As always, this disclaimer: I have not seen most of the television that aired this year. No one has. Hundreds of new scripted shows débuted in 2021, to say nothing of returning series or of unscripted programs: documentary series, reality TV, daytime talk shows, etc. So what was my methodology? I tended to focus on première seasons. (I made a special category for returning series that I love.) I tried to check my bias in favor of scripted television. I hoped to have a higher diversity of network representation, but HBO’s revived excellence wouldn’t let me. I did keep an eye toward shows that did not receive either the critical attention or viewership that they deserved. Had I more time to get through screeners, I can think of three shows I’d probably add (“Yellowjackets,” on Showtime; “Station Eleven,” on HBO; and “Landscapers,” on . . . HBO). But then which ones would I have had to cut?

I’d like to use the rest of this introduction to give a shout-out to the shows that didn’t “make” the list. The troupe on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” is jelling in a way that is reminiscent of the Gilda Radner golden era. Martin Short and Steve Martin have invented a vibe that I’ll call “uncle-core,” on the snappy Hulu murder mystery “Only Murders in the Building.” The kinky historical fictions of “The Great,” also on Hulu, and of Apple TV+’s “Dickinson,” which is in its third and final season—and ending at precisely the right time—are consistently engaging. HBO’s “100 Foot Wave” is a beautiful colossus; its director, Chris Smith, has merged an intimate look at the surfer Garrett McNamara with stunning footage of the sea in Nazaré, Portugal. “Heels,” on Starz, a sentimental drama about professional wrestling, intriguingly mirrors the meta-theatricality of “Glow.” “City of Ghosts” (Netflix), “The Good Fight” (Paramount+), and “Call My Agent!” (Netflix) kept me sane. The noir humor of “Odd Taxi” (Crunchyroll), an anime, made me feel crazy—in a good way.

And now my favorites of 2021, in no particular order:

“The Underground Railroad” (Amazon Prime)

“Cinematic” is a fraught term for TV critics; use it and you risk giving fuel to the argument that if a show is good then it must be like a movie. And yet this is the supreme quality of “Underground Railroad,” Barry Jenkins’s limited-series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s historical-fiction novel. The painterly cinematography, the expressive score, and Jenkins’s authoritative direction makes this slavery-as-Exodus narrative a monumental sensory experience.

“South Side” (HBO Max)

This gem from the Salahuddin brothers and Diallo Riddle is an antic, loving ode to Chicago, a city that has been stereotyped to death. The show also rivals “Rick and Morty” in terms of sheer joke density.

“The White Lotus” (HBO)

Who is the standout in Mike White’s fable of the maladjusted élite? Is it Jake Lacy as Shane, the fratty, entitled honeymooner? Murray Bartlett as Armond, the hotel manager on a drug bender? Natasha Rothwell as Belinda, the resort’s spa manager who has the last dredges of her optimism drained? Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya, the woo-woo loner who drains Belinda of that optimism? This series gave us some of the best performances of the year.

“We Are Lady Parts” (Peacock)

Nida Manzoor’s début for Channel 4, an exploration of Muslim identity that never curdles into didacticism, is a joyful smash of opposing sensibilities. It’s punk and then it’s sweet, it’s “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and then it’s “This Is Spinal Tap.” Anjana Vasan is mesmerizing as Amina, a gawky, lovelorn scientist who unexpectedly ends up as the lead guitarist for an all-women Muslim punk band, Lady Parts. The music written for the fictional band is excellent, too.

“Succession” (HBO)