Best TV Shows of 2021(so far):

Hi, Everybody! Today I made a list of the best shows to come out of the first 6 months of 2021. Anime is not included, so that means Attack on Titan: The Final Season is not in this list. If you don't see a show or season that you liked, be sure to share down below. I'm on Twitter, @brion_iago and Facebook, Santiago Brion. Give me a follow and let me know.

10. Cruel Summer

Hey, my fellow Swifties, don't confuse this with anything Taylor Swift-related. This is a mystery teen drama thriller from Freeform. In the fictional town of Skylin, Texas, focuses on the days in the years of 1993, 1994 and 1995. The show follows two teenage girls, Kate Wallis, played by Olivia Holt, and Jeanette Turner, played by Chiara Aurelia. Kate is the beloved popular girl who is kidnapped by Martin Harris and Jeanette is the geeky girl who takes Kate's place as the popular girl. The show makes you questions whether you believe Kate or Jeanette. The first episode, "Happy Birthday, Jeanette Turner" was well-received, nothing beats a pilot episode quite like your dad telling you to get the hell out of bed on your birthday, your ex punching you in the face and being outed on TV. When the dust has settled, other secrets will be revealed in the second season.

9. Too Hot to Handle: Season 2

The concept of this Netflix reality show is that 10 contestants are brought together on an island to form deep bonding connections to win 20,000,000 dollars. The catch is that you can't engage in any sexual activity of any kind. Yes, it's a weird concept, but I just love it! There's no shortage of juicy drama, funny moments and shocking moments. In this season, there are now new contents, and it's surprisingly better. There are so many rule breaks, Cam and Emily were such a good couple, and now they're dating in real life which I am happy about. Melinda is great and the cockroach on Chase's forehead will never be forgotten.

8. Cobra Kai: Season 3

Released on Jan. 1st, this was the perfect season to kick off the year of 2021. After the events of Season 2, Miguel is still recovering from his fall during that crazy school fight and Robbie, Johnny Lawrence's son, is on the run. John Kreese was an excellent villain, giving us a backstory during his days in the Vietnam war and teasing the return of Terry Silver for Season 4. I'm happy that Miguel and Sam are back together, and Hawk redeems himself. This was a perfect season of television.

7. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

A buddy show between Sam & Bucky was well needed within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On March 2021, the mini-series exceeded my expectations, and was an insight on racial discrimination. Now that Steve Rogers is retired, and is on the moon, I guess? Sam Wilson and Bucky are forced to team up to take down the Flag Smashers while John Walker becomes the new Captain America after Sam gives up the Shield to the Smithsonian. I loved the chemistry between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell gave us a character that we'd loved to hate, and Baron Zemo came back and is now one of my favorite MCU characters, bruh, he had that DRIP when he was out of prison! And I loved how he danced in the club! Although, the pacing was off and it didn't exactly stick the landing. I mean come on, I already knew that Sharon Carter was The Powerbroker! But the BIG highlight was the character of Isaiah Bradley, a super soldier who was in prison for 30 years for carrying the Shield and for saving his people from the experiments. This was a Marvel show that was different and I loved it.

6. WandaVision

While it's first three episodes were criticized for being weird and having the same-old sitcom tropes but WandaVision episodes 4 and 5 is where the show truly began. As Wanda and the revived Vision live their sitcom life in Westview, New Jersey, Monica Rambeau(the kid from Captain Marvel) comes back from the blip and works with Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp to investigate the anomaly with SWORD. The comedy and drama blend very well with Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bethany giving great performances which have now earned them Primetime Emmy nominations respectively. The mini-series also saw the return of Kat Dennings' Darcy from the Thor movies. I enjoyed the show so much while I was theorized everything that was going to happen, including Mephisto and Reed Richards and Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness was a great villain. While the finale was disappointing due to Evan Peters' Pietro actually being a Westview resident named Ralph Bohner, it did lead up to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with an end-credits scene of Wanda looking for her twin sons, Billy and Tommy.

5. Mare of Easttown

Here's another show with Evan Peters. In this HBO miniseries, Kate Winslet plays Pennsylvania detective, Mare Sheehan who investigates the murder of a teenage mother while she keeps her own life from falling apart. Mare was the star of her high school basketball team 25 years ago and a local hero. She was unable to solve the case of a missing girl. Her personal troubles are her divorce, a son lost to suicide, and a custody battle with her ex-heroin addict former daughter-in-law over Mare's grandson. This show had excellent direction from Craig Zobel, great writing from Brad Inglesby and amazing performances from Kate Winslet, Evan Peters and Jean Smart as Mare's mother, Helen Fahey. The final twist and reveal of Erin's murderer will leave you shocked.

4. Shadow & Bone

A fantasy tv show based on a book series on Netflix was something I didn't know I needed! Taking place in the Kingdom of Ravka, where people called Grisha have a unique power and practice the small science.  Grisha are trained for the Second Army and divided into three orders. Etherealki summon natural elements like Wind or Fire, Materialki control materials such as metal and glass, and Corporalki manipulate people's bodies. Then are the Sun Summoners, who have thought be extinct- until Alina Starkov comes along and is revealed to be a Grisha, and is sent to General Kirigan, who commands the Second Army. Meanwhile in the city of Ketterdam, there are The Crows, Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa and Jesper Fahey, who have a job to kidnap Alina. As Alina comes to terms with who she is, she must decide who she can trust and searches for the power to save Ravka. The chemistry between Kaz, Inej and Jesper are a highlight. I swear! Their introductions were epic! The show has incredible visual effects, cool action sequences and a great performance from Ben Barnes. This guy should play villains more often. Very excited for Season 2.

3. The Bad Batch

After Star Wars: The Clone Wars finally had its conclusion on Disney+, it introduced a rag-tag group of defect clones called The Bad Batch. In this spin-off, it takes place during the end of the Republic and the Jedi Order and the beginning of the Empire. As the batch get adjusted with the new changes, they meet a new clone in the form of Omega, and she comes along after Crossfire's chip is activated. The bond between the Batch and Omega is wholesome, as it also now focuses on three characters from Star Wars Rebels, Kanen, Hera and Chopper. The animation is great and the cinematography is just.. awesome and it's got the same thrills from Clone Wars and other Star Wars tv shows. I'm looking forward to how the first season will end!

2. Loki

The first season of Loki was an absolute blast! It takes place after Loki steals the tesseract during the events of Avengers: Endgame during the timeline of The Avengers. The God of Mischief ends up in the custody of the Time Variance Authority also known as the TVA. Loki then goes on a redemption journey by helping an analyst named Mobius captured another Loki variant, who's name is Sylvie, and they have one of the best friendships that I didn't know I wanted. The Kang reveal did not disappoint, it had a lot of twists and turns and it has now open doors for a multiverse, and it's finally here!

Honorable Mentions:

- Rick and Morty: Season 5

- Solar Opposites: Season 2

- Elite: Season 4

- Who Killed Sara?

- The Owl House: Season 2

- Amphibia: Season 2

- Genera+ion

- MODOK

- The Mighty Ducks: Gamechangers

- High School Musical: The Musical- The Series: Season 2

1. Invincible

This show has took 2021 by storm and it's not slowing down from there! Based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series of the same name, it follows the story of Mark Grayson, whose dad is the most popular superhero on the planet. This animated show from Prime Video does not hold back in the slightest. It is violent and has the most shocking twist in recent memory. Not to mention that this cast is stacked! Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Andrew Rannells, Zachary Quinto, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Walton Goggins, Ross Marquand, Mark Hamill, Mahershala Ali, Grey Griffin, Kevin Michael Richardson and Khary Payton. Not to mention that Seth Rogen voices a Cyclops alien! Speaking of Seth Rogen, it's executive produced by him and Evan Goldberg, who are responsible for The Boys, Preacher and the movie Neighbors. This show might even be better than The Boys! It all culminates in a devastating series of crazy events that'll leave you anxious for Seasons 2 and 3, and have given us memes galore. I'm soo excited to see Mark and Eve be together, the Conquest fight and Angstrom Levy! Yes, I've read all of Invincible, I know what's going to happen.

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to comment what your favorite show of this year is.