Best TV Shows of 2021: Succession, Squid Game, More

2021 has been another strong year for TV and, perhaps due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, marked a big return to shows that fostered more communal viewing experiences and managed to thread the needle between comedy, drama, and spectacle, particularly with HBO hits The White Lotus and Succession, as well as Netflix’s Squid Game. While for me, 2021 didn’t reach the heights of 2020’s The Crown, Better Call Saul, I May Destroy You, The Last Dance, and ZeroZeroZero, it was still full of several amazing shows. Listed below are my personal favorites for the year, along with a few honorable mentions. I only considered shows that I watched the entire season of this year, so something like Station Eleven, which I’ve only seen the first few episodes of, wasn’t considered.

Honorable mentions:

Hacks (HBO Max) – Terrific performances by Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder and superbly well-written.

Mare of Easttown (HBO) – Kate Winslet’s performance is one of the best of the year.

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) – Not much needs to be said about Larry David’s comedy other than it keeps on delivering.

9. Squid Game (Netflix)

Squid Game came out of nowhere and captured the imagination of the world like no other show this year. It’s violent, visually stunning, and intensely bingeable.

8. Reservation Dogs (FX)

Atlanta may not have had a new season this year, but Reservation Dogs captured a lot of the same weird, creative, and authentic cultural magic, only applied to life on a reservation for a group of teenagers.

7. The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV)

Apple TV’s little-talked-about series starring Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell may not have satisfied an audience looking for laughs, but this quirky, surprisingly dark series is one of the best character studies of the year.

6. Master of None Presents: Moments in Love (Netflix)

Forget HBO’s Scenes From A Marriage, Aziz’s Ansari’s third season of Master of None is the show that really manages to capture the essence of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes From A Marriage. Poetic, confident, and overflowing with attention to detail.

5. American Crime Story: Impeachment (FX)

Lack of convenient streaming options may have wrecked its chance at a bigger audience, but Impeachment leaned into the soapy mess that was the Bill Clinton – Monica Lewinsky scandal to juicy, fun results. Plus we get to see Edie Falco dust off her Whitecaps chops in perhaps the season’s best episode.

4. The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime)

Audiences may not have been in the mood to watch such an emotionally heavy series in the midst of a pandemic, but that doesn’t change the fact that Underground Railroad is one of the most beautifully shot TV shows ever. Barry Jenkins delivers a masterpiece that brings a sad yet fascinating world to life in mesmerizing fashion.

3. Succession (HBO)

No other show brought back the weekly community viewing culture the way Succession did, creating TV show water cooler talk on Mondays for the first time since probably Game of Thrones. The seams may be starting to show, but Succession remains among the most entertaining things to watch on TV.

2. The North Water (AMC+)

Grim and gruesome, The North Water is the best show of the year that nobody seems to have watched. It features a ruthless performance by Colin Farrell, and is so incredibly ambitious in its scope, not just with the locations and filmmaking on display, but the themes explored.

1. The White Lotus (HBO)

Mike White’s thrown-together COVID-era series is a fun, dark, and beautiful look at privilege that doesn’t simply echo conventional talking points. Equally subtle and absurd, cringey and comforting, confined and broad. It’s a show that is hard to define but just so watchable.