Spoiler alert: Google says Squid Game was the most trending TV show in 2021

    
    Google’s 2021 year in search data has been released.
    James Martin/CNET
    Google is taking a look back at the top trending searches from the past year on Wednesday with the release of its?2021 Year in Search. The search giant’s lists compile some of the year’s top trending Google searches globally and in the US and delve into categories including TV shows, sports teams, news and video games.
    It should come as no surprise that top of the list for TV shows was Squid Game. The hit Netflix series also cracked the top 10 trending searches overall for 2021, according to Google. Squid Game landed below searches for the T20 World Cup cricket championship and above searches for rapper DMX, who died in April. In the TV category, Squid Game was followed by Bridgerton, WandaVision, Cobra Kai and Loki.
    Marvel also dominated the top trending movie searches for 2021, with?Eternals,?Black Widow and?Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings all grabbing a spot on the list. Also making an appearance were?Dune, Red Notice, Mortal Kombat, Cruella and Godzilla vs. Kong.
    Google noted that these are the top trending searches from the year, which is a little different from just the most searched for queries in a specific time frame. Google says this better identifies topics that saw a big spike in 2021.?
    Some other Google searches that were trending in 2021: Alec Baldwin for actors, Birria tacos for food and, in the US, Ranch water was the top trending alcoholic beverage recipe. Heading up the trending songs category was Olivia Rodrigo’s Drivers License, while the games category featured PopCat, FIFA 22 and Battlefield 2042.