My 30 Top TV Shows of 2022

Because exactly zero people asked

It’s December and all the media bloggers and TikTokers and YouTubers are making their year-end lists and I have some strongly held opinions I need to get off my chest! Also, for reasons that don’t need to be revealed here (but that will probably result in a post that’s brewing) I spent the last two nights watching Con Air and The Rock (in that order) and I just need a break from the explosions, non sequitur edits, and over-the-top Nick Cage moments, so why not organize all my thoughts about streaming media from the last year?

Year-end lists are interesting things. They reveal a lot about the list writer’s tastes, obviously, but also about the sorts of things we are exposed to in this oversaturated media ecosystem. I watched or read several best-of-2022 TV lists while preparing my own and I’m utterly fascinated by the ones that contain several shows that the authors thought were the best of the year, but that I have never even heard of! Sure, there are a few break-out shows that are on most people’s lists because they’re so amazing (ahem, Severance, ahem), but then there are shows like these, all of which were name checked on various top-ten lists I have seen and I had not heard of any of them before:

• Better Things S5 (FX)
  5 seasons of this thing! Apparently it was co-created by Louis CK and he directed the first episode, but since then it appears to be all Pamela Adlon (who is great, so I should check this out).
• Industry S2 (HBO)
  London-based high finance drama, favorably compared to Succession.
• Made For Love S2 (HBOMax)
  Now that I think of it I did see one episode of S1 but didn’t know it was still a thing. So I have actually heard of this one.
• Rap Shit (HBOMax)
  Created by Issa Rae.
• This Is Going To Hurt (BBC)
  Medical comedy/drama based on a memoir by the showrunner.
• We Own This City (HBO)
  Crime drama set in Baltimore that’s being called a “spiritual successor” to The Wire (it was co-created by David Simon).

It just goes to show you how much great content there is right now that there were at least six shows on major streaming platforms made by and/or starring famous people that made media blogger top ten lists in 2022 that someone like me (who, let’s face it, watches way too much TV) completely missed! My list is 30 shows long and features more than 20 additional shows that I watched but that didn’t make the cut for various reasons, and an another eight shows that I intended to watch but I just haven’t yet. And remember, we’re only talking about shows that were released in 2022 and that are good enough to be considered for a best-of list. I’m not even mentioning all the run-of-the-mill broadcast-TV crap and reality shows that are on (yes, I watched the last season of The Great British Baking Show, but Paul Hollywood doesn’t deserve to be on my list).

What’s not on my list

First off, I’m only including shows that finished a season in 2022. So Yellowjackets S1 is on my list because it started in late 2021 but the last few episodes were released in January of 2022, so it counts. However, Tulsa King S1 is still releasing new episodes and won’t complete until early 2023, so Sly will have to wait until next year to get on my list.

I should also say that even though I am being careful to explain here why some shows that people might think should be on my list aren’t, I am not name-checking every show that could possibly be on anyone’s list. If you really loved The Orville S3 (or whatever) and you want to see it get some critical love, then you should start your own media blog and tell the world all about it.

I am likewise not including any 2022 shows that I started but have not yet finished watching, even if all the episodes are available to me. For this reason you will not find the following shows on my list, regardless of how good I may think they are:

• Brassic S4
• The Dropout
• Interview With The Vampire
• Jack Ryan S3
• Let the Right One In
• The Midnight Club
• Mythic Quest S3
• The Outlaws S2
• Slow Horses S2
• Tulsa King
• Wednesday
• What We Do In the Shadows S4
• Willow

And then there are a few shows I know I should be watching, and which I fully intend to watch, but that I just haven’t yet for whatever reason. This includes several that I suspect would be in my top ten (just based on what other people are saying about them) but I simply haven’t seen them, so I can’t include them. Here they are (I know, shut up!):

• Atlanta S3 & S4
• Barry S3
• Better Call Saul S6
• Candy
• Minx
• Outer Range
• The Rehearsal
• White Lotus S2

And lastly there are the seasons of TV that I watched all the way through and that other people seem to think are worthwhile, but that I thought were either overrated, boring, or both. They are:

• Every Marvel Show on Disney+ (Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel [best of the three], She Hulk: Attorney At Law
• The Book of Boba Fett
• For All Mankind S3
• House of the Dragon
• Reacher
• Westworld S4

Okay, so what IS on the list???

2022 was kind of an amazing year for original streaming narrative content. I wonder if we are experiencing a post-pandemic spike in quality shows or if this is just what the state of episodic narrative shows would have been anyway. Regardless, it’s notable that there are so many great first seasons to mention. I know that there is growing speculation that the golden era of prestige TV is coming to an end, and if so, this must be the last hurrah because 2022 really featured some gems.

Below are the bottom 20 of my top 30 best shows of 2022, listed in chronological order of their release dates:

Yellowjackets (Showtime, finished in January)
2022 was marked by a lot of really good “mystery box” shows (or what TV Tropes calls “the Jigsaw Puzzle Plot”) and this one is terrific. Compares very favorably to Lost at its best. A career-defining role for Christina Ricci. Can’t wait for S2.

The Afterparty (AppleTV+, January)
The mystery box trend continues with this comedy from Christopher Miller (one half of the Miller & Lord writing team). Great ensemble cast. Lots of fun.

Peacemaker (HBOMax, January)
Can James Gunn save the DCEU? This show is why some people think so.

Our Flag Means Death (HBOMax, March)
You will laugh and cry and want to be a queer pirate. Five stars.

Upload S2 (Prime Video, March)
The main guy still looks just like Tom Cruise to me. This is goofy fun lite sci-fi.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (Showtime, April)
A sequel and a remake at the same time and much better than the film it’s based on (from a book by Walter Tevis).

The Offer (Paramount+, April)
Some of the most fun I had watching TV this year. Every character except the main one was outstanding. The putative protagonist is dull and charisma-less, but everyone else was amazing. Matthew Goode’s turn as Paramount head Robert Evans is everything.

Under the Banner of Heaven (FX/Hulu, April)
Andrew Garfield had to go on a hiatus from acting after turning in this dark performance. Grim, but amazing.

Obi Wan Kenobi (Disney+ May)
Some cool fan service and a few decent beats with Darth Vader kept this show on the list, even though on balance I think it was a disappointment.

Stranger Things S4 (Netflix, May)
I always expect this show to outstay its welcome, but the fourth season is another really fun time from the Duffers.

Dark Winds (AMC+, June)
Zahn McClarnon is having a moment and this is a great vehicle for his talents. Not enough people are watching this but a second season is apparently coming.

The Old Man (FX/Hulu, June)
This genre is a bit tired but Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are national treasures and a joy to watch. Lithgow, in particular, seems to be at the very top of his acting game in his 70s.

Only Murders in the Building S2 (Hulu, June)
A self-referential sophomore slump, but I can watch “the Martins” do anything and enjoy it.

A League of Their Own (Prime Video, August)
Huge surprise. So good. Better than the movie.

The Sandman (Netflix, August)
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It was a good adaptation and it wasn’t nearly as dated as I worried it would be.

Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu, August)
This is the only documentary series that made my list. It’s real-life Ted Lasso.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (Prime Video, September)
This may be the #1 most divisive show on the list. If I have to listen to another millennial YouTuber blather about how they hate this show because it’s not enough like Peter Jackson’s movies I’m going to explode. It’s a good show. Get over your misplaced nostalgia.

SAS: Rogue Heroes (BBC, October)
Based on a book titled The History of the SAS, Britain’s Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War, and that’s pretty much all you need to know.

1899 (Netflix, November)
From the makers of Dark. Mystery box turned up to eleven.

The Crown S5 (Netflix, November)
This show really puts the “prestige” in prestige TV. It’s gorgeous, compelling, and tawdry in a very upper class sort of way.

The Top Ten

Finally, here are my top ten picks:

10. Reservation Dogs S2 (FX/Hulu, August)
This show! S2 is even better than the outstanding S1. It’s character-driven indy film vignettes featuring a gang of coming-of-age friends and the quirky inhabitants of the res. Aho! Skoden.

9. The Resort (Peacock, July)
Mystery box in paradise! This one came out of nowhere and surprised the hell out of me. The slowly unfolding sci-fi conceit is a lot of fun and the cast is wonderful.

8. The Peripheral (Prime Video, October)
Based on a 2014 William Gibson novel, this is the most authentically “science fiction” show of 2022. The cliffhanger season finale was a bit brisk and left too many questions, but otherwise this is deeply thoughtful, expertly executed and smart SF.

7. Slow Horses (AppleTV+, April)
Season 1 dropped in April and S2 is airing now. If Gary Oldman just does this for the rest of his career, I’ll be happy. Based on a series of books, this is a very Tinker-Tailor sort of spy series but with a sharp, often absurd wit.

6. Andor (Disney+, September)
Tony Gilroy has gathered a writers room full of the best political thriller writers working today and had them spit out a Star Wars show that’s thrilling, surprising, utterly lacking in space wizards or anyone named Skywalker, and also an incredibly authentic depiction of the real cost paid by those who choose to stand up to fascist tyranny.

5. Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount+, Finished in January)
Taylor Sheridan is one of the best and most prolific TV creators working, but all of the excitement around him has to do with his Yellowstone-verse cadre of shows, and as a result, no one is talking about this amazing Jeremy Renner vehicle. The writing is so sharp it will cut you. Season two drops next month.

4. Severance (AppleTV+, February)
Sci Fi absurdist dystopian workplace drama imbued with Ben Stiller’s dry wit? Yes, please! All you other shows take note: this is how you do a mystery box!

3. Station Eleven (HBOMax, Finished in January)
This was my wife’s favorite show this year by a country mile. It’s a post apocalyptic show about grief, hope, and art as cathartic therapy. Wikipedia describes it as dystopian, but there’s a strong argument to be made that it’s actually utopian fiction.

2. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+, May)
I’m not seeing this on many best-of lists and I’m not too surprised by that. Its mostly here because it was such a joy for me, personally. Not perfect, by any stretch, but the best Star Trek I’ve seen in decades.

And the number one show of 2022 is (drumroll please)…

The Bear (FX/Hulu, June)
This unlikely little show seemingly came out of nowhere and absolutely floored me. It’s a kitchen workplace drama (I keep seeing it described as a “comedy,” which is just bizarre) that traffics in themes of grief, addiction, and food as an expression of art/love. Every performance is pitch perfect and it features the best single-take episode I’ve ever seen. 2022 had a hell of a lot of great shows, but nothing touches The Bear.

Takeaways

I watched six of these top 30 shows on Hulu, more than any other streaming service, and five of those six shows on Hulu were produced for FX (Only Murders in the Building was a Hulu exclusive). Amazon Prime and Netflix each featured four shows on the list (though none from Netflix made the top ten). Paramount+, HBOMax, and AppleTV+ had three shows each (FWIW, it looks like HBO would have fared much better in the runnings if I had watched more of the shows I intended to but didn’t get around to seeing). Showtime and Disney+ had two each. One show each was from Peacock, AMC+, and the BBC.

Notably absent was anything produced for and shown on an American broadcast network. I did watch a bit of Evil and The Good Fight, which are decent shows that aired on CBS, but they weren’t good enough for me to bother to watch a whole season.

Nine of the top ten shows were first seasons (or stand alone mini series). Only one (Reservation Dogs) was a follow-up season. Only four of the other 20 shows were follow-up seasons, so that’s only five out of 30 that weren’t brand new TV shows in 2022.

Seven of these 25 new shows were wholly original and not based on any prior-existing IP, which is frankly remarkable. That’s 28% completely original storytelling — not based on a book, comic, or a prior TV show or movie. If only the movies coming out of Hollywood could achieve such a goal.

Although I’ve been an avid consumer of media for years, I didn’t start this blog until this year, so it’s hard for me to know if the sense I get that 2022 was an especially amazing year for original streaming content is accurate in comparison to any other recent years, but it sure seems that way!

What’s on your list? What’s missing from mine? What are you looking forward to seeing in 2023? I am especially excited about some back-from-the-dead shows next year, particularly Party Down S3, Warrior S3, and Justified: City Primeval.

Happy new year!