I didn’t catch as many new shows as I would have liked this year (honestly, how can anyone keep up). I did enjoy watching some shows I missed the first time around like Broad City, Superstore, Nailed It!, and Manifest. And I must call out season 2 of Ted Lasso and the episode Beard After Hours which I loved so so much.

This list is my favorite TV series or miniseries that debuted in 2021 (plus one comedy special). This criteria is interesting since a lot of my all-time favorite shows don’t really figure themselves out until season 2 or later. So should be fun to revisit this in a few years.

11. Sweet Tooth

10. Schmigadoon!

9. Mare of Easttown

8. Loki

7. Only Murders in the Building

6. Hacks

5. Squid Game

4. Rutherford Falls

3. Made for Love

2. WandaVision

1. Bo Burnham: Inside

Another weird year in the books. Going to the cinema was a strategic endeavor of finding unpopular showtimes and empty theaters, but I was still able to catch a bunch of new films. Here are my favorites I saw this year.

Honorable mentions to Last Night in Soho and The Eyes of Tammy Faye which were both well made and well acted, but left me feeling not good! (Also I couldn’t decide, so it’s a list of 11.)

11. The Mitchells vs. the Machines

10. Nobody

9. Plan B

8. Army of the Dead

7. The Suicide Squad

6. Tick, Tick... Boom!

5. The French Dispatch

4. Eternals

3. The Sparks Brothers

2. Spider-Man: No Way Home

1. Encanto

We watched a lot of TV series this year. I absolutely loved watching the final seasons of The Good Place and Schitt’s Creek. Top Chef All-Stars L.A. was a joy to watch. And we loved catching up on Better Call Saul, Money Heist, Community, and Lucifer.

This list though is my favorite TV series or mini series that debuted this year.

10. Selena The Series

9. McMillions

8. Never Have I Ever

7. Watchmen

6. Love Life

5. Little Fires Everywhere

4. The Queen’s Gambit

3. Lovecraft Country

2. Devs

1. Ted Lasso

Watching movies was pretty different this year and I seriously can’t wait until I can go to the cinema again. Still, many new movies were released and a lot of them were good (though I don’t think I loved any of them either).

I didn’t include Hamilton here since it’s not really a film, but it was a gift this year and I watched it so many times. Also I wasn’t able to catch Minari but I’m excited to see it once it has a wider release.

10. Onward

9. The Half of It

8. Da 5 Bloods

7. An American Pickle

6. The New Mutants

5. The Old Guard

4. Howard

3. The King of Staten Island

2. Palm Springs

1. Emma.

Just saw the new Emma. and it’s really wonderful and charming and funny. The costume design is top notch and these photos truly don’t do it justice. Every garment is just gorgeous to look at and I’m grateful the camera lingers long enough to really appreciate them. I recommend it!