Hello again! This is the second and last article in this series on my blog where I will continue to talk about my favorite TV shows of 2021! Wondering what TV shows made the rest of my list? Keep reading to find out!
!!! There Will Be Spoilers Throughout This Article !!!
5. Only Murders In The Building
Only Murders In The Building is about a upscale apartment building in NYC where a murder takes place. After this happens, a few of the tenants in the building get together and decide to do a true crime podcast about the crime that took place in their very own apartment building.
There are so many elements that made this a great series. It had an interesting story, and was told just perfectly. What also made this show really shine and stand out as one of the best shows of last year is the cast on the show. You have both Steve Martin (who plays the character of Charles) and Martin Short (who plays the character of Oliver) on this series, so you know, comic gold right there! Then you have Selena Gomez on the show as well. She plays Mabel, who works alongside Oliver and Charles to try and solve the crime of who killed Tim Kono (the person killed in their apartment building) in a true crime podcast. I think this is the first thing I’ve ever seen Gomez act in, and she is really quite amazing on the show!
Charles, Oliver, and Mabel solve the case of who killed Tim Kono by the end of the season, and it seems as though all is well. Although, right before the credits begin to roll, the show ends shockingly with another murder that’s happened in their apartment building! More shocking is that Mabel is sitting right in front of the deceased! Seeing how this makes her look guilty, Mabel is then immediately taken away by the police as she is the number one suspect in this crime. What?! Thankfully, the series has been renewed for a Season 2, where I’m sure every question will be answered because as we all know not everything is what it appears to be sometimes.
4. The Shrink Next Door
If Paud Rudd is on a TV show, you better believe this TV Nerd will, for sure, be tuning into that TV show! Then you add both Will Ferrell and Kathryn Hahn on that same TV show! Uh, yeah, I will, for sure, definitely be tuning into that TV show!
The Shrink Next Door is a series I couldn’t stop watching. The show is shockingly based on a true story about a guy named Marty (played by Will Ferrell) who puts his trust in the wrong hands. The show begins in the early 1980s in NYC. Marty’s sister (played by Kathryn Hahn) sees how Marty has been struggling and tells him she thinks it would be a good idea for him to talk to someone and she knows of a therapist he could talk to. She recommends Marty to Dr. Ike (played by Paul Rudd). Marty is hesitant, but ends up going to talk to this doctor his sister recommended to him.
Over the course of almost 30 years, the doctor patient relationship between Marty and Ike slowly morphs into something unhealthy. Ike sees in Marty someone who is trusting with a kind heart, spirit, and soul who just needs a little guidance. Instead of Ike doing his job and listening to Marty and helping him, Ike takes advantage of Marty’s kindness and isolates him from his family and friends, the ones who truly care about him, so that the only person Marty has in his life is Ike.
Slowly over time, Ike brainwashes Marty into thinking that he’s the only one who truly cares about him, that he’s the only one who he can trust, that he’s the only one who has his best interests at heart. Ike is so convincing that Marty believes every single word of what he is saying to be true. When, in fact, Ike is the one who can’t be trusted.
In the end, Marty sees through Ike. He reconnects with his sister and his family, and lodges a complaint against Ike. It takes ten years after Marty’s initial complaint before Ike is held accountable for his wrongdoings, and loses his license to be a therapist.
My heart broke for Marty and all the other patients of Ike’s who lost time with their loved ones because of how Ike manipulated them into thinking that their families didn’t love them or have their best interests at heart. It was horrible to see how instead of caring about his patients’ and wanting them to grow and flourish, Ike held them back from truly living their lives for years and years and years. All the while he was taking their money, meeting celebrities, and having lavish parties at their expense.
I have to highlight one of my favorite moments on the show. I am, like, a HUGE fan of the film Stepbrothers! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the film, Will Ferrell and Kathryn Hahn are both in this movie. Well, in the film Stepbrothers, there’s a scene where Hahn’s character and her family are in a car singing a song. In The Shrink Next Door, there’s a scene where Hahn’s character and her family, including Will Ferrell’s character, are in a car singing a song! It wasn’t the same song that she sang in the car with her family in the film Stepbrothers, but it’s a moment from the show that I think most fans of the film Stepbrothers would appreciate.
3. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Oh man, thank goodness this show returned to TV last year because I needed a distraction from real life and this was just the show to help me with that! Curb Your Enthusiasm is by far one of my favorite TV comedies of all time. This show never fails to make me laugh episode to episode, season to season, and this season was no different!
This season of Curb Your Enthusiasm might be my favorite season ever! The season involved Larry David in, what else, but finding himself in a situation where it seems like there’s no way he could possibly get out of what he’s found himself in.
There’s really not much else to say here because really I’d just be saying over and over again how much I loved this season and this show, but before I move on to my next show, I have to acknowledge the comic genius, the comic legend that is Tracy Ullman. Ullman played the most odd, unusual, and slightly crazy character that I think has ever been on any season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Ullman was just amazing on this show this season, and I wouldn’t in the least be surprised if she picks up an Emmy Award for her role on this season of Curb.
The acting scenes between Ullman and David might be the funniest moments I have ever seen on television, period! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life as I have when watching the two of them acting on screen together. Episode 8 of Season 11 is by far my favorite episode of any show ever! I’ve already re-watched this episode like three times! It’s definitely become my go to thing to watch now when I need a laugh. Every time I watch this episode, I laugh as though it’s my first time watching it! Yes, it’s that good!
2. Succession
With the exception of last year because last year this show was not on TV, Succession has made my list of favorite shows every year since I began this blog in 2018. This year marked the series’ third season on HBO, and what a season it was!
At the end of Season 2 Kendall does the unthinkable. He blindsides his father and goes on to tell the world about his father’s wrongdoings within their companies. When Season 3 begins Kendall feels like he has all the cards in his favor. He feels powerful. He feels on top of the world. As the season progresses though, that power that Kendall thought he had gained by telling the world his father’s dirty laundry he quickly loses. He goes from feeling on top of the world, to feeling the lowest of lows when he realizes that nothing could do or say could ever take his father down.
In the Season 3 finale, the Roy siblings do something they’ve never done on the show before. They are actually there for one another. Pretty much everyone in the Roy family is only out for themselves, but in the finale the siblings come together to try and stop their father from selling the company to someone else. In the end though, their father is one step ahead of them and sells the company before they have a chance to stop him. The final moments of the finale are where viewers are shown who told Logan what his children were up to, and what a surprise it was! It was Tom! Omg, to say I was shocked at this betrayal is an understatement!
This season was amazing, fantastic! Succession continues to be one of the best shows on television. Everyone on this show is amazing, but wow, what a performance Jeremy Strong gave this season as Kendall Roy. Strong is, for sure, going to be a top contender at this year’s Emmy Awards because, wow, what a performance he gave this season!
Succession is a show that continues to keep viewers on their toes, and at the edge of their seats season after season. As with every season finale of Succession, something shocking always happens, and the finale for Season 3 was no different. I, for one, can not wait to see what’s in store for next season!
1. Schmigadoon!
To say I love this TV show is an understatement! I’ve been extremely sad about missing live theater, but surprisingly watching this show made me actually happy and not sad about how much I miss live theater.
The show is about a couple, Melissa and Josh, who go on a camping retreat to try and save their relationship. They go on a hike and end up coming across a town named Schmigadoon, but something is off about this town. Someone will be saying something, and then next thing Melissa and Josh know a musical number with singing and dancing is happening right in front of their eyes!
Melissa and Josh are immediately confused about this town and all their random live musical numbers. All they know is that they want to get back to reality. They go back to the bridge that they crossed to enter into the town of Schmigadoon, but every time they go to cross the bridge it just takes them right back into the town of Schmigadoon. What is going on? Why can’t they leave Schmigadoon?
They soon find out that the only way to cross the bridge and get out of Schmigadoon is to cross it with one’s true love. During the course of the season, Melissa and Josh break up, and go on to date other people in the town in hopes of finding their one true love. They soon realize, though, how much they do actually love one another and go to the bridge to leave Schmigadoon. As they reach the bridge, the credits begin to roll. Are Melissa and Josh one another’s one true love? Did they get out of Schmigadoon? I guess we’ll just have to wait for Season 2 to find out!
Have you seen any of these shows? What were your favorite TV shows of 2021? Be sure to let me know in the comments!
Thanks so much for tuning into my annual favorite TV shows of the year articles!
As always, thanks so much for reading!
Until Next Time TV Nerds!
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