The best TV shows of 2021

Though 2022 could be neatly divided up into seasonal chunks — pre-vax, “everyone’s getting the jab,” post-vax, and pumpkin spice fall — it’s shocking how much actually fit into a tight 365 days. Even as people started coming back in, the TV industry was bursting at the seams with new offerings. Even if the final tally of shows ticks slightly down (as it did in 2020) we’re still likely looking at more than 400 original scripted shows aired in 2021.

However, television audiences still found places for entertainment: They embraced some new, international smash hits this year, such as the thrilling thrills of Lupinand the bleak contests of Squid Game. We bid adieu to a few legitimate greats — Pose, Superstore, Soon to be Insecure. Marvel retook a scrappy 2020 schedule and offered not one, but two. FiveThe MCU was enriched by TV shows, with each having its highs and lowers. There were miniseries, docUse this siteeries, animated series, and category-breaking series that still managed to light viewers’ fire (and that many will still be catching up on as the year rolls to a close).

With that, we present Polygon’s best TV shows of 2021, a survey of the year that doesn’t find room for every watchable episodic experience of the year (and may get an update before the year’s end as latecomer blockbusters series make their bow), but one that is very us.

Arcane (Netflix)

Image by Netflix

Arcane The holy grail in videogame adaptations. Netflix and Riot Games’ League of LegendsThe animated series has become wildly popular with both fans and newcomers to the game. In just a few weeks, it’s made its cultural mark in everything from fanfiction, to cosplay, to Spotify playlists. And on top of all of that, it’s actually really good. ArcaneThe results were more than expected League of LegendsShow also spun thrills that made the show one of the most written animated programs of the year. Unlike many of Netflix’s animated shows, ArcaneIt’s surprisingly mature for a very young adult. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the show features some of the most beautiful and unique animation since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. —Austen Goslin

Hacks (HBO Max).

Photo by Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max

Let’s just get this out of the way: Jean Smart absolutely crushedSeason 1 of Hacks. She could’ve just shown up, and dayenu. But she brought the heat, as Deborah Vance, an old-school comedian and Las Vegas staple who’s callous and insightful in equal measure. Ava, a talented Hannah Einbinder, is also together. HacksThe impossible was achieved by actually plumbing comedy’s craft, comparing different philosophies and creating a delightful odd couple of comedians.

HacksNever settle for something that is easy, regardless of its writing or its direction. Both Deborah and Ava are prickly and loveable, acerbic and sensitive; they’re funny, and also incredibly flawed. The act of watching them try to build trust is amazing. HacksThe fifth season is now in full swing and the cast walks with confidence. Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs create an amazing finale episode. They balance tragedy and humor with clever comedy while remaining thorny, unsolvable up until the very end. —Zosha Millman

Heels (Starz)

Photo: Starz

Just like it wasn’t necessary to like football to love Friday Night Lights, HeelsProfessional wrestling is not something you need to know. This series explores the life of people in small towns that are brought together by their local Duffy Wrestling League. When the series begins, it’s primarily focused on the clashes between Jack and Ace Spade (Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig), the sons of the DWL’s founder who are just as much rivals in the ring as they are outside it. As it turns out, however. Heels goes on, it builds into a gripping ensemble drama, giving center stage to supporting characters like Crystal (Kelli Berglund), Ace’s valet who has dreams of getting in the ring herself, and Rooster (Allen Maldonado), a Black wrestler frustrated by the lack of opportunities he’s given by Jack. It’s a slow start, but it grows and becomes more exciting. Heels This has the potential of becoming something very special. So now’s the time to get in on the ground floor and say you liked it before it was cool. —Sadie Gennis

I Believe You Should Be Away (Netflix).

Photo: Kevin Estrada/Netflix

The second time I was thinking maybe, it was for a moment. Consider Leaving. didn’t touch the genius of the first season. The first time I watched it, I worried that it would be too long and contained. It fell short of the pure joy of season 1, but I still laughed all through. Is it possible to get a perfect 10 on your first watch?

It has been half a year, and many memes later, and it is still 100% sufficient. Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin’s sketch show is just confoundingly funny, even in its weaker sketches — a topic, of course, on which no one can agree on. Maybe the “Baby Cries” sketch goes on a bit long for you, but how else would we witness dangerous nights? For every sketch that feels forgettable in the moment there’s three more that I would crack up just to think about. Months later, its surrealist humor is just as hysterical as the first time I watched it, forcing me to revisit my initial assessment in a way no other show could get at: “You sure about that? You sure about that that’s why?” —ZM

Invincible (Prime Video)

Image: Amazon Prime Video

Amazon’s animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley’s comic is faithful enough to surprise longtime readers, but it slims down a lot of the subplots and distractions and focuses on propulsion, which lets the first season cut straight to the heart of the story. Mark Grayson, a superhero who is just starting out, was born to a Superman-like alien and human hero. His journey takes him through the world of villains, heroes and dangers from other dimensions and timestreams. The first season navigates a mystery around the deaths of this world’s equivalent of the Justice League, but it’s more about Mark’s journey, the latest in a recent trend of hero stories about legacies, mentorships, and the next generation taking the reins. It’s entertaining, and sometimes very silly, given the ridiculous number of villains and villain schemes in this world. The season ends in a grim place, with the story becoming a hero story meant to bridge the gap between heroic comics of the Silver Age and grim-n-gritty. —Tasha Robinson

The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4/Netflix).

Image by Netflix

Great British Bake OffIt took many seasons for its distinctive brand of coziness to be established. The show’s friendly personality was a departure from reality TV in America, which is more violent. At this point we all know the drill. The theme song makes me feel at ease, even though it is difficult.

In a sea of roundly pleasant seasons, it’s odd to pick one GBBO entry as “best television.” But this year’s was particularly enjoyable because its contestants were that rare combination of talented and wonderful on screen. The final four, which I won’t spoil, are a perfect example of this. Normally, by that point, everyone is exceptional but there’s an apparent choice for who won’t make it to the final three. In season 12, it’s truly a baffler, as they’re all deeply deeply competent and have heartwarming, individual perspectives — sourcing a family’s curried chicken recipe, or bringing classic Italian bread making into the tent. The experience of watching them perform amazing signatures, technicals and showstoppers is truly a delight. —Nicole Clark

Never Have I Ever (Netflix).

Photo: Isabella B. Vosmikova/Netflix

I like to say that I have little tolerance for what I call “high school drama” when it comes to actual adults interacting with each other, but I can’t get enough of it in Netflix’s Never Have You Ever. In its sophomore season, the show’s writers ramped up both the absurdity and the heartfelt drama of Devi Vishwakumar’s story, to thrilling and hilarious effect.

You want over-the-top hijinks? How about Devi attempting to date two boys simultaneously … at the same party … a party that she’s throwing at her own house, without her mother’s knowledge? And if you want emotional stakes, well, that party ends when one of the boys in question, the chiseled jock Paxton Hall-Yoshida, runs out into the street and gets hit by a car — ending his swimming career, along with his hopes of getting into a decent college.

It’s so many! Never Have You Ever, especially its stellar second season, is about these high schoolers learning — usually the hard way, or at least the embarrassing way — that their decisions and actions have consequences. Devi has much to learn from her Indian father’s death and her selfish tendencies. I’m just glad I get to watch this sweet, funny, heartwarming little show instead of actually reliving my own high school mistakes. —Samit Sarkar

Only Murders In The Building (Hulu).

Photo: Hulu

It is simultaneously a great modern showcase of one of Hollywood’s most beloved comedy pairs and a loving lambasting (of) podcast culture. Nur Murderers in the BuildingOne of the year’s best launches. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez form the trio of true-crime podcast lovers who team up to create a podcast after someone passes away in their New York City apartment. Nur Murders are allowed in the Building uses its central trio to do remarkably funny generational comedy (Martin and Short are extremely good as bumbling Boomers) while also building out its very small world into a surprising strong and diverse cast of compelling characters enveloped in a mystery that’s just as engrossing to viewers as it is to its characters. —Joshua Rivera

The Other Two (HBO Max).

Greg Endries /HBO Max

Season 2 of The other twoTwo years ago, the show arrived, having moved from Comedy Central and found a new home at HBO Max. It lost very little of its remarkable funny abilities in that move. Brooke Dubek (adult sister) and Cary Dubek (teen pop star brother Chase) are getting closer to making a name for themselves and possibly even finding success. But getting what you want doesn’t actually make you a better person. In fact, it’s liable to make you worse — as Cary and Brooke start to lose their underdog status, they are comically brought back down to Earth over and over again. There’s still hope for them (despite its razor-sharp satire of modern fame, The other two is still tremendously sweet) but it’s better for us if they take their time figuring it out. We’ll definitely laugh more. —JR

Reservation Dogs (FX/Hulu)

Foto by FX

How to set it up Reservation Dogs is simple: Four Native teens on an Oklahoma reservation — Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), Cheese (Lane Factor), and Elora (Devery Jacobs) — start stealing to fund their way out, hoping to make it to faraway California. But it’s not long before the show spirals beyond its heist comedy set-up. Brief tinges into the mythical or surreal quickly betray a world that’s much richer than its logline, like a Hoof Lady who goes after bad men or a flash of a Plantation owner in the white man with a Native fetish who sleeps with Bear’s mom. That these are all tempered with a cool wit that’s never afraid to tackle big issues just adds to the allure of the show. As it smoothly switches gears — between its characters, its moods, its start to finish — Reservation Dogs shows it’s doing more than just revving its engine. It’s a sign of just how far this debut of 2021 is possible. —ZM

Shadow and Bone (Netflix).

Netflix Photo

It is a rare thing for an adaptation to actually improve upon the books it is based on, but Netflix’s Shadow and Bone turns the first of Leigh Bardugo’s books — an exciting fantasy, but still with the trappings of a debut — into a more nuanced and compelling story. The well-known Chosen One story is enhanced by shifting the focus from the first person to the more general. Sun Summoner Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li) might be a scrappy girl thrust into the spotlight, but she’s just one part of the bigger story that unfolds.

Granted, it’s a lot of moving parts — a ragtag gang of thieves pulling off their biggest heist yet; a witch hunter and the witch who saved his life trekking across the wilderness; and the looming threat of the Shadow Fold, just to name a few. Once all of the parts are in motion, however, it’s not over. Shadow and BoneThis epic fantasy story features some amazing characters and dynamic relationships. Milo is a goat. There’s nothing more you could want! —Petrana Radulovic

Snoopy Show on Apple TV Plus

Image: The Snoopy Show

There was a fear when Apple acquired the rights to Charles Schultz’s Peanuts gang — and the holiday specials which enshrined their cultural legacy even more so than the comic strips — that once again a tech conglomerate would gobble up beloved culture and spit it out as cheap product. I’m here to support the tech conglomerate. Snoopy ShowThis is an animated cartoon that’s lighthearted and funny. It also features a 2D animation miracle on Apple TV Plus.

Created by Rob Boutilier, Mark Evestaff, and Alex Galatis, and animated at WildBrain, the series uses the antics of Charlie Brown’s pet beagle and his yellow bird sidekick to find new stories for Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Linus, Pig Pen and the other quirky kids who populate Schultz’s world, who are all growing into contemporary young folk. The stories are simple — Snoopy writes a book! Snoopy demonstrates to Marcie how snow days can be fun. At the library, Snoopy can’t contain his laughter! Snoopy spends Halloween on Tricks instead of Treats! — but the lessons hit that profound, melancholic sweet spot of the best Schultz strips. While the cartoons are reimagined with seasonal storieslines and a jazzy score, the creative team updates the look with vivid illustration and punchy dialogue. Snoopy Woodstock and Woodstock are not heard, but the artwork is still very funny. The wacky streak is the key. Snoopy ShowIt’s funny. The animators don’t get bogged down in the morals of it all — send a dog flying through the air and have a bunch of little birds laughing their asses off is a good time no matter how much you’ve matured. —Matt Patches

Squid Game on Netflix

Netflix Photo

Netflix’s international mega-hit was hard to avoid in 2021. Images from the South Korean series about a series of deadly children’s games, played by desperate debtors for the amusement of rich patrons, saturated social and mainstream media this year, spawning a seemingly infinite wave of analysis, parodies, and knock-offs. Like so many viral videos, there is also the matter of how to make it funny. nonstop gags and memesIt created a sort of shadow around the series that obscured how captivating, difficult, and well-crafted. Writer-director ​​Hwang Dong-hyuk intended the nine-episode miniseries as a scathing indictment of capitalism, and it certainly is that, garbed in the robes of a gripping series of competitions where the losers are summarily murdered.

But it’s also terrific human drama. Hwang builds up characters slowly, using story setting as ominous pre-planning. It’s clear that most or all of them will be dead by the end of the story, and the creator draws out the tension while making it clear that all the characters have chosen to participate for their own reasons, and that they’re culpable in their own ways for what happens, even as they’re increasingly tortured by their own decisions. This story is both thrilling, and it’s a voyeurism. Watching the fandom for the show build and feed on itself was one of 2021’s more fascinating TV phenomena, but watching the show itself was just as gripping. —TR

Succession

Photo by Macall B. Polay/HBO

HBO’s melodrama about the familial power struggle inside a fictional media company continued to be one of the best written, best acted, and most entertaining shows on TV in its third season. But what really elevated the show beyond the backroom deals, poetic epithets, and nonsensical rich-person idioms it’s always excelled at was the world it created. While past seasons were all about the Roy family’s internal dynamic, this season’s familial civil war has tossed them out into Succession’s larger not-quite-like-ours world — which is basically what would happen if Twitter was real life. Seeing the Roys hang out at investor conferences, disastrously lavish birthday parties (that they threw for themselves), and quiet galas where future presidents are chosen draws out new details in each of the characters, but also lets them each be the worst-possible version of themselves making this season even more interesting than its predecessors and the show’s darkest yet. —AG

Tuca & Bertie (Cartoon Network)

Image Credit: Adult Swim

When Adult Swim saved this show, I let out a huge sigh. Tuca & BertieThe best comedy ever about complicated, messy women is ‘The Best Comedy About Bird-Women Tuca & Bertie,’ which features Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong. Broad City. It’s just as enjoyable as the original season, and expands the show’s already broad scope. Where prior episodes dug deeper into Bertie’s anxieties and her relationship with Speckle (the best television boyfriend, fight me), this season gives Tuca more space to shine. We get a glimpse into Tuca’s dating life — and how Bertie’s dependence on her prevents her from exploring her own relationships — and her ongoing sobriety.

In one of the season’s standout episodes, we get to see Birdtown at night as Tuca grapples with insomnia. It is a stunning animation that recasts the otherwise lively town in bright blues. It’s contemplative, more serious in nature, gorgeously handles grief and loneliness with deft writing, in contrast with some of the show’s more gonzo moments of humor (like a bachelor party in Planteau, where Speckle and the boys try to steal the plant-mayor). It shouldn’t come as a surprise, given how well the show has always understood when to take comedic risks, and when to venture into quietude, depicting things like workplace harassment and sexual assault. This is a wonderful blessing. —NC

The Underground Railroad (Prime Video).

Photo: Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios

Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Winning novel Underground RailroadThis is a remarkable achievement that easily ranks among the top 2021 shows. Cora Randall, a young, enslaved woman who escapes human bondsage is the story of this series. In Whitehead’s novel, as in Jenkins’ series, the Underground Railroad is reimagined as a literal underground station, complete with trains and conductors, all woven geniusly into the fabric of antebellum America.

To escape the grasp of slave catcher Arnold Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton), Cora crosses state lines — heading through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Indiana, each with a lens of magical-realism — undertaking a journey that also unravels the intense violence and inhumanity of slavery, and the lasting mark it has left on American life. The show is masterful on so many levels; Jenkins’ perspective behind the camera bring’s Whitehead’s phenomenal novel to the small screen with precision, artistry, and compassion. Each episode is well-crafted and full of detail. (And if you’re looking for more to consider, I’d recommend reading critics Roberts Daniels and Angelica Jade Bastién, whose excellent writing captures so much of what makes this show a force.) —NC

Wandavision (Disney Plus)

Photo: Disney

WandaVision cracked through the culture in a way none of Marvel’s Disney Plus shows have done since, despite their steady drumbeat of release through out 2021. Did it have to do with how hungry we were in January for new content? It really matters?

The mystery was captivating. The mystery was enticing, the Brief History of the American Sitcom framing was clever, the production design was inviting both from a visual and How-Many-Nerdy-Details-Can-I-Find perspective. Pinning it all together were Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, perennially sidelined in Marvel’s feature films, crackling with chemistry for the audience and each other.

WandaVision may have ended the same way all Marvel projects seem to — with a CGI version of the lead character blasting their problems to smithereens and exiting stage right with a big TO BE CONTINUED sign pointing to a movie more than a year hence — but was also a show that got the phrase “Ship of Theseus” into the popular parlance. While the Scarlet Witch might not have received much closure in her case, she ignited a dialogue about trauma victims’ responsibilities to others in just four and a half hours. —Susana Polo

The Shadows: What we Do (FX/Hulu).

Russ Martin/FX

The Shadows: What Do We Do?’ third season introduced two serialized storylines — Nandor’s search for love and meaning in his immortal life, and Colin Robinson’s quest to discover where he came from. Like much of what the FX comedy does, these overarching plots walked the fine line between deeply melancholic (Colin Robinson dies after being sidelined at his own birthday party) and extravagantly silly (Colin Robinson is reborn as the world’s most horrifying baby). And though sitcoms often thrive on stagnant characters being thrown into ever-changing situations, by the season’s end, there’s not a single character who isn’t impacted by Nandor and Colin’s soul-searchings. From Nandor returning alone to his homeland, to Nadja and Guillermo’s forced buddy trip to London, to Laszlo becoming Colin Robinson’s father figure, The Shadow: What Do We Do?’s near-perfect third season sets up an array of exciting new fish-out-of-water situations for our protagonists to bumble through, because ultimately, the more things change, the more things stay the same. —SG

The White Lotus (HBO Max).

Photo: Mario Perez/HBO

This year’s summer sensation opened with the promise of death, and by the end, annihilated nearly everyone — including the audience. It was great fun. Mike White, the writer-director, created his tale of despondent a-holes who couldn’t enjoy their luxurious Hawaii resort amenities out of anxiety. Through what was essentially sitcomy hijinks and self-reflection, White induced the type of headaches that only vacationers can experience. Engorged testicles and coked-out benders were somehow on the more pleasant end of the spectrum by the time White was done peeling back the layers on his cast of characters, who could never be simply labeled “good guys” or “bad guys,” like 99% of what we watch these days.

It sounds tedious on paper. However, everyone who has tried it from Larry David to Lars von Trier knows that it is as entertaining as throwing a dragon into space. In the case of The White LotusThe dizzying effects of oversharing, Gen Z malaise and imploded hopes, as well as the iPhone screens that obscure the beauty of daily life, can be a form artistic catharsis. White’s six episodes are a mix of schadenfreude, slapstick and comedy. He finds tender moments in the swell — Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) and Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) come so close to saving each other — but also directs scenes of ass-eating that look like Carvaggio paintings. You can see it all, and you are just as human. It is amazing. The White Lotus thinking: Thank god that isn’t me. It is, however. —MP