Top 10 TV Shows of 2022
The Fractured Streaming Landscape
It was a landmark year for TV as seasons filmed after Covid all hit our screens. The streaming landscape was turbulent as Wall Street pulled back its valuations causing the companies to check their aggressive content investments. We’ll see these effects in the coming years.
Streaming is fractured for consumers, but that comes with more niche content for all different tastes.
Onto the rankings.
Honorable Mentions: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Bear, Outer Range, Reservation Dogs
10 — Players
The best mockumentaries have deep reverence for their subject while tearing them apart with wit. Players does just that with its exploration of a fictional Esports team for League of Legends. It builds out realistic characters you learn to love and hate. It’s both grounded and deeply funny.
9 — Euphoria S2
Season 2 of Euphoria is one of the most cinematic shows of the year. Early episodes featured short films of character backstories. Writer/Director Sam Levinson shoots these vicious characters with love despite their numerous flaws. The show culminates in a high-school play that is both on-the-nose and electric as it lays out the themes of the season for all the characters to witness.
8 — We Own This City
The true story of the rise and fall of Baltimore’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force is an extension of David Simon’s The Wire. Writing partner George Pelecanos brings a journalistic quality to the show making it feel like a thrilling docuseries. Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of Wayne Jenkins is among the best of the year.
7 — Atlanta S3/S4
The slept on final seasons of Atlanta contained some of the most experimental episodes of storytelling in television I’ve seen. It’s a fascinating afro-surrealist journey of characters we love. The cast does a victory lap after their own stars have risen since the show went off air in season 2.
6 — Barry S3
Bill Hader steps into the directors chair in a big way in season 3 of Barry to deliver more cinematic action and heart than ever before. This season contained thrilling set-pieces while being unflinching in how it veers into darkness for its characters.
5 — Severance
A surprise show that illustrates the command of Ben Stiller behind the camera. The art and set direction alone are enough to add to my list. Severance delivers a strange yet nostalgic Apple design look mixed with corporate minimalism. The mystery and reveals are but a footnote in my interest for this show which says how enjoyable the world building and characters are.
4 — Industry S2
Industry delivers gripping action scenes built from people having phone calls in boring looking buildings. The writing is so top notch that it gets away with going deep into the weeds of finance. It doesn’t hold your hand and delivers drug-fueled emotion for its savage characters.
3 — White Lotus S2
The water-cooler show of 2022 expands the White Lotus universe to Italy. Mike White has such a deep understanding of humans and his focus this season is on sex and its ramifications in our lives. The show looks beautiful, while being one of the funniest shows of the year. I could watch for 20 more seasons.
2 — Andor
I cut off my padawan braid and was ready to renounce the Jedi order until Andor entered my life. This story of the birth of a rebellion through a reluctant hero expands the Star Wars mythos to the ground rather than to the heavens. We see the bureaucracy, the career ambitions, the impact on normal people, and everything else the Empire has brought to the galaxy. Andor isn’t tipping its hat to Star Wars nerds with needless cameos or origin stories. It runs the gamut between a prison escape, a heist, and a protest show. While it could have been set in any sci-fi universe, or one totally its own, it calls Star Wars its home, and brings back lapsed fans like myself in exciting new ways.
1 — The Rehearsal
Nearly impossible to describe, but undeniable in its execution. Nathan Fielder delivers a master-stroke in performance art by being so incredibly meta, that the layers of his dedication to the joke double back on himself. It elevates the Nathan for You experiment even further by allowing Fielder to involve himself and his own emotions into the show. The Rehearsal pushes the bounds of humor, realism, and ethical filmmaking to make it the best show of the year.
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