2021 hasn’t exactly been the comeback year we were all hoping for but that hasn’t stopped the industry from unveiling some hilarious, topical, witty, and spellbinding TV series for all to enjoy. Reflecting this mood, a lot of the titles on this list have elements of comedy to brighten one’s spirits alongside some potentially dark content. There are also, however, some shows that make some bold statements about our world today through thematic parallels that are important to experience. Whichever genre is your favorite, 2021 has it all and more.
If you’re having a hard time deciding what to watch, just stick around for some of the best new series to watch in 2021.
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The White Lotus
A new and interesting mystery/thriller/drama from HBO is The White Lotus, a show that will make you want to scream if you’ve ever worked in the service industry before. The White Lotus is an expensive destination resort in Hawaii where only the richest people go, and, if money is never an issue, multitudes of other issues will be either created out of boredom or presented due to sheer arrogance.
Creator: Mike White
Main Cast: Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge
Total Episodes: 7
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Read More: Best HBO Max Shows to Watch
Loki
One of the new side-story show additions to the Marvel Universe is Loki, a show that unfolds the character of Loki and takes a full dive into his psyche and mannerisms. Framed as an inter-dimensional mystery show, Loki must find himself and what it means to be ‘a Loki’ in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame.
Creator: Michael Waldron
Main Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Total Episodes: 7
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Read More: Best Disney+ Series to Watch
Invincible
Based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name, Invincible is an animated superhero story that is unlike any other. With a father who is the most powerful superhero on Earth, 17-year-old Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) slowly begins to gain his own powers as he learns about his father’s dark past.
Creators: Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Cory Walker
Main Cast: Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh
Total Episodes: 13
IMDb Rating: 8.7
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Sweet Tooth
In the midst of an apocalyptic pandemic, children suddenly are born as hybrids, somewhere between human and animal. A little boy known as “Sweet Tooth” or Gus (Christian Convery) is the focus of this show, detailing the discrimination and evil of humankind as one of the most astonishing events in human history takes place. The performances and pace of events are what make this show, besides being a great and new concept that comes from the DC Comics series.
Creators: Jim Mickle, Beth Schwartz
Main Cast: Nonso Anozie, Christian Convery, Adeel Akhtar
Total Episodes: 16
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Read More: Best Shows on Netflix to Watch
Sasquatch
In a surprisingly thrilling documentary series based in California’s Emerald Triangle, Sasquatch explores the tales and theories of California weed farmers and their testaments to an evil force lurking in the forest. David Holthouse — an experienced journalist who has gone undercover with street gangs and neo-Nazis — reveals what he finds to be “the craziest story” he’s ever heard, detailing his time working at a cannabis farm in northern California and the many stories he heard.
Creator: David Holthouse
Main Cast: David Holthouse, Ghostdance, Christopher Dienstag
Total Episodes: 3
IMDb Rating: 6.2
Read More: Best Shows on Hulu to Watch
Mare of Easttown
As far as movies’ gradual transition to long-form miniseries goes, Mare of Easttown is a gem that provides Kate Winslet with yet another career-best performance. Famous in her small town for an impressive shot in a high school basketball game, Mare is now a police officer with an unsolved missing person case that is causing her life to unravel.
Creator: Brad Ingelsby
Main Cast: Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart
Total Episodes: 7
IMDb Rating: 8.5
Made For Love
A thrilling and simultaneously hilarious sci-fi dramedy to watch is Made For Love, the story of a woman trapped in a corrosive marriage to a tech billionaire who has implanted her with a chip that is supposed to enhance their love life. Though he does all he can — monitors her visually, audibly, and emotionally through this implant — she scrapes and claws her way out by any means necessary, with some surprising moments of comedy that are pure and welcome.
Creators: Dean Bakopoulos, Christina Lee, Alissa Nutting
Main Cast: Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Ray Romano
Total Episodes: 9
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Beartown
In a town where the absolute main focus is hockey, Beartown rides a wave of glory as one girl goes through the most traumatic experience of her life. Though it is based in a small town in Sweden, this show says a lot about what people will allow psychologically manipulative and power-hungry men to get away with when they are simply good at something or are a “good person.”
Main Cast: Ulf Stenberg, Miriam Ingrid, Oliver Dufåker
Total Episodes: 5
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Staying true to the canon built up in Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, Star Wars: The Bad Batch takes some of our favorite characters and turns them into a mercenary-style squad of badasses. An enhanced group of clones also known as Clone Force 99 is notorious for being rebellious and unpredictable, so when their commanders attempt to force their cooperation, they become fugitives forever battling the assassins and droid forces sent to destroy them.
Creators: Jennifer Corbett, Dave Filoni
Main Cast: Ming-Na Wen, Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang
Total Episodes: 17
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Blindspotting
Based on the story from the 2018 film of the same name, Blindspotting is a continuation of the story that comes from the minds of the previous film’s writers: Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs. When Ashley’s (Jasmine Cephas Jones) husband Miles is arrested, she must move into her mother-in-law’s house to live with her and her half-sister all while taking care of her own child and making big life decisions.
Creators: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs
Main Cast: Jasmine Cephas Jones, Jaylen Barron, Candace Nicholas-Lippman
Total Episodes: 8
IMDb Rating: 6.0
WandaVision
In yet another Marvel series to hit the Disney+ streaming service, WandaVision has it all. If you’ve seen all of the Avengers movies, then you are likely already familiar with Wanda and Vision — but you have never seen them like this. Set in a series of sitcoms throughout the ages, WandaVision follows the couple as they traverse a televerse where they happen to be the main characters. We don’t want to give away the story beyond that, however, so you’ll just have to watch it.
Creator: Jac Schaeffer
Main Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Kathryn Hahn
Total Episodes: 9
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Hacks
When a young and inexperienced comedy writer happens upon the once-incredible Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a twisted and dysfunctional mentorship begins to form and fester. This show is as cleverly written as it is dark, detailing the highs and lows of the industry and all the push and pull it takes to make it in any category.
Creators: Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky
Main Cast: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
Total Episodes: 11
IMDb Rating: 8.3
The Underground Railroad
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Colson Whitehead novel of the same name, The Underground Railroad is a thrilling and heartbreaking tale of slavery, escape, and the stories that follow. A young woman named Cora (Thuso Mbedu) escapes her slave life on a Georgia plantation through an underground railroad but is hunted by a notoriously skilled slave hunter named Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton).
Main Cast: Thuso Mbedu, Chase Dillon, Joel Edgerton
Total Episodes: 10
IMDb Rating: 7.3
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