animated characters of the past years

Quiz: What Kind Of TV Watcher Are You?

You’re a TV fan for sure, but what kind of fan? Take this quiz to discover your TV-watching style – and get our tips on what shows to catch next

5 Minutes With… Artist Helga Stentzel

Read on to find out what artist Helga Stentzel told us regarding art, observation, and social media conversations

Dreams On Screen: The 15 Greatest Fantasy TV Shows

Sometimes we watch TV to explore our world, and sometimes we watch to escape it entirely. We look at 15 fantasy shows that swept us off our feet and into realms unknown

Pride On Film: 15 Movies That Celebrate LGBTQ+ Joy

This Pride Month, queue up the best movies that celebrate LGBTQ+ joy – and reveal the happiness that comes from being your unapologetically authentic self

Queens Of Action: 15 Iconic Female Action Heroes

As we prepare for a summer box office full of fierce female action heroes, we look at the fictional women who have burst through the screen and into cinema history

Culture

Twenty 21st-Century Shows That Changed TV Forever

0/21

Culture