Fandom. Maybe it’s the pandemic, but we have thought a lot about fandom over the past two years. More than we normally did on a day to day basis pre-pandemic. But when you think about it, fandom can encompass anything. You have allegiance to persons, places, and things. These parts of your life are things that you are a fan of. They define a part of you – no matter how big or small.
We find ourselves devoting our hearts and minds to different things. How do you narrow down fandom to “top fandoms” because, well, we do tend to believe that all fandoms have their greatness. And yes, with greatness also comes the fact that fandoms also have their dark side too.
We don’t mean to sound like egotistical assholes here, but we know a lot about fandom. Sometimes too much (saying that because of our stress levels regarding it). But narrowing it down to the top five of 2021, was hard. Why? Because we take fandom very seriously.
We could have made this list twenty or thirty or fifty things long. But we’re narrowing it down to five.
EVERYTHING DICK WOLF
Since we’ve basically become a Dick Wolf fansite, we’re embracing. When we asks for feedback on Fandom of 2021, a lot of people wanted to talk ships – and most of them revolved around Dick Wolf shows. But we’re going to just say it – you don’t choose the ship, the ship chooses you.
And we may not agree with other peoples ships, as they may not agree with ours. But the truth is – it doesn’t mean that a ship is wrong.
And yes, we know what we’re choking on there. We all can see what other people can’t with people and that’s something we’ve learned
But that being said, FBI, Law and Order, and One Chicago Shows are our thing. They all fall under the Dick Wolf Entertainment banner and they all fall under the top fandom of the year. Some may call this cheating. We call this being innovative.
So why did these shows make our list?
One Chicago is less a fandom, and more a family. People don’t always see eye to eye and there are, of course, favorites, but most of the time, there’s love to go around, and people just want more. And though, sure, sometimes we all collectively shake our heads at some decisions, we’re still very invested in the entire universe. So, basically, what we’re saying is: Give us that overdue One Chicago crossover, please and thank you.
The Law & Order fandom is over two decades strong. Some of us have stuck around for all 23 seasons of SVU; some left and came back. Others may have been here even longer, since the original. And we just keep growing. We even survived a year in which some of us were dragged by the White House Press Secretary, all because we happened to react to a character’s especially heinous actions with some virulent dark humor. Most importantly, when we felt silenced, when we saw what little representation many of us had barely gained ripped away, we spoke up. But we also, at the end of the day, just all love this thing many of us quite literally grew up with. You could even say, just like our detectives, we’re dedicated—an elite squad and all that jazz.
The FBI’s fandom is one that continues to grow. The fandom saw the introduction of a new FBI this year, FBI: International, and we’re obsessed. Now, the fandom has some very strong opinions, but one thing that we can all agree on is that we’ll always be loyal to our OG’s – Maggie, OA, Tiff, and Scola. And hey, as the fandom grows, the want for ships grows. But the fandom takes it all in stride, because they know that as we wait for more, we’re going to continue to get more. We all may not agree on everything, but we all love the franchise and appreciate it for what it is and are here for the long run.
SHADOW & BONE
For us, it’s rare that we invest so much in a television show that we write 3-4 articles per episode. But why did we? Because Shadow & Bone‘s fandom is something amazing. We know that it sometimes feels like there are 2 parts of the fandom – ones who have read the books and ones who haven’t. But overall, we choose to look at it this fandoms power, its passion, its strength.
We know that the fandom won’t always agree – don’t get us started on the Darkling debate – but that’s fine. We’ll agree to disagree.
The casting of the adaptation on Netflix was absolute perfection. It brought in new people to the fandom, exposed them to the books, and the characters that we love.
And there is always the biggest flex this fandom has, powerful ships – Malina and Kanej. We said what we said.
Shadow & Bone is a fandom that has taught us a lot. We love the fandom – the good and the bad. And we love its creator – Leigh Bardugo.
NEW AMSTERDAM
New Amsterdam has shown us some ups and downs this year and it’s been a road. We dealt with Tyler Labine insulting the fandom (which we haven’t forgotten). We dealt with Max and Helen leaving New Amsterdam. We are dealing with the devil character who took over as medical director. We’re dealing with loosing some of our favorite characters. We’re dealing with Bloom not getting out of her own way. But we’re also fully aware of all of this giving us one of the best hours of television and one of the strongest ships we have had the pleasure of loving.
Ryan Eggold and Freema Agyeman deliver such great performances week after week as Max Goodwin and Helen Sharpe. Their natural chemistry on the screen makes us believe in their characters relationship. We’re here for the good, the bad and the ugly. Whatever it takes.
New Amsterdam makes us believe in better things. New Amsterdam makes us believe in a better world. This fandom doesn’t always agree on everything, but we can agree that we’re here for however long the show lasts and even then, New Amsterdam will be a show that we compare others against.
JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS
One thing about Netflix is that you never know when you become invested in their shows, just how long they are going to last. We know that becoming invested is always a gamble. But Julie and the Phantoms was something that we loved.
Like most people we spent the past year talking about, rewatching, and waiting for the news of what was going to happen with Julie and the Phantoms. As we waited, we found a fandom that loved the show – no matter what. The love for the show never wavered.
Though Netflix cancelled the show (which we think is a huge mistake) the fandom hasn’t wavered. They stood by and continue to stand by the show that we love, the music that brought us to life and will stick with us, and the cast that we will follow forever.
And every single day as we miss the show, we’re thankful that the fandom will always have the soundtrack to listen to. We’ll at least always have that.
ZOEY’S EXTRAORIDNARY PLAYLIST
We’ve been huge fans of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist since the Pilot, and the fandom certainly earned its spot on this list this year. Following the (woefully premature) cancellation of the show, the fans banded together to petition to save the show. And save it they did, prompting The Roku Channel to pick up the series for create a wrap-up Christmas movie (and possibly more!). Fans made sure the gamble paid off for the streaming service, making Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas the #1 viewed program globally on the channel the weekend of its release. Dare we say this is one fandom that is…extraordinary?
You’re very biased New Amsterdam reviews continue. It’s such a shame that they show continues to give you screeners as you continue to insult a member of the cast. Yikes.