Year in review: The best TV shows of 2021

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” said goodbye in 2021 with a 10-episode final season. The show also returned to a world where squeamishness about the police had only heightened. Not always a show capable of handling serious topics without it feeling clumsy, “B99” largely handled it well in its final bow, while also still being the joke-and-performance-heavy sitcom it always was.

Hailee Steinfeld’s big turn in 2021 was as Kate Bishop in “Hawkeye,” a really fun show too, but she makes this list as the start of “Dickinson.” Both the second and third seasons dropped in 2021, with the third being the final. It wasn’t for a lack of quality, though. This (very) loose adaptation of the life of Emily Dickinson never lost steam.

Not every quality show has to be serious or biting or breaking viewing records for some streaming service. Sometimes they are an overlooked gem of an animated show airing on network TV. That’s exactly what “Duncanville” is. Amy Poehler does double duty as Duncan and his mom, and after two seasons we think “Duncanville” is firmly in the running for being the best FOX animated show not affiliated with Matt Groening.

Is it a miniseries? Is it a series of movies? Is it one movie cut into three pieces? You can massage “Get Back” to fit into a few different categories, and frankly, we don’t blame anybody for choosing the one that benefits them best. Peter Jackson’s documentary on the Beatles is one of the best things we’ve seen this year. The footage is endlessly fascinating, and even if you don’t love the Fab Four just seeing their creative process is utterly mesmerizing.

Hulu’s use of the “drop the entire season at once” model for “The Great” allowed us to consume the second season at our own pace, getting a spot on this list in spite of a mid-November release. Elle Fanning and Nicolas Hoult star as Catherine the Great and Peter III in a show that has been called “anti-historical.” And it was Hulu that said that! Facts have no place on “The Great,” only insanity.

We wouldn’t blame you for hearing the premise of “Hacks” and blanching. A shiftless “Millennial” comedian is “canceled” for her tweet and ends up taking a job for a Joan Rivers-type stage legend. On paper, it sounds potentially grating. In practice, Jean Smart won a deserving Emmy. The show is worth watching for her alone, though Hannah Einbinder more than holds her own.

This was a big year for Marvel’s Disney+ offerings. Of the handful of shows released, “Loki” is the best. Part of that is Tom Hiddleston, of course. However, a big part of it is that this is the only MCU show to not feel trapped in a formula. It’s allowed to get out there, and even in the finale, it doesn’t devolve into a bunch of CGI monster fighting. Even so, that finale really packed a wallop, thanks to a turn from Jonathan Majors that was frankly Emmy worthy.

In a way, we’re relieved that “Maid” is a limited series. That’s not a knock on its quality. No, it’s just that the story can be so draining. It’s a heavy-hitting drama built upon a strong lead performer by Margaret Qualley.

Somehow, we have back-to-back miniseries that are truly bleak. At least “Mare of Easttown” is a crime show and has a bunch of Philadelphia accents. It also has three Emmy-winning performances, including Kate Winslet in the lead.

The second season of this show about the development team at a popular video game improved upon its first season, as many shows do find their footing once they get a chance to sit on things. It had a lot of the usual quality comedy at the offices of “Mythic Quest,” particularly the dynamic between Rob McElhinney and Charlotte Nicdao. On top of that, it suddenly took a hard left turn into the life of writer C.W. Longbottom for a couple of episodes, but most people were quite happy about it.

Look, “Nailed It!” doesn’t provoke in-depth criticism. Amateur bakers try to recreate fancy, intricate baked goods they could never do in a million years. They laugh, but the joke isn’t on them. Nicole Byer says a bunch of funny stuff. It’s light reality competition television. It’s also as much fun to watch as anything that dropped new episodes in 2021. We don’t watch TV for street cred. We watch it to be entertained, and “Nailed It!” delivered 10 times over.

It’s not a surprise that “Only Murders in the Building” worked as a comedy. It has Steve Martin and Martin Short at its disposal. What’s impressive is how well it also worked as a mystery. It parodies true crime while also providing a crime story you get invested in. But, of course, Martin and Short are a delight together as always.

Is this partially a career-achievement award? Are we grading on a sliding scale? Do we want to shout out the fact the show did its 700th episode in 2021 and is in the middle of its 33rd season? Sure, it’s all of that. However, think about the fact that “The Simpsons” is still a good TV show having done hundreds of episodes in an era where more than 10 episodes in a season for a show is considered hefty. We should appreciate the fact “The Simpsons” is still going while it’s still going.

Who would have guessed that the show that would most grab the zeitgeist in 2021 was a dystopian Korean show? And yet, that’s exactly what “Squad Game” did. People were gripped. They couldn’t stop talking. Now, that isn’t necessarily synonymous with quality, and we aren’t saying “Squid Game” was the best show of the year. It did earn all the chatter, though.

“Succession” is holding down the fort at HBO to keep the network’s prestige bona fides going. It’s the show people dissect and talk about. The sage of the Roy family was firing on all cylinders in 2021, and if we were placing a bet on the show that is going to win the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy next year, it’s “Succession.”

The first season of “Ted Lasso” was a surprise hit. That meant all eyes were on season two. This led to a lot more criticism, but that doesn’t mean there was necessarily a dip in quality. People just cared more. At times, it felt like season two of “Ted Lasso” leaned into the “show where people are nice” reputation a bit much, but mostly it was a funny show that earned its tender moments.

Way back in January, “WandaVision” debuted as the first MCU show on Disney+. It was…an interesting choice. The show began life as a series of parodies of sitcoms through the ages. Not exactly typical fodder. Eventually, the veil lifted and it became more traditional, though not necessarily bad. In the early days, though, “WandaVision” truly felt fresh and fun, especially for TV lovers. You know, the kind of people who read lists like this.

This British show aired on Peacock in the United States. It’s about an all-female Muslim punk band. That could be a premise treated with self-seriousness, a show that tries to be “important.” Instead, it’s a sitcom. Sure, the realities aren’t overlooked, but the show is primarily concerned with being enjoyable, reflecting the joy the members of the band get from making music.

One successful season built out of “What We Do in the Shadows?” Sure, we could have seen that. A dry comedy about vampires has some legs beyond the cult movie the show is based on. However, in 2021 we were treated to a third season of “What We Do in the Shadows” that did not show signs of wear and tear. The writing remains strong and the performances continue to sing. We’ll see you for season four, everybody!

Mike White created “The White Lotus” to be a six-episode miniseries. That was supposed to be it, and given the fact his previous HBO show “Enlightened” was more a critical darling and cult favorite, that wouldn’t have been a surprise. Then, it turned out to be a big hit, so much so that “The White Lotus” has been turned into an anthology series. We will not be seeing the same cast at the White Lotus resort in Hawaii again, so you’ll still want to tune in to see Jennifer Coolidge, Steve Zahn, and the rest in action.