The Twenty-Tens or Two Thousand (and) Tens. Or "the Teens". The Tense 2010s.
The first uses of the year 2010 surged late in the 20th century as a 20 Minutes into the Future date as the year 2000 was getting closer, apart from looking for something more original. The word "New" is used to distinguish the 2010s from the 1910s — arguably unnecessary since there are few people alive who remember The Edwardian Era (the current oldest living person as of 2023 was 3 when King Edward died, and just 7 when WWI began, and the oldest-known living Brit was 4).
In political terms, the decade began between 2008 and 2012, with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 and Barack Obama's election as the first African American President of the United States in November. This was quickly followed by the swine influenza pandemic (2009); the first UK coalition government since World War II, the rise of WikiLeaks, the American Tea Party, the British UKIP, the Spaniard "Indignados" and the BP oil spill (2010); "Occupy Wall Street", the Arab Spring, the death of Osama bin Laden, Anonymous, the first American government shutdown since The '90s, the Tucson and Oslo massacres (2011); Vladimir Putin becoming President of Russia—for the second time, the Aurora and Sandy Hook massacres, and Barack Obama's reelection (2012). In popular culture terms, the decade began in 2010-12 with the rise of Hipster culture, which coincided with rock being replaced by electronic and urban music as the driving force of pop music. Smartphones and tablets quickly became commonplace, and Netflix and Spotify surged as major players, kickstarting the streaming business.
In the West, the decade began with young, cosmopolitan and progressive leaders being voted to replace the folksy, "gut feeling"-centered and conventional politicians that marked the 2000s. Their modernizing ambitions however ended up colliding with the realities brought upon by the economic downturn of 2005-10 and the Pyrrhic outcome of The War on Terror, which led to a widespread climate of distrust towards the establishment, embodied by the surge of populist movements both on the left and the right, gradually leading to a level of political confrontation not seen in decades. "Homegrown terrorism" became increasingly common, with politicians engaging into an endless debate about a response.
Social reforms (primarily regarding same-sex marriage) met with little approval and fierce criticism both from conservatives who did not ask for them as well from progressives who felt short-changed. The loss of economic certainty following the 2008-09 financial crisis led to calls for wider welfare provisions as well as the return of high-paying manufacturing jobs as the rise of the tech industry generated a long period of economic growth offset by little improvement at best for those not in said sector. A number of controversies regarding digital piracy and net neutrality generated more suspicion over the relationship between political and corporate interests, and the uncovering of the National Security Agency led to concerns about surveillance. Cases of police brutality against black people, anti-immigration policies, and hate crimes against minorities reduced faith in law and order among these groups. Feminism returned to prominence as the "gender gap" became a major source of concern. Towards the end of the decade, the exposure of prolific film producer Harvey Weinstein as a serial sexual abuser and anger over U.S. President Donald Trump’s alleged treatment of women kick-started the #MeToo movement,note in which women (and some men) in Hollywood and beyond opened up about their experiences of sexual abuse, leading to the resignations and ostracism of many powerful men and the demand for greater sexual equality.
In the Arab world, the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011 did not end Islamic extremism. The Arab Spring, which began as a pro-democracy protest movement, soon gave way to civil war and brutal suppression in most places, particularly Syria and Libya. Many rebel groups sprang up (with those fighting the Syrian government being supported either by oil-rich Persian Gulf States, Western countries, or both) and began occupying territories that fell into anarchy after the U.S. pulled out of Iraq. Before long, during the second hald of the decade, the militant "Islamic State" had not only spread over numerous Arab countries, but also became infamous for taking hostages and beheading them. Their deeds also led to a massive exodus from those countries towards Europe and North America. The migrant crisis generated even more tensions, with anti-Muslim sentiments gaining traction over the ensuing rise in crime rates and fears that terrorists were trying to break through.
The East saw an increased influence over global affairs: China and (to a lesser extent) India largely avoided the Great Recession, becoming economic powerhouses, which seemed to make China Takes Over the World closer to reality. Russia recovered some of its Cold War-era power (becoming decisive over the Syrian conflict and supporting rightist populist movements throughout the West), and North Korea had the world worrying about a nuclear conflict with the West. In cultural terms, Japan's place as the continent's cultural and economic powerhouse became disputed by South Korea.
On the one hand, the early years of the decade were marked by escapist fare, such as Glee, the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, young adult-geared romantic dramas and "shiny reboots". However, sordid settings and cynical attitudes thrived in media, reflecting the turbulent sign of the times. Dystopian fiction (The Hunger Games, The Last of Us, Divergent) and horror films (The Purge) served as allegories for the growing social and economic divisions in American society. Dark cable dramas (Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad) took away the spotlight from broadcast network shows, and several franchises got acclaimed grim-and-gritty interpretations in the vein of The Dark Knight Trilogy. Even nostalgia got an ironic twist thanks to the Hipster subculture, ironically popularizing the past like never before, most markedly indicated by a noticeable burst in newfound enthusiasm for analog audiovisual media such as vinyl records, film stock, and CRT televisions. As the social climate became even more tense by the second half of the decade, escapism not only became totally unfashionable outside of kid-geared works, but also triggered a raging debate about works becoming either too politicized or not political enough.
The earlier years of the decade saw a change on what "manliness" meant in the West, while 1990s/2000s-era "lipstick feminism" took a more progressive, less debauched direction and popularized terms such as "empowerment" and "mansplaining", also reclaiming others previously used as slurs such as "witch" and "bitch", although by the end of it, gender conventions in general became openly questioned and defied. Similarly, LGBT characters began popping up in fiction and a number of celebrities came out/transitioned to little controversy, whereas the mere presence of gay characters in mainstream media had been an extremely touchy subject as recently as the end of the previous decade. In some ways, the late 2010s proved to be a turning point for the visibility of transgender and related subjects much like the late 1990s were for homosexuality.
After almost a half-century defining popular music, rock vanished from the mainstream (with only a few crossover hits), being replaced by Electronic Dance Music and Hip-Hop, as pop culture became increasingly centered on affluent urban, non-white and female audiences. Electronic Dance Music replaced the more upbeat Eurodance and Disco genres, and both cynicism and escapism were seen in this era of music videos. Whereas more adult-oriented music videos of the past tended to be upbeat and exciting, in this era they were often marked by the aesthetics of being tired or depressed. The beginning of the decade also marked the revival of the "musical heartthrob" phenomenon — but, this time, American acts took a backseat to those coming from Great Britain, whose culture became popular again as it gained a reputation as being highly sophisticated relative to more lowbrow North American counterparts. During the second half of the decade, Hispanic "Reggaeton" and Korean "KPop" acts became popular around the world after years of unabated dominance of their home bases.
While globalization became increasingly unpopular in politics, entertainment in general became more international (a notorious example being the influence of the Chinese market over Hollywood and sports), something attributable to the rise of mobile technology, which allowed anyone to keep "in touch" anywhere, absorbing social lives to a degree unimaginable ten years earlier. This also allowed "selfies" and "memes" to spread worldwide instantly. From a commercial point of view, online advertising encouraged some authors to prioritize the work over the earnings, and develop closer relationships with their fanbases. Content-wise, this also led to a substantial increase in creative freedom compared to the increased scrutiny in the mainstream, a development made visible by the explosion of streaming services, with series such as House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, Stranger Things and The Handmaid's Tale becoming huge hits. Meanwhile, Hollywood became dominated by superheroes, animated movies, continuations/reboots of popular franchises and action vehicles, with Disney gaining an unprecedented domination of the movie industry: out of the 10 highest grossing films of the decade, only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Transformers: Age of Extinction were not made by the company.
The gaming space saw an immense amount of growth this decade compared to prior ones; the first half of the decade saw the Mobile Phone Game genre absolutely explode into popularity, with Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, and Puzzle & Dragons not only bursting into the mainstream, but also introducing the Freemium business model into gaming, leading to the rise of Microtransactions that would controversially make its way into PC and console gaming, namely with Star Wars: Battlefront II and Middle-earth: Shadow of War. On the flip side, narrative-driven games became an even bigger commodity than they were in previous decade, namely with The Last of Us and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, being standout examples of narrative-driven games receiving mainstream attention throughout the decade. The Soulslike RPG genre also boomed in popularity thanks to the monumental release of Dark Souls, as did the Wide-Open Sandbox genre thanks to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City. Minecraft and Fortnite both became bona fide cultural phenomenons in the first and second halves of the decade respectively, leading to the boom of the Survival Sandbox and Battle Royale Game genres. In the console space, Sony managed to retake the lead from Microsoft with the PlayStation 4 as a result of Microsoft fumbling the Xbox One and Sony's own growing lineup of first-party exclusives such as Bloodborne, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and God of War, which has extended well beyond into The New '20s. Meanwhile, Nintendo saw sales of the Wii plateau hard at the beginning of the decade, leading to the rushed launches of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. While the 3DS ended up gaining a large amount of momentum overall, the Wii U never did and so Nintendo were saddled with their biggest commercial failure until they discontinued it in 2017...upon which they released the Nintendo Switch and did a complete 180º, with the Switch quickly becoming their biggest console since the Nintendo DS, and quickly amassing a library of desirable exclusives like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well as being the first Nintendo console in a while to receive actual third-party support, with popular titles like Doom and Dragon Ball Fighter Z making their way into the console early on. The Nintendo Switch's release and games also coincided with a general comeback of Japanese-developed games in the industry as a whole, with titles like Persona 5, Monster Hunter: World, and Resident Evil 2 all being critical and commercial hits and marking a general re-acceptance of Japanese-developed games. And last but certainly not least, the Indie Game market grew exponentially during this decade, which titles such as (but not limited to) Shovel Knight, Five Nights at Freddy's, Undertale, and Stardew Valley all making independent game development a much more viable market than it was before.
The success of apps like Uber and Airbnb led to hopes about the rise of the "collaborative economy," while Amazon was thought to solve whatever problem consumers could have. By the second half of the decade however, technological optimism gave way to skepticism (in the best of cases), as tech giants were blamed for the tribulations of numerous trades, and social media was now seen as a soapbox of sorts for scurrilous information and social engineering. The fact that start-ups from Twitter to Airbnb have spent their entire existences in the red has only flared alarms further.
For the first time since The '60s and '70s, the political and economic climate that began to take shape in 2014–2015 came to impact the socio-cultural lens in an inescapable fashion, especially compared to the "alternative" trends of the late 90s, 2000s and early 2010s (2010–2013), with an important focus on feminism and minorities. This caused a tremendous culture shock that extended even from early 2020s, and there is a good chance that, as in the 60s, this trend will extend beyond the decade. While chronologically the 2010s ended on December 31, 2019, a number of events from 2014–2019 marked a turning point that changed the political landscape into a vastly different one compared to 2010–2013, beginning with: Putin's Russia arising as an "anti-centrist" force in 2013-14 with the Syrian and Ukrainian crises, the global rise of populism, ISIS terrorizing Europe in 2015 and the Islamic migrant crisis, all of which triggered the populist wave that elected Donald Trump and decided Brexit in 2015–16. Meanwhile, there was also the Hollywood #MeToo scandals, questioning of gender conventions, the dominance of sci-fi/superhero, musical, and animated films over the box-office with more serious productions turned to streaming, the rise of trap and non-English pop music along with the quick decline of EDM and electropop divas, the various internet controversies and their lasting impact on media discourse (and arguably online discourse in general), and the general politicization of media. It's no wonder why many people believe that early 2010s felt like a very different decade than anything to come.
Check out the Useful Notes page for more details on notable aspects of this era. For current events that occurred during this decade, see its real life page.
See Also: The Turn of the Millennium, The New '20s, and The Millennium Age of Animation.
Tropes associated with the 2010s:
Examples of Media set in this decade:
- As Chizuru was born on April 19, 1998, and she turns 20 over the course of the story, Rent-A-Girlfriend takes place around 2017-2018.
Comic Books
- Fantastic Four: Life Story: Part 6 of the 2021-2022 mini-series takes place from 2014-2016.
Fan Works
- Ma Fille: A large portion of the story takes place between September 2010 and November 2019.
- We Are All Pokémon Trainers: The narrative proper from the Sinnoh Arc to the Entralink Arc takes place from February 2011 to December 2019.
Films
- Avengers: Endgame: 2019 film set in 2023, various members of the cast Time Travel to 2012, 2013, 2014, and The '70s.
- Clouds: Made in 2020, set in 2012-13.
- Fighting with My Family is set from 2011-2014.
- Nomadland is set in 2012-13.
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: 2021 film set in 2003, with the titular protagonist's backstory taking place around 2013-2014.
- To All the Boys I've Loved Before has flashbacks to the main characters' childhood set somewhere in the earlier parts of the decade.
Literature
- Brown Girl in the Ring is set some point at least ~12 years after 1999, given in-story hints.
- Decomposing Angel by Asi Hart is set sometime after 2014.
- Infinite Jest: David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest takes place 20 Minutes into the Future relative to the early-to-mid 1990s and is surmised by most to take place in 2010 give or take a year or two (although one theory puts it 2015), but since numbered years have been abolished to make way for years named after the corporate sponsor who pays for the naming rights, nobody can tell for sure.
- The first update of the Web Serial Novel Worm is set on April 8th, 2011 — the first 19 arcs take place before the end of June, and the story then timeskips to 2013.
- Kasia: Released in 2020, the modern-era portions of the story (aside from a scene in the year 2000 when Connor was a toddler and the epilogue in the year 2034) are set from October 2016 to July 2017 - the preface indicates that writing began around the time Kasia arrives in the 21st century.
- Yes, Daddy: Released in 2021, the latter part of the novel - from Mace's trial onwards - is set from 2011 to the #MeToo movement, ending in 2018 or early 2019.
Live-Action TV
- 18 Again: Made and set in 2020, majority of the flashback to the backstory of the two protagonists' family life takes place from 2012-2018.
- The First Lady: 2022 Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama Bio Pic.
- The Girl From Plainville: Released in 2022, it starts around 2012 and goes to around 2018.
- Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Made and set in 2021, flashbacks to multiple characters' respective backstories set from 2013-2019.
- How I Met Your Mother: Flashforwards to the birth of Ted's eldest child Penny set in 2015. The flashforward to Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky's divorce, as well as the selling of the apartment which served as the setting of the show for much of the series' run, happened in 2016.
- My Name: Made and set in 2021. The prologue largely takes place in 2016, but a Time Skip montage showing the subsequent years up to The Present Day is featured.
- Squid Game: Made in 2021, flashback to the protagonist's backstory set somewhere in the decade.
- A Teacher (2020): Made in 2020, all of it is set between 2013 and 2014 until the Distant Finale, which skips forward a decade.
Video Games
- Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation's Emmeria-Estovakia War takes place from August 2015 to March 2016.
- The modern day portion of Assassin's Creed takes place in the 2010s up until Odyssey.
- Fate/Grand Order is meant to take place in real time as each year progresses, but the regional and lapse of time differences between each server has led to their own mini-canon on when it actually started.
- Grand Theft Auto Online: Initially set in 2013; starting from the 2017 Gunrunning update, set in whatever year the latest update came out.
- The events of Undertale takes place in the year 201X. Though this ends up being a subversion, as it's the backstory of the game that takes place in 201X. The game itself an unspecified amount of time after 201X, which is implied to be decades or even centuries in the future.
- The Touhou Project series from Touhou Shinreibyou ~ Ten Desires to Touhou Kikeijuu ~ Wily Beast and Weakest Creature takes place in the 2010s.
- Kentucky Route Zero (whose acts were released from 2013 to 2020) is set at the height of the Great Recession, envisioning it as a new time of Southern Gothic.
- killer7 takes place in the first half of the decade, most chapters between 2010 (Angel on January 30th, Sunset on February 10th) and 2011 (Cloudman on April 3rd, Encounter on August 10th, Alter Ego on October 26th, and Smile on December 16th), with the finale, Lion, skipping ahead to an unspecified day in 2014.
- Resident Evil 6 takes place from roughly December 2012 to June 2013.
Webcomics
- Strong Female Protagonist: Alison was born in 1991 and is 19 when the story begins, placing it sometime around 2010-2011.
- Cyber Team in Akihabara: Made in 1998, set in 2010.
- In Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt the Demon Sisters' Ghost Report for the second half of 2010 includes footage from every episode of the show to date, so it can be safely assumed that the show takes place, at the very least, after June 2010.
- Seraphim Call, from 1999, takes place in 2010.
Films
- 2010: The Year We Make Contact is set in 2010.
- In Back to the Future, Doc Brown originally planned to travel 25 years into the future, October 26, 2010, before being interrupted by disgruntled Libyan terrorists.note
- Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna: Made in 2020, set in 2010.
- District 9, a Science Fiction Mockumentary/Satire/Social Statement, set in 2010 South Africa.
Literature
- In 2010, the advent of unlimited storage space and bandwidth will kill Big Media, according to Peter F. Hamilton's Misspent Youth.
- Numbers begins in the last months of 2010.
Live-Action TV
- The third season of Fargo is set in 2010, right around the Christmas season.
- The Action Prologue of Stargirl (2020) takes place in Christmas Eve 2010.
Music
- Tim Wilson's "Jetpack" song, where he complains that the new millennium is not what he expected to be.
Video Games
- Deer Hunter (Series)
- The first four .hack games are set in 2010.
- Uplink starts in this year.
- The little-known Street Fighter game, Street Fighter 2010.
- Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is set in August 2010.
- The Boston scenario in SimCity is set in 2010. The nuclear meltdown fortunately never happened.
- The first Psychic Force game is set in the year 2010; its sequel takes places two years later.
- Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War takes place in the back part of 2010, starting around September and ending at the morning hours of December 31st.
- Sofia? takes place in April 2010.
Western Animation
- Reptar 2010, The Show Within a Show
- The Simpsons: In "Lisa's Wedding", Lisa almost gets married on August 1, 2010.
Webcomics
- Mayonaka Densha begins in 2010 before going back to 1888.
- Cyber Team In Akihabara: The Movie - The Summer of 2011 takes place one year after the events of the TV series mentioned above.
- Eden of the East starts three months after November 22, 2010.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
Fan Works
- Kyon: Big Damn Hero starts on April 17, 2011.
Films
- Next Stop, Christmas: 2021 film which features the protagonist time travelling to 2011 for much of the story.
Literature
- The Final Girl Support Group: Published in 2021, set in 2010.
- Remnants, at least before the characters leave Earth. After that they become Human Popsicles and go through a five-century Time Skip.
- The True Meaning of Smekday
- The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth
- Upon This Pale Hill primarily; it begins in late 2010 and ends in early 2012.
- Zoo City is set in 2011.
Live-Action TV
- 19-2 (The French version starts in 2011)
- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles retconned the rise of Skynet into 2011.
Webcomics
- Homestuck: Act 6 takes place on 11/11/2011.
- Joe vs. Elan School: The titular school's closure occurs on April 1, 2011.
Web Original
- Pact starts on August 11, 2013.
- Stuart Hardy. He originally joined in 2011 on YouTube, though didn't start video reviews until 2012.
Video Games
- Battlefield Play4Free
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is set in this year.
- Persona 4
- Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning: Made in 2023, set in 2012.
- Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches starts in May 2012 (confirmed by a calendar and a Time Travel chapter even though the narration in the first chapter, released in February 2012, claims that the story took place "not too long ago").
Films
- 2012, obviously.
- I Am Legend
- Spider-Man: Homecoming: The film begins on a flashback set during the aftermath of The Avengers (2012).
- Stand Clear of the Closing Doors is set during the leadup to Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.
Fan Works
Literature
Live-Action TV
- Clipaholics
- Damages, a crime drama/thriller where each season is inspired by real White-Collar Crime, with events from 2010, 2011, and 2012.
- Doctor Who: "Dalek" and "Fear Her" are both set in 2012.
- Hawkeye (2021): The series begins on a flashback set during the events of The Avengers (2012).
- Lilyhammer
- Figure It Out (revival)
- Revolution
- Scandal
- Sherlock
- Supergirl (2015) flashback to when Alex Danvers was recruited into the D.E.O. happened in this year.
Video Games
- Persona 4: Arena, Persona 4: Arena Ultimax, and Persona 4: Dancing All Night take place in 2012.
Western Animation
- Gravity Falls takes place in the summer of 2012.
- The Distant Finale of Pepper Ann takes place in 2012.
Real Life
- The London Olympics
Other
- See Mayan Doomsday
- The past portion of Your Name takes place in 2013.
Comic Books
- X-Men: The Bad Future is set in this time in the Days of Future Past storyline.
Films
- Escape from L.A. (the prologue opens in 2000, then skips to 2013 for the main story)
- The Flash (2023): Made in 2023 and set mostly in 2013, though the titular hero time-travelling to his mother's death in 2004 is integral to the plot.
- Pacific Rim places the first Kaiju making landfall on August 10th, 2013.
- Patriots Day
Live-Action TV
- Marry My Husband: The plot of the series is the protagonist mental time travelling to her 2013 body after her Accidental Murder at the hands of her cheating best friend and husband in 2023.
- Supergirl (2015) flashback to when the eponymous protagonist was hired at CatC happened in this year.
Video Games
- Grand Theft Auto V: Set in its release year of 2013.
- Command & Conquer: Generals is set in 2013.
- The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II take place in a world where the Zombie Apocalypse kicks off in 2013.
- Life Is Strange takes place in October 2013.
- Shin Megami Tensei IV: 2013 is when the Counter-Demon Force managed to open a portal to the Expanse too large for them to handle using the Demon Summoning Program, and the world entered a post-apocalyptic state as a result.
- Alien Nine is set in 2014.
- Part of 20th Century Boys is set in 2014.
Fan Works
- Kira Is Justice, because Four Is Death.
- School Days (ISS600) is a FNaF fic set in late 2014 just a month after the game's real-life release.
Films
- The Great Escaper, with flashbacks to 1944.
Live-Action TV
- D.☆P. takes place in 2014.
- The Leftovers
- 19-2 (The English version starts in 2014)
- The first two seasons of Titans (2018) frequently flashes back to this year as this was the year the original team was formed.
Video Games
- Battlefield 3: Is set in 2014.
- Far Cry 4 takes place in 2014.
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is set in 2014.
- Open Sorcery: The E.P.I Log is written on Nov. 1 2014, and the events of the game are the 9 days inclusive before the E.P.I log.
- The Future GPX Cyber Formula series begins in 2015, and continues on to 2022.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion begins in 2015, and may extend into early 2016. Instrumentality happens between December 31, 2015 and January 1, 2016. What happens after that isn't certain.
Film - Live-Action
- Luckiest Girl Alive: The film only. The book is set when around the time that it's published (2015). The film, however, was released in 2022 and is explicitly set in 2015 with references to the upcoming Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump election.
Literature
- Eden Green (and the extradimensional disaster it covers) takes place in late July, 2015. The author also released a free web serial, City on the Edge of Nowhere, to recap events with bonus 2015 context.
- Sorry, Bro is set around June 2015.
- Worm's sequel Ward takes place in 2015.
Fan Works
- In the Eye of the Beholder begins on August 22, 2015.
Films
- Back to the Future Part II is partly set on October 21, 2015.
- In Real Life July 2010, many people fell for a hoax confusing this date with the film's 25th anniversary (July 3, 2010); see that year's section for details.
- Towards the end of the original movie, Doc traveled to October 26, 2015, and after learning about the circumstances of Marty McFly Jr.'s arrest, travels back to 1985 to take Marty and Jennifer to 2015, kick-starting the second film.
- The film infamously predicted that the Chicago Cubs would sweep the 2015 World Series. Sadly, the Cubs were swept by the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series... on October 21, 2015. However, the Cubs would finally win the World Series the following year in 2016. The film series' Twitter account joked that the discrepancy of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series a year early was due to the film's version of 2015 being in a universe where the 1994 baseball strike never occurred.
- May December was released in 2023, but it's set in the summer of 2015. Joe and Gracie's kids graduate as "class of 2015" and the date on Elizabeth's work print when she's filming at the end is 2015.
- Zola is set at the time in 2015 when the events chronicled in the Twitter post that inspired the movie occurred. Furthermore, the use of Backpage (which was shut down in 2018) is part of a major plot point, while Derrek is seen regularly viewing Vines, the group vibes and lipsyncs to "Hannah Montana" in the car, and Stefani emphasizes Facebook and Tumblr as part of her social media presence rather than Snapchat and TikTok (not to mention not mentioning an OnlyFans at all, as it was not launched until 2016), all of which are clear signifiers of the mid-2010s.
Live-Action TV
- The Flash (2014): The eponymous protagonist time travels to this year (specifically the one set during Season 1's timeline) twice as of Season 5.
Podcasts
- The Message is set during 2015.
Video Games
- Alien Soldier is set in 2015.
- Open Sorcery: Jingle BEL/S is set in the Christmas season of 2015.
- Tell Me Why is set in November 2015.
Web Original
- Ward takes place in 2015.
- Most of Your Name takes place in 2016.
Films
- Black Widow (2021) is set shortly after Captain America: Civil War which was released and took place in 2016.
- In Ghostbusters II, one of the guests on Peter Venkman's show "World of the Psychic" predicts that the end of the world would happen on February 14, 2016.
Venkman: Valentine's Day. Bummer.
- Assassin's Creed (2016) is set in 2016, with Templar Ellen Kaye outright stating the year.
Literature
- Penance: Published in 2023, the novel takes the form of a book written in the 2020s about the events of 2015-2016 in a small town in Yorkshire. Tumblr and assorted subcultures are mentioned by name.
- Young Justice: Invasion is set in 2016.
Video Games
- Life Is Strange 2 takes place mostly in 2016, as does its Interquel The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 3 are set in 2016, 5 years after the first game, though the final mission of the latter game extends out to late January of 2017.
- The Ace Attorney series is for the most part set in this decade, with the first game starting off in the fall of 2016.
- Persona 5 says it's set in 20XX, but uses the same calendar dates as 2016.
- A part of Click takes place in 2017.
- The majority of Terminator Genisys take place in 2017.
Literature
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The epilogue of the last Harry Potter book (published in 2007) would, according to the official timeline, take place in 2017. We don't really get to see what the Muggle world is like by that time, but at the very least they still have cars and driving tests. We also know that they still have train stations and that they haven't found out about wizards yet.
- My Dark Vanessa
Live-Action TV
- The Dropout: 2022 Elizabeth Holmes Bio Pic set mostly on her 2017 trial but also has flashbacks from her college years in the early 2000s.
Video Games
- .hack//G.U.
- Night in the Woods takes place during October 2017, slightly less than a year after its release.
- Orwell is set in 2017, one year after the game release.
- Persona 5 Strikers takes place around the summer of 2017.
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All takes place in 2017 with exception of Case 4. Also, Case 5 of the first game takes place on February of this year.
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard takes place in 2017.
Western Animation
- "SB-129", an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants opens in this year, before it hands over to the events of 4017.
Video Games
- Trauma Center takes place in 2018.
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
- The main story Yakuza: Like a Dragon takes place in 2018.
Visual Novels
- Monster Prom is set in 2018. More specifically, it takes place after February, since Miranda's birthday is either February 28th, 1999 or March 1st, 1999, and she is 19 years old.
- Case 4 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All takes place on March of this year and Case 2 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations takes place on September or October depending the game you play (Sep 11 for Japan and Oct 11 for US).
Comic Books
- Spider-Man: Life Story: The sixth and final issue is set in 2019.
Films
- The Batman (2022) takes place in 2019.
- Blade Runner takes place in November 2019.
- The Island (2005) takes place in July 2019.
- The Running Man
- At least part of the prologue to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is likely set at the very end of 2019, judging by The Reveal at the end that Borat had unknowingly introduced COVID-19 to China during his journey to the US.
Literature
- Arthur C Clarke's July 20, 2019 is set on... that's right. (He chose that date because it's the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.)
Live-Action TV
- Dark Angel begins in 2019.
- The first season of Dollhouse has a Distant Finale set in 2019.
- Someday or One Day starts in 2019 and many scenes are set during that year.
- Treadstone has most of it story set around 2019.
Music
Video Games
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) primarily takes place in 2019, save for the two prequel missions where you play as Farah.
- Ghost Recon Wildlands takes place in July 2019.
- House of the Dead III takes place in 2019.
- Life Is Strange: True Colors takes place in May 2019.
- It is implied that the Varrigan City Death Watch in MadWorld takes place in 2019.
- Cases 3 and 5 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials And Tribulations take place on this year. Also, the Side-Trial of Case 4 on Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney where Phoenix is disbarred happens on April 29th (almost three months after Case 5 of T&T).
Webcomics
- Crystal Heroes has a narration box stating "The year is 2019" on the second page.
Western Animation
- Amphibia takes place from mid to late 2019.
Works made during the 2010s
- Anime and Manga of the 2010s
- Comic Books of the 2010s
- Fanfics of the 2010s
- Films of the 2010s
- Literature of the 2010s
- Music of the 2010s
- Pinball of the 2010s
- Professional Wrestling of the 2010s
- Radio of the 2010s
- Series of the 2010s
- Tabletop Games of the 2010s
- Theatre of the 2010s
- Theme Parks of the 2010s
- Toys of the 2010s
- Video Games of the 2010s
- Visual Novels of the 2010s
- Web Animation of the 2010s
- Webcomics of the 2010s
- Web Originals of the 2010s
- Western Animation of the 2010s
- Aviation Gin
- Bones Coffee
- Coach Lasso (2013-2014)
- Dear Kitten
- Doraemon Toyota Commercials (2011)
- Fansville
- Find the One
- Flex Seal
- Get Rid of Cable
- Health Hotline (2015)
- Hungry Days
- I Saw Your Willy
- Iritology
- Lil' Sweet
- Long Long Man (2017)
- McDonald's – "Decorate"
- Metro Manners (2017-2018)
- Mitch Glee
- The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice
- Never Say No to Panda
- Nipper & Gramophone's Christmas Tales (2012)
- Peggy
- Protegent
- The Real Cost
- Respect the Pouch
- The Scarecrow
- Sexual Violence with the Birds and the Bees (2016)
- Shaw Delivery Bots
- Stressmannetje
- Suzy Puppy
- Tommy McAnairey
- A Very Muppet Portal Campaign
- The Year of Luigi
- Isle of the Dead (2014)
- Laser Kiwi flag (2015)
- Oni Embodiments (2014)
- Adit & Sopo Jarwo
- Agent Ali
- Akis
- Andy Pirki
- Art Odyssey
- Astro Plan
- Balala the Fairies
- Bhaagam Bhaag
- BoBoiBoy
- Boonie Bears
- Boonie Cubs - A spin-off of the above that premiered in 2017.
- Burka Avenger
- Chuck Chicken
- Crazy Candies
- Cupid's Chocolates
- Doby & Disy
- The Donkey King
- Dreamkix
- Eena Meena Deeka
- Flower Angel
- Fruity Robo (premiered in 2009, continued into the 2010's)
- Gaju Bhai
- Gattu Battu
- GG Bond - Premiered in 2006, but aired a lot of seasons during this decade.
- Happy Family - While this series premiered in 2004, it had a second season and a movie that both premiered in 2012.
- Happy Heroes
- Harry and Bunnie
- Ibi
- Infinity Nado
- The Jungle Book (2010)
- Keymon Ache
- The King of Fighters: Destiny
- King Shakir
- The King's Avatar
- Kodama
- Lamput
- Larva
- The Legend of Lucky Pie
- Ling Long Incarnation
- Little Cherry - Premiered in 2008, but had few seasons and spin-offs in this decade.
- Lu's Time
- Mask Masters
- Miniforce
- Miracle Star
- Motu Patlu
- Inspector Chingum (Spin-Off of the above)
- Nana Moon
- Nano Core
- Nine Songs of the Moving Heavens
- Oddbods
- Our Friend Xiong Xiao Mi
- Oye Golu
- Pakdam Pakdai
- Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf - Premiered in 2005, but aired a number of seasons during this decade.
- Pleasant Goat Fun Class - A Spin-Off of the above that premiered in 2016.
- Princess Pring
- Rimba Racer
- RPG Metanoia
- Rainbow Ruby
- Roco Kingdom
- Say Hi to Pencil!
- Scissor Seven
- Simple Samosa
- Stitch & Ai
- Super Wings
- Sweets Fairy
- Tik Tak Tail
- ViR: The Robot Boy
- Zelly Go
- Arrowhead started in 2018.
- Big Nate celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011.
- Bloom County returned in 2015 after a 25-year absence.
- Brenda Starr ended in 2011.
- Dogs of C-Kennel, started syndication in 2010.
- Doonesbury: The daily strips entered a hiatus in 2014, being replaced by a recollection of noted continuities from the strip's history.
- Dustin, started in 2010.
- Gasoline Alley hit the 100-year mark in 2018, with Walt alive and kickin'.
- Jimmy & Lupe Tornado
- Macanudo was first syndicated in North America in 2014.
- Guy Gilchrist's run on Nancy ended in 2018. He was followed by Olivia James, whose work became instantly celebrated.
- Phoebe and Her Unicorn, started as a webcomic in 2013 and became a syndicated strip in 2015.
- (Barney Google and) Snuffy Smith celebrated its centennial in 2019.
- Wallace the Brave, started in 2018.
- Wizard of Id celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.
- Atomic Forest
- Booba first premiered in 2014.
- Fantasy Patrol
- Gypsy Tales started in 2014.
- Heroes of Envell
- Kid-E-Cats
- KikoRiki had two spin-offs premiering in 2012:
- KikoRiki. New Adventures
- PinCode
- Masha and the Bear (premiered in 2009 but kept going into the 2010's)
- Banzi's Secret Diary
- Bread Barbershop
- Canimals
- Flowering Heart
- Hello Jadoo
- Noonbory and the Super 7 (Its second season premiered in the early 2010's.)
- The King of Pigs
- Robocar Poli
- Running Man
- Shining Star
- Tayo the Little Bus
- Tickety Toc
- Tobot
- Watch Car
- Zoobles
- Ask Me Another
- The Deer King I: Survivors
- SBS Pop Asia
- True Capitalist Radio: Ghost already started his broadcasting career in 2008, but troll raids in the show didn't become regular until late 2009 and the show didn't gain a lot of popularity or transform to its current format as a combination of Political Talk Show and Sitcom until summer 2011. Additionally most of the episodes were made during 2011-2012 and 2016 time frame.