Top 10 New Shows and Season Premieres of 2021

New Shows:

1. Them

2. The Problem with Jon Stewart

3. Made for Love

4. The Underground Railroad

5. Reservation Dogs

6. Squid Game

7. Kevin Can F**k Himself

8. CSI: Vegas

9. Hawkeye

10. Yellowjackets

Honorable Mentions:

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Maid

The White Lotus

Schmigadoon!

Loki

The Shrink Next Door

Chucky

Rutherford Falls

WandaVision

Resident Alien

Brand New Cherry Flavor

American Horror Stories

Maya and the Three

Only Murders in the Building

Star Wars: Visions

Just Beyond

Scenes from a Marriage 2021

Superman & Lois

The Story of Late Night

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Arcane

What If…?

MacGruber

Marvel Studios: Assembled

Invincible

The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

Y: The Last Man

Foundation

Young Rock

Ghosts 2021

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Physical

Saturday Morning All Star Hits!

Masters of the Universe: Revelation

The Watch

Blade Runner: Black Lotus

Monsters at Work

Midnight Mass

Ordinary Joe

Hit-Monkey

The Serpent

History of Swear Words

iCarly 2021

The Ghost and Molly McGee

Kenan

Nine Perfect Strangers

Season Premieres:

1. Rick and Morty fifth season premiere-Mort Dinner Rick Andre

2. Creepshow second season premiere-Model Kid/Public Television Of The Dead

3. Infinity Train Book Four: Duet premiere-The Twin Tapes

4. Doctor Who series 13 premiere-Flux: The Halloween Apocalypse

5. Fear the Walking Dead seventh season premiere-The Beacon

6. Manifest third season premiere-Tailfin

7. Impeachment: American Crime Story premiere-Exiles

8. 9-1-1 fifth season premiere-Panic

9. What We Do in the Shadows third season premiere-The Prisoner

10. American Masters 35th season premiere-How It Feels To Be Free

Honorable Mentions:

Two Sentence Horror Stories second season premiere-Bag Man

Stargirl second season premiere-Summer School: Chapter One

The Walking Dead eleventh season premiere-Acheron: Part I

The Rookie fourth season premiere-Life and Death

Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail premiere-Hittin' The Trail

Legends of Tomorrow seventh season premiere-The Bullet Blondes

Disenchantment second season premiere-Subterranean Homesick Blues

The Flash 2014 eighth season premiere-Armageddon, Part 1

The Rookie third season premiere-Consequences

Brooklyn Nine-Nine eighth season premiere-The Good Ones

Supergirl sixth season premiere-Rebirth

Are You Afraid of the Dark? 2019: Curse of the Shadows premiere-The Tale of the Haunted Woods

Batwoman second season premiere-Whatever Happened to Kate Kane

Locke & Key second season premiere-The Premiere

NCIS 19th season premiere-Blood in the Water

The Great second season premiere-Head It's Me

Lucifer sixth season premiere-Nothing Ever Changes Around Here

The Last O.G. fourth season premiere-Staying Alive

The Sinner fourth season premiere-Part I

Power Rangers Dino Fury premiere-Destination Dinohenge

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist second season premiere-Zoey's Extraordinary Return

American Horror Story: Double Feature premiere-Cape Fear

Black Lightning fourth season premiere-The Book of Reconstruction: Chapter One: Collateral Damage

Solar Opposites second season premiere-The Sacred Non-repeating Number

Castlevania fourth season premiere-Murder Wakes It Up

Carmen Sandiego fourth season premiere-The Beijing Bullion Caper

Grace and Frankie seventh season premiere-The Roomies

Snowpiercer second season premiere-The Time of Two Engines

Eli Roth's History of Horror third season premiere-Sequels That Don't Suck

On My Block fourth season premiere-Chapter Twenty-Nine

Final Space third season premiere-...And Into The Fire

Nancy Drew third season premiere-The Warning of the Frozen Heart

Selena: The Series second season premiere-Como la Flor

Nancy Drew second season premiere-The Search for the Midnight Wraith

Tiger King: Tiger King 2 premiere-Beg Your Pardon

Ted Lasso second season premiere-Goodbye Earl

Kenan second season premiere-Christmas Show

Robot Chicken eleventh season premiere-May Cause a Whole Lotta Scabs

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series second season premiere-New Year's Eve

Big Mouth fifth season premiere-No Nut November

Crossing Swords second season premiere-Shamrock Shakedown

The Good Doctor fifth season premiere-New Beginnings

The Moodys second season premiere-Episode 201

Lightyear

Pixar's first theatrical release since Onward in early 2020, Lightyear is the movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toys in the Toy Story films and from which Andy was highly inspired by to get his own Buzz action figure. Chris Evans takes over from Tim Allen as this Buzz scouts the area of a new planet that his Star Command exploration vessel has landed in. When he and other officers, including his best friend Alisha, are attacked, their attempt to escape causes the vessel to crash and trap the rest of its inhabitants to make a new home in this planet until they figure out a way off. Feeling guilty over these events, Buzz volunteers as a pilot to test out experimental fuel that each time causes him to travel forwards two years in the future. Due to still feeling guilty and obsessed with his mission of finding a way home, Buzz keeps experimenting with the fuel to the point that he witnesses Alisha aging the more he flies out until she dies during one of his flights. With the help of a robotic cat assigned to help him, named Sox, Buzz figures out the right way to use the fuel and despite this last test flight being a better success than before, it caused him to return over twenty years later. When he lands back however, Buzz finds the colony under attack from a robot army led by the mysterious Zurg. With the help of Alisha's granddaughter Izzy and other recruits, they must figure out how to save the colony and defeat Zurg's robots. The story itself may not be entirely new, but being a movie that is apparently from the 90s a lot of that familiarity makes sense. Angus MacLane and Jason Headley's writing has subtle touches that call back to certain story tropes from other films of that era. I do feel that much of it does feel slow at times and some jokes don't land as much, but one thing it does right is the characters and how well written they are. Another strong aspect is the twist over Zurg's identity and how that fits into Buzz's character arc throughout the film. Alongside Evans, you also get strong and fun vocal performances from Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, James Brolin, and Uzo Aduba. While Pixar's work is always great, this has definitely been some of their strongest work that they've ever done. So much of the background feels so real and the characters are all highly detailed, while the lighting is exquisite. Unlike the Toy Story films, this has Michael Giacchino composing instead of Randy Newman, and his work definitely has a lot of inspiration from other big sci-fi franchises like Star Wars but still being its own. Lightyear is a fun adventure that while not having the most original story ever, doesn't mean it doesn't tell it in its own unique way. Over all: 100%

2022 top list so far:

1. Top Gun: Maverick

2. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

3. The Northman

4. The Batman

5. Lightyear

6. Dog

7. Everything Everywhere All at Once

8. X 2022

9. Scream 2022

10. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

11. Jurassic World: Dominion

12. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

13. Uncharted

Jurassic World: Dominion

Concluding the second trilogy of the franchise, Jurassic World: Dominion is not strong in writing but still really fun. After dinosaurs have been set loose on Earth, humanity has a hard time adapting to the giant animals affecting them in different ways, all the while Owen and Claire have been taking care of Maisie, the cloned daughter of Hammond's partner. After Owen learns that Blue, a velociraptor he once trained, had a baby it and Maisie are kidnapped by mercenaries on behalf of Biosyn, corporation that is trying to control dinosaurs. At the same time, Ellie Sattler reconnects with Alan Grant to investigate giant locusts that have been going after a large number of crops. This leads them to Ian Malcolm, who is working with Biosyn, as they suspect the corporation being behind the crop attacks. In the end, the two parties eventually meet as they deal with both the dinosaurs, mercenaries, and locusts in order to defeat Biosyn. Lets face it, this trilogy wasn't the best compared to the first three, a lot of the writing was weak, the characters would be a bit over the top, and it often over relied on nostalgia. However, unlike most I did like the use of giant locusts since at least it was something new to this franchise and was handled rather well. The cast all provide really strong performances and having the original cast and the new one not meet until the end is done perfectly. Colin Trevorrow, who has been cowriter of the series since the first Jurassic World, returns to direct and does an okay job with the writing but his direction is really good and gives us memorable action scenes. As standard with this franchise, having lots of dinosaurs means lots of effects, with most of the CG and practical use being well done. If the franchise ever returns in the next decade or two, I wouldn't mind if they continued from where Jurassic World: Dominion left off but they at least fix the issues it had. Over all: 85%

2022 top list so far:

1. Top Gun: Maverick

2. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

3. The Northman

4. The Batman

5. Dog

6. Everything Everywhere All at Once

7. X 2022

8. Scream 2022

9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

10. Jurassic World: Dominion

11. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

12. Uncharted

Top Gun: Maverick

With the original film having come out back in 1986, being the biggest film of that year and launching Tom Cruise as the box office star that the world knows him as, Top Gun: Maverick certainly had a lot to prove after over 30. Fortunately, this sequel is not only kick-ass but is strong in its writing, acting, direction, and accurate portrayal of how one flies Naval combat jets. The film sees Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell having to train young graduates from the same academy he attended, including the son of his best friend, who died in the first film. They all have to be precise and settle their differences in order to take part in a dangerous mission that could get them killed. Director Joseph Kosinski puts together a very elaborate action drama with a lot of heart and wonderful love letter to aviation. Regular Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie cowrites with Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and they craft such a remarkable story that never feels like anything is unnecessary, with every single thing you see never feeling rushed or too slow, having good comedic bits balanced with great drama, and characters you get to know and fleshed out. One odd thing I do find is that they never state who their mission is against, whether it's another country or terrorist organization. The cinematography from Claudio Miranda is stunning, especially as he worked with the actors to set up the cameras in the jets to get actual shots in flight. With high octane action and piloting, it helps that editor Eddie Hamilton did a phenomenal job at not only pacing it well but how great the flight scenes are no matter how chaotic. Another collaboration in this film is the music done between Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer, and Lorne Balfe who all create music that is a good mix of modern and 80s. Of course all that would not matter if it weren't for the performances from the cast whether they're returning like Cruise and Val Kilmer, or the newcomers like Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, and Glenn Powell who all provide so much to their characters that make them feel real. Very rarely does one find a film so perfect and with so little flaws, but Top Gun: Maverick is one of those rare ones. Over all: 100%

2022 top list so far:

1. Top Gun: Maverick

2. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

3. The Northman

4. The Batman

5. Dog

6. Everything Everywhere All at Once

7. X 2022

8. Scream 2022

9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

10. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

11. Uncharted

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 picks up a few months after the first film, with Sonic trying to find his place in the world while living with Tom and Maddie, often doing heroic vigilante stuff without them knowing. All the while, Doctor Robotnik is rescued and teams up with Knuckles to take on Sonic and obtain the powerful Master Emerald. Aided by the tech savvy and friendly Tails, Sonic must defeat the two of them to keep his family safe and prevent mass destruction. The cast, directors, and writers all return from the first film, as well as the addition of Idris Elba voicing Knuckles and regular franchise veteran Colleen O'Shaughnessey brought in for Tails. Much of the writing is improved compared to previous film, though still in keeping with its children's film aesthetic. It doesn't rely too much on product placement and the story isn't just a copy and paste of the 2020 film, though some parts of the story could have been shortened or be left out entirely. There's an entire sequence related to Maddie's sister's wedding that is way out of place and feels like a completely different movie. It isn't terrible and many of the jokes work, but feels like it turns into a Tyler Perry movie halfway through and then comes back to Sonic. The performances from every actor are all good, especially Jim Carrey once again as Robotnik being hilarious and Idris Elba gives Knuckles a lovable meathead voice work. This sequel's action sequences are much more creative than the first's, and thanks to the well made effects are incredible and fun to watch. While being a much better constructed movie compared to its predecessor, I think Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is not as memorable as the first but is still incredible fun and continues to give video game adaptations a better shot than what has been done before. Over all: 84%

2022 top list so far:

1. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

2. The Northman

3. The Batman

4. Dog

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once

6. X 2022

7. Scream 2022

8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

9. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

10. Uncharted

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #36

The first Marvel comic to address the events of the September 11 attacks a few months after it occurred, The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #36 sees Spider-Man narrating over the destruction that occurred that day. He and the other heroes, like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, do what they can to help, saving as many lives as possible and taking out fires and dealing with the rubble. Spider-Man's narration comments on how the actions of madmen will possibly lead to war, but still finding hope in the actions of not only heroes but the most normal people as well. The most surprising thing that he finds is that even villains like Kingpin and Doctor Doom, who visibly sheds a tear, are disgusted by these actions. This issue is an amazing tribute towards those who died during the terrorist attacks that day, a good blend of tragedy and hope that reminds us that despite how much evil there could be the good will always rise. J. Michael Straczynski's writing is beautiful with its poetic style and takes an entire issue's mostly inner monologue and crafts it into something so pure, sad, and optimistic. Him showing that even villains have disgust for these attacks is a good way of presenting them as having morals despite what they do. With the art of John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna and the coloring of Avalon Studios and Dan Kemp, this comic has a truly vibrant look. The artwork is highly detailed and is able to help convey exactly what the characters think and feel without them saying much. With such a tragedy that recently occurred, The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #36 pays homage to the lives lost and to the real life heroes who risked everything to save however many they could. Over all: 100%

Top list so far for 3rd set of comics:
1. The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #36

2. Superman: Secret Identity #1 (of 4)

3. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers FCBD 2018 Shattered Grid Special

4. Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1

5. Fantastic Four: Reckoning War Alpha #1

6. Savage Avengers (2019-) #1

7. Action Comics Vol. 1 #800

8. Aliens: Dead Orbit #1

9. DC First: Flash/Superman #1

10. Aliens: Defiance #1

11. Iron Man (2020-) #1

12. Free Comic Book Day 2018: Riverdale

13. Free Comic Book Day 2018: 2000 A.D. Regened

14. DC Universe: Legacies #1

15. Free Comic Book Day 2017 I Hate Image

16. Shang-Chi (2020-2021) #1 (of 5): Brothers & Sisters Part One

17. Champions (2020-) #1

18. Infinite Frontier (2021) #0

19. Green Lantern Vol. 2 #76

20. DC Retroactive: Green Lantern - The 70s #1

21. Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020-) #1
22. Showcase (1956-1978) #17
23. Tintin in the Land of the Soviets

24. Werewolf By Night (2020-) #1 (of 4)

25. Free Comic Book Day: Bongo Comics Free For All 2018
26. Free Comic Book Day 2017: Riverdale
27. Marvel Comics (1939) #1

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Following on from both WandaVision and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees the titular hero contend with Wanda Maximoff, know calling herself the Scarlet Witch, who has been corrupted by the Darkhold, a dark spell book, into doing anything she has to do to get versions of her children from another universe. With the help of other sorcerers, including Wong, they must keep America Chavez, a young girl with the power to travel the multiverse, safe from Wanda's hands. When Strange and Chavez do end up traveling the multiverse, they must do whatever they can to stop Wanda while dealing with the consequences of Strange's own actions when previously handling the multiverse. Sam Raimi comes back to the superhero genre after his stint in the original Spider-Man trilogy and does a phenomenal job at taking Scott Derickson's place. His unique direction and style benefits this much more horror oriented entry in the MCU that often captures the fun and absurdity of 90s and early 2000s superhero movies. The script from Michael Waldron has a lot of strengths when it comes to the imagination provided, capturing the craziness of Marvel's multiverse similar to that of the comics, smart in not showing too much of the multiverse knowing it will be expanded on later, the fun references to characters we've seen before, and not afraid to be as dark as the franchise has ever been. Weaknesses, however, are very noticeable such as the length being rather short while giving us so much to take in, certain character decisions that feel off, and how rather simple the plot is considering what it involves. The cast that returns from either the last Doctor Strange entry or other past projects, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen, with newcomers, such as Xochitl Gomez all give powerful performances. Olsen, specially, proves how terrifying Scarlet Witch can be whether in the comics or in a live action adaptation. This film's cinematography, provided by John Mathieson, gives us a good mixture of terrifying and light while also looking distinct with each universe that's travelled through. The editing from Bob Murawski and Tia Nolan has some issues in the beginning with the pacing being a little off, but soon after gets better and the unique cuts and transitions really helps fit Raimi's style. Danny Elfman, a regular composer for Raimi, replaces the first film's composer, Michael Giacchino, and gives his own style to the music, and while he does a good job it's not as memorable as Giacchino's work. Despite how noticeable its flaws are, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness takes bold decisions and isn't afraid to be dark in a way that you don't mind and manages to still give a fun experience. Over all: 88%

2022 top list so far:

1. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

2. The Northman

3. The Batman

4. Dog

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once

6. X 2022

7. Scream 2022

8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

9. Uncharted