The American Film Institute has announced its list of the top ten TV shows for 2021 and Marvel’s first Disney Plus offering has made it onto the roll call.
WandaVision, the first offering in Disney Plus’s MCU streaming series has garnered a slot on the venerable AFI’s end-of-year list of 2021 best television efforts. WandaVision takes its place beside other critically lauded series such as Ted Lasso, Succession, and Mare of Eastown.
WandaVision, perhaps the boldest and high concept of all of the new series, was widely praised by critics, many of whom praised the series non-conventional mode of storytelling which featured the titular heroes living in a reality of different sitcom styles that ran from the 80s up to the current era yet still maintained its continuity within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Although the MCU’s cinematic presence is, arguably, the 600-pound gorilla of 21st-century tentpole filmmaking, critics have still lauded the choice to lead with WandaVision’s non-traditional format of superhero offerings, which mined the tropes of sitcoms from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond as a show within a show storytelling device earning high scores on aggregator sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
WandaVision will be among the other honorees at AFI’s private in-person awards reception on January 7th. Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO, commented upon the list’s announcement.
“AFI is honored to shine a proper light upon the most outstanding screen stories of 2021 and those who worked collaboratively to bring them to screens large and small. From soaring in spirit to dark and dangerous – from heartbreaking to hilarious – these are the stories that have united us in uncertain times and continue to drive culture forward.”
WandaVision is currently streaming on Disney Plus.
