Laura’s Top 10 TV Shows of 2021

Ah, the end of another year. Sparkly Christmas lights are out, NYE in Times Square is being put together as we speak, a new strain of COVID-19 is rapidly taking control of holiday plans everywhere.

You know, the usual. 

TV has taken a hit in 2021, with some shows only returning after more than a year off, or barely returning successfully. My top 10 TV shows include some new, and some old shows, that highlight just how bright media can be in a dark, dark year. 

In no particular order, here are the shows that brought a smile to my face in 2021:

1. The Shrink Next Door (Apple TV+)

Starring Will Ferrell, Kathryn Hahn, and Paul Rudd, The Shrink Next Door tells a devastating real-life story from an outside perspective. 

As someone who’s only ever seen Will Ferrell in comedies, and hasn’t particularly loved them, I was shocked by how phenomenal Ferrell is in his role of Marty Markowitz. 

While not the uplifting, rise above kind of show that seemed to explode this year, the acting from Ferrell, Rudd, and Hahn makes the show absolutely worthwhile. 

Paul Rudd manages to make himself seem like a jerk if you can believe that.

2. One of Us Is Lying (Peacock)

One of Us Is Lying gives us a look into how teenagers actually act now, instead of using years-old slang or jokes that don’t ever hit right, the Peacock show integrates Tiktok seamlessly, something many other teen shows find hard to do. 

The book the show is based on is great, so it’s not hard to see why the show is so good as well. 

Filled almost entirely with a newly introduced cast, this group does the impossible in making the audience believe they’re actually teenagers. 

If you enjoy a solid mystery with twists and turns, this should definitely be your next watch. 

3. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Because who would I be if I didn’t mention Ted Lasso, of course, it makes my list of best shows of 2021. 

Filled to the brim with joy, the show interweaves important topics like depression and anxiety effortlessly. In characters’ journeys to become better versions of themselves, there’s never a lack of support on Ted Lasso. 

We’re also given the opportunity to fall in love all over again with Nick Mohammed, whose Nathan takes a sharp dive towards rock bottom in season two, with Mohammed never faltering in his acting.

Ted Lasso makes me smile even in the sad, emotional, upsetting moments, and isn’t that what the best shows should strive to do? 

4. Hacks (HBO Max)

Newcomer Hannah Einbinder faces off with Jean Smart in this heartfelt comedy, and boy does this show take you for a ride. 

Surrounding a woman who, on the surface, has aged out of comedy, Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance is taken on her own journey by Einbinder’s Ava, a young writer who finds inspiration in Vance. 

On a show surrounding comedians, the line between actually funny and thinks-they’re-funny is only so thin, but Hacks manages to spend the entirety of their first season being steadily funny. 

With a powerhouse like Jean Smart, you’re expecting Hacks to be good, but while making you laugh, it’s also making you cry, it’s giving you anxiety, it’s forcing you to step outside of your own personal box to get a peek into someone else’s. 

5. Genera+ion (HBO Max)

Genera+ion introduces us to a group of queer high school students coming into who they are. 

One of the only shows that showcases queer teens as queer teens and not caricatures, Genera+ion does a fantastic job in making you feel for the characters while still understanding that they’re moody teenagers.

As a queer person, you’re able to find yourself in any one of these kids, whether it’s your whole identity or a small bit of what you knew you were feeling in high school. 

Genera+ion never held back in regards to misplaced confidence teenagers have, or the difficulty of actually making it through high school. It’s a shame it only received one season. 

6. Bless the Harts (FOX)

Though animated comedies at FOX are pretty much spoken for, Bless the Harts came out with a bang and did so hilariously. 

Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jillian Bell, Ike Barinholtz, I could genuinely keep going and every new name would make you interested in the show. 

With outlandish episodes like a Black Friday special, or a Halloween episode set in an abandoned mall, Bless the Harts was always looking for new things to make funny, and man, they were successful. 

7. SurrealEstate (SyFy)

Give me more shows about the paranormal or give me death! 

SurrealEstate is a great show because it’s not comedy gold, it’s not the greatest drama ever on TV, but my goodness is it fun. 

Telling the story of grief from a ghostly perspective, some moments are very dark, but overall, the fact that you’re watching a show about a group of real estate salesmen fighting ghosts makes those dark moments just a bit lighter. 

8. Yellowjackets (Showtime)

With the world of TV having a resurgence in plane crash-involved shows, Yellowjackets takes the genre to a whole other level, showing us the before, middle, and after of the crash. 

Yellowjackets presents a girls soccer team as teenagers during the crash, and then some as adults later in life. You genuinely would have thought the show just cast all the women’s daughters to play them younger, but obviously, they didn’t. 

The show is incredibly haunting, but still heartfelt, and very much about friendship. 

9. Never Have I Ever (Netflix)

Created by Mindy Kaling and starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Poorna Jagannathan, Never Have I Ever brings you through the terrible time in one’s life that is high school, while also taking us on a journey in Devi’s (Ramakrishnan) and her mom, Nalini’s (Jagannathan) grief. 

After Devi loses her father and Nalini her husband, the two must find a way to love and support each other despite their faults. 

Never Have I Ever is very much about Devi in high school, learning and growing, but at its core, it’s a show about a mother and daughter learning to lean on each other and love each other no matter what. 

10. Ghosts (CBS)

Ghosts takes the completely bonkers idea of someone hitting their head and being able to see ghosts, and makes it one of the most wholesome new shows in a while. 

Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar want to open a bed and breakfast in an old (basically) mansion that McIver’s Samantha inherits, and the several ghosts still living in the house want nothing to do with it. 

Ambudkar, whose character Jay cannot hear or see the ghosts, does a fantastic job doing quite literally nothing when the ghosts say something ridiculous or attempt to touch/grasp something. 

Truly, Ghosts is a show that you could rewatch and find new things to laugh at each time. 

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What were your favorite TV shows of 2021? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 

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