In 2021, the last thing people wanted to watch was a dark TV show.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, viewers were looking for something a bit lighter to binge after turning off their computers and walking the short distance to their couches. I mean, who wants to watch Ellen Pompeo go into a COVID-induced coma on Grey's Anatomy when you might know someone who is going through the same thing?
That's an extreme example, of course, but TV shows and moves are often meant to be an escape from reality.
So, the return of Ted Lasso, Emily in Paris and more series were a godsend. Whether it was intentional or not, the cast and crews behind these amazing shows gave us those warm and fuzzy feelings we were missing out on after spending more than a year in quarantine.
Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham put it best in an August interview with The Wrap, saying, "We all wish that 2020 as it happened just didn't happen. But since it did happen that way, and that is when we happened to come out, it's just like, well, if we were of some help, then happy to have helped."
As per usual, the series weren't all sunshine and rainbows 24/7. But we had to give a shoutout to shows like This Is Us—because without the bad times, we wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the good.
To see the shows we're grateful to have watched in 2021, check out the gallery below!
Here's to all the good to come in 2021!