Favorite TV shows of 2021

Hey there, it’s been a while. I haven’t found the time (and energy) to manage this account until the Christmas break, but hopefully, I’ll get back on the horse and find a better way to handle my free time!

The year 2021 has ended already and I want to reflect on what’s been good entertainment. I know I should have released this before the end of the past year but lazyness kicked in during my Holiday’s first week off! But better late than never, I guess!

Sitcoms

Only murders in the building

Starting strong with a Martin Short/ Steve Martin/ Selena Gomez collaboration about 3 neighbors, obsessed with true crime podcasts, investigating a murder in their fabulous New-York appartment building while improvising their own murder podcast. Needless to say that Martin Short and Steve Martin are comedic geniuses, and though Selena Gomez’s performance is far from being able to equate that of the legendary duo, her youthful presence does provide some very necessary balance to the show. Only murders in the building is as suspenseful as it is hilarious. And although some episodes are at times over the top, Martin Short and Steve Martin are always a pleasure to watch and I cannot wait for the second season!

Kevin can f**k himself

This show is like nothing I’ve seen before and I cannot believe more people are not talking about it. Definitely the most underrated show of the year! Set half in the stereotypical wife/husband sitcom, half in a dramatic show about an unhappy marriage, Kevin can f**k himself is a dark comedy about a wife who wants to regain some control in her life, after 10 years with a selfish, manipulative, child-like husband. Funny, smart and at time very frustrating, this show was a lot of fun to watch. Also, what a pleasure to see Annie Murphy in a role so opposite to the one she had in Schitt’s Creek!

Schmigadoon

Now this came as a surprise to me. There is nothing I hate more than musicals, and yet, when we played Schmigadoon (almost by accident), I was enthralled! We binge-watched the whole season in no time and the musical numbers never bothered me, quite the contrary. They were spectacular, actually.

Made for love

The season is unequal but the good moments were brilliant. This is a show about a woman trying to regain her independance by escaping the grips of her controlling husband, a tech genius billionnaire who implented a tracking device in her brain to monitor her movements as well as her physical and emotional data. Though Cristin Milioti and Billy Magnussen are amazing as the feuding couple, Ray Romano really steals the show as Milioti’s father.

What we do in the shadows - Season 3

I was certain that after 2 seasons, they’ve pretty much covered everything and the series would become somewhat repetitive, but I was dead wrong. The third season made me laugh as much as the first two.

Drama

Succession - Season 3

I’ve become obsessed with Succession! Each season is better the last and I cannot get enough of this dysfunctionnal family’s downward spiral, banter, infighting and disconnectedness. This show has managed to beat The Office and Curb your enthusiasm in terms on cringe (think of Kendall singing, cousin Greg in general, Shiv and Tom’s marriage, and so much more!), all the while displaying an incredible visual aesthetic, and not to forget killer dialogues. The third season ended so incredulously that I need to see season 4 right away. Unfortunately, no release date has been revealed yet…

Squid Game

Speaking of incredible visual aesthetics, Squid Game is one of the rare cases of “believe the hype”. It’s probably one of the most talked about shows of the year, and it’s also one of the best. I’m not sure a second season is the best idea, but I’ll watch it for sure. I don’t have anything to add to the multitude of things that have been written about this show, except that if you haven’t watched it yet, what are you waiting for?

Yellowjackets

The season is still ongoing so I might be getting ahead of myself here, but so far, it’s one of the best dramas I’ve seen this year. Set in two timelines, the present and 30 years ago, when the characters were teenagers, this show is a mix of survival epic, psychological/supernatural/horror and coming-of-age drama. In the 1990s, a plane carrying a team of high school soccer players to their national tournament crashes in the Canadian wilderness. The survivors held on for 19 months before being rescued, but what actually happened during these harrowing 19 months remain a mystery as all the survivors swore to secrecy. However, the events will come back to taunt them decades later. Though the series reminds me a lot of Lost at times, it is intriguing enough for me to want to continue watching and learn what happened.

Docuseries

Get back

I wouldn’t call myself the biggest Beatles’ fan (I don’t hate them either) but I found this series illuminating as it debunks a lot of preconceived ideas I had about the Beatles and their break-up. It’s also fascinating to be a fly on the wall and observe as one of the greatest band in history created from nothing some of the most significant classics of modern music. There are 3 episodes overall, each averaging 2 hours, detailing the days leading up to the band’s legendary roof-top performance.

Pretend it’s a city

This series of conversations between Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz is a continuation of sorts of Scorsese’s 2010 documentary, Public Speaking. Fran Lebowitz is quick-witted, hilarious and opinionated, and listening to her vent about everything and everybody is a true pleasure!

Honorable mentions

• Ted Lasso - Season 2 : The second season was nowhere near as good as the first but there were some very good moments. However, the level of saccharin errs dangerously towards the tacky, while Nate’s story arch feels unnecessary.

• Mythic quest - Season 2 : my previous comment about Ted Lasso’s second season not being able to level up to its first applies also to Mythic Quest’s second season. It’s good, but nowhere near as good as season 1.

• Physical : Rose Byrne is amazing as an unhappy housewife who finds aerobics as a way to regain control over her life. However, the series kind of lost its way after a while and it’s hard to see where the story is headed. That being said, I’ll watch season 2 if there is one.

• Mare of Eastown : Interesting series all thanks to the amazing cast, but underwhelming story and extremely poor use of Guy Pierce.

• Queen of the south : I’m putting it here only because the first seasons were so good. The final season, which aired in 2021, was, in my opinion, terrible. Too many twist and turns, with an unrealistic happy ending. That being said, rare are TV series where viewers get to witness such incredible showdowns between two powerful female characters, especially when set in the drug trafficking world. While Teresa is the hero, I find that Camilla is a formidable antagonist and the most interesting character.

• It’s always sunny in Philadelphia : Officially the longest running live-action comedy in history with their 15th season, It’s always sunny in Philadelphia is still extremely funny but their 12th season is by far their best. This season is great, with the first episode being the funniest, but it’s very uneven.

I think that’s it for 2021! Hopefully 2022 will be just as good or better!

Best TV shows of 2019

It’s that time of the year where I recap my favorite TV series of the past 12 months! Truth be told, 2019 was an OK only year in terms of television shows to watch. I must say that this year, there was a lot of shows I really enjoyed watching but was infatuated with very few of them. Also, I am pretty convinced I missed out on a few gems since I cannot afford to subscribe to all streaming services…

Anyways, the shows below are my top tens, the ones I enjoyed watching the most this year and they really did stand out amongst all those very average programs out there. In a separate post, I’ll be discussing my favorite episodes of the year.

Dark

This German science-fiction series is fascinating and visually beautiful. Taking place in the fictional town of Winden, Dark weaves an interesting intrigue about child abductions, dark hidden secrets, time-travel conspiracies, spanning generations and different time-lines. Two seasons are currently available, with a third one on the way. A bit slow at the beginning, but once the pace picks up a bit, it’s hard to stop watching!

Stranger Things

I must admit that I really hated Stranger Things’ second season, and was really not interested in watching the third season. Thank goodness that it was released in July, when there is literally nothing else to watch! Otherwise, I definitely would not have given it a chance, despite how much I loved the first season. The third season has managed to give a more defined role to secondary characters, as well as write a better story line. Fun, touching, funny, gripping, the third season of Stranger Things made me fall in love with the series all over again.

Russian Doll

I’ve often mentioned that I’m usually very weary of Groundhog Day types of stories. It’s been done so many times before that it’s hard to imagine how anyone could make it original again. Russian Doll did make it interesting. The story is about Nadia, who dies the night of her birthday party only to wake up at her birthday party again. Every times she dies, she wakes up at the party again, and must find how to fix this weird time loop. Funny , witty and weird at the same time, Russian Doll was actually fun to watch!

Silicon Valley

The series recently ended with a perfect finale, encapsulating everything that made the show great, closing all story-lines and staying true to the mood of the sitcom as well as its characters. This is an absolutely amazing TV series that must be watched from beginning to end to be truly appreciated. Watching Pied Piper evolve throughout the past 6 seasons has been a blast.

Good Omens

Good Omens is a fantastic show about the unlikely friendship between an angel and a demon who must join forces to prevent the apocalypse from happening. It was a joy to watch David Tennant and Michael Sheen, two brilliant and charismatic actors, interact. Though the series felt a bit long at times and some plot lines a tad unnecessary, it’s a great adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s book by the same title and its wry humor really makes the show fun to watch.

The Movies

This docuseries by CNN and co-produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman is a must watch for any cinephiles out there. Expertly made, this series showcases cinema’s history, decade by decade, with testimonies from film critics and directors alike. Like its series about the history of television, music and social history, The Movies is absolutely brilliant.

Chernobyl

On to something less fun but no less great. Chernobyl has been dubbed one of the best horror series ever and I would say that’s accurate. Acclaimed for the depth of their research and the quality of the reenactments of the events, Chernobyl was a very difficult series to watch but also a fascinating one as well. Every episode is like a punch in the gut, but it’s so well done and acted that we cannot look away. Like The Handmaid’s Tale, it is an important show to watch so we do not forget what happened and hopefully, we’ll prevent such catastrophic events from happening again.

Schitt’s Creek

I cannot believe I waited so long before giving Schitt’s Creek chance! I must admit that I usually have a certain prejudice about Canadian shows which would explain my initial disdain against Schitt’s Creek despite its stellar cast. It’s also the vulgarity (or lack of subtlety) of the title that was a major turn off for me. But, after having seen only one episode, the first one, I binged watched the rest of the series in no time and cannot wait for the sixth and final season to begin, this January! Superbly played and written, Schitt’s Creek, a riches-to-rags show about the Rose family who lost everything except for Schitt’s Creek, a small town they bought ironically a few years back, has taken a special place as one of my all time favorite sitcoms. Hilarious, sometimes sweet and endearing and other times utterly mean, this show guarantees a good time.

Succession

Succession has been a guilty pleasure of mine. It was at first a show I like to hate-watch (season 1) but with the second season, it became an epic series with which I am totally obsessed. None of the characters have a moral compass. Blood is not thicker than water, and these characters, who already have all the money, all the riches in the world, are ready to stab anyone’s back, step over anyone who stands in their way and perform the most despicable acts, and for what exactly? Be the head of the family’s multinational conglomerate or be daddy’s favorite? Even they are not even sure but watching these underprivileged individuals crash and burn as they try to fight each other is just so much fun to watch! Is it soapy at times? Yes. But the series is so well written, the dialogues are so smart and witty and the actors so expertly portray despicable human beings that Succession truly is a pleasure to watch.

Fleabag

Fleabag, especially the second season, is my absolute favorite show of the year. Brilliantly entertaining and funny, Fleabag is refreshing. With Schitt’s Creek, it is one of the very few comedies this year that have managed to make me laugh. Hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking and other times just cringe-worthy, the second season of Fleabag has been perfect. Too bad there won’t be anymore seasons of this absolutely brilliant comedy!

Runner-ups

Other great shows of 2019 include the following:

• The End of the f***ing World : though very good, the second second could not match the first one. The story line felt very heavy at times but the two amazing main actors have managed to carry the series.

• Afterlife : Ricky Gervais was absolutely brilliant in this show about a grieving husband not caring anymore about life and everything that comes with it. He created, produced and directed this dark comedy and deserves all the credit in the world. Though extremely sad and touching at times and hilarious at others, this show is considerably uneven. I lost interest at times and had to force myself to continue watching, which I did not regret.

• Rick and Morty : the cult favorite returned for a much-awaited fourth season in 2019 and though not as strong as the previous seasons, the show was extremely entertaining to watch! Still just as smart and rife with cultural references, Rick and Morty remains a must to watch!

• Punk : this docuseries co-produced by John Varvatos and Iggy Pop is a fascinating dive into the world of punk music, its history and evolution. The only reason why it’s not in my top ten list is because I’m not that big a fan of the genre, so it did not reach me as much as it would have if I were a fan, but I found it nonetheless very interesting.

• Street Food : for food lovers, this series by Netflix will make you drool and want to travel the world. It tends to dwell a bit too much on human interest and melodrama, but all the meals look amazing and mouth-watering!

That’s all for 2019! I cannot wait for what 2020 has in store for us to watch!