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.

20 of 23 photo by Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios

92 The Underground Railroad (Prime Video)

Metacritic's Best New TV Show of 2021.

(#1) In development since 2017, Amazon's Emmy-nominated limited series adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name comes from Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), who directs all 10 episodes. Like the book, the series depicts an alternate history of America's 19th century South, where an escape route for slaves features a literal—rather than merely metaphorical—subterranean railroad. South African actress Thuso Mbedu, a newcomer to American audiences, plays the lead role of Cora, while Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Pierre, Lily Rabe, and The Good Place's William Jackson Harper also star.

“It is a masterwork that puts into the spotlight the sheer power and communion that can be found with visual storytelling. This is a series not so much witnessed but felt.” —Angelica Jade Bastien, Vulture

Watch it on Prime Video (10 episodes)

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