At the end of the day what helps you unwind? When the kids are finally in the bed, S and I plonk ourselves on our legendary sofa ( we don’t trade our favorite spots on the sofa, think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory 😂) to catch up on some grown up TV time, our “we-time“.

This post is all about the tv series that helped me keep my sanity at the end of the day! Without further ado I present to you my 2021 list of intriguing entertaining tv series , here it goes..

**Updated After I published this post one more series caught my attention and totally deserved to be in this list, Decoupled. Decoupled is a hilarious witty intelligent satire on marriage and society in general, things you think but shy from saying it out loud! Watch it for delightful chemistry between Madhavan (reminds you of Larry David in his role as Arya Iyer) and Surveen Chawla (oh she just is amazing as Shruti.)!**

• Scenes from a marriage (HBO): Starring Jessica Chastain and Isaac Oscar, who also executive produced this show, this HBO miniseries of brutally honest and harrowing experiences of marriage had me glued to my couch from the very first episode.

• Succession Season 3 (HBO): We got hooked on to this Emmy award winning series, a satirical comedy drama about power and family last year. It’s brooding, dark , quite literally verbally obscene and yet completely flamboyant and ridiculous! As a audience you struggle to pick sides, despite the characters corrupt personalities you find yourself rooting for the bad apple. I enjoy it the most for the Logan siblings specially the sister Siobhan Roy and the dark horse brother Kendall Roy.

• Kota Factory (Netflix): This series took Youtube by a storm when it was first released in 2019. Kota Factory by TVF (The Viral Fever) is an engaging web series that gives the world a closer look at the city of Kota ,the mecca of IIT coaching institutes in India. A story of coaches and students, this series brings out the raw brutal truth of what it takes to make it to IIT and the relationships you forge as you make this journey. Brilliant performances, sharp dialogues and powerful storyline take the cake.

• Harry Bosch Final Season (Amazon Prime): Based on the character from the series of books by Michael Connelly, Harry Bosch series is slow paced police procedural crime drama following the life of detective Harry Bosch. The quiet sophistication of this series is the single most salient factor that drew me back season after season. This 7 seasons Emmy award winning series concluded this year.

• Little things Season 4 (Netflix): “Ek Din Aap Yun Humko Mil Jayenge” , this is a feel good romantic series that takes a sneak peak into the everyday life of a couple and the challenges they face with a touch of reality to it. The central characters beautifully portray the small scale ups and downs of a regular relationship. If you have been on this journey of Kavya and Dhruv’s since the beginning then you know there couldn’t have been a better ending to the season.
  

• The Family Man Season 2 (Amazon Prime): The Family man dwells in the world of Srikant Tiwari an intelligence officer, a father, a husband who juggles between his father duties and serving the nation. A gritty spy story is totally worth a watch just for Manoj Bajpayee and his antics!

• Goliath Final Season (Amazon Prime): After 4 successful seasons, Goliath concluded this year. A slow paced lawyer drama thriller with refreshingly great writing and brilliant performances by the actors . Billy Bob Thornton plays the central character of Billy McBride, a once famous now a washed up lawyer who ends up taking on the big guns and winning the cases. The chemistry between Billy and Patty, his assistance is undeniably enjoyable. It will take you a couple of episodes to get the hang of this series.

• Aspirants (YouTube): TVF’s Aspirants is another gem of a series that explores the hardships and sacrifices it takes to crack the UPSC (public service competitive exams in India). Like Kota factory it takes a sneak peak into the lives of students preparing to crack India’s toughest civil examination. A inspiring story of perseverance, sacrifice, struggle and friendship against all odds! The selling point of TVF series is that the story is relatable and pertinent to the Indian education system.

• Criminal Justice Behind The Closed Doors (Hotstar): Adapted from award winning British TV series by the same name, this series does an amazing job at exploring the complicated politics of the Indian legal system from the police, to the court finally the jails. Honestly this season’s storyline was little too dark even for me, however the performances were so compelling that once I started I just couldn’t stop and then there was Pankaj Tripathi playing the lawyer. I mean who wouldn’t want to watch Pankaj Tripathi!

• Out of Love Season 2 (Hot Star): Out of Love is a mystery drama adapted from famous British series Doctor Foster. It’s a tale of infidelity which leads the protagonist on the dark path of revenge. It’s not about the story as much it’s about the characters and how they evolve. Watch it just for Rasika Dugal as Dr. Meera Kapoor period.

• Squid Game (Netflix): Need I say anything? Gory, immoral, brutal, violent are just a few adjectives to describe this famous Korean survival game drama series that highlighted the existence of vast social inequalities and its effects on human immorality. The most tweeted show of 2021, this became Netflix’s highest watched series on day of launch.

• Fleabag (Amazon Prime): This is a award winning British television series created and written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge who also plays the character of “Fleabag”. A tragicomedy this series won awards including BATA for the best writer comedy.It took me about 2 episodes to get hooked on to and once I was, I couldn’t rest till I had watched the last season! If you don’t mind bit of sarcasm, you’ll enjoy this one.

• Maid (Netflix): Watched this one yet? Oh my ! what a beautiful simple story of the struggles of a single mother as she starts working as a maid to take care of her daughter and stay out of an abusive marriage. A poignant drama with brilliant acting. I absolutely loved watching this one. In fact I binged watched the Maid. This one is going to take some awards next year!

• The Serpent (Netflix) :The Serpent is a true crime story of real-life con man and serial killer Charles Sobhraj and his way into stardom as the notorious bikin killer. It has all the elements that made it an intriguing crime dramas.

• The Kominsky method (Netflix): A heartwarming story of two friends Norman(Alan Arkin) and Sandy (Michael Douglas) in their twilight years going through life dealing with love, bereavement, heartbreak with their wry humour, infectious optimism and a constant mention of prostate cancer. Kominsky method is about life and more with brilliant dialogues that keep you in splits.

• Bombay Begums (Netflix): “Some women are born to rule. We call them queens. They bleed for their dreams and expect others to bleed for them. I’m not sure I want to be that kind of queen. I think I’d rather lead the rebellion”. That sums of this series for me. Story of strong yet flawed women, women we could relate to. Stellar performances by the cast, specially by Pooja Bhat.

And then there were few more like Tick Tick Boom, Shershah, Loki, Wanda Vision , Behind those eyes, Click Bait, You, Ram Prasad ki tehrvi and Tell me your secrets that were enjoyable too.

If I had to pick a favorite for this year , then It would had to be Succession ! The season finale that aired this Friday was just mind boggling 😲. Watch it, Watch it.

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Have you watched any of the above mentioned series ? Do you have any favorites from this year?

The days before, even the score of what you are filled in with today. What colour are you, the tangled hues of years gone by that affected you? – Author: Juliet Castle