The Matz Brothers Present: The 10 Best Basic Cable Shows of the 2010s

This is the second installment of my brother Sam's & my best TV shows of the decade (You can read the first, which covers network shows, here). This time we're looking at the ten best shows that aired on basic cable, those shows that still had to deal with the burden of commercials but could get away with a little more adult content than their network (NBC, CBS, etc.) brethren.

A brief reminder on how we compiled the lists:

• There will be four top 10 lists (network, basic cable, premium cable, streaming) and then a final, top 50, list that combines the previous four, plus ten shows that didn't quite make the first four. If you want to know more about why we chose to break it down this way read the first installment. 
• Any show that aired in the 2010s is eligible, regardless of when it started, but only seasons that occurred during the decade are considered -- for example The Office could've make the network TV list, but its first five seasons didn't count so it didn't come close. 
• To create the lists Sam & I individually compiled our own top 20 for each category & then combined them, with a first place selection worth 20 points, second worth 19, & so forth. The scores of our top 10 are listed to give you an idea of which shows elevated themselves above the pack & which ones we might order differently on any given day. In the event of a tie I ultimately broke it, though not always in favor of my bracket. 
• We also list each show's best character, season, & episode, as well as where you can stream it, because we're thorough like that. While we discussed these, the person who wrote about a show made the final call on these categories. 

And don't worry, we avoided any major spoilers because if you haven't seen any of these shows we'd love for you to watch them.

The Good & Bad of this Year's Emmy Nominations

For the seventh consecutive year Emmy voters failed to give Nick Offerman a nomination for his inspired work as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, to say nothing of Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, & the rest of the cast, yet I feel like voters did a better job than they have in years. For one, they gave Parks & Rec its second nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series! There were still some weird choices–Jeff Daniels got another nomination for his OK work on the mediocre, at best, Newsroom–& I'm going to criticize those, but when the good outweighs the bad at the Emmys it's cause for celebration. Without further ado a breakdown of the best, & worst, of this morning's Emmy nominations. We'll start with the worst so as to end on a high note. For a full list of the nominations click here.

The Second Annual Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of Last Year (2012)

Walt, Jesse, & co. continue to cook up the best TV has to offer.

Once again I've managed to finally finish my top 10 shows of the previous year in April. I know, you're impressed, anyway here it is...

There's a prevalent myth in our society that watching television is bad. That it melts the brain. That it's really just a waste of time when you could be working, exercising, sleeping, or reading a book instead. When someone mentions they don't watch much television, or don't even own one, they usually say so with pride. It should come as no surprise I think these people are idiots. Now that's not to say parents should let their kids watch TV for 8 hours a day, that television can't be mind numbingly stupid (see: 96% of reality TV), or a complete waste of time (see: 92% of CBS programming), but that, if one looks in the right places, the medium of television is now providing more emotionally resonant, intelligent, & original stories that its cinema counterpart & much of modern literature. It is for that reason that I proudly say for the 21st consecutive year of my life I watched more television than the year prior &, as always, I'm thankful for that. Now here are the best* programs I watched over the last calendar year.

*"Best" is, of course, a largely subjective word when talking about entertainment. Certainly if one were to claim that "Two and a Half Men" were the best comedy of 2012 we could label that person an idiot but, there are dozens of shows that one could make a legitimate claim. Furthermore for as much TV as a watch I'm still a student who must occasionally study & go to class & not a television critic so there are plenty of shows I missed this year. Some of those shows (e.g. "Luck" & "Treme") I wish I'd at least watched a few episodes of because they might've made this list, others may be shows you love ("30 Rock," "The Walking Dead," "Dexter," "Sons of Anarchy," "Spartacus") that I'm sure I'd have enjoyed but didn't have the time or feel the need to watch, & others ("The Big Bang Theory" & almost everything else on CBS) I just don't want to watch but good for you for enjoying them (Actually that's not good at all. Why weren't you watching "Community" or "Parks and Rec" instead? You suck). My point here is this isn't a definitive top 10, heck I'll probably disagree with some of the shows I chose or at least the order I put them in minutes after I post this, merely my thoughts at the moment & a recommendation for shows you might enjoy if you haven't yet checked them out. 

The Super Way Late 10 Best Shows of 2011

Walt, Jesse, & Gus cooked up a fantastic season of Breaking Bad.

Now that we're entering the fourth month of 2012 I had two options with this:

1. Don't write it. It's not timely & no one cares what I think anyway. Or... 

2. Write it anyway! 

Obviously I opted for #2 because I spent too much time watching TV & thinking about this list last year not to write it & it serves as a good advisory for shows to Netflix. 

Before we get to the list here's a brief summary of shows that didn't make the cut.

Shows I didn't watch that never stood a chance anyway:

1. Anything created by Chuck Lorre (THM, BBT, & "Mike and Molly")-if you like his shows good for you but let's not confuse mediocrity with the best television has to offer.