With the year coming to an end, it’s time to list my favorite TV shows of 2021! They include regular series and miniseries. They range from classic dramas to musicals, which shows how broad the options are.

There’s so much content nowadays that it’s hard to watch everything, but there have been some great shows this year! Let’s go straight to our list:

10 – The Good Fight

The Good Fight is a great example of a show that mirrors the craziness of real life events, especially in politics, while making them interesting. Its 5th season didn’t shy away from COVID. In fact, it had a clever way of showing the passage of time in the season premiere before jumping ahead and going back to normal times. The show lost Cush Jumbo as Lucca Quinn and Delroy Lindo as Adrian Boseman, but it added Mandy Patinkin as Hal Wackner, who provided many funny moments throughout the season.

9 – The White Lotus

The structure of The White Lotus reminded me of Big Little Lies: a “whodunnit” where the audience doesn’t find out who got killed and who the killer is until the very last episode. However, that’s where the similarities end, with The White Lotus being a satire as it depicts a week in the life of a group of people vacationing at a tropical resort in Hawaii. Every character has issues, with some of them being extremely obnoxious, and the tensions build up as the show progresses. The whole cast is perfect and it’s a great social commentary of our times.

8 – Schmigadoon!

It’s very hard for a TV show to succeed as a musical. Some have tried but they ultimately end up being a bit too exhausting for the audience to follow. Fortunately, Schmigadoon! manages to avoid that and delivers a delightful musical that, while making fun of the 1950s/1960s classical musicals, also pays tribute to them. Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key are a great leading couple and the ensemble cast, filled with Broadway stars, are perfect for the show.

7 – The Other Two

Following the lives of Brooke (Heléne Yorke), a former professional dancer, and her brother Cary (Drew Tarver), an aspiring actor, is funnier than I had anticipated. We see them trying to wrap their heads around the fact that their 13-year-old brother became an internet celebrity while their own lives are not going the way they had planned. It can be a little raunchy, but they are both incredibly funny characters while still having some poignant moments between them.

6 – Loki

As I mentioned in my review, the most interesting thing about Loki is the character development and how Tom Hiddleston is able to convey all of his emotions perfectly. I didn’t have high expectations for this show when it was announced, but it was a great surprise.

5 – Dopesick

Based on the nonfiction book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America, the miniseries focuses on the Sackler family and how they pushed OxyContin to the general population by lying about addictive properties. Michael Keaton gives one of his best performances as a doctor who is lied to by a sales rep and ends up getting addicted too. The best performance, however, is by Kaitlyn Dever as a mine worker who starts taking the medicine after a work accident. It is a very sad and intense show, but it’s such a compelling story that it’s impossible to stop watching.

4 – Only Murders in the Building

I never thought Steve Martin and Martin Short would find someone to join them in their friendly banter and still keep it funny, but I was wrong. Selena Gomez is a great fit and Only Murders in the Building is a lot of fun from beginning to end. You can read the full review here.

3 – WandaVision

I remember being at D23 Expo in 2019, where WandaVision was announced, and being underwhelmed. They wanted to keep the plot under wraps to the point of leaving me both confused and not that curious about it. After its premiere on Disney+ and thanks to some friends talking about it, however, I decided to give it a go and I’m glad I did! It’s different from other Marvel movies/TV shows since its tone is deeper and more serious. Elizabeth Olsen’s performance just breaks your heart and you grieve with her. You can read the full review here.

2 – Succession

Season 3 of Succession started a bit slow for me but it surely picked up towards the end with an epic finale! The Roy family and their constant battles for power give the audience the feeling that being rich sucks! They never actually enjoy it: they’re too busy plotting against each other and figuring out the next move. Jeremy Strong should get an Emmy for his performance in the season finale alone and the rest of the cast is just superb. I can’t wait for season 4!

1 – Mare of Easttown

Kate Winslet can do it all and she proves it again in Mare of Easttown. From her appearance to her accent, everything is carefully calculated to deliver a strong performance as detective Mare Sheehan, who’s investigating the murder of a young girl while dealing with some personal traumas from her past. This murder mystery keeps us guessing until the end and it is a great example of solid storytelling combined with exceptional acting.

Honorable Mention

Ted Lasso didn’t make it into the top 10 mainly because season 2 got a bit derailed halfway through it and lost its charm from season 1. However, its Christmas episode was a joy to watch!

That’s it for 2021! Let’s hope 2022 brings us more great content! I’m really looking forward to The Crown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, and Succession!