Whether on the small screen or on the big screen, there was plenty to watch this year. The Day's Rick Koster and Kristina Dorsey offer up a list of some of their favorites.

"What We Do in the Shadows"

FX

“Shadows” is one of those series that has gotten stronger as it’s gone along. (It’s in its third season on TV, inspired by the 2014 feature film of the same name.) The irreverent comedy about a group of hapless vampires living in modern-day Staten Island is a hoot.

— Kristina Dorsey 

"Bosch"

Amazon Prime

It's probably the best bit of based-on-a-novel casting since Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone. Someone really smart selected Titus Welliver as the title character in "Bosch," the long-running Netflix series based on Michael Connelly's bestselling police procedurals. This year's eighth season was the last, sadly, and Welliver was terrific as always — but similar praise goes for the support cast, the plotting and narrative tension, and the underlying sense of melacholy that serves as a backdrop.

— Rick Koster 

"Rhys Nicholson Live at the Athenaeum"

Netflix

Oh, Rhys Nicholson, how you make me laugh! This Australian comic hasn’t been discovered by the American masses yet, but, if talent has anything to do with it, he will be. He’s full of nervous energy and impish mirth, and his material runs the gamut from talking about being gay to attending school reunions.

— Kristina Dorsey

"Only Murders in the Building"

Hulu

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez anchor a comedy/drama that could only take place in a Manhattan apartment building. Sight gags and ludicrously funny cameos augment the witty writing and spirited performances — and somewhere in all this mirth is a multi-layered crime story with some genuinely surprising reveals.

— Rick Koster

"Rita Moreno: A Girl Who Just Decided To Go For It"

PBS

Actress Rita Moreno is just a delight to be around, even if it’s only in documentary form. This PBS film by Mariem Pérez Riera explores Moreno’s life in Hollywood and the prejudices she, as a Latina who was originally from Puerto Rico, had to deal with. But it also celebrates her fighting spirit and great joie de vivre.

— Kristina Dorsey 

"Life in Color with David Attenborough"

Netflix

The brilliant songwriter Neil Finn penned the line "color is its own reward," and this miniseries, in which British historian/broadcaster Attenborough wanders across various landscapes and locales of stunning beauty, coincidentally expands on that idea by exploring the many ways in which color contributes to the ongoing narrative of the natural world.

— Rick Koster 

"Dean Martin: King of Cool"

TCM

Knowing every other professional who writes about music would include that Beatles documentary by the guy who made several movies about hobbits — and because we can't afford to subscribe the channel that features the Beatles thing — I instead watched this touching and revealing film about Dino. It captures not only the star's charisma and humanity, but goes beyond the scenes of a time when it meant something very different to be a "superstar."

— Rick Koster

"Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli"

ESPN 2

It wasn't until this sibling pair of hugely successful ex-NFL quarterbacks took the air during selected game telecasts that I realized how incredibly redundant and parodic network coverage of football games had become — and how we as viewers accept it with zombie-like fealty. The Manning brothers separately watch games in real time via Zoom and casually offer astounding insight, clever wit and good natured shots at each other, and a weekly carousel of guests ranging from other former players to folks like David Letterman. Outstanding.

— Rick Koster

MOVIES

"In the Heights"

Some musicals lose their luster on the way from stage to screen, but not “In the Heights.” It is a vibrant work, full of life and pathos and humor. Jon M. Chu directed from a screenplay by Quiara Alegria Hudes based on the musical that she and Lin-Manuel Miranda created. And don't forget that Miranda and Hudes developed “In the Heights” as a stage musical at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford in 2005.

— Kristina Dorsey 

"House of Gucci"

This movie is one step away from being a comedy, and I loved the fact that it is over-the-top. Critics have argued that the take on murder within the Italian fashion-house family of Gucci is too camp, among other things, but it's compulsively watchable. 

— Kristina Dorsey

"King Richard"

A tale less about tennis than about family and determination, “King Richard” focuses on Richard Williams’ efforts to make daughters Venus and Serena tennis champs — and to prevent them from being wrecked by the demands of the game (Jennifer Capriati looms as a case of what to avoid). Will Smith gives an Oscar-caliber turn as the complicated Richard, who is both loving and demanding.

— Kristina Dorsey 

"Count Me In"

This documentary makes you appreciate drumming as an art form. It also makes you want to start drumming yourself, based solely on the joy that the musicians have when performing. Renowned players, from Roger Taylor of Queen to Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction, are interviewed and shown in concert.

— Kristina Dorsey

"Belfast"

Kenneth Branagh's ode to his childhood in the midst of the Catholic-Protestant conflicts in Northern Ireland will likely earn plenty of Oscar love, and deservedly so. The standout for me is Jude Hill, playing, for all intents and purposes, the Branagh character. Hill was 10 when the movie was filmed, and he conveys childhood innocence and exuberance without a hint of Hollywood slickness.

— Kristina Dorsey