The 25 most important TV series of the 21st century (so far)

BarcelonaAs we approach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, we ask ourselves which series have defined television in recent times. Which shows will we remember 25 years from now? This selection isn't based on the personal tastes of the ARA Media team that compiled the list, but rather on criteria such as global popularity, relevance to current times, the influence of their creators, and the groundbreaking nature of their storylines and production.

He Citizen Kane Of all the series. We know it's a cliché to put it at number one, but it's the series that proved that fiction couldn't just be top-notch entertainment with moving performances and interesting stories, but could also be complex, mature, and a slap of reality. David Simon demolished his beloved Baltimore to expose the miseries of drugs, the education system, the underclass, the police, and journalism. Dense like a good novel capable of containing an entire universe within its pages, The Wire HBO opened the door to a concept of series that definitively broke with the idea of a series as an innocuous family pastime.

Yeah The Wire It is the voice of social conscience, Breaking Bad It veers to the opposite extreme: a savage nihilism with a cruel gaze upon the human condition. The story of a voyeuristic, terminally ill cancer teacher who becomes a drug dealer to secure his family's future evolves into an increasingly dark comedy as the protagonist begins to discover his most violent side. And he enjoys it. Bryan Cranston's performance is already legendary, as is its aesthetic, with minimalist landscapes and extreme situations that strive for paroxysm.

Can television reach the heights of Shakespearean genius? The answer lies in the scripts of Succession, this King Lear A modern drama about a media mogul and his power-hungry children. A slow-burning story whose protagonists are the Roys, dysfunctional, broken, and deeply dissatisfied individuals for whom everything revolves around money and power; the "blood and oxygen of the wonderful civilization" their father has built, as Kendall says in one of the most brilliant moments of the fourth season.

The great sitcom that remains a benchmark for viewers and other series even today. The daily lives of the employees at a paper company gave rise to great gags that have left their mark on television history, such as the fire drill or the drills of parkour by Michael Scott and company. The series, which is an adaptation of an original British fiction, was not only popular at the time, but has had a long life afterwards, currently being one of the most consumed pieces of content on various platforms.

Many series have sought refuge in bygone eras to tell their stories. But few have reached the level of psychological depth of Mad MenThe series explores, among other things, the psychological breakdown of a generation of men in the late 1950s and early 1960s who saw their privilege threatened (and, at the same time, felt the vertigo of unresolved anxieties and the still-latent traumas of the war). Jon Hamm's portrayal of Don Draper was iconic, and the level of detail, fidelity, and meticulousness in the reconstruction of those years marked a turning point.

With GirlsIn her first television project, Lena Dunham captured the disorientation of the millennial generation. The New Yorker was 23 when she sold the series to HBO Max, and the story about four friends broke free from any constraints. Although the initial reception of Girls While it focused on Dunham's knots and the often awkward sex scenes, and a certain lack of diversity, the dramedy went much further and touched on everything from professional dissatisfaction to mental health and sexual abuse with scripts full of brilliant dialogue.

Netflix's first major series, with the then-revolutionary system of releasing all the season's episodes at once. A Kevin Spacey who hadn't yet fallen from grace crafted a portrait of an unscrupulous politician who drew heavily on Shakespearean grandeur and dared to break the fourth wall to directly address the viewer: few villains have so brazenly seduced the audience. The look at power—political but also sexual—was ruthless and sordid, far removed from the feel-good approach offered years earlier by a series like The West Wing of the White House (Aired between 1999 and 2006).

Fleabag It's an explosive cocktail that took everyone by surprise. An unknown actress and writer, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, turned our world upside down with the story of a sarcastic, world-angry character who harbored several insurmountable fears. If the first season showed us the darkest and most unpleasant side of Fleabag, the second offered glimpses of the cracks in her armor through a story destined to fail. The second season, almost perfect, took home six Emmy Awards: for posterity, there remains the photograph of a more than satisfied Waller-Bridge smoking and surrounded by awards at the after-party.

After LostIt's the latest global TV phenomenon: the kind of show everyone watched at the same time and talked about at work the next day. Interestingly, it's a fantasy series, although fantasy is often considered a niche genre. For years, viewers followed the power struggles between the Lannisters, Starks, and Targaryens, and the dragon battles, with rapturous devotion. Despite a finale that generated much discussion and angry reactions, it's one of the brands HBO is milking for all it's worth with a substantial collection of... spin-offs, like The House of the Dragon and The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

How can Catalonia compete with international series that have increasingly larger budgets? After the success of Dirty dishesJoel Joan was right again with Sow miseryA generational series that followed a group of characters through their love and work conflicts. Its success lay in the stories, relatable yet daring, and in bringing together a group of actors who conveyed the warmth of a close-knit group: Joel Joan himself, Anna Sahun, Roger Coma, Mercè Martínez, Olalla Moreno, Julio Manrique, and Clara Segura.

Historical dramas, often linked to a female audience, are usually considered a step below the great ones. thrillers or political dramas. With Downton Abbey The world had to surrender to the evidence that good dramas about teacups and corsets are for all audiences. Starring the splendid Maggie Smith, the series recounted the vicissitudes of the Crawley family and their servants from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the 1920s. A testament to the series' popularity are the three film sequels that have been made, the latest and final one released in 2025. In Catalonia, the best example of the impact of Downton Abbey We had it this summer, when TV3 programmed it as afternoon fiction with good audience results.

The first part of this century, in serious terms, has been characterized by an abundance of comedies that, on the surface, don't seem like comedies at all. A prime example is SeveranceOn the surface, it's a dystopia about a company that allows you to squeeze your mind in two so that at work you are someone who knows nothing about your personal self (and vice versa), but at its core it's a very sharp Kafkaesque satire about workplace alienation and the impossibility of connecting with the spirit if you are a small cog in a machine.

Beyond the big-budget productions, the explosion of series this century has also opened up fertile ground for more independent proposals. Larry David (Curb your enthusiasm) It began in 2000 and, until its finale just last year, showcased its protagonist, Larry David, engaging in autofiction to get himself into all sorts of trouble, aiming to challenge, through discomfort, the social automatisms we uncritically accept. With dozens of cameos and a perpetually grumpy demeanor, the series perfectly blends highbrow, intellectual comedy.

One of the last great network television series to enjoy widespread popularity. Hugh Laurie played a brilliant but eccentric doctor, and his consistently accurate diagnoses empowered many viewers to identify rare diseases around them (a recurring gag on the show was that, one way or another, Dr. House's patients always ended up with lupus). Although after eight seasons it could become repetitive – as often happens with procedural series – House It marked an era and contributed an iconic character to the history of television.

Adult animation can produce heartbreaking things (South Park, Rick and Morty, Family Guy) or series that have many layers of depth. BoJack HorsemanStarring an anthropomorphic horse who, after a stint as a Hollywood actor, is down on his luck and wants to return to celebrity, this comedy is full of gags and witty situations. But it's also an uncompromising look at depression and a series capable of injecting humor into harrowing subjects like suicide, abortion, trauma, and racism.