The Best of 2021
Our top streaming TV and movies of 2021
It’s our last episode of the year! For our final episode of 2021, we each share our top 3 (plus a few Honorable Mentions) for the year. We began Stream It or Leave it this year, so join us for a bittersweet trip down memory lane and find out our favorites.
If you can’t decide what to watch to kick off the New Year, we’ve got you covered:
Shindy’s top 3
Shtisel, Season 3 on Netflix (21:02)
A family of ultra-orthodox Haredi Jews living in modern-day Jerusalem grapple with sacrificing their personal passions in conflict with responsibilities to and devotion toward God. Full of heart and emotion, the show exposes you to a completely different world.
Maid, on Netflix (12:33)
Emotional and honest with a strong female cast. The difficult story of how a woman is forced to deal with an emotionally abusive relationship as a single mother, the difficulty of balancing work, feeding a child, and childcare being on your own, and the incredible strength and development she undergoes throughout the story.
Succession, Season 3 on HBO Max (05:47)
Season 3 seemed to just get even better. A drama with this underlying dark comedy element that’s evolved into more. You watch this show for the comedy and the crazy things characters say to each other, while the story of the Roy family keeps developing and fantastically evolving characters. The acting is brilliant.
Honorable Mentions (25:19)
The Music Box series on HBO Max
Finding Magic Mike on HBO Max
Yellowstone on Paramount
The Great British Baking Show on Netflix
Alone on Netflix
Mat’s top 3
It’s A Sin on HBO Max (18:58)
Four friends face the rise of AIDS in 1980s London. It is a masterclass in storytelling in a ver compact five episodes. It's full of very dark, heavy themes, but at the same time, full of life and a good tribute to the people who went through this time.
Summer of Soul on Hulu / Get Back on Disney+ and Apple TV (09:42)
Two insightful musical docs. “Summer of Soul” is Questlove’s documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, featuring a 19 year old Stevie Wonder. The mesmerizing “Get Back” is an addictive eight hours, see all the Beatles alive, making incredible music, talking, joking, eating toast.
Loki on Disney+ (03:43)
Explores what happens to a favorite Marvel Universe character, Loki, brother of Thor and God of Mischief, following the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” The ambitious series breaks a lot of the rules and changes up the whole universe for the next movie or TV series in a satisfying way.
Honorable Mentions (33:14)
Shows:
White Lotus (listen to our podcast on this show)
Exterminate All The Brutes, all on HBO Max
Movies:
No Sudden Move, Judas and the Black Messiah on HBO Max, and MLK/FBI on Hulu
Jeff’s top 3
Bo Burnham: Inside on Netflix (16:56)
Musical comedy special is so technically amazing and philosophically authentic. Burnam’s social critique is not just aimed at culture but at himself. Check out our Stream it or Leave it episode on Inside.
Pig on Hulu (08:10)
Hard to believe this was Michael Sarnoski’s directorial debut. A ‘not revenge revenge movie’ with surprisingly deep connections to mythology. Tremendous love in this movie, which is a pleasure to watch. Check out our Stream it or Leave it episode on Pig.
Pen15 on Hulu (01:46)
7th graders Maya and Anna, best friends experiencing ALL the awkwardness, sexual discovery and repression, the extremes and exaggerations of that age FROM the feminine perspective.
Honorable Mentions (29:19)
Modern Love on Prime
Reservation Dogs on Hulu
The Great Pottery Throwdown on HBO Max