10. “Sweet Tooth” (Netflix)
Post-apocalyptic stories are a drag. That sort of comes with the territory when you talk about devastating tragedies that lead to the near-demise of the human race. But Netflix’s “Sweet Tooth” isn’t your typical post-apocalyptic story, as it follows the life of a young boy, Gus, as he ventures into a desolate world that fears him and what he symbolizes. You see, Gus is known as a hybrid, a race of humans who have animal-like features and began being born just as a virus started to decimate the world’s population. And while that all sounds terribly dour, Gus is just a young boy who loves chocolate (thus the nickname, Sweet Tooth) and is just looking for people to call family. The series is sweet (no pun intended) and shows that the end of the world can be tragic but it doesn’t have to be full of pain and misery. And in a year dominated, once again, by a real-life deadly pandemic, we could learn a thing or two from Gus. – CB
9. “Squid Game” (Netflix)
No one expected “Squid Game” to be the most-watched TV show of 2021. But somehow the South Korean series not only resonated with audiences in Asia but went on to become a global phenomenon and take over the cultural zeitgeist. All within a matter of days. And for good reason, as “Squid Game” tells a simple, yet daring story about just how far normal people will go to achieve financial security. It turns out, if you put enough money in front of folks, they will risk their own lives, potentially murder others, and gladly become the pawn of the uber-elite. Go figure. Sure, “Squid Game” borrows liberally from a variety of other TV series and films of the past few decades, but it takes those ideas and repackages them into a series that is well-written, incredibly well-structured, and beautifully acted. Each episode uncovers more answers while continuing to ask more questions. And over the course of the season, characters with names most of us struggle to pronounce become unforgettable. It’s not the most challenging series. It’s not the most original. “Squid Game” is just proof that if you write a good story, hire great actors, and find the perfect distribution partner, magic can happen. – CB
8. “Scenes from a Marriage” (HBO)
“Scenes From A Marriage” is not a fun sit. And truthfully, it’s emotionally grueling, especially upfront, in the initial episodes. But if you can stomach some of the emotional devastations of this HBO series from writer/director Hagai Levi (“In Treatment,” “The Affair“), there are plenty of riches to be found in this provocative, probing drama about love, heartbreak, hatred, desire, and many of the various complexities of marriage. And then, of course, there are just savagely intimate and go-for-broke vulnerable performances by Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac going essentially toe-to-toe in every bruising scene, and believe you me, when I say these are serious acting fireworks. Based on Ingmar Bergman’s 1970s series of the same name, about the disintegration of a marriage over several years, the disintegrating divorce and separation, and the various up and downs of sharing a child, if you’re married with children, “Scenes From A Marriage” might feel like a cautionary horror movie in certain spots. A lacerating and brutally honest look at the price of divorce, it’s a tough one, we won’t lie, but the performances and sheer emotional rollercoaster are definitely worth it in the end. Bring tissues though. – RP
7. “Painting with John”
As people were trapped in their houses in early 2021, they couldn’t have guessed that one of the smartest shows on television would reflect that isolation through the creative expression of the legendary John Lurie, a regular collaborator of Jim Jarmusch and co-founder of the Lounge Lizards. In 1991, Lurie starred in “Fishing with John,” and this is sort of a spiritual sequel to that series only John has turned in his rod and reel for an easel and set of brushes. It’s a show about painting that’s not really about painting. Lurie uses the time to ponder questions about life, music, and art. It becomes a series of deeply personal conversations with a genius as Lurie opens about his own life, including his cancer treatment. We may have all been alone in January 2021, but John Lurie made that isolation easier to take. – BT
6. “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
Not only did “Ted Lasso” become the biggest hit for Apple TV+ almost immediately after it launched in 2020, but the series would go on to become the most celebrated and awarded comedy series of that year. How could star Jason Sudeikis and the rest of the cast and crew possibly follow that up for Season 2? Well, they not only created a season’s worth of episodes that are just as good as Season 1, but they somehow surpassed it by not only allowing the incredibly likable cast to continue to charm their way into the hearts of the world but also by exploring more serious topics and adding depth to a show that could have easily been written off as a one-trick pony. Season 2 follows the charismatic, somewhat goofy, always cheerful Coach Lasso as we begin to peel back the layers and see what actually lies underneath his annoyingly sweet exterior. Yes, Season 2 delves into more serious dramatic topics, such as mental illness, but it does so in a way that feels organic and only enhances your feelings for the people you watch on screen. Ted Lasso isn’t just a silly goofball, he’s a silly goofball with feelings and insecurities. And that just makes him even more loveable and human. – CB
5. “Yellowjackets”
Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson created the best program on Showtime right now in this searing, mesmerizing distillation of “Lord of the Flies,” “LOST,” and traditional coming-of-age narratives. It’s the story of a girls soccer team whose plane crashes as they’re on the way to a national competition. The pilot, directed by the great Karyn Kusama, sets the stage with a series of vicious sequences near the end of the team’s time in the middle of nowhere, and the show then flashes back to the days right after the crash and forward to years later, as the women are forced to reunite and deal with what happened in the bloody snow. Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci lead the adult cast but their young versions are just as good, making for one of the best ensembles on TV, but it’s the rich, dense, unpredictable plotting that keeps the buzz growing around this cable hit. – BT
4. “Bo Burnham: Inside” (Netflix)
Part film, part comedy special, part pandemic diary, part therapy session, Bo Burnham shocked the world in 2021 with the release of his Netflix special, “Inside.” Instead of releasing a typical stand-up special in front of a sparse, socially-distant crowd, comedian/songwriter/filmmaker Bo Burnham decided to lock himself inside a room and film each and every step of creating a new comedy special. The result is “Inside,” a piece of programming that defies most genres and definitions but resonated with millions of people this year. What begins as a unique, fun experiment with silly (but incredibly catchy) songs slowly morphs into a deeply personal, emotional tale as we watch Burnham experience extreme isolation and growing mental illness. And while there are moments of the comedian speaking to the camera, we follow his changing mental state best through his music and filmmaking, as every second of the special is written, performed, filmed, choreographed, and edited by Burnham. In 20 years, when people talk about COVID and pop culture, you’ll be hard-pressed to find the experience better encapsulated than in “Bo Burnham: Inside.” It’s just that fucking good. – CB
3. “Mare of Easttown”
Sincere, sophisticated, and deceptively simple as a detective work procedural, “Mare of Easttown” reads like a microcosm of a country wrapped in the throes of mourning. A crime miniseries that’s less “True Detective” than Kent Jones ‘“Diane” (one of the most underrated movie gems of 2018), Kate Winslet reminded us why she remains one of the world’s greatest living actors, playing “Mare” Sheehan, a small-town cop who can’t catch a break and is slowly unraveling after a young teenage mother turns up dead. Co-starring Evan Peters, turning in a humanistic and awkward performance as a young detective assigned to be Mare’s partner, the series managed to fill out its entire cast rounded, layered, and believable people—Jean Smart, Julianne Nicholas, Guy Pearce, and more, all doing great, subtle work. The show also had a remarkable soundtrack to back up its tough themes, feminist indie bands such as Mannequin Pussy, Big Thief, and boygenius, providing a somber tone to match the town mystery. – AB
2. “Succession” (HBO)
Very few series have successfully followed in the footsteps of HBO classics such as “The Sopranos,” but “Succession”—a comic opera attack on the 1%— is, easily, the funniest adult drama series about American family since “Don’t Stop Believin’” was cut off, mid chorus. The first season did a great job introducing its rambunctious cast of truly terrible people (Cousin Greg innocent) but the second batch of episodes is when Jesse Armstrong’s vision for the Roy family empire came fully into focus. Accountability: a word that causes the rich to decry “cancel culture” and the minorly inconvenienced to complain about “wokeness,” is wielded as hierarchical harakiri—the more the series reveals about the awful proclivities of the spoiled siblings at its center, the more clear it becomes that the writer’s have skillfully wrapped audiences around their finger, poking fun at themselves while falling on the sword. The entire cast deserves heaps of praise for their performances, but there is something about the micro-aggressions of Matthew Macfadyen’s Tom Wambsgans and his odd affection for Nicholas Braun’s Cousin Greg that makes the series sing, as evidenced by the chortling Senate hearing scenes, and Nicholas Britell’s sweeping score. – AB
1. “The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime Video)
Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins was given complete creative freedom by Amazon Prime Video and delivered one of the richest and most impressive mini-series in the history of the form. Jenkins adapted the book of the same name by Colson Whitehead, making sure that each chapter of his ten-episode series stands on its own as a masterful film while also working in the fabric of the overall piece. Thuso Mbedu plays Cora Randall, an escaped slave on the Underground Railroad, imagined here as an actual train, from which she’s told she can see America if she looks out the window. In a sense, that’s what Jenkins proceeds to reveal. Joel Edgerton plays the slave catcher who chases her across the country as Jenkins works with regular collaborators like composer Nicholas Britell and cinematographer James Laxton to balance the poetic with the brutal reality of a life lived in slavery. It’s an unforgettable experience, one that proves that the limitation of a television mini-series need only be the ambition of its creator. – BT
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