01 An underseen drama about the personal-computer revolution, one of the decade's most acclaimed hidden gems.
12 Best Prestige Dramas of the 2010s
By Vlad Zakh · May 12, 2026
Breaking Bad closed out right as the decade began and set the bar every prestige drama after had to clear. Succession and Better Call Saul arrived later and prove the format kept evolving right to the end.
01 
02 A town grappling with the sudden, unexplained disappearance of 2% of the world's population.
03 An anthology crime drama whose first season redefined what a detective show could look like.
04 An anthology crime series inspired by the Coen brothers' film, each season its own tragedy.
05 Soviet spies posing as an ordinary American family during the height of the Cold War.
06 A harrowing, meticulous dramatization of the 1986 nuclear disaster and its cover-up.
07 A prequel that somehow matched, and at times exceeded, the show it was spun off from.
08 A lavish dramatization of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the institution around her.
09 A media dynasty's children scheming to inherit their father's empire, in one of the sharpest scripts ever written.
10 A meticulous, moody look at a 1960s ad agency that carried into the decade's early years.
11 A sprawling fantasy epic that became the decade's single biggest cultural event.
12 A chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin, closing out its run in one of the decade's best final seasons.