The 10 Best New TV Shows of 2021

After highlighting the year’s 10 best TV shows, it’s now time to praise the new 2021 series that bravely charged into the glut of linear and streaming content and still managed to break through and make their mark with audiences. That was particularly tough task this year, as these newbies were forced to navigate Covid-19 protocols and sometimes-lengthy production shutdowns. Yet, despite all that heavy lifting, these shows still rose above almost everything else on TV. This year’s streaming-heavy freshman list includes the first-ever entries from Peacock—but don’t write off premium cable, which is still creatively thriving and also contributed two series to the lineup. Here are the 10 new shows that you absolutely need to start binge-watching. 10. We Are Lady Parts (Peacock) When NBCUniversal’s streaming service debuted last year, its first original scripted offerings were mediocre at best, but the platform course-corrected nicely this year, especially with its comedy slate. Exhibit A: this infectiously delightful story of a meek, nerdy microbiology Ph.D. student who is recruited to be the new lead guitarist for an all-female, all-Muslim punk band. Originally commissioned for Britain’s Channel 4, We Are Lady Parts is not only an important step for TV representation but exactly the kind of scrappy show that upstart streamers like Peacock need to stockpile if they want to stand out from their brawnier peers. 9. Girls5eva (Peacock) Exhibit B of Peacock’s suddenly spritely comedy bench: this hilarious sitcom about a briefly famous ’90s girl group (Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell and Busy Philipps) who reunite for another shot at success. Creator Meredith Scardino brings the same manic energy she honed writing for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt—Girls5eva’s jokes-per-minute average is quite high. But the show’s real star might be the irresistible soundtrack from executive producer and composer Jeff Richmond (husband of fellow executive producer Tina Fey), particularly the group’s signature number “Famous 5eva” (“cause 4ever’s 2 short”) and the Simon & Garfunkel homage “New York Lonely Boy,” performed by The Milk Carton Kids. 8. Lupin (Netflix) George Clooney is no longer the most charming actor at the center of a captivating heist story. He’s been eclipsed by the uber-suave Omar Sy, who plays a French master thief inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s classic Arsène Lupin novels about a gentleman burglar, while also trying to track down the truth about his father’s long-ago death. Lupin’s first two thrilling “parts” (in Netflix speak) kept the action moving briskly and offered wonder and adventure at a time when many of us, still confined to our homes, needed it most. 7. WandaVision (Disney+) Marvel’s first live-action Disney+ series, which also finally connected the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its TV one, splendidly upended expectations that the company was going to play it safe in the streaming space. Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany’s Vision find themselves recreating a classic sitcom from a different era each week—including The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family—and then things really get strange. While Kathryn Hahn steals the show as nosy neighbor Agnes, Olsen is the true surprise here, revealing expert comedic chops we never knew she had. 6. Squid Game (Netflix) This South Korean drama—in which 456 people who have hit rock bottom face off in win-or-die competitions based on classic childhood games (like Red Light, Green Light) in search of a fortune that could turn their lives around—surpassed Bridgerton to become Netflix’s most-watched show ever. That’s no wonder: Once the bloody twist is revealed, the series becomes addictively propulsive, and the very definition of a binge-worthy show. 5. Yellowjackets (Showtime) For more than 15 years, networks have tried and failed to successfully engineer a compelling successor to Lost. Showtime seems to have finally cracked the code with this enthralling survival drama about a high school girls soccer team whose plane crashes in the remote wilderness—and drives them to commit unspeakable acts they’d rather forget. The show also flashes ahead 25 years as the now-40-something survivors (Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis) are drawn back into the mystery. Prepare to become obsessed. 4. Hacks (HBO Max) Nothing helps a fledgling streaming service get some momentum like a breakout hit, and HBO Max found that somewhat unexpectedly with this story of a recently canceled L.A. comedy writer (Hannah Einbinder) who reluctantly helps an iconic comedian now coasting in Las Vegas (Jean Smart) punch up her routine. Smart and Einbinder are a marvelous comedy duo, but the supporting cast is also a treat, including Carl Clemons-Hopkins as Smart’s undervalued COO and Kaitlin Olson as Smart’s entitled daughter. 3. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) For the past decade, Steve Martin had largely stepped back from Hollywood and seemed content to tour the country with his pal Martin Short. But it turns out he had at least one more comic masterpiece in him after all: co-creating this gem about three disparate residents of an Upper West Side apartment building (Martin, Short and a sensational Selena Gomez) who bond over their love of true crime podcasts, then team up to investigate the mysterious death of a fellow tenant. There’s also remarkable supporting performances from Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan and Tina Fey. 2. The White Lotus (HBO, streaming on HBO Max) Mike White has created an inspired update on Upstairs Downstairs: a social satire about a motley crew of tourists at a luxurious Hawaiian resort and weary staff forced to cater to their every need (two words: Pineapple Suite). Originally intended as a limited series, it has morphed into an anthology that will move to a different White Lotus location for Season 2. Between this and Succession, HBO has a lock on engrossing stories about the woes of the 1%. 1. Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu) Adweek named co-creator and showrunner Sterlin Harjo our Game Changer of the Year in part for making the first TV series to feature an all-Indigenous writing staff, directors and series regulars. But the honor came about mostly because he weaved a wondrous tale—about four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma still coping with the death of another friend a year earlier—unlike anything else on television, where it felt like literally anything could happen from week to week. And did: like a driving test that somehow ends up in a gunfight or a Bigfoot-like Tall Man lurking in the woods. FX Networks still uses “Fearless” as its tagline, and shows like Reservation Dogs are exactly why. Honorable Mentions These shows almost made it onto the best new series list (including Disney+’s Loki, above) and are also worth watching: The Chair (Netflix)Ghosts (CBS, streaming on Paramount+)Hawkeye (Disney+)Loki (Disney+)Made for Love (HBO Max)Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)The Wonder Years (ABC, streaming on Hulu) The 10 Best TV Shows of 2021

Year in Review

The 10 Best New TV Shows of 2021

Hacks, The White Lotus and WandaVision are among the stellar freshman standouts

Jason Lynch

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Jason Lynch