The Pickety Witch — Best Shows of 2021

December has been a weird blur. So much stuff has happened, lol. I have like 3 reviews and a feature coming out this week but they’re all embargoed at the time this was published, so stay tuned!

IDK, y'all. Kyle Rittenhouse got celebrated by a bunch of voting members of our democracy yesterday. They gave him his own entrance music. If you think it’s time to give up, please good gods remember that they aren’t stopping anytime soon. We have a lot of shit to do in 2022.

Full disclosure, I write this while binging The Simpsons. This list isn’t ranked. Homer is having the Cinnabon clerk unroll the cinnamon roll into his mouth. I would like that.

This show is peak vindication. For years unwitting MCU viewers called Hawkeye the worst Avenger because they hadn’t read the Matt Fraction run and now he’s just here on our screens with Kate and everyone’s like “well fuck, this is good actually.” You’re goddamn right it’s good actually, encourage the MCU to bring back more street level fare you buttheads.

All markers considered, Reservation Dogs is the best new series on television this year. Easily digestible (20 min eps), hilarious, difficult themes… A+++.

Still going strong here. Season 1 was better, but only by a hair. Consider this your reminder to binge Season 2 if you haven’t yet, because 3 comes out in January.

Believe it or not, this is my least favorite of Flanagan’s series work. But event at his “worst” these fucking shows of his are immaculate. What a show. What a cast. What performances. Who let this be so good? Well, they did of course. But damn!

My favorite thing about the Ted Lasso discourse this year is that the majority of it was made up of people annoyed that they were ever so slightly challenged by mustache man having a more complicated emotional narrative this year. Anyway, Nate’s behavior was telegraphed from the start, Ted being against therapy was inspired, and that damn Christmas episode is one of the most wonderful holiday episodes ever written. Good day to you.

WandaVision struggled with its finale and definitely did Monica Rambeau dirty, but when it was getting it right it was Getting It Right. What performances. What writing! The series really showed off what these Disney+ properties could bring to the table, even when they futzed it up. (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was the only one that truly stumbled. Wanda and Loki had minor missteps, and we’ll see what comes of Hawkeye tonight!)

What a show this was. I’m still salty that Superman and Lois got more attention with an inferior product — and I say that as a fan of their iterations in this universe — but I keep telling myself that doesn’t erase what Supergirl was. I’ll miss you forever, Girl of Steel.

If this were a ranked list of media most failed by its marketing campaign, The Underground Railroad would be damn near the top of it. Barry freakin’ Jenkins, amirite? The adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name imagines what it would be like if the Underground Railroad was a literal railroad shuttling slaves to safety.

LONG LIVE THE PUPA!

If you thought you were done hearing me gush about this show, you’re wrong. I said in the beginning of the series that it’s a better show than Archer, and now that we’ve finished Season 1 I will absolutely die on this hill. It’s great. Go turn on your Hulu and watch it. You can’t tell me I’m wrong until you have done your homework. And then you won’t. ‘Cause I’m right.