TV Top 10

This HBO Max comedy series was my favorite show of 2021. Jean Smart as aging comedienne Deborah Vance and her relationship with new writer Ava (Hannah Einbender) is both poignant and hilarious. The dark mentorship between the uber successful Deborah and the entitled millennial Ava was the most pitch perfect thing on television this year.

There was no way Ted Lasso could live up to the hype. Then I got a free year of Apple TV+ and realized I was completely wrong. The show was perfect for where we were as a society in the second year of a pandemic. The highly entertaining Season 2 brings in a therapist who questions Jason Sudeikis’ eternally optimistic Ted. All the characters grow—and so does the show.

You wouldn’t think an aging television actor, a failed Broadway producer, and a young woman with a dark past would work, but this show absolutely does. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as podcast-obsessed strangers looking to solve a murder in their own building is the best thing hulu produced all year.

After 11 seasons, this show has not missed a beat. In fact, one of the best episodes of the entire series was in 2021. “The Watermelon” entered the pantheon as one of the most daring and improbable episodes of television ever.

I was skeptical of ABC’s relaunch of The Wonder Years. I hold the original in such high regard. The remake focuses on an AfricanAmerican family in late ’60s Alabama is the best new network TV show. Narrated by Don Cheadle, it gives such a sweetly nostalgic view of civil rights, race dynamics, and the Vietnam war through the eyes of young Dean. A rare successful remake.

This Cinemax series successfully weaves outside of the ring drama with inside the ropes escapades. Set in Georgia’s Duffy Wrestling League featuring Stephen Amell (of Arrow fame) and Alexander Ludwig as the Spade brothers, it is chock full of wrestling terminology and overly dramatic family dynamics.

I was pleasantly surprised by this French espionage drama on Netflix. Omar Sy is captivating as Assane Diop the Lupinobsessed main character who attempts to clear his father’s name, putting him in the crosshairs of a wealthy, wellconnected family. Highly stylized and entertaining.

The final season of this Aidy Bryant vehicle was my favorite of the three seasons. The show was unexpectedly cancelled after filming which left them needing to re-edit the season finale as it was now the series finale. The ending seemed rushed but also realistic. Plus there was something heart-warming to the ending being Annie and Fran together, because in reality, theirs was always the most important and best relationship on the show.

Season 3 of the series was a fun nostalgic trip through the history of the Karate Kid movies. Daniel’s trip to Japan has him run into Komiko and Chozen (both from Karate Kid 2) while Johnny rekindles a relationship with Ali (Elizabeth Shue), his high school flame from Karate Kid. Johnny and Daniel ultimately realize they have to come together to defeat the real enemy, John Kreese.

Another Apple TV+ entry, this Lorne Michaels produced musical series features Cecily Strong and Keegan Michal Key. A wrong turn on a hiking trip leads this struggling couple to explore themselves and their relationship in the musical town of Schmigadoon. The musical moments are incredibly well produced and performed. If you’re a musical fan, this is the show for you.

Every Marvel and Star Wars series was an absolute homerun. Here is how I would rank them... —LV

Snappy dialogue with star making turns from Hailee Steinfeld and Florence Pugh (really building off her performance in Black Widow) make the title character (Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton)a costar in his own series. It draws heavily from the Matt Fraction/David Aja series. The most comic-inspired live action series from Disney, it is absolute perfection.

The first and hands down the most emotionally gripping Marvel series. When Vision tells Wanda “But what is grief if not love persevering” you instantly get the emotional motive for Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff. This series will have the heaviest impact in Phase Four of the MCU. Also, a special shoutout to Kathryn Hahn who is perfect as Agatha Harkness.

Tom Hiddleston returns as the mercurial God of Mischief in a reality bending hop through alternate realities where Loki looks for variants of himself wreaking havoc throughout the multiverse. Sophia DiMarino’s Sylvie is a scene stealing dynamo opposite Hiddleston. Along with Wandavision, this series will have echoes throughout MCU Phase Four. In the season finale, Jonathan Major as the unnamed Kang sets the stage as a major villainous player in the Marvel Universe

Expansions to the Star Wars universe are generally met with disdain by the fickle fan base. Star Wars Visions was just the opposite. Widely-praised, these animeinspired takes on the Star Wars mythology were beautifully animated, wonderfully written, and featured a top-notch voice cast (Lucy Liu, Allison Brie, David Harbour, Neil Patrick Harris, and Kyle Chandler). I can’t wait for further Visions.

Taking place right after the events of Avengers: Endgame, this series features Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky/ WinterSoldier (Sebastian Stan) as they confront their pasts while paving the way for their new futures. Along the way, they go on a globe-trotting adventure that brings them into contact with Sharon Carter and Baron Zemo. While the series was built as a vehicle for the ascension of Falcon to Captain America it also gave us the debuts of U.S. Agent and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (the incomparable Julia Louis Dreyfus).

Playing to the multiversity laid out in both WandaVision and Loki, Marvel expanded upon that notion with What If? An animated romp through the multiverse, the Watcher looks in on alternate versions of main characters from the MCU. As the series progressed an Infinity Stonepowered Ultron had to be dealt with by the characters we had been introduced to throughout the season. The standout for me (and for Marvel as she is currently getting her own comic series) was Captain Carter, a super-soldier serumpowered Peggy Carter.

Any expansion of the animated Clone Wars is a good thing. This series did not disappoint. Following the exploits of the Bad Batch (who were originally introduced in the Disney+ Clone Wars Season 7), we see them deal with the effects of Order 66 while helping another clone (Omega) escape from Kamino. The crew become a family as they journey through the universe on adventures.