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.

3 of 11 photo by Netflix

Netflix couldn't resist trying to squeeze more content out of its unlikely pandemic hit miniseries Tiger King. So the streaming service ordered not one but two follow-ups in 2021. A rather pointless second "season" of Tiger King proper went over poorly with reviewers (and isn't included here solely because we are ranking first-year programs). And that was followed by this three-part spinoff centering on another exotic animal collector, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, who was featured in the original series. But, given the numerous sexual assault charges leveled at Antle, this spinoff doesn't exactly offer the same level of campy fun that last year's series provided.

“If you’re expecting another outlandish chapter of Tiger King, you’re going to be disappointed with The Doc Antle Story. In fact, the more we watched, the more we wanted to take a shower for a good half-hour just because we turned it on.” —Joel Keller, Decider

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