Check out the previous year-end reviews.
The Top 9 of 2021:
Teen Titans Go! (2013-)
Season 1 - 52 episodes (2013-2014)
Season 2 - 52 episodes (2014-2015)
Season 3 - 52 episodes (2015-2016)
Season 4 - 52 episodes (2016-2018)
Rent Teen Titans Go! on Amazon (paid link)
Created by: Michael Jelenic, Aaron Horvath
Starring:Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Hynden Walch, Tara Strong
Rated: TV-PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
Superhero roommates Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy love saving the day, but what happens when they're not fighting crime?
Verdict
Irreverent and hilarious, episodes manage to be completely entertaining with jokes that kids and adults can appreciate. With great characterization among the five heroes, mundane events frequently spiral out of control with ridiculous conclusions. The show frequently goes over the top and that's what makes it awesome. It's fun, it's ingenious.
Search Party (2016-)
Season 1 - 10 episodes (2016)
Season 2 - 10 episodes (2017)
Season 3 - 10 episodes (2020)
Season 4 - 10 episodes (2021)
Buy Search Party on Amazon (paid link)
Created by: Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter
Starring: Alia Shawkat, John Reynolds, John Early, Meredith Hagner
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Four self-absorbed twenty-somethings become entangled in an ominous mystery when a former college acquaintance suddenly disappears.
Verdict
Few shows pivot between each season like this show, completely changing the show's premise and tone. Each season becomes increasingly wild, but the characters have complex arcs. The show can be dark, but few shows can be this funny, touching, and complex even in single episodes. It gets better with each season. While it's been renewed for a fifth season, the fourth season is the first time there's not a hint of what the next season might be.
Arrested Development (2003-2019)
Season 1 - 22 episodes (2003-2004)
Season 2 - 18 episodes (2004-2005)
Season 3 - 13 episodes (2005-2006)
Buy Arrested Development on Amazon (paid link)
Created by: Mitchell Hurwitz
Starring: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
Level-headed son Michael Bluth takes over family affairs after his father is imprisoned. But the rest of his spoiled, dysfunctional family are making his job unbearable.
Verdict
I intended to just watch the first episode. I ended up watching the first three seasons, which are the peak of the show. This is the funniest show I've seen. It's so quick and witty you can miss jokes, and nearly every line has a double or even triple meaning. This even has background jokes. With a robust cast, every scene is packed with comedy. This is the third or fourth time I've seen the series, and I always notice something new.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Season 1 - 7 episodes (2021)
Buy Search Party on Amazon (paid link)
Created by: Brad Ingelsby
Starring: Kate Winslet, Jean Smart, Evan Peters, Julianne Nicholson, David Denman, Guy Pearce
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.
Verdict
These days few shows do I have to wait a week between episodes. Fewer shows still do I anticipate each week as much as this show. While it is a cop show, what makes it so intriguing is the characters. All of them have some level of characterization. Few characters are just good or bad, they're layered. Being a small town, everyone knows each other and is linked somehow. That adds to the fabric of the story. Mare occupies the center of the story. She has plenty of faults and makes even more mistakes, but she's also trying to do what she sees as right. You won't agree with her, but you understand the why.
Stranger Things (2016-2022)
Season 1 - 8 episodes (2016)
Watch Stranger Things on Netflix
Created by: Matt Duffer , Ross Duffer
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhar, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Noah Schnapp
Rating: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot:
Set in 1983, a mother tries to find her
son after he disappears mysteriously in the small town of Hawkins.
Verdict
Rewatching this five years later, it's still really good. The Duffer brothers have created an amazing series, but the first season is easily the best. It juggles multiple
story lines and paces them just right for maximum intrigue and
excitement. We've seen the individual ideas before, but it's combined
perfectly so that it feels unique and fun. It has hints of Super 8 (2011), Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) & The Goonies (1985), with The X-files (1993-2002).
It feels like an eight hour movie and that's a compliment. It's so well
made. The acting and directing is great. The score is superb, with the
synth sounds fitting the time period exactly. The only bad thing is that
it ends. It's great from start to finish. I really wanted it to be an anthology, and I have to wonder if the success of the first season is the reason it wasn't an anthology.
Read my review
Midnight Mass (2021)
Season 1 - 7 episodes (2021)
Watch Midnight Mass on NetflixCreated by: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Hamish Linklater, Annabeth Gish, Rahul Kohli, Henry Thomas, Kristin Lehman
Rating: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot:
An isolated island community experiences miraculous events and frightening omens after the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest.
Verdict
This show is incredible! I just couldn't stop watching as the story and mystery are engrossing. The pacing is perfect, and the directing is superb. Half way in I hoped the end wouldn't betray the setup. After episode five I didn't care if the ending was bad, it was worth it, but this has a great ending. The writing is so great, knowing when to reveal just a bit more of the mystery. Flanagan has a knack for setting a mood and this presents a lot of ideas ripe for discussion. Religion is central to the story, and in this series religion is up for interpretation. Rarely do I watch a show twice, but I started watching from episode one the day after I finished it.
Read my review
Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Season 1 - 5 episodes (1989-90)
Season 2 - 12 episodes (1991)
Season 3 - 23 episodes (1991-92)
Season 4 - 23 episodes (1992-93)
Season 5 - 22 episodes (1993-94)
Season 6 - 23 episodes (1994-95)
Season 7 - 22 episodes (1995-96)
Watch Midnight Mass on Netflix
Created by: Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards
Rating: TV-PG
Watch the trailer
Plot:
The misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.
Verdict
This show starts to hit it's stride in season two, peaking in seasons four, five, and six. The continuing strength of this show is that the characters don't pair off and don't change. This show takes ordinary everyday events to an extreme. Its broad humor allows it to stand the test of time, though there are many episodes that center around landline phones and answering machines. It's easy to relate to this show because we've all been in the situations depicted. We've had some of the same thoughts we just aren't always as impulsive as these characters. They're funny because they are self-centered and entitled. We may not act that way, but we've felt that way. Their problems are superficial, and the series smartly never tries to interject sweeping plot lines. There's a Seinfeld episodes applicable to almost any social situation and that's a testament to the writing and focus of this show.
Succession (2018-)
Season 3 - 10 episodes (2021)
Rent Succesion Season 3 on Amazon Video
Created by: Jesse Armstrong
Starring: Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck
Rating: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Logan Roy and his four children control one of the biggest media and
entertainment conglomerates in the world. When the aging patriarch
begins to step back from the company, the children contemplate what the
future and company will hold for them.
Verdict
Season 3 might be the best season yet. We have the foundation the first two seasons laid, and now we're getting into stakes. The family is divided, and it's time to choose a side. These characters are developed, and this season highlights how bad of a parent Logan was to his children, Perversely, that's why they seek his attention; they never got it as children.
Fargo (2014-)
Season 3 - 10 episodes (2017)
Rent Fargo on Amazon Video
Created by: Noah Hawley(created for television by)
Starring:
Season 1: Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, Keith Carradine, Kate Walsh, Joey King
Season 2: Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, Ted Danson, Christin Milioti, Jeffrey Donovan, Bokeem Woodbine, Brad GArrett, Nick Offerman, Adam Arkin, Elizabeth Marvel, Bruce Campbell, Ann Cusack
Season 3: Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Goran Bogdan, David Thewlis, Michael Stuhlbarg, Shea Whigham, Scoot McNairy, Hamish Linklater
Rating: TV-MA
Watch the Season 1 trailer
Watch the Season 3 trailer
Plot
Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
Season 1: In 2006, Lorne Malvo passes through Bemidji, Minnesota, and influences the community, including put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard, with his malice, violence, and deception. Meanwhile, Deputy Molly Solverson and Duluth police officer Gus Grimly team up to solve a series of murders they believe may be linked to Malvo and Nygaard.
Season 3: In 2010, St. Cloud probation officer Ray Stussy and his parolee girlfriend Nikki Swango dream of a better, wealthier life. They attempt to steal a valuable vintage stamp from Ray's more successful older brother. However, their plans backfire, and the couple soon have to hide their involvement in two deaths, including the stepfather of former Eden Valley police chief Gloria Burgle.
Verdict
Season 1 is my favorite season, followed by season 3, season 4, and then season 2. Only the first and third season make my best of list.
The series is at it's best when the outlandish events and intriguing
characters of the story intersect in coincidental ways. A small
confrontation can have broad effects. That's best displayed in the first
and third seasons that display a degree of whimsy where seasons two and
four default to more of a gangster tale. Seasons two and four are good,
but not quite at must watch level. All the seasons deal with crime and
cover ups. What boosts seasons one and three are the incompetent
criminals that either stumble through a crime and don't get caught or
eventually trip up due to their inability. The best character and
possibly the best actor is season one's Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne
Malvo. The character and actor stole every single scene and the big part of that is the great writing. This is ironic and darkly humorous.
Read my review
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