Over the course of the next week or two, I’ll be dropping some best of lists in your inbox. Ideally a new one everyday, but lets be honest, I know that won’t happen.
To start off with, the easiest, for me at least: TV. And at the end are other 2021 tv lists from across the interwebs.
Other Lists I’m Planning:
Movies
Comics
Beers
Albums
and maybe Books + Podcasts
Here… we… go…
How To with John Wilson (S2 - HBO)
The first of my three odd shows on the list (see 4+5). I love when people just do weird and different things and that’s exactly what John Wilson did with this pseudo-doc series that has heart and comedy baked into it’s DNA. Just as good as S1.
Hacks (S1 - HBO)
A surprise for me as I had no idea this was coming or even a thing, but it was a home run from the jump. Absolutely hilarious and Jean Smart has been absolutely killing it lately.
Succession (S3 - HBO)
One of those shows that’s so good every year that it’s easy just to leave off lists like this because everyone already knows how good it is. This was probably my least favorite season, but it’s still top tier stuff and deserves to be much higher.
Hawkeye (S1 - Disney+)
It probably doesn’t deserve to be this high. I wanted to include one Marvel show on the list (originally it was going to be Loki, which I preferred over WandaVision. The other one doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned, tbh) because I thought it was a pretty fun year for Marvel TV and this one did it for me. I’m biased because I adored the comic it was based on by Matt Fraction and David Aja — and while it was very different, I loved how it came together.
Mare of Easttown (S1 - HBO)
Tour de force of everything. Acting, writing, directing, you name it. A phenomenal season of television that captures everything you could want in a mystery show.
Pretend It’s a City (S1 - Netflix)
Fran Lebowitz is one of those people I’ve heard of and was familiar with, but don’t know that I’ve really interacted with anything she’s done. It was basically just a visual podcast and I’m here for it.
Painting with John (S1 - HBO)
Nothing revelatory here. I just wanted more. It made this list purely on the first episode, but every episode made me want to come back to just listen to this guy talk and paint.
The White Lotus (S1 - HBO)
A fun romp in Hawaii that talked about real life topics in a real way and the central mystery had me wondering and guessing (wrongly) how it would conclude.
Yellowjackets (S1 - Showtime)
My wife has fallen deep in the rabbit hole, joining Reddit just so she can read theories and devour anything she can around it. A review she read compared it to Buffy and Twin Peaks and that feels pretty spot on. I’m not ready for this season to end mostly because I’m worried what it will do to my wife’s mental state when there isn’t anymore to watch…
Yasuke (S1 - Netflix)
This was basically the perfect formula to just grab me and pull me in. It was wild, inventive, and had me caring about the characters. It reminded me so much of the cartoons I grew up where I felt like every second there was something new that made me want to live in the world and just be consumed by it.
Honorable Mentions
Brand New Cherry Flavor (S1 - Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (S1 - Hulu)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (S11 - HBO)
Invincible (S1 - Amazon Prime)
Billions (S5 - Showtime)
South Side (S2 - HBO)
Things I Didn’t Get To:
The Underground Railroad (S1 - Amazon Prime)
Station Eleven (S1 - HBO)
Foundation (S1 - Apple TV+)
The Beatles: Get Back (Hulu)
Arcane (S1 - Netflix)