Thanksgiving 2021: TV Things We’re Thankful For

It’s Thanksgiving, which means it’s time to reflect on a few (TV-based) things we’re thankful for…

• TV being made: We are (still) in the middle of a global pandemic and so much of our day-to-day life has changed over the past year-plus. But if you look at what’s on-screen, it’s easy to forget it’s a minor miracle television is still being produced, especially at the rate it is. Thank you to the crews, performers, writers, and everyone working through what they have been to keep us entertained.
• LUCIFER: The final 18 episodes included a musical episode, a mostly animated installment, plus the addition of God and a time-traveling daughter. It sounds insane and maybe literally only LUCIFER could have made it work, while being so much damn fun.
• The SUPERSTORE finale: SUPERSTORE should still be around, full-stop. I miss it fiercely, and it remains so unfortunate it didn’t even get a proper final season to wrap things up. But considering how little time they had to change their plans from season finale to series ender? That finale was pretty perfect, managing to be true to the characters, heartfelt, and funny.
• PRODIGAL SON: Boy, do I miss my favorite messed up family. It was a bittersweet end, that did work as a series closer, but…I really wish that wasn’t it. I would have loved to see how Malcolm dealt with stabbing (and probably killing) his father. But I’m thankful we had them for as long as we did.
• Crossovers: I’m acknowledging upfront it takes so much coordination between shows and isn’t easy to pull off, but it really has been the year of the crossover for network television. The ONE CHICAGO world is back to their natural combined world, with characters casually showing up in each other’s shows because it makes sense. The new FBI block on CBS kicked off with a three-show crossover and has continued it with characters popping up when it’s right. And the LAW & ORDERs are now part of a shared universe, with the mothership set to return next year. (And right now THE FLASH is bringing back past ARROWverse characters for its five-part event.) If you have a combined world, especially when the characters should naturally interact….please let them. Build out the world. It only enriches all of the shows when done properly.





• New takes on familiar formats: Speaking of the crossovers, this year has brought us both LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME and FBI: INTERNATIONAL, which brought back Elliot Stabler and took the FBI format out of the U.S., respectively. It’s not easy to make shows within a franchise really stand out, but both have: ORGANIZED CRIME really diving into the arcs by breaking away from the “one crime per episode” format has allowed us to live with Stabler—and his badass new partner, Bell—in a way most procedurals don’t have the bandwidth to accommodate and have the criminals be messy, but complex. INTERNATIONAL films in Budapest, and the team moves throughout Europe, dealing with different local government agencies and rules. It also has Tank, the very best boy, whom I am ready to declare my undying loyalty to.
• THE GREAT NORTH and GHOSTS: I’m very, very particular about adding animated shows to my roster, and THE GREAT NORTH is one of the only shows in recent years I’ve not only stuck with, but I actively look forward to. And GHOSTS is a show that should not work (a woman gets injured and can suddenly see the ghosts that are haunting her home—and, yes, this is an adaptation, but that doesn’t always mean things will click the same way). But it somehow does on every. single. level. Thank you TV Gods for the shows that make us laugh out loud.
• THE BIG LEAP: This very likely will end up in heartbreak, but I’m thankful for the time we have had with THE BIG LEAP. It’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, it’s full of joy and snark. The characters are frequently a mess, but who isn’t? They’ve showcased deeply real and traumatizing stories with delicate care, and I’m just grateful we have them for however long it ends up being.
• NEW AMSTERDAM’s Sharpwin: Wait, a will they/won’t they TV couple can get together, talk through their issues, be happy together, and make big life changes—and the show/world won’t implode?! Thank you NEW AMSTERDAM writers for trusting your audience and plausibly allowing your characters to move forward. (You would have thought BONES or CASTLE would have dispelled the so-called MOONLIGHTING curse—which also was not a thing—and yet…)
• The GREY’S ANATOMY returns: Between Meredith on that beach seeing so many of her dead loved ones and the people returning in present day, so many of the long-gone GREY’S characters have returned. What a joy to have Addison pay homage to her iconic entrance or for Meredith and Derek to get a bit more closure. Who would have thought this was ever possible a couple of years ago?
• This year, and every year, I’m so thankful for every single person who reads this site. It remains the greatest joy/best job, and it wouldn’t be possible without your support.

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