2021 was a strange year in TV. The production of so many shows was sidetracked by the pandemic, but we still somehow made it to the finale. So with the end of the year coming up in a couple of weeks, it seems only fitting to give a proper send-off to 9 TV shows that we’re sad to leave behind in 2021. Some ended too early, while others ended at the perfect time, but all will be greatly missed.

1. Younger (Paramount+)

This past summer we said a tearful goodbye to the cast of Younger. Originally, its producer, Darren Star had unofficially ideated Season 7 as its final season, and then it came true. Thankfully, it’s available to stream, so you can repeatedly enjoy this show in its full glory. Younger is about Liza Miller, a 40-year-old woman who resorts to lying about her age in order to return to the workforce after raising her daughter. It’s an entertaining rom-com that highlights ageism and sexism in the workplace, while also beautifully capturing the importance of friendship.

2. Insecure (HBO Max)

Insecure is a dramedy that focuses on the Black narrative, particularly Black women and the unrealistic expectation of confidence. Issa Dee’s just trying to survive and thrive in her personal and professional life. However, in order to get there, she must learn to overcome her insecurities and flaws. With the help of her best friend Molly, the two take on life in Los Angeles together all while overcoming a period of liminality.

3. Dickinson (Apple TV+)

A fantastic comedy that puts a modern twist on the mid-1800s, Dickinson, is not what you’d expect. Hailee Steinfeld leads the series as the outspoken feminist Emily Dickinson, as she strives to become the infamous poet we know and praise today. You don’t have to be an English major to enjoy this one. As long as you love a good romance, fight against the patriarchy, and maybe a little Wiz Kalifa, you’re sure to find this 3 season show, delightful.

4. Feel Good (Netflix)

Mae Martin’s original comedy, Feel Good on Netflix is a much-needed LGBTQ+ representative show. The show is a short two seasons but they sure pack quite the punch. It centers on Mae, a standup comedian who swaps her drug addiction for love. During her time in England, Mae meets and falls in love with George, a baby queer. The show dissects the qualms of their relationship, all of course, with a healthy dose of humor.

5. Shrill (Hulu)

A young journalist struggles to jumpstart her career until she begins to write about her greatest insecurity–weight. Shrill shares the life of Annie Eaton as she learns to find confidence in being unapologetically herself. Navigating the world of romance and privilege, she runs into problems and makes countless mistakes. Its three-season run feels short, but once you make it to the end, you’ll feel appreciative of the journey.

6. Kim’s Convenience (Netflix)

Kim’s Convenience is a Canadian show about a Korean-Canadian family and their acclimation to both the Canadian culture and the evolving generation. An endearing comedy about the pressures and tension between the children of immigrants and their parents. Its five-season run was the perfect length, but we will surely miss this cast.

7. The Bold Type (Freeform)

The Bold Type is a show about three fearless friends who bond over their careers at Scarlet Magazine. It has hints of Sex and the City, but with a more diverse and feminist perspective. It’s a bit more drama than comedy and includes the typical search for love, self-identity, and everything in between. The show’s fluidity was affected by the pandemic but still managed to end on a sweet note in its fifth season.

8. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)

This NBC show was cut way too short, but thankfully Roku picked it up for a movie to tie up some loose ends. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist centers on a unique premise. Following a CT scan, Zoey starts hearing people’s inner song-alogues. The power initially seems useless and annoying, but she later learns to use it for the better.

9. Atypical (Netflix)

Atypical is a sweet family comedy about Sam, a teenager who falls on the autism spectrum. The show follows his quest to find independence, love, and the meaning of life. And while his family plays a large role in his life, his newfound autonomy especially puts his mother on a new life journey–one without the constant supervision of her son. It’s a family affair, and you’ll be sure to invest in every character and the family dynamic by the end.

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The penultimate episode is setting up Younger for a happy ending, but will all the drama this season be worth it?

I’ll start with the positives — though I knew exactly how the episode would end, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. 

There was such a thrill in seeing Liza come to terms with the fact that she had to let him go while also trying to see if there was anything left between them. 

And there was! When she handed him back the passport, there was plenty of tension and so much left unsaid. Charles’s feelings for her were obvious by the way his eyes lit up when she appeared at the airport. That’s the one and only thing Pauline was right about. 

However, the predictability was also what made me so upset with the episode. 

Younger has never been a cliche or predictable series, so having Charles realize that he has feelings for Liza moments before boarding a plane with another woman felt like cheap storytelling.

Was it romantic? Sure. It always is. That’s why near-miss airport scenes have been the backdrop for so many rom-coms, but we don’t watch Younger for a re-enactment of the classic Ross and Rachel scene in the Friends finale. We know the formula, and there’s nothing exciting about it. 

Credit: Paramount+

There is something to be said about the writing as it managed to do what I thought was impossible and bring the focus back to Liza and Charles, but again, that’s where the focus should’ve been this whole time.

Audiences didn’t want to see this mess with Quinn dragged on, we wanted the final season to explore Charles and Liza’s blossoming relationship. 

Not to mention, their reunion makes the whole season unnecessary and pointless as it unravels everything that’s happened over the course of 11 episodes with one big and predictable gesture. 

Why put them through all that drama if we were always going to end up back at square one?

For the last few seasons, I’ve been Team Charles and wanted nothing more than to see them end up together, but after everything he put Liza through this season, I’m just not feeling the romance.

And as I said in previous reviews, I would’ve preferred an ending where she chose herself. 

Some fans have questioned why I’m so hard on Charles and not on Liza despite the fact that she slept with the first pretty boy she laid eyes on post-split, but there’s a difference between getting under someone else casually to move on and pursuing a brand new relationship with your exes sworn enemy and proceeding to flaunt it in her face.

Charles knew better and did it anyway because he could. Liza didn’t deserve any of it, and yet, she was ready to let him go and be happy because she loved him that much. 

Now, that’s not to say that Liza hasn’t had her fair of indecisive moments in the past that led Charles to question whether she was truly in it for the long haul, but even so, he should’ve been open to a conversation and let her explain why she wasn’t interested in getting married again. 

This time, Liza was his and only his, and he let his insecurities get in the way of a damn good thing. 

The silver lining is that he realized how stupid he was before he made any actual commitments to Quinn. 

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Charles shock when the real Quinn came out. As she barked orders at him and belittled him for forgetting his passport (who doesn’t double-check before a flight?!), he realized that this was absolutely not the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life or even the next hour with. 

It’s further proof that this whole time, Quinn was putting on an act. She may have been in love with the idea of Charles, but she didn’t love Charles. And I’m convinced that a part of her also enjoyed flaunting the romance in Liza’s face. 

And believe it or not, she is the villain in this story as it all boils down to Inkubator!

Buying Inkubator would allow Quinn to get revenge on both Charles and Liza. Not only would she be able to take it away from Empirical, and thus, Charles, but it would also make her Liza’s boss, which means she’d essentially own her.

The storyline would’ve been promising in any other season, but with one episode left, I don’t really want to see Liza and Kelsey’s company get bought up by someone who doesn’t have its best interest at heart, nor do I want their unique concept to be ripped off by publishing vultures. 

19 Reasons Why Liza and Charles Are Endgame on Younger

Kelsey should’ve listened to her gut about sending the proposal to one of Rob’s VC’s.

He wanted to help her get the best price, but clearly the subject line “for your eyes only” means “forward this to everyone you know.”

I really hope that everything works out for them in the end because Liza and Kelsey deserve it. 

They’ve worked too hard on the concept to get ripped off. 

And let this be a lesson to Kelsey about keeping her ideas under wraps and only showing them to the people she absolutely trusts. Kelsey would’ve been better off researching a few investors herself and pitching them directly. 

As for Rob, he doesn’t seem to be worth all the trouble. 

As I said, he may have wanted to help, but in general, he’s just been causing chaos in her life both personally and professionally. 

In addition to the whole Inkubator debacle that we know is coming in the series finale, Rob also caused a rift between Kelsey and Claire, which meant that she had to move out of Josh’s place. 

I guess it was the little push Kelsey needed to get out on her own. 

Except that she’s not actually on her own and can’t even afford to get her own place without Charles’s offer. For now, she’s relying on Rob’s kindness and living in his model apartment, which could make things super difficult and awkward if she decides to break up with him.

Then there’s Lauren’s love life, and well, it seems like she’s going to end up with her ex Max. 

Now, all I want is for Lauren to find her soulmate and be happy, but I just can’t get down with her ending up with a regular dude like Max. I know opposites attract and he could be the one to level Lauren’s eccentric nature, but I don’t want Lauren’s spirit to ever be dimmed. 

She needs someone just as wild and free-spirited as she is; she doesn’t need to settle down with a “nice boy” as her parents suggested.

And don’t let that steamy sex scene that ended up being just a dream fool you. Though, it was great! 

I’ll admit a part of me is still rooting for Lauren and Maggie. 

As we near the end, the series wanted to bring some familiar faces, but I’m willing to bet that Pauline was not the familiar face we all wanted to see. Diana, where you at, girl?

I know her appearances were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic and prior commitments, but really… Pauline?

The whole storyline was so juvenile. She tried to make amends with Liza and thought she contributed to her breakup with Charles. Can someone please help Pauline realize that she’s not that important?

Pauline’s plan wasn’t effective in the way she hoped it would be, but it did help Charles see Quinn’s true colors, so I guess that counts for something. 

There were moments where her meddling was slightly comical, but she came out of the blue and inserted herself for absolutely no reason and against Liza’s wishes. 

And once again, my issue with Josh’s lack of screentime stands. Pauline got more screentime in the 25-minute episode than Josh did all season. 

The only thing I did enjoy was how protective he was over Kelsey when he gave Rob a stern warning about “being a little more careful” with her heart than he was with Claire’s. 

Josh has every right to call out Rob since he’s now involved with two of the women that he loves.

What did you think of the penultimate episode? Do you think Charles should be forgiven and taken back with open arms?

Will you be happy with Liza and Charles as endgame?

We’re nearing the end, and I continue to be disillusioned with the final season of Younger. 

There were some redeemable moments on Younger Season 7 Episode 10, but overall, the season has not been impressive for all the reasons I’ve mentioned repeatedly in my previous reviews. 

For the sake of having to repeat myself again, here’s the condensed version:  the writers are focusing on the wrong things by introducing so many new storylines and characters when we really just want to wrap up all the journeys we started with the ones we care about.

Two things worked in this episode’s favor: it was Quinn-free (a rarity in season 7) and focused much more on the relationships between the core characters.

It wasn’t all great, however. Josh continued to be reduced to a secondary character that pops in and out of random scenes without serving an actual purpose. Why waste Nico Tortorella’s time and skills like that?

It’s seriously a shame what they’ve done with his storyline.

While he had a bit more screen time on this episode, even then, he just stood by and watched Kelsey and Claire’s feud play out. At one point, he was only there to fetch drinks for the group at Maggie’s art exhibit. Really? 

It seems that the writers think that we don’t care about Josh unless he’s involved in Liza’s love triangle, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Even without a romantic connection, the two of them have formed an incredible friendship that we wanted to see explored in the final episodes. 

Josh is so much more than Liza’s ex to the audience and deserved more love from the writers. We could’ve seen him pursue his career, bond with Gemma, or even find a decent love interest that maybe would’ve stuck around in the end. 

Kelsey’s been a hot mess this season but in the best possible way. Her love life has never been tidy before, so you knew that she was walking into a major disaster zone by pursuing Rob and keeping it a secret. Hey, Lauren tried to warn her! Girl code exists even if it’s just with an acquaintance whose baby daddy is your best friend!

In fact, Kelsey knew it too, which is why she kept it a secret from everyone in her life and avoided any interaction with Claire until it was no longer possible because Lauren recruited her to build out Inkubator’s app. 

At that point, Kelsey really should’ve come clean and had a chat with Claire. It was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed, and Claire was already being gracious by doing free labor. Apps cost a lot, especially if they’re being done by a Google coder!

I don’t know if Claire would’ve handled the news any better if Kelsey would’ve just confronted her about it, but at least she wouldn’t be so caught off guard and embarrassed. It’s the principle of the matter. 

Instead, Kelsey came off as shady and manipulative. 

No woman, even someone who had an amicable breakup (as if those really exist so soon after things have ended), wants to find out about an exes new relationship by reading the dirty texts he’s sending to a supposed “friend.”

It was made worse by the fact that Claire actually considered Kelsey a friend after they went out for a breakup brunch and talked about their feelings!

This wasn’t even Kelsey’s worst decision. There was a series of them including dating Rob and investing all of her money for finding an apartment into Dylan’s advance. 

She took the phrase “go big or go home” to heart, and went so big, she no longer has a home. 

Thankfully, Maggie has a big apartment and an extra sofa for her to sleep on. 

She may be canceled by the public, but she’s never been one to bail on her friends when they need her. 

I genuinely love that the show spotlights the power and dedication of true friends. When no one showed up for the opening night, they were all there and supportive regardless. You have to take note of who shows up for you when you’re a nobody, so you can remember them when you’re a somebody. 

Kelsey was the only one who ditched the exhibit of the woman who later gave her a roof over her head to go spend time with Rob. Honestly, maybe she deserves everything that’s happening to her.

After Clive, a famous art critic, gave Maggie’s show a glowing review, the dive bar was packed with people! 

Of course, it seems the critic came at the behest of Cass, the Dean who destroyed Maggie’s name and credibility in the first place. If I were Maggie, I wouldn’t be so forgiving… lord knows the Internet isn’t. 

Cass seemed genuine in her apology and explained that she finally realized her wife was a bit sleazy. There were definitely some vibes between Maggie and Cass, but I hope the series doesn’t explore that angle because Maggie deserves better than an insecure woman who was all too comfortable destroying another lesbian woman when her ego was bruised. 

Also, why didn’t they just host Maggie’s art show at Josh’s tattoo parlor during the Inkubator series? It would’ve fit the artistic vibe, plus, it was a guaranteed turnout as there were lines out the door!

Speaking of hurt egos, Charles is a lost puppy and the very definition of “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

He was adamant about not having Empirical be associated until he saw the success of Inkubator for himself and realized that it’s a solid idea that attracted award-winning authors. 

But here’s the thing — Charles doesn’t deserve to be part of that success. When Liza tried explaining it to him, when Kelsey pitched it to him, when they offered him Dylan Par as an author, and even when they showed him how much buzz the chapters were getting on Vulture, Charles kept shutting them down and telling them to “focus on the job that pays them.”

He didn’t appreciate the idea when it was just starting off, so he shouldn’t get to reap the rewards now that it’s blowing up and getting recognition. 

He’s the definition of hopping on the bandwagon and taking credit for something he didn’t do. 

It’s insulting to Kelsey and Liza as he didn’t trust their judgement or their vision.

And he can explain it as his way of guaranteeing Empirical stayed afloat, but it was really just another example of his way or the highway.

It would be easy to take Empirical’s money as Kelsey and Liza need it to sign authors if they’re going to build this out, but Inkubator has been successful solely because it isn’t restricted by corporate guidelines or greed. It’s powered by the love of writing, storytelling, and publishing, and it would be a shame to lose sight of that. 

Kelsey may not have handled other situations in her life properly, but she’s right about waiting to build out the app instead of allowing Charles to “mansplain” why their idea was suddenly valuable and profitable… and hopefully, that app is still happening amidst all the drama. 

You had one job, Kelsey!

Charles wasn’t leading with his heart, both in his career and in his love life. And he’s slowly, but surely, beginning to realize it and come to terms with the fact that his ego and his stubbornness cost him the best thing that ever happened to him.

While reconnecting with Liza over dinner, he realized just how much he valued her impact on his life. She’s a refreshing burst of energy that challenges him to get out of his comfort zone and lead a more exciting life and forces him to be a better person.

Life has thrown Liza so many curveballs, and she’s the definition of making lemonade out of lemons. Heck, she can likely make lemonade out of anything thrown her way. 

When Charles saw her at Inkubator downing shots and inspiring young minds to take a risk even if it terrified them, you could tell he was in awe. 

Liza is a force of nature. 

And that’s precisely why she shouldn’t give Charles another chance. 

Was I rooting for them to kiss after dinner and for everything to fall back into place? Yes. But that’s the romantic in me. 

They fall into a groove every time they go out together, so it’s obvious that there are very real feelings between them and we want to root for them. 

But the fact that they still have love for each other is also not enough of a reason to just forgive Charles’s hot and cold approach to their relationship. 

When Liza voiced her disinterest in getting married again, she had valid reasons that Charles simply dismissed. He let his insecurities run rampant and assumed that she wasn’t in it for the long run. 

And he then immediately turned to another woman for comfort. He’s like those people who cannot be single if their life depended on it. 

Quinn always has been and always will be a placeholder. She’s second best, but at this point, it’s exactly what Charles deserves. 

And the truth is, Liza doesn’t need a man who can’t see her worth when it’s staring him right in the face. She doesn’t need someone who only realizes her potential after she’s show receipts. 

It would actually go against Liza’s nature to dim her own light to allow Charles back in.

And if she even considers it, he’s going to have to earn it, which I, unfortunately, cannot see happening realistically in one episode. 

It’s possible Charles will dump Quinn and ask Liza for one more chance, which she can consider, but only if she’s prioritizing her wants and needs first!

Other Memorable Moments

• Lauren has stolen the season first by attempting her best to fill Diana’s shoes and then for being such a genuinely good friend and sticking up for Maggie when Cass waltzed into the exhibit. 
• Charles saying fuzzy p**sy (or fussy p**sy, I couldn’t tell) was beyond brilliant and hilarious. He’s so uptight that he couldn’t even say the P-word without turning bright red.
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What did you think of the episode? Do you like where things are headed ahead of the finale?

What are your thoughts about the final season? Let us know in the comments below!