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.

2 of 23 photo by Ian Watson/HBO Max

82 Station Eleven (HBO Max)

(#19) Its arrival now makes for odd timing—given that we are currently living in the midst of a global pandemic—but this currently airing HBO Max adaptation of the award-winning 2014 novel by Emily St. John Mandel about a world ravaged by an extremely deadly flu has impressed critics with its surprisingly uplifting take on life after the end of the world. The time-jumping limited series comes from Patrick Somerville (Made for Love) and counts Hiro Murai (Atlanta), Helen Shaver (Vikings), and Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones) among its directors, while the ensemble cast includes Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, David Wilmot, Matilda Lawler, Philippine Velge, Daniel Zovatto, Lori Petty, Nabhaan Rizwan, and Gael Garcìa Bernal.

“Station Eleven is the quintessential case of an adaptation that doesn't just draw from the best parts of the original novel but actually finds a way to improve on the source material. Its singular flaw, really, is the timing of its release, but the final product is so provoking, poignant, and ultimately optimistic that it becomes an indelible triumph of television, a story that succeeds separately from the book, and one of the best small-screen contributions to 2021.” —Carly Lane, Consequence

Watch it on HBO Max (currently airing weekly; eventually will be 10 episodes)

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