The Best TV Episodes of 2021

There are a number of Ted Lasso episodes that could’ve made our list (“Carol of the Bells” and “No Weddings and a Funeral” are exceptional), but “Man City” is filled with the type of memorable moments that make you appreciate just how difficult it is to create brilliant television.

Penned by Jamie Lee, the final five minutes of the episode — from the emotional embrace between Jamie and Roy fucking Kent to Ted’s tearful revelation to the adorable capper featuring Sam and Rebecca — are packed with aspirational writing and performances. The last few scenes from “Man City” had more emotional resonance than most shows can muster in an entire season. Bill Lawrence is no stranger to crafting evocative musical moments that stay with viewers long after screening. The Sam and Rebecca scene scored to Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” is yet another moment we can’t stop thinking about.

Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+

If you’re a fan of The Karate Kid franchise, the final scene from the third season of Cobra Kai will give you goosebumps. As The Protomen’s haunting version of “In the Air Tonight” begins to play, longtime rivals Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence put aside decades of animosity as the two senseis merge dojos in an attempt to vanquish John Kreese’s Cobra Kai once and for all.

The final scene is just about as close to television perfection as it gets. To borrow a line from the song, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life” — and it absolutely delivered.

Watch Cobra Kai on Netflix

WandaVision was a show unlike any other in 2021 or, uh, ever in the history of television. Every episode pulled from a number of genres, the predominant ones being the ever-evolving family sitcom and the big screen superhero spectacle. To single out one specific episode as the best of the bunch is tough, as they all pulled off the impossible — but this mid-season installment is a standout of standouts.

Set in Wanda Maximoff’s magically manipulated 1980s sitcom realm and pulling heavily from Family Ties, “On a Very Special Episode…” nails the family-friendly shenanigans that dominated that decade’s television. But this episode marks a turning point in the season as Vision, Wanda’s brainwashed-ish husband, becomes frightfully aware that something’s not right. Like the very special episodes of the ’80s, the final scene takes a turn for the dramatic as Vision confronts Wanda. She cues the credits and, in the best moment of 4th-wall breaking of 2021, Vision just walks away from them and continues his interrogation. What was a silly sitcom about parents of twins and their new dog quickly becomes a superhero standoff — one unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. — Brett White

Watch WandaVision on Disney+

The second episode of I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson might just be the funniest 15 minutes of 2021. A rewatchable explosion of wonderfully weird comedy, the episode is an A-to-Z banger, gifting viewers with a trio of classic sketches: “Dan Flashes,” “Diner Wink” (featuring the great Bob Odenkirk), and “Sloppy Steaks.”

If you’re a fan of Mr. Show or The State, you’ll love I Think You Should Leave. The entire second season is a trove of hilarity but the second episode — especially the deranged insanity of “Dan Flashes” — features some of the strangest, funniest sketch comedy of the year.

Watch I Think You Should Leave on Netflix

Squid Game dazzled the world with its brutal concept, hooking us with fear, gore, and dark humor. But the show upped the ante in Episode 6 by breaking our collective hearts.

Squid Game Episode 6 “Gganbu” is a turning point for the major players in that they are each forced to outplay their closest allies. For some, like Park Hae-soo’s Sang-woo (218), this comes terrifyingly easy. His betrayal of Ali (199) (Anupam Tripathi) is one of the show’s greatest horrors. However, for others, the sick game of marbles offers opportunities to show off humanity. Sae-byeok (067) and Ji-yeong (240)’s friendship blooms just as it dies. All in all, Squid Game Episode 6 is full of the complex human drama and total horror that made the show a global phenomenon. — Meghan O’Keefe

Watch Squid Game on Netflix

To watch Mythic Quest is to love Mythic Quest. Apple TV+’s savagely clever sitcom continues to be the best TV show you’re not watching. Unless, of course, you’ve seen it, in which case you’re a streamer with impeccable taste.

“Please Sign Here” is a deceptively simple bottle episode that centers on the beleaguered head of Human Resources dutifully trying to convince everyone at Mythic Quest to sign the results of a workplace assessment profile. The episode offers unparalleled humor — David Hornsby’s character mistakingly believes his assessment proves that he’s as cool as a wolf, which is one of the funniest TV bits of 2021 — as well as a tense, emotionally-charged showdown between Ian (Rob McElhenney) and Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) that demonstrates the deft versatility of this excellent series.

Watch Mythic Quest on Apple TV+

Every episode of We’re Here is a treasure, truly. They all highlight queer lives and queer excellence in unlikely places and, for all the haters and naysayers out there, should act as their roadmap towards true acceptance. Even in a stellar Season 2, one episode stood out a little louder and prouder than the others: “Selma, Alabama.”

Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka!, and Shangela landed in Selma, a historic city due to its pivotal role in the civil rights movement, you knew something powerful was about to happen. The stories told in Selma did not disappoint. We met AkeeLah, a trans woman and dance instructor looking for that feeling of home in her hometown. We met Joseph, a successful realtor masking tragedy — he was shot by the man he was romantically involved with in secret — with a bright smile. And we met Deborah, a matriarch mourning the loss of her granddaughter who was killed not even a year ago. Through drag, the We’re Here team helped all three of them not only process their emotions, but stand as shining examples of strength for their community. — Brett White

Watch We're Here on HBO Max

The penultimate episode of the latest season of Succession was an instant classic. From the tense showdown between Logan and Kendall to Shiv and Tom’s piercingly cruel, deeply uncomfortable sexual role play gone awry to the ambiguous conclusion that has everyone talking, “Chiantishire” is an all-timer. But the moment that triggered millions of guttural guffaws was the dick pic heard round the world.

In the waning moments of the episode, Roman attempts to send Gerri yet another photo of his junk, but accidentally texts the dick pic to Papa Roy. Whoops! Logan’s response (“I need five”) was priceless as Succession continues to be appointment viewing.

Watch Succession on HBO Max

Annie Weisman’s Apple TV+ dramedy may have sold itself as an empowering story about aerobics, but from “Let’s Do This Thing”, it was clear that this show was always about something deeper.

Written by Weisman and directed by Craig Gillespie, the first episode of Physical artfully establishes how trapped Sheila (Rose Byrne) feels in her life and how desperate she is for any sort of change. But what elevates it from great to remarkable television is how Physical immediately inundated its audience with Sheila’s near constant insults about her weight and self-perceived worthlessness. From the beginning, Weisman’s show didn’t just tell you that disordered eating is bad. It showed the bleak, all-consuming, and toxic thought patterns that produced Sheila’s many, many breakdowns. – Kayla Cobb

Watch Physical on Apple TV+

It’s hard to pick one stand-out episode of Apple TV+’s Dickinson, particularly since two seasons streamed this year. But Season 2’s “Split the Lark” stands apart as the best of the best.

Directed by Silas Howard, and written by showrunner Alena Smith, “Split the Lark” finds the cast attending the opera while also dealing with their interpersonal issues. It all culminates in a stunningly filmed and performed scene where Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) pictures her estranged lover Sue (Ella Hunt) singing on stage that is so intensely emotional, it feels like it jumps off the screen. — Alex Zalben

Watch Dickinson on Apple TV+

Every episode of Sarah Burgess’ Impeachment stands as an unrelenting nightmare. Yet only “The Grand Jury” channels the true sorrow of this story.

Written by Burgess and directed by Rachel Morrison, Episode 9 showcases the best performances of the season from Beanie Feldstein, Sarah Paulson, and Annaleigh Ashford as it chronicles Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp’s dueling testimonies in front of a grand jury. It’s one thing to follow Lewinsky through her passionate affair with the married President of the United States. It’s quite another to watch a young woman recall every single sexual act she’s ever performed to an audience of judgemental strangers. No one deserves for the public to know every sin they’ve committed in the name of love. Yet that’s the cruel, inhumane torture we reserved for Monica Lewinsky, a woman who’s only crime was her sexuality. — Kayla Cobb

Where to watch Impeachment: American Crime Story

“The Casino” or “The Siren” could have just as easily been on this list, but Season 3’s “The Escape” is vintage What We Do in the Shadows. The episode is absolute insanity as the gang must band together to capture an ancient vampire, the Sire, whose potential death could possibly lead to the extinction of all vampires. Despite the life or death stakes, the episode is a joyful mix of fun storytelling and delightfully bizarre craziness.

“Do you think he’d mind it if I pull his tail? He likes it!”

Where to stream What We Do in the Shadows

Every new episode of Mike White’s The White Lotus felt a little better than the last. You could put any episode on this list and justify why it was the best! In our opinion, the fourth episode of the series really gave its all: Nightmare-in-law Molly Shannon finally arrived to wreak havoc on the newlyweds vacay, Jennifer Coolidge meets her love match, and Armond (Murray Bartlett) goes full beast mode.

The end of the episode results in some, uh, salad-tossing, and one unhappy guest who walks in on the madness. — Fletcher Peters

Watch The White Lotus on HBO Max

While Episode 9 of RHOSLC was incredible: watching Jen Shah get that call, make up that lie, and then have the feds swarming the Beauty Lab parking lot, it was the following episode, “Highway to Vail” that was a true display of television excellence.

In the aftermath of Jen’s arrest, the women are sitting in a luxury van on their way to Colorado as they learn and react to the news in an entire spectrum of ways. Between the revelations and the editing, this episode balanced high-stakes information with tension-breaking hilarity (and road trip snacking). Plus, Meredith took a bath, she spilled some tea, and she remained delightfully smug throughout. Andy Cohen had hyped this episode up as it approached, and it far exceeded all expectations. It was fascinating, it was human, and in a word, it was simply Shah-mazing. — Lea Palmieri

Where to stream The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City

The CW’s Arrow-verse spinoff had a surprisingly strong freshman season, thanks to some huge plot twists and movie-level production quality. But the season’s eleventh episode, which flashed back in time to show how Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) met, is arguably one of the best pieces of superhero fiction ever filmed.

The flashback is ultimately part of a plot by the season’s villain to turn Superman to the dark side, but for most of its runtime, the hour nails why Superman and Lois are two of the most iconic characters in modern history. — Alex Zalben

Where to watch Superman & Lois