25 Favorite Shows of 2021

Wow, another tough year spent predominantly inside.? Thankful once again to both have TV to keep me employed, entertained, and alternatively distracted from and engaged with the world outside.? It’s increasingly impossible to see all of what’s out there, but this list represents the best of the bunch, in my opinion, of what I did see in 2021. This year, I’m doing my faves lists breakdown by categories again, to give some shine to some shows I liked in different ways and for different reasons.? Feel free to debate and discuss your own favorites in the comments. Let me know what I missed and share suggestions for things to check out next.

Favorite Frights

There were some wild options to scare yourself this year.? Brand New Cherry Flavor was equal bits stylish and grotesque, while Them had a disturbing and realistic horror stemming from a perfect blend of supernatural and real life evils in 1950s Compton.

1. Them (Amazon Prime) 2. Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix) 3. Kingdom (Netflix) 4. Midnight Mass (Netflix)

Favorite Thrills

1. Squid Game (Netflix) 2. Money Heist (Netflix) 3. Mare of Easttown (HBO) 4. Lupin (Netflix) 5. The White Lotus (HBO)

Favorite Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Such a great year for genre stories, although it’s a pro/con that two of the best of the year were done with bottomless budgets for two of the world’s richest companies.? Apple’s money was well spent on the epic scale of Foundation, a story spanning thousands of years and many planets.? A pleasant surprise was the much lower budget The Watch, on BBC America, whose motley mix of characters and edgy production style made for a unique and fun world to explore.

1. Foundation (Apple TV+)? 2. Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime) 3. The Watch (BBC America) 4. The Witcher (Netflix) 5. The Nevers (HBO)

Favorite Laughs

All of my favorite comedies and shows that made me laugh this year also had some of the deepest emotion, gutting pathos, and rewarding character arcs.? The final seasons of Pen15 and Insecure wrapped up their stories of friendship with heartwarming conclusions after bumpy rides, but never stopped delivering the awkward humor that made them great.? Girls5Eva was an exception, continuing the rapid fire joke style of 30 Rock, as was I Think You Should Leave’s offbeat sketches (personal favorites: Coffin Flops & Dan Flashes).? Nothing is quite like How to with John Wilson, the quirky documentary-style exploration of the weird and wonderful aspects of New York City.

1. How to With John Wilson (HBO) 2. Girls5Eva (Peacock) 3. I Think You Should Leave (Netflix) 4. Pen15 (Hulu) 5. Insecure (HBO)

Favorite Period Pieces

1. Dickinson (Apple TV+) 2. Them (Amazon Prime) 3. It’s a Sin (HBO Max) 4. Bridgerton (Netflix) 5. Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix)

Favorite Foreign Language/International

1. Squid Game (Netflix, South Korea) 2. Lupin (Netflix, France) 3. Money Heist (Netflix, Spain)?

Favorite Docu Series

I’ve only recently gotten into documentaries, but these four were incredibly compelling in their massive scope.? Get Back makes you feel like you’re spending a month with The Beatles, which as a fan of their music decades after their breakup, was a cool and previously impossible experience.? The other three all covered a ton of ground, exploring racism and conspiracy theories, even potentially unearthing “Q”, but Spike Lee’s Epicenters, while somewhat meandering, layered humor and heart on the exploration of trauma in New York City from 9/11 and the last two years.

1. Epicenters (HBO) 2. Get Back (Disney+) 3. Q: Into the Storm (HBO) 4. Exterminate All the Brutes (HBO)

Favorite Visuals

A lot of gorgeous shows this year thanks to great directors, locations, and production design.? The most stunning was Apple’s Foundation, with the most beautiful mix of locations and effects seen in any recent Sci-Fi and unmatched on the small screen.?

1. Foundation (Apple TV+) 2. The White Lotus (HBO) 3. Loki (Disney+) 4. WandaVision (Disney+) 5. Insecure (HBO) 6. Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime) 7. Them (Amazon Prime)

Favorite Water Cooler Moments

These feel like they get fewer and farther between each year, but there’s still something electric about when it feels like many of us are watching the same things at the same time.? Beyond the conversation, the memes are a great bonus. The year started with a Bridgerton hangover then went immediately to weeks of Mephisto speculation.? Much of the year’s water cooler talk was monopolized by MCU output, but Mare of Easttown and Succession managed to pierce the zeitgeist as well. The biggest shocker, was that the South Korean Squid Game was able to become a phenomenon here in the states.

1. Squid Game (Netflix) 2. Succession (HBO) 3. WandaVision (Disney+) 4. Mare of Easttown (HBO) 5. Bridgerton (Netflix) 6. Loki (Disney+) 7. Falcon & The Winter Soldier (Disney+)

Classic Catchups & Rewatches

In 2021, I dipped my toes in one genre blindspot: anime.? By checking out One Punch Man and the original Cowboy Bebop, it made an amazing entry point.? Both shows are full of humor, action, inventive characters, and vibes.? Plus, they both come in tidy packages of 24 and 26 episodes, each about 22 minutes in length, yet fill out such expansive worlds.

On the domestic front, I finally tackled Halt and Catch Fire, the delightful four-season AMC series about the rise of computers in the 80s, and so far got about halfway through Battlestar Galactica (so far so good) and a rewatch of The Sopranos (still great).??

Favorite Getaways

With travel once again limited, and variant spikes cancelling some people’s trips (ahem), TV was an important place to go to see and experience more than your own corner of the world.? This year I was transported to the Las Vegas strip with Hacks and the colorful neighborhoods of LA with Insecure. Despite not commuting to New York City for the past 19 months, John Wilson kept me abreast of the trash, parking, and real estate situation in the city.? Reservation Dogs showed the rarely depicted life on an Oklahoma reservation with vivid detail while The White Lotus was a gorgeous place to stay in Hawaii for six weeks, despite the…issues at the resort.

1. The White Lotus (HBO) 2. Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu) 3. Insecure (HBO) 4. How to With John Wilson (HBO) 5. Hacks (HBO Max)

Favorite “Wow, that’s relevant” Shows

There's so much going on in the world and much of TV can serve as a good distraction. I enjoy when shows have a point of view that reflects, analyzes, or subtly relates to present circumstances in a thought-provoking way. It’s a Sin and Station Eleven both grappled with finding meaning in life during devastating health crises. Underground Railroad and Them fit together as continuations of generational trauma in the American black community. Meanwhile, Squid Game blatantly satirized the greed and inequity of capitalism in a way that resonated around the world. Foundation has a climate change subplot within the greater story of a collapsing empire that has overreached and exported war. All managed to entertain and not preach, while giving something to contemplate.

1. Squid Game (Netflix) 2. Them (Amazon Prime) 3. Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime) 4. It's a Sin (HBO Max) 5. Foundation (Apple TV+) 6. Station Eleven (HBO Max)

Here’s my overall Top 25 favorite shows of the year. I really loved the top 5 about equally, and the whole list struck me the right way at the right times for different reasons:

25. Schmigadoon (Apple TV+)

24. Girls5Eva (Peacock)

23. Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime)

22. Mare of Easttown (HBO)

21. The Watch (BBC America)

20. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

19. Lupin (Netflix)

18. Station Eleven (HBO Max)

17. NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021 ? (HBO)

16. Y: The Last Man (FX on Hulu)

15. Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime)

14. Loki (Disney+)

13. Squid Game (Netflix)

12. Pen15 (Hulu)

11. Insecure (HBO)

10. Them (Amazon Prime)

9. How to With John Wilson (HBO)

8. WandaVision (Disney+)

7. Hacks (HBO Max)

6. Scenes From a Marriage (HBO)

5. It’s a Sin (HBO Max)

4. Succession (HBO)

3. The White Lotus (HBO)

2. Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu)

1. Foundation (Apple TV+)

Didn’t get to yet: For All Mankind, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dopesick, Expanse, The Great, The Crown...so many more

2020’s Top 5: 1) I May Destroy You 2) The Boys 3) The Good Place 4) Devs 5) Pen15

All-Time Favorites: 1) The Wire 2) Breaking Bad 3) Game of Thrones 4) The Sopranos 5) The Good Place 6) Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown/No Reservations 7) Mad Men 8) The Simpsons 9) Rome 10) Band of Brothers 11) Black Mirror 12) Deadwood