Best in show: the top TV programs of 2021 - 7th December 2021

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By Debi Enker, Kylie Northover, Ben Pobjie, Craig Mathieson, Louise Rugendyke and Melinda Houston

There was so much great TV in 2021, our panel of critics couldn’t settle on one single winner. So below, the three top shows of the year, followed by some stellar runners-up and then the best of the rest. Be sure to let us know your top pick in the comments!

The best shows of 2021, as decided by our critics

Mare of Easttown (Foxtel, Binge)

It begins, as many crime series do, with the discovery of the body of a young woman who’s suffered a violent death. But, like the best examples of the genre, this seven-part HBO drama grows into something richer than a straightforward whodunit. Created by Brad Ingelsby and directed by Craig Zobel, it becomes a gripping, unblinking portrait of a damaged blue-collar community in America’s rust belt, a town afflicted by chronic and entrenched problems: alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence.

In a rigorously disciplined performance, Kate Winslet disappears into the role of toughened, care-worn police detective Marianne “Mare” Sheehan, who, like many people in her hometown, has been ground down by life. Grieving the suicide of her son, she’s a caring grandmother living with her flinty mother (a scene-stealing Jean Smart: see also Hacks).

The way that Mare sucks on a vape and throws down a whiskey tells you much of what you need to know about her. Winslet is supported by a fine cast that features Julianne Nicholson, Evan Peters, Sosie Bacon and Guy Pearce as the drama presents a vivid picture of America’s battling working class. DE

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(The Sydney Morning Herald)