The Worst New TV Shows of 2021

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 24, 2021

What were the biggest television duds of the past year? Above are the lowest-scoring first-year primetime TV series (including limited series and specials) 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 from December 21, 2021, and must have at least 4 reviews from professional critics to qualify.

10 of 11 photo by FOX Media LLC

34 #1 (tie): Alter Ego (Fox)

(tie) Metacritic's Official Worst TV Show of 2021.

Fox's latest oddball reality series is described as the "world's first avatar singing competition" and finds contestants performing not as themselves but as virtual characters. But the out-of-left-field concept did nothing to elevate Alter Ego above its numerous singing competition competitors past and present.

“A show so inane that the pendulum swings the other way and forces you to think anthropologically about how we got here.” —Kevin Fallon, The Daily Beast

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