# The Guardian's best TV shows of 2021

The top 20 of the Guardian's 50 best TV shows of 2021, published in December 2021 and led by Russell T Davies' It's a Sin.

- 1074 votes · 20 items
- Sep 9, 2022 · bingewatcher_bristol
- https://even.best/en/l/1363/the-guardian-s-best-tv-shows-of-2021

## Top 20

1. **It's a Sin** (89 · ▲99 ▼10) — No. 1. Russell T Davies on friends in 1980s London during the Aids crisis (Channel 4).
2. **Mare of Easttown** (76 · ▲83 ▼7) — No. 3. Kate Winslet as a Pennsylvania detective (HBO).
3. **The White Lotus** (67 · ▲80 ▼13) — No. 2. Mike White's satire at a Hawaiian resort (HBO).
4. **Succession** (59 · ▲65 ▼6) — No. 4. Season three of the Roy family (HBO).
5. **Feel Good** (45 · ▲53 ▼8) — No. 6. Mae Martin's comedy-drama, final season.
6. **Time** (44 · ▲52 ▼8) — No. 7. Sean Bean and Stephen Graham in a prison drama (BBC).
7. **Starstruck** (41 · ▲50 ▼9) — No. 9. Rose Matafeo and a one-night stand with a film star (BBC Three).
8. **Alma's Not Normal** (38 · ▲47 ▼9) — No. 8. Sophie Willan's sitcom (BBC Two).
9. **Squid Game** (38 · ▲45 ▼7) — No. 5. The Korean survival drama that became Netflix's biggest hit.
10. **The Underground Railroad** (34 · ▲37 ▼3) — No. 13. Barry Jenkins adapts Colson Whitehead (Amazon).
11. **Can't Get You Out of My Head** (30 · ▲34 ▼4) — No. 20. Adam Curtis's documentary series (BBC).
12. **We Are Lady Parts** (25 · ▲35 ▼10) — No. 15. A Muslim women's punk band in London (Channel 4).
13. **Line of Duty** (25 · ▲30 ▼5) — No. 19. Season six of the anti-corruption police drama (BBC).
14. **I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson** (24 · ▲34 ▼10) — No. 10. Absurdist sketch comedy (Netflix).
15. **Ted Lasso** (22 · ▲27 ▼5) — No. 14. Season two of the American football coach in English football (Apple TV+).
16. **WandaVision** (21 · ▲31 ▼10) — No. 16. Marvel meets the classic sitcom (Disney+).
17. **Back to Life** (21 · ▲31 ▼10) — No. 18. Daisy Haggard returns home after prison (BBC).
18. **Uprising** (21 · ▲30 ▼9) — No. 12. Steve McQueen's documentary on 1981 Britain and the New Cross fire (BBC).
19. **Stath Lets Flats** (20 · ▲28 ▼8) — No. 11. Jamie Demetriou as a hopeless letting agent (Channel 4).
20. **This Way Up** (20 · ▲26 ▼6) — No. 17. Aisling Bea's comedy, season two (Channel 4).

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.