Entertainment
8 Most Perfect TV Dramas of the Last 6 Years, Ranked
The 2020s have been an amazing decade for TV, with standout series in every genre. The last six years have seen the debuts of hilarious sitcoms like Abbott Elementary and Mythic Quest, swoonworthy romance shows like Bridgerton and Heated Rivalry, and chilling horror series like Midnight Mass and From.
This decade has also seen the premiere of a number of phenomenal drama series that have hit all the right emotional beats and shocked viewers with phenomenal twists and turns. The best of these TV dramas have stood out for their complex and nuanced characters, gut-wrenchingly devastating emotional climaxes, and some of the most creative and stunning TV drama episodes ever. These are the eight best TV dramas of the 2020s, ranked.
8
‘One Day’ (2024)
David Nicholls‘ 2009 romance novel, One Day, was adapted as a film in 2011, and then as a limited series in 2024. One Day follows the friendship and romantic connection of Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) and Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall) on July 15th over the course of 14 years. Starting with Emma and Dexter’s meeting on the night of their graduation from the University of Edinburgh, the series follows the ups and downs of their intense bond in the years that follow, all building up to its gut-punch of an ending.
One Day is a beautiful and quiet drama series that focuses mostly on heightened emotional stakes rather than physical ones. There is clear love between Dexter and Emma, but still, their relationship is constantly hindered by obstacles like miscommunication, other people, and their ability to hurt each other so well when they’re fighting. One Day is a standout romantic drama that treats its characters with care and nuance, both as individuals and as a pairing.
7
‘Shōgun’ (2024–Present)
Adapted from James Clavell‘s 1975 historical fiction novel of the same name, Shōgun takes place in Osaka, Japan, in 1600. The series picks up after the death of the Taikō (Yukijiô Hotaro) as the members of the Council of Regents fight for power and control in the wake of his death. Going up against the rest of the Council is Lord Yoshi Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), with the help of two unlikely allies: English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), and their translator, Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai).
Shōgun is a complex and well-written historical fiction drama that tells a fictionalized recounting of a crucial but lesser-known time in history. It is violent and intense in the vein of Game of Thrones and The Witcher, but it is also grounded and intentional in its depiction of conflicts and acts of cruelty that were standard for the time in which it is set. Initially a miniseries, Shōgun has a powerful and brutal first season that tells a story that has a satisfying ending, but that still leaves potential for more to be told.
6
‘Andor’ (2022–2025)
A standout among the many television spin-offs in the Star Wars universe is Andor, a two-part prequel series that follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) five years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Andor details Cassian’s journey of becoming the character that fans know and love from Rogue One as he is radicalized against the Empire and becomes a fundamental member of the Rebellion.
Andor is an excellent Star Wars prequel that expands on existing lore and themes from the series, but it also stands out on its own as a phenomenal and gut-wrenching sci-fi drama. Andor does not shy away from the brutality and cruelty of the Empire, and it is unflinching in its depiction of the Rebellion’s uphill battle against corrupt leadership. While the series is very suspenseful and intense, it never lets its jam-packed plot take away from its focus on its central characters, especially Cassian.
5
‘Paradise’ (2025–Present)
Paradise is a phenomenal series that isn’t afraid to take big risks and constantly play around with different genres. The series starts as a simple political thriller, as Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) investigates the murder of the President of the United States, Cal Bradford (James Marsden). The twist is that this murder took place in a secure underground bunker, three years after a doomsday event destroyed the world.
In its two seasons so far, Paradise has expertly balanced a number of moving parts, while jumping back and forth in time to fill in the blanks about the end of the world and everything that’s happened since. Paradise is so fantastic because it is deliberately and carefully experimental, planting the seeds for major twists and turns well before they’re executed and never holding back in delivering game-changing reveals.
4
‘Pluribus’ (2025–Present)
Another incredible post-apocalyptic drama series from the 2020s is Vince Gilligan‘s Pluribus. The series starts when an extraterrestrial virus comes to Earth and makes everyone a part of one big, happy hivemind — everyone except for 13 people, including cynical romantasy author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn). After the virus kills her wife, Helen (Miriam Shor), Carol becomes determined to save everyone else who’s been infected by the hivemind, even though she’s the only person on the planet who sees this as a real problem.
Pluribus is a clever and darkly funny series that puts the entire fate of the world on the shoulders of one reluctant and grumpy individual. Carol doesn’t want to be a hero, but there is nothing scarier to her than the idea of losing her autonomy and being forced to join the hivemind. Thus, Carol works to try to find a cure for the virus, all while trying not to get too close to her charming hivemind-designated chaperone, Zosia (Karolina Wydra).
3
‘Half Man’ (2026–Present)
The latest drama series from Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd is Half Man, which follows the complex and toxic relationship between two stepbrothers over the course of three decades. As a teenager, the quiet and bullied Niall Kennedy (Mitchell Robertson) is initially afraid to have Ruben Pallister (Stuart Campbell) back in his life when their moms move in together to all be a family, but the two strike up an intense and codependent bond.
All the while, as the story goes on, it is interspersed with flash-forwards to adult Niall’s (Jamie Bell) wedding in the present day. He and Ruben (Gadd) are now estranged, but Ruben crashes his wedding, leaving a trail of chaos and destruction in his wake. Half Man is a gut-wrenching, often horrifying, and utterly captivating series with one of the most compelling and unique relationship dynamics ever.
2
‘Severance’ (2022–Present)
Severance takes place in a dystopian future where nearly everything is controlled by a mysterious company called Lumon Industries. The show’s protagonist, Mark Scout (Adam Scott), works for Lumon, but not even he knows what he does. For his job, Mark underwent the Severance procedure, separating his brain into one self inside work and one self outside of work. On the severed floor of Lumon, Mark S. (also Scott) and his coworkers know nothing of their outside lives and are permanently trapped in their place of work.
With phenomenal writing, shocking plot twists, and some of the best concept episodes of the 2020s, Severance is a true powerhouse of a drama series. The series uses its high-concept premise and specific stakes to explore themes of autonomy, love, loss, and what makes up the self. The result is one of the most unique and beautiful drama series of all time, and that’s after only two seasons.
1
‘Interview With the Vampire’ (2022–Present)
AMC+’s Interview With the Vampire is both a faithful adaptation of the series of Anne Rice novels on which it’s based, as well as something entirely its own that shocks and delights in new and clever ways. The series covers two timelines, as the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) recounts his story for journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), about 50 years after their first attempt at an interview. Louis’ tale starts with meeting and falling in love with his maker, the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), in New Orleans in 1910.
Louis’ story spans many decades, through his tumultuous relationship with Lestat, to their adoption of their daughter, Claudia (Bailey Bass and Delainey Hayles), to eventually meeting the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) and his coven in Paris. Interview With the Vampire is a deeply entertaining and thought-provoking series that gets better with each episode, and every single one of its episodes is a perfect and necessary addition to its central story.
Interview with the Vampire
- Release Date
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October 2, 2022
- Network
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AMC
- Directors
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Levan Akin, Alan Taylor, Craig Zisk, Emma Freeman, Keith Powell
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Jacob Anderson
Louis de Pointe du Lac
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