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eeeeehh... idk, i respect your opinion but i'd have to go with 2010s here tbh. probably because i've seen more from the decade, but visually and production-wise especially, i'm not too stoked about many popular 2000s series. i never cared too much for the 22-episode format either. plus as someone who values foreign-language productions, i can't think of any from the 2000s besides anime.

In terms of the sheer number of quality TV shows, it's never been as good as it is now, so I'll say 2012-2022

There were two "golden ages" actually. I prefer the first one from the 50s/60s. I don't know why they would give the 2nd one the same name.

The year you were born + 13 years. Whichever decade that lands in, that one.

The 60s: Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, rural comedies, Westerns, Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, Dragnet, Star Trek, fantasy comedies, Man from Uncle, Get Smart, Batman, Mister Ed. They'll be around forever.

The 10s and probably, by the end, the 20s.

>13-24 episodes a season, too! You could argue that modern series trim the fat, but in retrospect you really need that fat to build the full picture and get to know the story more deeply.

Most of those shows were procedurals, where the plots were self-contained "monster/criminal/case of the week". They weren't that deep at all in many cases.

"prestige television" (god, I hate that pretentious ass definition) is hard to beat production wise, so early 2000s to circa today. But the heart seldom follows the head, thus my personal best decade is mid 80s to mid 90s. Stellar sitcoms like Frasier and OFAH, Star Trek DS9, MacGyver, Fresh Prince, Bottom, Edge of Darkness...that is my pick

Late 90's and early 00's. You had a lot of groundbreaking shows that pioneered the genre and prestige tv formats but still had a bit of the freedom to experiment that made them creatively unique in a way modern shows don't neccessarily have.

Interesting, could you elaborate? What are your favorite 2010s series, and which major 2000s series have you seen?

i have a lot of favourite 2010s shows tbh:

Shameless, Les Revenants, Game of Thrones, Black Mirror, Spartacus, Skam, The Affair, Inside No. 9, Banshee, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Girls, The Americans, Broad City, You're the Worst, Legion etc.

> which major 2000s series have you seen?

I've seen a lot of them actually:

Lost, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Gossip Girl etc.

I know that a lot of those went over into the next decade (because they were major of course). I'd say my favourite show from the 00s is Skins though. That's the one I'll rewatch every few years. Loved the early seasons of Veronica Mars too. But overall, I don't fuck with 00s television much, especially when it comes to aesthetics, you know.

I think the 2000s had better writing and character development, and the 2010s had better cinematography and cinematics. It's a trade off, but for a show, I tend to prefer the former to the latter.

Thing is, in the 00s it was all just American. That is no longer true at all

And there is way more genre diversity now

Me being an older Redditor, I'm torn between 80's and 90's . I think 90s had more shows I enjoyed, but I think 80's had much longer seasons and networks gave their shows more time before cancelling them. Networks & streaming services especially are too quick to cancel a show if they don't pull in huge numbers in the first 2 weeks after release, especially Netflix. Their reasoning is b.s. Most need more time to gain an audience because most times it gets replaced with something far worse.

UK and Japan were making great shows in the 2000s too. And plus, a lot of genres have died off recently, like pure comedy.

The sitcom has died, yes. Japan obviously has always made anime - I meant really in terms of live-action serials.

It was like 90% US, 10% UK in the 90s and 00s.

2000s probably has my top shows of all time, but 2010s+ probably has more good shows.

> I think the 2000s had better writing and character development

this is a completely subjective thing.

Any opinion on art boils down to "its subjective". The fun is in the discussion/debate.

2010s followed by early 00s.

I think most queer people who care about representation would say: shows are doing more now and that makes the current decade better. the same goes for disabled people. and while the 90s felt like black shows were gaining traction, I think the 2010s were better than the 2000s.

I like many old shows, but I don't think anyone who cares about marginalized people and characters will pick an earlier era: it's slowly getting better, it still needs to get much better, and the current savings/cuts might be the sign that 2017, 2019 etc. were a high point (that wasn't even that "high").

Have you re-watched those shows recently?

I tried to re-watch a few shows from that era and it was rough...

I've only re watched a few from the 80's like Family Ties, Voyagers , Punky Brewster, Quantum Leap, Full House , Family Matters, The Hogan Family

A few from the 90s like The X- Files , Parker Lewis Can't Lose,That 70s Show, It's Your Move

They all held up well in my opinion.

My experience was different.

But there are a few shows I will give a chance. I re-watched some Hill Street Blues and that was fun.

Your definition of quality may not be everyone else's

I would say that 2000s was a bit better better than 2010s. Especially around 2005 was insane. How i met your mother season 1, two and a half men season 2, Sopranos season 5, the wire season 4, entourage season 2, Rome season 1, south park season 9, The shield season 4 , family guy. It really had something for everyone.

Absolutely! And what about the 2007-2008 season?

Breaking Bad Season 1

The Shield Seasons 6 and 7

Gurren Lagann Season 1

Lost Seasons 3 and 4

Clannad Season 2

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Seasons and 3 and 4

The Office Seasons 3, 4 and 5

Plus classic cartoons running like Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Codename Kids Next Door, Fairly OddParents, The Powerpuff Girls, etc.

And all this is just a sliver of the greatness that the 2000s had to offer. It was truly the best time to be a TV fan.

What made the early 2000s better than the late 2000s for you?

This sub is showing its demographic.

Not really. I think it's a patronizing idea that you can only love what you grew up with the most, like people don't have a mind of their own.

I just meant that the vast majority of comments seem to focus on relatively new shows, implying a younger audience/poster.

I'm sorry you feel that's patronizing, but you're projecting the reason as to why you think that.

Maybe they're all older people into newer shows. I don't understand why you're assuming demographics on taste in television.

Because Reddit skews young to start with. (Shrugs)

Well yes, does make sense. But there is a huge explosion in original scripted content now compared to the 90s and 00s.

And people are way too young here to broadly choose the 60's, 70's or 80's

Tell OP that, they’ve been sneering at that exact thought