Whilst I’ve struggled to get to the cinema this year TV has maybe been one of the reasons my film watching has fallen. There has been so much great stuff from top draw comedies of Hacks, Ghosts, Alan Partridge, Alma’s Not Normal and I Think You Should Leave to dramas Time, It’s A Sin and Mare of Easttown and probably the greatest Eurovision Song Contest and series of Drag Race (UK series 2) ever there’s been something for everyone and MORE!

I didn’t even get round to watching The Underground Railroad, Midnight Mass, The North Water, The Other Two (Season 2), Brand New Cherry Flavour and lots more.

Here’s my list of what I watched in order of preference from 1 all the way down to the stuff I didn’t even finish cause, as we have learnt in 2021…life it too short!

It’s A Sin - just glorious, sad, queer and necessary with the most devastating ending.
Drag Race UK Series 2 - exactly what we needed in lockdown, queer, hilarious and if Bimini had won it could have been equal number 1
Hacks - classy, brittle intergenerational comedy with Jean Smart playing her own version of Joan Rivers…what more do you need?
Mare of Easttown
I Think You Should Leave - Season 2
Alma’s Not Normal
Middleditch & Schwartz - this Netflix improv comedy series was just so full of laughs and heart it’s my number 1 recommendation of the year as most people seem to have missed it
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 - I’m not a huge Eurovision fan but this year it was top drawer with every song being a total hit except our which was embarrassing but even this added to the perfection of the whole evening.
Time
Succession - Season 3 - slow start but back to it’s high flying tragic-comic best by the final four episodes.
Frankie Boyle’s New World Order - probably the funniest topical show on TV
The White Lotus
Bo Burnam - Inside - like a musical happy lockdown Limmy meets OK GO
Ghosts - Series 3
The Terror - slow first half but amazing second half as it focused on less and less characters. Really great last episode and final image.
Squid Game
This Time With Alan Partridge
We Are Lady Parts - five muslim girls form a punk band and make a heart-warming and hilarious new comedy. Can’t wait for series 2.
Baptiste - series 3
Inside Number 9 - Series 6
WandaVision
A Ghost Story for Christmas - The Mezzotint - a mini nugget of wonderful creepiness for Christmas Eve from Mark Gatiss
Vigil
Landscapers
The Serpent
A Very British Scandal
The Wheel - the best gameshow on TV, sorry for being basic.
The Circle UK - cannot believe they cancelled this show. The best reality show on Channel 4 and this series was great.
Loki - out Dr Whoing Dr Who!
Doctor Who: Flux
Taskmaster - Series 12
Rick and Morty season 5 - great season finale but lost some magic of the former seasons
Only Murders In The Building
The Circle US
Meghan and Harry - The Oprah Interview
Drag Race UK - Series 3
Taskmaster Series 11
Line of Duty Series 6
Betty - Season 2 - our number 1 series last year but sadly I think covid hit this show really hard and meant that it was a shadow it’s former glory, hoping for a return to form for series 3 where we can see the characters together and interacting with each other more.
And Just Like That - as good as the first movie, not as bad as the second one but not a patch on the former series of Sex and the City. Justice for Samantha.
Too Hot To Handle Series 2
The Great Interior Design Challenge with Alan Carr - this was fun and gave us the iconic maximalist glamour pig Siobhan who ruined everywhere she went with her glittering pink eyesore designs!
Britain’s Best Home Cook
Staged Series 2
Glow Up Series 3
RuPaul’s Drag Race - Season 13
Pose Series 3 - oh dear, when did this show become so pious? If it wasn’t for Electra we’d have stopped watching this saccharine series of a show that had so much energy and potential in series 1.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under - the worst series of Drag Race ever but still always good to watch some queer reality TV, isn’t it?
Started but didn’t finish…
Pretend It’s A City - smug
Love Island - for the first year ever I gave it a try but straight people are just too boring to watch on reality TV
Changing Rooms reboot - thought it could fake the campery of 90s Linda Barker smashing tea pots but failed miserably by being too forced.
Bloodlands
Walk The Line - total wank
Starstruck - this Rose Matafeao comedy was in a lot of top 10s and whilst I like her, it just wasn’t funny enough even when compared to the Richerd Curtis style romcoms it’s cribbing from and thinks it’s better than.
The Flight Attendant - people loved this but we watched five episodes and gave up as the main character was awful and there were just way too many mind palace flash backs to be arsed with it
Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Unwatchable shite.

GARY'S TOP TV OF 2021