We hope it’s not too late to tweak our holiday wish lists, because we’ve got a few last-minute requests.
With another year of television behind us — including surprise guest stars, plot twists and nostalgic cast reunions that left us feeling extremely grateful — we’re now looking ahead to the TV we want to see in 2021.
In the list below, each member of Team TVLine — President/Editorial Director Michael Ausiello, Editor-in-Chief Matt Webb Mitovich, Managing Editor Kimberly Roots, Executive Editor Andy Swift, Senior Editor Dave Nemetz, West Coast Editor Vlada Gelman, News Editor Rebecca Iannucci, Staff Editor Ryan Schwartz and Weekend Editor Nick Caruso — has made three wishes for the upcoming year, singling out the storylines, performances and long-shot renewals that would warm our TV-loving hearts.
Among our requests for 2021: proper conclusions for GLOW, Empire and One Day at a Time, a Friends reunion on HBO Max that’s worth the year-plus wait, the returns of COVID-delayed series like So You Think You Can Dance and a Hart of Dixie reunion that we hope All Rise can make a reality.
Of course, there are also some TV developments we don’t want to see in the new year. Reboots of Pretty Little Liars and True Blood? No, thank you! More COVID storylines on our favorite shows? Pass. And if we never had to watch a political figure stumble around the Dancing With the Stars ballroom again, it’d be too soon.
Scroll through the list below to see what’s on Team TVLine’s wish list, and be sure to come back tomorrow (aka Christmas Day!) to peruse TVLine readers‘ 2021 wishes. Happy holidays!
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Michael Ausiello's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS All Access That Good Fight creators Robert and Michelle King find a way to incorporate a satisfying resolution to the compelling (and COVID-curtailed) “Memo 618” mystery in Season 5.
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Matt Webb Mitovich's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney+ That Season 3 of The Mandalorian not bend over backwards to rush Grogu back into the story, and instead delve into the oft-teased plan to restore Mandalore.
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Kimberly Roots' Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Starz That Outlander nails Malva Christie’s storyline in Season 6 — and that we see Jamie appropriately wrecked when The Bad Thing Which We Will Not Spoil happens.
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Andy Swift's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO That at least one of TV’s many too-soon reboots in the works (Pretty Little Liars, True Blood, etc.) is thrust back into the fiery pits of development hell from whence it crawled.
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Dave Nemetz's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX That FX manages to air new episodes of Atlanta next year. It’s now been two and a half years since we’ve last seen Earn and company, and though Season 3 is still slated to debut in 2021, I’ll believe it (and rejoice!) when I see it.
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Vlada Gelman's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix For a scripted dance or figure skating series minus all the dark, murder-y or twisted drama. (Sorry, Spinning Out, Tiny Pretty Things, and — deep cut! — Flesh and Bone, you were not what I wanted.)
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Rebecca Iannucci's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC That after taking a break from casting any political personalities on Season 29, Dancing With the Stars continues that refreshing trend with its inevitable 30th season — especially after Sean Spicer’s aggravating run on the show, and a four-year Trump administration that can’t be waved away by watching Kellyanne Conway do the foxtrot.
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Ryan Schwartz's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS That CBS announces an end date for Mom — and Anna Faris returns as Christy (along with Christy’s kids!) for the series finale.
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Nick Caruso's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS That Fiji allows Jeff Probst and Co. back in the country, so they can (safely, of course) resume filming and get Survivor back on the air for Season 41.
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Michael Ausiello's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix That one of Cobra Kai’s myriad dueling Dojos welcomes an openly LGBTQ member to counterbalance the constant barrage of unchecked, gay-themed hate speech being spewed by the students and their respective senseis.
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Matt Webb Mitovich's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of DC Universe That Titans Season 3 lock into a regularly linear form of storytelling, instead of killing momentum again and again with character-centric deep dives via flashback.
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Kimberly Roots' Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Starz That American Gods‘ long-awaited Season 3 is a creative rebound that reenergizes the fantasy series and lives up to its freakin’-cool-looking trailer.
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Andy Swift's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Distribution That HBO Max’s long-delayed Friends cast reunion is interesting enough to justify the wait. (That said, I’m bracing for disappointment. At this point, could there be anything we don’t already know about one of the most highly publicized TV shows of all time? That stellar, revealing Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion really set the bar high.)
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Dave Nemetz's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney+ That Disney+ follows the path set by The Right Stuff and offers more scripted TV shows for adults who aren’t necessarily into Star Wars or Marvel. (I like The Mandalorian, too, but c’mon!)
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Vlada Gelman's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO That Matthew Rhys’ new FX series gives him a chance to smile on screen after wonderful but extremely serious performances on The Americans and Perry Mason. (Remember how funny he was as Kevin Walker on Brothers & Sisters?)
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Rebecca Iannucci's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC That The Blacklist gives us real, solid, not-going-to-be-reversed-next-season answers about Red’s real identity before Season 8 wraps up. (Yes, this is nearly identical to one of my 2020 asks — but I’ll keep wishing for it until the show properly delivers.)
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Ryan Schwartz's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC That SNL‘s newly installed Joe Biden impersonator Alex Moffat is given the time he needs to develop the character (unlike Taran Killam, whose promising Donald Trump impression was barely given a chance in 2015 before Darrell Hammond, then Alec Baldwin, took on the role).
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Nick Caruso's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC That all shows currently harping on COVID storylines will wrap ’em up and move on. Haven’t we suffered enough?
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Michael Ausiello's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox That Empire producers make good on the vow they made to closure-seeking fans to at the very least release the script for the intended and never-produced series finale, especially now that the Cookie-centered spinoff appears to be DOA.
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Matt Webb Mitovich's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix That Netflix keep an eye out for more content like The Queen’s Gambit — adult, well-cast, and not from one of TV’s usual prolific EPs — even if (or especially if!) at the expense of fewer YA series. Because the way that Beth Harmon’s story sneaked up on and enthralled us was a thing of (Anya Taylor-)Joy.
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Kimberly Roots' Wish:
Image Credit: Art Garcia/AP That Netflix doesn’t make us wait allllll the way until Halloween before it releases Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass series, which just wrapped filming. Mid-year scarefests are good, too!
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Andy Swift's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW That Candice King (aka Caroline Forbes) finally shows her face in Legacies‘ third season. At this point, we’d settle for FaceTime.
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Dave Nemetz's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix That some cable network or streamer picks up GLOW for a fourth season (or at least a wrap-up movie) to give the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling the proper send-off they deserve.
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Vlada Gelman's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS That All Rise stages a reunion between Wilson Bethel and one of his Hart of Dixie costars. (Wouldn’t Scott Porter be perfect as an old law school rival of Mark’s?)
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Rebecca Iannucci's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox That after more than a year off the air, So You Think You Can Dance manages to safely film its COVID-delayed Season 17.
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Ryan Schwartz's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of Pop TV That the cast of One Day at a Time reunites for a series of live-streamed table reads of Season 4’s six unproduced episodes to give everyone involved (but, most importantly, the fans) a sense of closure.
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Nick Caruso's Wish:
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC That Season 3 of Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman’s delightful crafting competition series Making It hits our screens sooner rather than later. After a turbulent 2020, this charming little show is exactly the kind of calming content we all deserve.
