TV Rankings

We’re continuing with our rankings of every TV show of 2021. For earlier episodes, check out the following links:

#s 108-95 (tiers 11 and 10)
#s 94-84 (tier 9)
#s 83-61 (tiers 8 and 7)
#s 60-41 (tiers 6 and 5)
#s 40-31 (tier 4)

Tier 3: Double-honorable mention
30. Mythic Quest (Apple, Season 2; last year: 17 of 124). Two seasons in, Mythic Quest seems to have developed a critical reputation as a serviceable office sitcom with a periodic gift for telling stellar standalone stories. I agree that the series’ best installments are its departures—Season 2’s is actually a double feature, first set in a gloriously unglamorous 1970s writing studio, then flashing back to the present day and bringing in William Hurt (while also affording F. Murray Abraham the chance to deliver the line, “I’m gonna fuck his wife”)—but I think this description underrates it. Front to back, Mythic Quest remains a deeply enjoyable show, with an excellent cast, snappy writing, and a brisk pace. And those moments of isolation aren’t the only instances of formal cleverness; there’s also a bottle episode here that brilliantly leverages the actors’ collective talent for hurling choice insults. (Charlotte Nicdao’s perpetually thwarted designer remains the MVP, though Caitlin McGee’s cheery basement dweller deserves more screen time.) Franchise bloat is real, but some games have earned the right to keep churning out sequels. Read More

Our rankings of every TV show of 2021 continue apace. For prior installments, check out the following links:

#s 108-95 (tiers 11 and 10)
#s 94-84 (tier 9)
#s 83-61 (tiers 8 and 7)
#s 60-41 (tiers 6 and 5)

Tier 4: Steadily approaching greatness
40. What We Do in the Shadows (FX, Season 3; last year: 25 of 124). It’s still funny. The third season of this vampire comedy isn’t quite as restlessly imaginative as the prior go-round, but it doesn’t require reinvention. It’s firmly established its identity, and the actors now inhabit their goofy characters with absolute authority. What We Do in the Shadows is sneakily sweet, too, whether it’s charting the wounded alienation of Kayvan Novak’s sulky Nandor or following the strange, burgeoning friendship between Matt Berry’s hedonistic Laszlo and the buttoned-up Colin Robinson. (I know that the latter is played by Mark Proksch, but it really just seems like Colin Robinson is a character who sprang from the earth rather than one who’s portrayed by an actor.) The ostensible curse of vampirism is that after spending hundreds of year undead, life loses its meaning. That may be, but as of now, this effortlessly enjoyable series remains comfortably, vibrantly alive. Read More

We’re continuing to rank every TV of 2021. If you missed the earlier episodes, you can find them at the following links:

#s 108-95 (tiers 11 and 10)
#s 94-84 (tier 9)
#s 83-61 (tiers 8 and 7)

Tier 6: Starting to enjoy myself
60. Physical (Apple, Season 1). The first few episodes of Physical, which stars Rose Byrne as a vexed housewife with a secret eating disorder who originates the workout-video craze, thrum with energy and possibility, suggesting a rich and complex series that will explore a number of important themes: feminine yearning, body image, political entrenchment, ’80s pop music. The show never fully capitalizes on its initial promise, often detouring into weird subplots and unpleasant characters. But it’s still an arresting work, and it’s a great showcase for Byrne, who remains one of our most agile and forceful comediennes. The series around her is still searching for itself, but she’s in complete control of her craft, and she hits it with her best shot. Read More

We’re ranking every TV show we watched in 2021. If you missed the earlier episodes, you can find them at the following links:

#s 108-95 (tiers 11 and 10)
#s 94-84 (tier 9)

Tier 8: Passable, forgettable
83. Sweet Tooth (Netflix, Season 1). It’s a clever enough idea. Popular culture is rife with depictions of futuristic dystopias, so why not make one that’s oddly plucky and kid-friendly? As its title suggests, there’s a gentleness to Sweet Tooth that helps soften the familiar end-of-days doldrums. And yet, the series struggles to develop any real momentum, in part because it spreads itself too thin, attempting to thread together a hefty number of seemingly disparate characters instead of focusing on the ones who matter. It’s nice to see Nonso Anozie in a starring role, and Stefania LaVie Owen flashes some charisma, so there’s reason to hope for a second-season bump. For the time being, though, Sweet Tooth offers superficial pleasure rather than true nourishment. Read More

We’re ranking every TV show of 2021. If you missed the first installment, you can find it here.

Tier 9: Possibly marginally interesting
94. The Girlfriend Experience (Starz, Season 3; 2017 rank: 46 of 108). If the first season of The Girlfriend Experience was about demythologizing the mystique of sex work (and proving Riley Keough’s star bona fides) and the two-for-one second season was about the dangerous costs of possessive obsession, Season 3 is about… neural net technology? Data mining? Brunettes posing as blondes? I don’t mean to be glib, but there’s an alarming disregard for narrative coherence on display here, which is maybe meant to be a bold storytelling choice but which really just serves to dilute any thematic impact. Stories of messy relations between sex workers and their clients are always interesting, and Julia Goldani Telles certainly has screen presence, but this latest batch of episodes inspired by the (coughs, overrated) Steven Soderbergh feature is far too detached and off-kilter to hold viewers’ attention. I hope this isn’t the end of this strange, experimental series about body commodification and the literal price of desire, but new showrunner Anja Marquardt (taking over for Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz) has shifted things in a bizarre, thoroughly unpersuasive direction. Sex work is indeed work, but a show about it shouldn’t feel this impersonal and cold. Read More