10 Best BBC Series From The Last Decade - CBR - Comic Book Resources

The British Broadcasting Corporation (often abbreviated to the BBC) marks its centennial anniversary this year at 100 years. Its status as the world's oldest broadcaster has resulted in the BBC having a massive impact on the world of public life. Through its television network channels, the BBC has given the world comedy, entertainment, and drama series that have been hits in their county of origin, the United Kingdom, and have had worldwide appeal, garnering plenty of acclaims.

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The past decade of programming, in particular, has proven BBC's track record in the contemporary cultural television landscape.

10 Police Crime Drama Line Of Duty Broke Viewership Records

The Line of Duty season 6 finale broke the modern UK viewing records with its performance of 12.8 million viewers in May 2021 (with the overall season having an average viewership of 15.3 million). Its police procedural style has led to widespread public and critical acclaim over its tenure on-air from 2012.

Since then, it's gone on to win multiple national awards and was even polled as one of the best British crime dramas of all time. Its popularity is for a reason thanks to the well-written, engaging investigations of AC-12, the controversial police anti-corruption unit at the heart of the plot.

9 Doctor Who Is Still A Global Force To Be Reckoned With

Since coming back its relaunch in 2005, Doctor Who has gone on to become a global powerhouse for the BBC in its mass appeal to generations old and new. Over the past decade, the show has seen its central character, The Doctor, regenerate 3 times (Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker respectfully) with the series' theme of change continuing.

The longest-running science-fiction television show in the world goes into its 60th year strong as writer Russell T. Davis pens the script, fan-favorite duo The 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) returns as well as new Doctor played by Ncuti Gatwa captaining the TARDIS soon.

8 People Just Do Nothing Was An Underrated, Sleeper Hit For The Broadcaster

The underrated British mockumentary sitcom about a West London pirate radio station Kurupt FM and its eccentric staff started life as a series of online shorts. It became popular enough for the group (that made it) to be asked to make a pilot episode for BBC Three. The first series was released on BBC Three in July 2014, with the fifth and final series airing on BBC Two in 2018.

A film continuation, People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan was released in August 2021. The series which carries the same DNA as former British mockumentary giant The Office won multiple awards during its run which included a BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy.

7 His Dark Materials, BBC's Most Expensive Series Is Paying Off

BBC's most expensive series to date (co-produced with HBO), His Dark Materials, is an adaptation of the trilogy of novels of the same name by Phillip Pullman. Set in an alternative world where all humans' souls manifest as animal companions called daemons, the series has received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The first book was previously adapted into a film The Golden Compass but faced negative reviews.

His Dark Materials is a fun fantasy series starring Logan breakout star, Dafne Keen, that is faithful to the book series. The third and final series of the show, which will be adapting the third book The Amber Spyglass, is expected to come out this year.

6 BBC's Supernatural Comedy Ghosts Is Hauntingly Hilarious

From the creators of the British children's comedy series Horrible Histories, Ghosts follows a collection of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants. Since its debut on the network in 2019, it won the hearts of fans and critics alike earning 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and having an average audience of 4.65 million over its first two series.

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Now coming up to its fourth series, it's proven its worth on the network. A hilarious comedy with great characters and fantastic performances from all involved. It even has the honor (or dishonor depending on who you ask) of being remade for an American audience with CBS' Ghosts.

5 Sally Rooney's Adaptation About Love Was Captured Perfectly In Normal People

Based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Sally Rooney, Normal People is a romantic drama following the relationship between Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, as they navigate adulthood from their final days in secondary school to their undergraduate years at Trinity College.

It received critical acclaim upon its release in 2020 being praised for the performances of its two leads (Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal) and the writing, with half of the episodes being co-written by the original author of the novel herself, Sally Rooney. It's a beautiful, nuanced miniseries focused on love and the aspect of coming of age.

4 This Is Going To Hurt Shows The Brutal Truth Of An NHS Labor Ward

The most recent hit to come out of the BBC based created by Adam Kay and based on his memoir of the same name. This Is Going to Hurt is a comedy-drama medical television series focusing on the lives of a group of junior doctors working in an obstetrics and gynecology ward in a National Health Service hospital.

It was received very positively by critics and audiences alike upon its release in 2022. A hard-hitting, heartbreakingly honest look into the medical profession pulls no punches when portraying the difficulties for junior doctors. Incredibly written by Adam Kay, and fantastically performed by lead actor Ben Whishaw, This Is Going to Hurt is a powerful example of the astonishing output the BBC produces.

3 Once-In-A-Generation Hit Fleabag Took The World By Storm Upon Its Release

Before it was a world-dominating critical success, Fleabag was a one-woman show first performed in 2013 by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The show was adapted into a television series first airing in 2016 about a free-spirited, sexually active, angry, and confused young woman in London. It was very popular with critics and audiences alike birthing a second series in 2019.

Fleabag is an incredible black comedy that delivered the most electrifying, devastating TV in years. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's indefatigable charisma made the series routinely break the fourth wall. She created a powerful story that will transcend many generations.

2 Timely Anthology Series Small Axe Delivers Black Resilience And Triumph In Britain

The British anthology film series created and directed by Steve McQueen was a timely triumph representing not only the country of the United Kingdom but the West Indian communities living in London, England. Small Axe consisted of 5 films that tell distinct stories about the lives of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to the 1980s.

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Given the state of not only the UK but of the entire world in 2020, Small Axe provided to be a powerful look into the past as well as a timeless story of black resilience and the experiences of black people in London, England. Elevating the black people in those films from victims into thinkers; organizers; strategists; fighters; humans. The name of the film series comes from the proverb included in Bob Marley's 1973 song Small Axe. "Small ax falls big tree" or "If you are the big tree, we are the small ax".

1 Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You Is The Best Thing BBC Have Produced In Years

I May Destroy You is a British black comedy-drama television limited series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel for the BBC and HBO. In it, Coel stars as Arabella, a young writer in the public eye who seeks to rebuild her life after being raped. The series was unanimously acclaimed by critics and fans upon its release in 2020.

According to Metacritic, it was the most critically acclaimed television program of 2020. Featuring mostly a Black British cast, I May Destroy You is a powerful untangling of the trauma associated with sexual assault. A show that pushes boundaries and is deeply brutal and honest about it. It won multiple BAFTAs and writer-creator Michaela Coel received the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

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