Perhaps it was inevitable I would end up writing about television as a career considering how many words I dedicated to My So-Called Life in my diary the summer I first saw Claire Danes in her breakout role as Angela Chase. It was the mid-90s and the cancelled-too-soon one season wonder was part of Channel 4’s summer morning line-up at a time when the weight of adolescence was hitting me hard. Flash forward two decades later and the entire TV landscape has dramatically altered beyond my wildest teen dreams. It has never been easier to find something to watch.

Of course, there is now entirely too much choice even for someone who does this for a living. A frequently asked question (other than recommendations) is how do you find the time to keep track of everything? The simple answer is that I don’t. FX’s annual tally (Opens in a new window) of the scripted shows released in 2021 put this number at 559 for the US alone and a girl needs to sleep! This is an all-time high and emphasizes the level (though not necessarily the quality) of material that is being churned out.