The Best of 2021: Television
“I make this suit sing.”
What was television in 2021? What is television today? It’s hard to say. Of all the shows that adhere to the traditional format of over twenty episodes every year, only Bob’s Burgers was in contention for my list. Network is all but dead and more than ever, it seems like formerly cinematic projects have taken to the small screen, identity crisis-free from those that Marvel kickstarted on television this year.
All we really have left for how television used to be is sports. Some of my television highlights this year do have to do with live sports because it’s the one thing streaming hasn’t figured out yet. The Nickelodeon slime cannons during a playoff game, a NESN-hosted retirement ceremony for Dustin Pedroia, a stellar Super Bowl ad for Oatly. These were some TV highlights, even though I don’t roll with a Best of 2021: Sports list. (Though, if I did do an Athlete of the Year, 2017 might’ve been for Tom Brady, 2018 for Nathan Eovaldi, 2019 for Brady or Rob Gronkowski or Roger Federer, 2020 for Naomi Osaka or Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey or Devin Booker, and 2021 for Pedroia or Simone Biles. Seems like a lot of Boston homerism, so I’d better not.)
To be fair, the Oscars are still technically a live event and I thought Steven Soderbergh’s production of this year’s ceremony was gloriously manic. But at the end of the day, television will always be defined by its scripted programming, its ongoing series. Television is stories; it always will be. The crazy part is just that the market is as flooded as new music, new podcasts, and new books now. There’s too many shows!
I mean, think about it. It’s hard to imagine a year in television that was more crafted for my own personal taste than 2021 was and many of those shows still didn’t make my Top 25. B.J. Novak brought his short story prowess to FX with The Premise! Disney delivered a documentary series about Disney attractions and hotels with Behind the Attraction! ESPN broke open the archives for a career-spanning diatribe on Tom Brady with Man in the Arena! None of them made the list.
Jessica Chastain’s Scenes from a Marriage, Jon Bois’ The History of the Atlanta Falcons, Kyle Mooney’s Saturday Morning All-Star Hits, Dave Chang’s The Next Thing You Eat, Issa Rae’s Insecure, Mindy Kaling’s Monsters at Work, James Cameron’s Secrets of the Whales, Cristin Milioti’s Made for Love, Emily Mortimer’s The Pursuit of Love, Ryan Murphy’s Impeachment: American Crime Story. None of them made the list! It’s crazy! That’s how strong the year was.
Instead, the true honorable mentions belong to The Underground Railroad, the most visually arresting series television has ever seen, Reservation Dogs, an exciting new journey into a creator’s fresh voice, Hemingway, a fascinating documentary from Ken Burns about one of the greatest writers to ever live, and DuckTales, which came to an end with a delirious, messy finale. Credit is also due to new seasons of the aforementioned Bob’s Burgers, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, How To with John Wilson, and What We Do in the Shadows.
Those are the ones worth mentioning, though. The shows below are the best of the medium this year.
25. Survivor
(Spoilers for Season 41 ahead!) I’d never seen Survivor before 2021. I’ve seen American Idol and The Voice and The Amazing Race and even some of the Bachelor universe. But my interest in all of them waned over the years because they became monopolized by sob stories, manufactured drama, scripted storylines, and eye-rolling finales that eschew everything that made the season leading up to the ending special. Instead, they’re replaced with schlocky montages, recaps, and an overall departure from the true bonding environment that began the journey for the contestants. So, I assumed Survivor would be more of the same. No chance. Instead, I was treated to an intricate game of strategy, missed social cues, and grueling physical challenges with minimal complaints and only strained emotions. Capping it off with a finale that honored the truth of Survivor and what I garnered its spirit to be, I was truly impressed with this entry into reality television and excited to explore classic seasons. And so happy to see Erika win, becoming the first woman in seven seasons to do so!
24. The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse
The irreverently animated new Mickey Mouse shorts have long been a hysterical arm of Disney’s current animation branch. They’ve seamlessly made the transition to Disney Plooos, as well, in the form of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse. It’s all the same here! Minnie is capable of flipping from sweet to raging aggression in seconds. Goofy is coming down from a high. Donald is indecipherable. And Mickey is a blithering, desperate dumbass, cursed to forever do the moral thing. He is a moron who loves everything Twitter hates and cannot handle when bad things happen and has his kindness taken advantage of as opposed to the Pauper/Cratchit/Brave Little Tailor iteration of the mascot, as opposed to cartoon body dysmorphia with slight Fantasia mischief, even if he’s not as comedic as Donald or Bugs Bunny. Perhaps no scene made me laugh harder this year than when the ghosts he invites to live in his house surprise him with a gift.
23. Mythic Quest
When Jake Johnson gave one of the greatest vocal performances of all-time as Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I failed to acknowledge his brilliance in my own version of the Oscars. When he and Cristin Milioti teamed for one of the best standalone television episodes of 2020, I failed to acknowledge his brilliance in my own television celebrations. The restitution begins now by recognizing Mythic Quest as one of the best shows of 2021. The new standalone episodes (featuring guest spots by Josh Brener and William Hurt) were more stunning examples of visionary potential from the series, but the workplace comedy elements of the video game vehicle on Apple were strengthened during season two. Charlotte Nicdao continues to shine, too! This is television workplace comedy in the modern times.
22. MacGruber
A Tom Brady docuseries, a B.J. Novak-created series, and a Disney Parks extravaganza may not have made the list. But an eight-episode return into Will Forte’s superfluously inane MacGruber certainly did. The humor of the one-note-SNL-sketch-turned-cult-comedy-classic remained consistent and the mystery of the series became genuinely fascinating. Forte returns, along with Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe, but also character actors like Laurence Fishburne (opting for MacGruber over Matrix), Billy Zane, and Sam Elliott join in on the fun of the pseudo-spy show. If this is what Peacock can be, then maybe the streaming wars aren’t such a bad thing. We just had four hours of MacGruber, folks.
21. Never Have I Ever
In its second season, Never Have I Ever continued excelling at everything that made the debut drop so special. The empathetically written characters, the culturally adept portrayals, the persistently zany turns from silliness and John McEnroe narration to emotional tumult and sequences of magical realism. It all works so effectively on Never Have I Ever, which is interested in so much more than its compelling love triangle. The behavior of Devi may occasionally grow tedious, but the emotional breakthroughs make it so worthwhile. The highlight of the season comes from one of these, as Dr. Ryan advises Devi in therapy, “You feel a lot, which means sometimes you’re gonna hurt a lot. But it also means that you’re going to live a life that is emotionally rich and really beautiful.” Thanks, Niecy Nash.
20. Hawkeye
If you know me, you know Hawkeye essentially earned its spot on the list when that trailer dropped of Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, and Lucky the Pizza Dog gallivanting around Manhattan during the holiday season while Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” curved around the action teases like a precisely aimed arrow. The final MCU endeavor on Disney Plooos in 2021 delivered on Phase 4’s two most exciting new characters (Hailee Steinfeld’s Bishop and Florence Pugh’s Yelena (and let’s not forget about Eternals’ Harry Styles as Eros, whose superpower is being good at sex)) being introduced and one of the original Avengers finally earning his retirement. Set the goofy, banter-y fun against a backdrop of Christmas trees and Rockettes and you have a real winner in the MCU’s smaller scale.
19. I Think You Should Leave
A college professor dropping the joke and saying, “Gimme that.” A woman who crashes her car on the way back from her job at tables. A man who doesn’t want to be around anymore. A tidal wave during a conference room meeting. All of these comprise the sketches of I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson’s Netflix vignette series that plays with the specificity of language better than most shows in the entire realm of art. Any one of the aforementioned would be a contender for “Hardest Laugh of 2021.” Yet, they all still pale when measured up against Robinson as a desperate-for-friends haunted tour attendee who tries to find the best way to swear in front of the guide. When’s season three?
18. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
You might recall that I recapped the second season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series into oblivion. The story of a more unified (unless you’re Olivia Rodrigo’s Nini and Joshua Bassett’s Ricky) East High drama club putting on a production of Beauty and the Beast for the Menkies was not as consistently surprising as the first arc of the show. However, the highs were just as high and Matt Cornett has come into his own as E.J., already a member of the Disney teen canon. With a couple delightful Seb jokes, rousing musical numbers, and a chills-inducing moment I still think about daily, HSM: TM: TS was one of the best in short-form this year.
17. Mare of Easttown
When people talk about how what would’ve once supported the mid-size adult drama angle of movie theaters is now turned into long-form limited series for HBO, Netflix, and the like, Mare of Easttown is probably the best example. It’s not implausible to imagine Kate Winslet contending for Best Actress in 2011 for this role as Mare Sheehan, a burdened-upon-burdened detective from Pennsylvania who’s trying to solve a series of grisly deaths without ruining the lives of the good people left in the Rust Belt. Yet, it’s also entirely implausible to imagine the story working any better than it does in this exact form. Evan Peters crushes a mini arc, Julianne Nicholson walks away from the finale, and Winslet shines throughout. Never as grim or dour as it may suggest, Mare is one I expect only to grow in estimation throughout the years.
16. WandaVision
Not since Lost has a puzzle box, week-to-week theorizing series been so thrilling, agonizing, and (at first glance) unsatisfying. But the more time that’s gone by, the more WandaVision has been appreciated for its bold foray into Marvel’s true place on television. It may have culminated in a couple teases and a couple flashes, but the heart was always with Wanda and Vision. Like Lost, the solutions ultimately met expectations because they were all about the love we felt that they felt. Regardless of how it ended, the journey was just as fun, though. Whether Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany were authentically recreating The Dick Van Dyke Show with a Bewitched flair or dressing in Halloween costumes to reveal the hidden terrors of Westview, few shows were as zeitgeisty (and deserving of it) in 2021.
15. The Sex Lives of College Girls
Mindy Kaling remains undefeated. She wrote some of the best episodes of The Office, created one of the GOAT TV rom-coms in The Mindy Project, wrote and starred in Late Night, had a sizable hand in the underrated Four Weddings and a Funeral, demolished expectations with Never Have I Ever, and now has yet another winner in her production empire (now reaching to Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Max). The Sex Lives of College Girls made a perfect Thanksgiving binge on HBO Max and it also became one of the streamer’s most watched originals just a few days after its bow. It’s a simple premise: four roommates-turned-friends navigate love and academics at their university. It’s a hangout comedy in a setting that is surprisingly uncommon for television. But with a stellar lead quartet of Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Alya Chanelle Scott, and Reneé Rapp (along with Dash and Lily’s Midori Francis) and a setting that is gloriously authentic to college in New England (big, relatable bonus for me), it’s easily one of the year’s best freshman endeavors.
14. Master of None
What once made Master of None my favorite show of 2017 (gorgeous cinematography, sumptuous food shots, beautiful on-location filming, cheeky buddy comedy, and wrenching romances) was completely absent from the series’ third season. Except for that last attribute. Airing on Netflix, Master of None’s latest arc — subtitled “Moments in Love” — largely eschewed Aziz Ansari’s Dev (Ansari was a major factor behind the scenes), in favor of Lena Waithe’s Denise and her new wife, Naomi Ackie’s Alicia. What followed was a Scenes from a Marriage-esque homage that honed the craft of Ansari as a filmmaker and Waithe as a performer. It wasn’t the Master of None I expected, but the result was still breathtaking, especially the season’s fourth episode, which solely follows Alicia and her quest to become pregnant without Denise. It’s an installment that is stunning and fully cemented Ackie as one of my performers of the year; her acting in that episode is some of the best you’ll ever see.
13. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The Office may have ended before Brooklyn Nine-Nine had even debuted, but the Fox-turned-NBC sitcom still represents the end of an era. An era of television, comedy, workplace comedy, network comedy. Whatever you want to call it, without Brooklyn Nine-Nine on the air, the networks don’t have any of that 2000s pedigree that made the genre so successful (and is still making it successful on streaming today). Nine-Nine was the last holdover from an ensemble era of gentle comic sensibilities and fun, mix-and-match archetypes with endearing performers behind them. (The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Community, New Girl, The Mindy Project, How I Met Your Mother, and Brooklyn all shared some sort of overlap on the weekly calendar of full-year television orders. Now, they have all officially concluded and their creators (Michael Schur, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling) have moved into the streaming realm for their DNA to persevere.) I always love a good ending, so final seasons do tend to favor well on these lists for me. But Brooklyn also had the benefit of a high-quality final season that emphasized the inherent, must-change flaws of policing without losing its silly penchant for Mario Kart jokes and cummerbund heists. If only we could’ve had a season nine, episode nine!
12. Schmigadoon!
Just as I’ll tend to naturally be favorable towards final seasons, so too will I for musicals. Who doesn’t love a good musical? And with HSM already placing highly (and two more musicals to come), it’s the perfect time for Schmigadoon! What a romp it was. What few flaws the Apple original musical series from Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio, Barry Sonnenfeld, Cecily Strong, and Christopher Gattelli had were more than made up for by the ambition of the show. It tells the story of a once-fairytale couple, staring at the unflinching promise of a break-up, drifting off on a save-the-relationship hike and discovering the town of Schmigadoon. The only problem is that once they enter, they can’t leave. They can’t leave a town of coded 1940s misogyny, Stanley Donen production design, and ditties about corn puddin’. They’re stuck inside an Old Hollywood musical until they resolve their relationship issues. Potentially. I suggest letting go of some of the “audience avatar” cynicism and just embracing the musical numbers, helmed by the best in the theater biz, like Aaron Tveit, Ariana DeBose, Jane Krakowski, and more. It succeeds because it’s willing to love itself and authentically be a classic musical, rather than endlessly mock the genre.
11. Only Murders in the Building
If Schmigadoon! helped to define a topsy-turvy summer for me, Only Murders in the Building certainly became synonymous with a cozy fall. A murder mystery — driven by podcasting — starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez might seem like a gimmick’s gimmick at first byline glance. However, the Hulu original was so much more. Genuinely creative, engaging, and amusing, Only Murders somehow managed to adhere to the dry wit of Martin, the impenetrable showiness of Short, and the youthful eye-rolling of Gomez. The trio made for one of the most entertaining combinations on television and that’s without taking into consideration the joy Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, and, yes, Sting always bring to the screen. To say much more would be to give away the ceaseless fun in every installment, but I can confidently place its upcoming second season atop my “most anticipated returning shows” list, if a categorization were to exist beyond the hypothetical. More than happy to be in the Murder Mystery Renaissance with you all.
10. Midnight Mass
Would it be crazy of me to say that Mike Flanagan is the greatest horror director of all-time now? He’s certainly my favorite. The Haunting of Hill House was my number one show of 2018 and The Haunting of Bly Manor was my number three show of 2020. Flanagan’s art connects with exactly what I jive with in the horror genre and his 2021 Netflix miniseries/story, Midnight Mass, is only number ten because of just how strong 2021 was overall. The self-proclaimed “most personal” tale of Flanagan’s career dives deep on themes of redemption, sacrifice, and religion (both persecution and salvation). The most memorable moments of Midnight Mass (the ones you’re thinking of right now) are truly, deathly haunting and I’ll never forget them. As it is, the performances (especially Hamish Linklater’s) continue to grow in my mind, taking up more and more critical space. Maybe it should be higher than number ten.
9. Bluey
But the top ten is just so powerful. If you haven’t heard of Bluey before, worry not. It may consist of seven-minute episodes; it may be a children’s show; it may air initially in Australia. It’s also all on Disney Plooos, ready for you to stream right now. Few shows can make you laugh as genuinely and wholesomely as Bluey does, whether that’s at the expense of Bandit’s health or in a moment relatable to anyone who’s spent just a little too much time around young children. Few shows can also make you sob and sob and sob because life is always going to change and you’ll only ever be prepared for what you know and not what makes those who came before you so emotional. Bluey emphasizes the point of play for children and is so thoughtful that it’s hard to imagine any show more enriching for the population, save for Sesame Street or Blue’s Clues. But it also takes full advantage of the animation medium and never forgets the mission to love all the moments that populate your lives and laughter.
8. Girls5eva
I might technically have comedies higher on the list than Peacock’s Girls5eva, but none are as whip-smart and funny as the Meredith Scardino-created series is. Borrowing from the joke-a-minute sensibility that defined 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt before it, Girls5eva is the kind of show that would have terrified fans of cancellation on NBC back in 2010. Instead, it thrives on Peacock and is certainly the fledgling streamer’s best original show so far. Starring Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Phillips, and Paula Pell as a turn-of-the-twenty-first-century girl group that flamed out after one, studio-manufactured hit, Girls5eva finds many targets for its satire. Considering the quartet reunite after two decades apart, the most obvious skewer is how pop culture industries misogynistically neglect talented women once they “age out” of more marketable demographics. But the series is also content to explore New York archetypes, over-the-counter UTI medication, and Dolly Parton’s basketball skills. If you want to laugh and, then, five minutes later, laugh even harder, watch Girls5eva.
7. Loki
The great Marvel experiment on Plooos was full of fits and starts. WandaVision delighted, but seemed to teach Kevin Feige the wrong lessons about episodic storytelling. Hawkeye was the product of some of those lessons. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shot the moon so high that it exploded quicker than the one in Thanos’ grip. And What If? was redeemed solely by the vocal talents of Chadwick Boseman, Hayley Atwell, and Benedict Cumberbatch. They all had their merits and drawbacks, but to me, the MCU series that was clearly the best was Loki. Creator Michael Waldron cited some of the best movies of all-time (Before Sunrise, Catch Me If You Can) as influences for the series that explored Loki meeting variants of himself, falling in love with one of them, and eventually breaking open the multiverse. From astonishing technical elements (including immaculate costume design) to moving, enthralling performances, Loki hit on every level for me and it’s the only MCU series I’ve rewatched. That’s what happens when the focus is on “What would these characters do next?” and not “What movies should these characters be in next?” Loki fucked.
6. Succession
It’s silly to ding a returning drama that remains on the top of its game, simply because it remains so consistently excellent. Yes, it’s easy to favor the new! But in an era of limited series and three-season runs, I do want to make sure we celebrate the beauty of an ongoing, ever-developing story. That’s the role Succession occupies over on HBO. Season three saw chess board-shuffling dynamics like Kendall trying to go full Albany on his father, Tom authentically reacting to his wife saying, “I don’t love you,” and Connor being denied support for the presidency. But where it continues to thrive is in the loyalties that shift faster than a tribal council on Survivor. In one episode, Roman (Kieran Culkin was the MVP of season three) is orchestrating the removal of an imaginary cat. In the next, he’s tiptoeing around his Oedipal, unexplored attraction to Alexander Skarsgård. When a show can simply flex on all viewers and decide to film its arc’s denouement in Europe, you know it’s just on another level.
5. The Beatles: Get Back
Imagine coming across video footage of Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. That’s what it feels like to watch Paul McCartney strumming a bass while Ringo Starr traces his drumstick on his hand and George Harrison yawns. At first, it seems like he might be simply tuning his guitar. But quickly, the strumming finds a rhythm and — soon enough — a beat. A few moments and plucks later, suddenly McCartney is vocalizing to the bass guitar and it sounds somewhat familiar. It might just be that his voice is etched into anyone with a brain for artistic prowess, but as words start to form, you realize it’s more than that. You’re watching Paul McCartney write “Get Back” in real time and it’s the most incredible footage that might ever exist. Now, imagine experiencing that while feeling the way that John Lennon is surely feeling throughout all three episodes of Peter Jackson’s mega documentary about the making of Let It Be, the album recording that took The Beatles to the roof and Harrison to the solo sessions. This happens over and over again for eight hours and it’s among the most remarkable television you’ll ever see.
4. Dickinson
Only one show on this list aired two seasons in 2021 and it wasn’t the reality-competition on its forty-first season in twenty-one years. It was Dickinson, the unexpected darling of the original slate of Apple TV+ originals. Yes, For All Mankind blossomed, but it took a while to find its footing. Yes, Ted Lasso is already an all-timer, but it was not a part of the Morning Show-dominated November 1 debut slate. It was Dickinson that delighted from the very beginning. An anachronistic period piece about the greatest poet to ever live that delighted in historical cameos (this year featured Billy Eichner as Walt Whitman, Chloe Fineman as Sylvia Plath, and Nick Kroll as Edgar Allan Poe, among others), poppy needle drops, and sensual affection between Emily Dickinson and her sister-in-law, Sue. After a slight pandemic delay, Alena Smith’s comedy returned for its second season in January. This arc focused on Emily grappling with fame and notoriety while questioning what it means to be Nobody. It also boasted a soaring moment in which Sue puts Emily’s “Split the lark” poem to haunting music. And then, Apple announced the show would begin its third and final season in November. It’s a short turn-around, but the result was stunning, between Dickinson family reconciliations, Taylor Swift’s “Ivy,” a mournful/hopeful yearning (depending on your reading), and an epilogue of magical realism for dear Emily (Hailee Steinfeld is revelatory in the role). We’ll always regret not appreciating this show more when it was airing. How special it was to have so many installments about Emily Dickinson!
3. The White Lotus
One of my favorite places on this planet is the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World. I’ve always had an affinity for hotels, what with their steal-able shampoos, pristine lobbies, and promise of relaxation and escapism. The Polynesian simply accentuated this feeling by making the lobby smell euphoric and peppering the relaxation with gentle, instrumental island music. So, when I saw the trailer for The White Lotus, set at a Hawaiian hotel, I got major Polynesian vibes and was more than amped to spend six hours in that environment. (If it were set at the Polynesian, it seems likely that the guests would be even more insufferable, considering the entitlement Disney always brings to poorly-adjusted adults.) Of course, this was no hangout comedy. This was a genius piece of wealthy satire from deft creator Mike White. The staff of The White Lotus, led by Murray Bartlett’s note-perfect Armond, are inundated with selfishness and needless demands by three separate factions. One is Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya, who wants to spread her mother’s ashes. Another is Alexandra Daddario’s Rachel and Jake Lacy’s Shane, who are on their honeymoon. The third is the Mossbacher family (comprised of Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Sydney Sweeney, Fred Hechinger, and accompanying Brittany O’Grady), who are trying to rekindle familial affection. (Yes, every single actor listed above has an argument for an Emmy.) What unspools is a repetitive grind of petty remarks and shocking intimacy, as each episode’s structure mirrors the previous; White uses singular restaurants and pool hours as storytelling mechanisms for his characters to reasonably interact with one another consistently. The vibe of The White Lotus is similarly singular, choosing to share a story that is mostly driven by audience interpretation (especially to that pulsating score), and it’s simply one of the best anthology series television had this year.
2. For All Mankind
As aforementioned, the beginning of For All Mankind in 2019 was forgettable. Many high-concept, sci-fi shows strive for the zeitgeist, but few ever seem to resonate past Deadline’s initial casting announcements. Thanks to the shepherding from the brilliant creative mind within Ron Moore, though, For All Mankind continuously retooled itself and established a highly promising second season. That first season finale was buoyed by an extensive repertoire of well-developed women and a riveting time leap that promised shaken stakes for all characters going forward. The second season built on all of that potential by taking more characters to the lunar heavens while keeping them more grounded than ever simultaneously. That expressive structure of a slow burn leading to a massive culmination of multiple story lines with the fate of progress at stake was perfected in season two as the arc’s finale, “The Grey,” immediately became one of the best episodes to ever come across a television screen. There won’t be any spoilers here, but I promise a) you’ll never look at duct tape the same way again and b) it’s a series that is worth your time and the most exciting new, ongoing drama we have in this vast landscape of stories. I can’t wait for season three!
1. Ted Lasso
It’s time for Ted Lasso to take its place in the television pantheon. I didn’t see enough shows from the 1950s through to the 1980s to fully determine, with knowledge, scope, and honesty, what my favorite show of each year was in the same way that I know my favorite movie of each year dating all the way back to 1930. For television, it would’ve just been a lot of Lucille Ball, Rod Serling, Alan Alda, and Ted Danson. But when the 1990s began, they were dominated in my obsessive list form by Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and Friends. Understandably so. I mean, they’re three of the greats. But since then, there’s been a lot more parity and I consider it a grand honor when a show is my favorite of the year. Since 2013, the honorees have been The Office, Wilfred, Fargo, Game of Thrones, Master of None, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Good Place. It’s an exclusive group, but an impeccable one and there’s no doubt in my mind that Ted Lasso deserves to take its place next to them. (It was number two last year.) If I had waited a couple months to begin The Television Project: 100 Favorite Shows, Ted Lasso would’ve already had an argument for top twenty. Yes, it’s that exceptional. Everyone is perfectly cast and written well within reason for the characterization of each figure on the soccer/mental health/kindness and curiosity series. Apple’s breakout hit in a world of Mandalorians and Hobbits is a masterclass on every level. This year, it was undoubtedly the arcs of some beloved characters of mine (Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt, namely) that helped it arise to the number one spot, along with rom-com homages, tear duct-slamming reveals, and what is the frontrunner for “Episode of the Year,” “Carol of the Bells.” (A Ted Lasso Christmas episode could never disappoint; I sob at the thought of it.) Most importantly, it’s a show that reminded me of what it can mean to share television with others. Did I watch The White Lotus alone? I did. Did I watch MacGruber alone? Obviously. But Ted Lasso is meant to be shared. And that sharing helped change my life. It’s in the pantheon now. Welcome, Coach. I believe.
So this is what television is now. We can spend an entire season on the moon. The best comedy doesn’t even reach thirteen episodes and airs on a streamer no one has. The most thrilling new show of the year didn’t even go past six episodes. Tom Hiddleston plays Loki on a series. This is where we are now. These pockets of brilliance we can occasionally share and cross over with. It’s not the same as it was and it’s not better or worse. It’s just different. Because 2011 wouldn’t recognize any of this, but I can’t imagine television without all twenty-five of them.
More from the Best of 2021 series:
See also:
My Favorite Television Shows of 2017
(#1 was Master of None)
My Favorite Television Shows of 2018
(#1 was The Haunting of Hill House)
My 20 Favorite Television Shows of 2019
(#1 was Game of Thrones)
My 30 Favorite Television Shows of 2020
(#1 was The Good Place)
