The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2021

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 28, 2021

Above are the highest-scoring first-year TV series (including limited series) debuting in the United States between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Shows are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding based on scores as of December 24, 2021, and any programs with fewer than 7 reviews are excluded. One-off TV specials and made-for TV movies are ranked separately at the end of the gallery.

19 of 23 photo by Channel 4

91 It's a Sin (HBO Max/Channel 4)

(#2) This five-episode British miniseries (which came to the U.S. in February via HBO Max) follows a group of young gay men in 1980s London against the backdrop of the unfolding AIDS crisis and comes from Years and Years (and Queer as Folk) creator Russell T. Davies. Olly Alexander, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells, Nathaniel Curtis, Lydia West, Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, and Neil Patrick Harris star. The series was hailed by the UK press as "a masterpiece" when it debuted there in January, and American reviewers were equally enthusiastic—and still are today, judging by the frequency with which Sin has been turning up on year-end top 10 lists.

“As a vital television document about AIDS and the hard-earned freedoms that were crushed on human and systemic terms — and as purely just a piece of masterful writing and acting — 'It’s a Sin' is right up there with Tony Kushner’s epic 'Angels in America' as must-see queer viewing. It’s capable at once of breaking your heart, putting it back, then breaking it all over again.” —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire

Watch it on HBO Max (5 episodes)

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