Happy new year!
I skipped sending a newsletter last week because of the holiday, but there isn’t much new on TV right now anyway. One thing I did want to mention is the 15th (!) season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX/Hulu), but after this many years, you probably already know if you’re an Always Sunny person or not. Overall I liked this latest season. I lost my mind laughing at the scene with the monkey bartender. And then twice in 15 seasons they let themselves be sincere and I for one think that’s nice. “Nice” is a strange word to describe the show known casually in our house as “the screaming people.” But it’s true. That moment on the mountain was nice! Of course if you think too much about Charlie Kelly’s life story the show becomes not funny at all, so it must be done sparingly.
The other new show this past week was The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+). So far, despite fulfilling Patton Oswalt’s vision, it has not given me a reason to care about the story. I know not every show can introduce a Baby Yoda, but this one isn’t attempting anything character-wise yet. I’m hoping there’s something I can attach to soon, and that the something doesn’t require an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure Star Wars facts.
Since the year is now officially over, I thought I’d share my favorite shows that aired new episodes in 2021. There are 17 shows on this list and I highly recommend them all. I’ve loosely grouped them by category instead of ranking them. They’re all good!
The Form-Busting Half Hours
Reservation Dogs (FX/Hulu)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Dickinson (Apple TV+)
Eat the Rich
White Lotus (HBO)
Succession (HBO)
Sad but So, So Good
Station Eleven (HBOMax)
Mare of Easttown (HBO)
Maid (Netflix)
Let’s Start a Band
We Are Lady Parts (Peacock)
Girls5Eva (Peacock)
Schmigadoon (Apple TV+)
The Fantasies
Shadow and Bone (Netflix)
WandaVision (Disney+)
I Laughed So Hard I Cried
Staged (Hulu)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu)
Space
For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
Romance
Starstruck (HBOMax)
By streaming service, my personal winner is HBO/HBOMax (5), followed by Hulu (4), Apple TV+ (3), Netflix (2), Peacock (2), and Disney+ (1). Amazon Prime seems to have given up.
Thanks for subscribing. I love watching shows with all of you. And I hope you find something to watch that you love in 2022.
xoxo
Maggie