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.

21 of 23 photo by Netflix

BONUS: Best 2021 TV specials and TV movies

(#1)
▣ Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)
Comedian/actor/director Bo Burnham's best comedy/music special to date is a remarkable work of introspection and technical skill. (Don't worry: It's also quite funny.) Inside finds Burnham stuck at home alone in a room full of audiovisual equipment during the seemingly endless months of the pandemic. So he films himself performing to an audience of no one, with the result serving as a time capsule of a most unusual and difficult year.

(#2)
▣ Romeo & Juliet (PBS)
Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor head the cast of this made-for-TV film production from London's National Theatre, which transports Shakespeare's play into present-day Italy. The special aired in the U.S. in April under PBS's Great Performances banner.

(#3)
▣ Elizabeth Is Missing (PBS/BBC)
A BBC production that aired on PBS's Masterpiece in the opening week of 2021 after first debuting in the UK in 2019, this 90-minute adaptation of Emma Healey's best-seller stars Glenda Jackson in a BAFTA-winning performance as a woman who must overcome her own dementia to solve the mysterious disappearance of her friend.

(#4)
▣ The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (PBS)
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. hosted this two-part PBS documentary about the 400-year history of Black churches in America, including a look at the impact of African faith traditions on New World Christianity.

(#5)
▣ The Crime of the Century (HBO)
Director Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) has previously tackled subjects ranging from Scientology to Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos for HBO. His latest target? The pharmaceutical industry's role in America's ongoing opioid crisis. His powerful two-part HBO documentary The Crime of the Century examines the origins and effects of the crisis through new interviews and newly leaked documents.

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