Best Television of 2021

It feels weird to type this out at a time when the Omicron variant is running rampant across the world, including (and perhaps especially) in the United States, but 2021 was a year that felt like a return to normal, albeit briefly, from the pandemic. Fair or not, one of the many contributing factors to that feeling of normalcy was the return of television. Whether it was your weekly favorite on a broadcast network, your pet binge on Netflix, live and in-person sporting events or awards shows, or just new content on your TV in general, the year had it all, and coming off a 2020 that saw next to no new content for about 8 months, that was a welcome sight.

Both in terms of quantity and variety, I've watched more television, I think, in the last two years than I had in the previous decade. Call it a "blessing" of continuous-come-intermittent quarantine, or a curse, but having finally consumed enough content to formulate a ranking of the best, here's my opinion on the best shows, programs, and events TV had to offer in the year 2021:

10. Saturday Night Live, Seasons 46 and 47 (NBC)

No show has been more versatile and varied in response to the pandemic than Saturday Night Live. In a telling reflection of this year, the season began with a limited, masked live audience watching jokes about the insurrection, proceeded to witness the return of a full live studio audience once more, right up until the very last show, which saw no audience, and next to no cast and crew. But through it all, though, the 47-year old program never failed to find new, creative ways to make us laugh and perhaps briefly forget the sobering realities of the world around us.

9. The Handmaid's Tale, Season 4 (Hulu)

Season 4 of Handmaid's Tale came after 20 months of waiting to discover what would become of June Osborn after she was run down and shot in the woods. The first several episodes of the season, to be honest, did not quite live up to the level of anticipation. But about midway through, after taking some time to find its footing, the best aspects of the grim show re-emerged, in the form of devastatingly powerful character development and intense, thrilling, socio-political action.

8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Season 8 (NBC)

A comedy with so much heart, which brought so much joy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine deserved a better sendoff than finishing its series with a heavily COVID-influenced last season on a network that didn't air its first five seasons. But, as they seemed to always do, the show found a way through the weird context to bring us laughs and tears in equal measures, addressing police brutality and racial relations in a way that felt realistic and yet still hopeful.

7. Squid Game, Season 1 (Netflix)

A South Korean 'dystopian future' thriller with overt anti-capitalist themes makes an unlikely candidate for Netflix megahit. And yet, the show completely took America by storm, rocketing to the top of the most-watched list and breaking streaming records in the process. It's not hard to see the appeal though, especially for a generation that came of age during Hunger Games and recently saw Parasite win Best Picture at the Oscars. Though the conclusion perhaps left some to be desired, it did little to take away from the gut-wrenching, enthralling, horrifying sequence of events that transpired over the course of this show's debut season.

6. Mare of Easttown (HBO)

In a year absolutely chock full of high-quality miniseries, the HBO crime drama in the manner of Broadchurch and The Killing was perhaps the most captivating of all. Despite taking an episode or two to hammer her DelCo accent down, the brilliant Kate Winslet was at her best as the gruff, foul-mouthed detective with a bigger heart than you'd realize. In a less loaded year, this riveting, emotional series likely would have swept the Emmys.

5. Ted Lasso, Season 2 (Apple TV+)

The unexpected success of this lovable, heartfelt soccer dramedy was built off an inaugural season that was inch-perfect. As such, there was a lot of skepticism, including from yours truly, over whether the series could build on such a perfect season and wholly recapture its magic the second time around. Early on in Season 2, it seemed such skepticism might be justified. Plot points appeared underdeveloped. There appeared to be too much reliance on fan service and emotional catharsis. The standalone episodes, a Christmas special and a Coach Beard-centric episode, did nothing to advance or accentuate the show. All of which made the denouement to Season 2 that much more satisfying. The show hit its stride about midway through this season, and never looked back, unfurling a banger after banger of episodes, and ultimately concluding in satisfying, surprising, and brilliantly poised fashion. I'm so thankful for this show, and thankful that this writing staff does in fact know what they are doing.

4. I Think You Should Leave, Season 2 (Netflix)

Having only recently joined Twitter, I don't know if I Think You Should Leave was as wildly popular in the Twittersphere upon immediate release in 2019 as it seemed to get in the interim, but I know anticipation from the social media generation for the wacky sketch comedy show reached a fever pitch. And boy, Season 2 did not disappoint. In fact, though it may not have featured a single character as immediately meme-able as the hotdog man, I think it was even more consistently funny than its debut season. Some concepts didn't work as well as others, but there were absolutely no duds, and every single episode featured at least a couple sketch that I have watched over 10 times and not gotten tired of. Nobody is doing zany comedy as well as Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin right now.

3. The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)

I know it may seem bizarre to put an awards show on the list, let alone rank it so high. But this was no ordinary awards show; it was a masterclass in staging a live TV event during a pandemic. After seeing an entirely virtual Emmys in Fall 2020 and a virtual-live hybrid at the Golden Globes in January both struggle to figure out how to cohesively pull together their respective ceremonies, first-time Grammy producer Ben Winston put them all to shame. The production of the fan-less show was inch-perfect, with little to no timing errors, marvelous performances, a particularly poignant In Memoriam segment, and acceptance speeches both funny and heartfelt. This show was COVID-safe, but was also refreshingly intimate, letting us see a wide variety of artists perform only to other artists, their peers and heroes. And as far as the results themselves went, sure, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish winning the biggest awards of the night was nothing new and was somewhat anticlimactic but it's hard to argue with the quality of folklore and "everything i wanted," respectively. The most important results of all belonged to two Houston legends Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé, who made respective history as the first female rapper to win a major award (Best New Artist), and the most successful solo artist at the Grammys with 28 wins.

2. Succession, Season 3 (HBO)

The two-year wait was far too long, but in its first season back since nearly sweeping the Emmy awards for Drama, Succession reminded us why it's the current king of television. I don't think Season 3 was inch-perfect the way its predecessor was-- there was a bit too much 'standing around talking strategy' content, and the show seemed a little more gleeful than usual to delve into the absolute depravity of each character's moral compass. But, once again, the writing was absurdly good, the acting completely impeccable across the board, and the season finale had us all on the edge of our seats, breathless. That this is becoming a pattern speaks to the consistent brilliance of Jesse Armstrong's show.

1. Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)

Comedy musician Bo Burnham's Inside was unlike any 'comedy special' you or I have seen before. I was familiar with Burnham's previous material, and held a generally favorable view of him, but this was a different beast altogether. Filmed entirely in a small studio apartment, and written, performed, directed and edited entirely by Burnham himself, this wasn't just a comedy special. It was comedy, it was musical, it was cinema, it was editorial, it was variety show, and it was documentary about deteriorating mental wellness in a time that feels especially bleak. It is so effectively and simultaneously funny, provocative, and deeply, deeply sad. There's a reason it was an absolute zeitgeist; if you watched nothing new this year, spare time to at least watch this.