2022 was another great year for television. With more streaming options than ever and productions opening back up after the stalls due to COVID, the programming volume is higher than ever. We could barely watch everything from event series to revivals, comedies, and dramas to genre offerings. With hundreds of shows to choose from and thousands of hours of programming, here is our list of the best tv shows of 2022.
Being the entertainment gluttons that we are, we put together a nice video of the Top 10 series of the year, while the full-text list of the 20 best is ranked below.
Honorable Mentions:
Slow Horses, The Old Man, Euphoria, Barry, Fleishman is in Trouble, The Recruit, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Kingdom Exodus, A Friend of the Family, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wednesday, Blackbird, Tales of the Jedi, Kevin Can F**k Himself, What We Do In the Shadows, George and Tammy, Archer, Leopard Skin, The Midnight Club, Moon Knight
Even keeping this list to just twenty titles was challenging. Here are the good shows this year but maybe not good enough to crack the top of this list. All honorable mentions above are worth checking out if you have not seen them yet.
20. Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
Anne Rice’s novels have not had much success on-screen besides Neil Jordan’s feature film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. With a lot invested in a shared cinematic universe, AMC finally has realized a faithful adaptation of the first volume of The Vampire Chronicles, which not only stays true to the novel but also updates it for a 21st-century audience. If you are a fan of the novels, you will be very happy with the world-building this series does to set up the world of vampires and Anne Rice’s other supernatural creations. Sexy, dark, and well-acted, this reinvention of the vampire mythos finally makes the bloodsuckers interesting again. The casting is excellent, and every scene is dripping with atmosphere. I had felt that vampires were played out, but Interview with the Vampire proves that these stories are just as immortal as the monsters themselves.
19. Tokyo Vice (HBO)
Michael Mann directed the start of this series inspired by the true story of Jake Adelstein, the first American to join the journalists at a Japanese newspaper. By giving a unique glimpse inside the world of the Yakuza, Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe make for an intriguing duo investigating the world of gangsters in Japan. I am sure there is substantial dramatic license in bringing this tale to screens, but if you are like me, you will probably be getting a copy of Jake Adelstein’s book to see how much of this story happened. It may not be as hip as Miami Vice, but Tokyo Vice is every bit as captivating to watch.
18. Atlanta (FX)
After a long hiatus of four years, Donald Glover’s brilliant series returned with two seasons in 2022. The third season followed the characters as they toured Europe, while the final season returned to Georgia. Both were brilliantly surreal and strange in their own ways and proved just how talented this cast truly is. Hiro Murai directed most of the episodes, putting Glover, Zazie Beetz, Bryan Tyree Henry, and LaKeith Stanfield in multiple situations that would make Jordan Peele proud. Atlanta went off the airwaves much like it started: genuine and subversive.
17. Willow (Disney+)
After decades, Lucasfilm and Ron Howard’s underrated fantasy epic Willow got a proper sequel from Jonathan Kasdan’s series of the same name. Starring Warwick Davis in the role he originated, Willow benefited from huge special effects and beautiful location shoots that give it the scale of Lord of the Rings but the fun and tone of a lighter adventure. A great cast of newcomers anchors the balance of light and very dark fantasy, making this one of the best streaming series to debut on Disney+. As funny as it is exciting, this is the adventure of the year. I loved every minute of returning to this story and only wish it had happened twenty years ago so that we could keep watching Warwick Davis in this role and Val Kilmer play Madmartigan for sequel after sequel. Thankfully, Jon Kasdan and his creative team have introduced a great cast of newcomers to take Willow into the future, and I cannot wait to see where it goes.
16. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (HBO)
Winning Time is an excellent show with a ton of hilarious moments that punctuate the dramatic arc of this tale, and it only falls short of delivering a story that is balanced from both sides. This series is for the Lakers and their fans. All other teams, especially the Boston Celtics, are portrayed as the outsiders and the enemy, but even non-basketball fans will find a lot to enjoy with this show. What Mad Men did for advertising, Winning Time will do for the NBA. With a deft and biting commentary on race and gender and how it factored into the success of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty of championships, Winning Time is a blend of drama and history that benefits from Adam McKay’s cheeky winks towards the camera and a cast of performers invested in bringing this tale to life.
15. Ozark (Netflix)
What started as a Midwestern twist on Breaking Bad became a much bigger series as it progressed. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney shined as affluent Chicago parents who get involved with drug cartels. Evolving from victims to Walter White-Esque masterminds, Ozark developed into a unique crime drama and one that turned Julia Garner into a star. Split into two halves, Netflix let this series end with a vague and incomplete conclusion that frustrated some and lauded others. Overall, it was a fitting conclusion to a series that worked left before overstaying its welcome and managed to tell its story on its own terms.
14. We Own This City (HBO)
We Own This City is another Simon masterpiece and will bring more awards for everyone involved. At only six episodes, this is a limited series but one that is packed with powerful moments. For anyone who didn’t love The Wire, and I hope there aren’t many, the pacing of this series should feel very familiar. This isn’t an action show or a traditional procedural, but it is deliberately paced with a lot of talking. While I wish there were iconic and memorable characters like Wendell Pierce’s Bunk Moreland or Isaiah Whitlock Jr.’s Clay Davis populating this series, We Own This City is as grounded and realistic a take on Baltimore’s crime scene as The Wire ever was. I hope everyone checks out this truly powerful and memorable show.
13. Peacemaker (HBO Max)
James Gunn’s first foray into television was a sign of what was to come. Months before being named co-head of DC Films at Warner Bros, Gunn delivered this hilarious and intriguing character study that is also gross, grotesque, and unlike any other superhero project. If Gunn’s tenure running DC can churn out material as unique as Peacemaker, we are in good hands. If not, this series will go down in history as having the greatest opening credit sequence of all time.
12. Tulsa King (Paramount+)
Taylor Sheridan got bored during the pandemic, resulting in this showcase for Sylvester Stallone. Blending the conventions of mafia stories with the Midwestern flair that Sheridan is known for, Tulsa King is surprisingly funny for a crime drama. He shows that Stallone is more than capable of delivering comedy as he is action and drama. A talented ensemble accentuates Stallone’s role as an over-the-hill capo who may still have more in the tank than anyone expects. Definitely the best effort from Sheridan since Yellowstone.
11. Stranger Things 4 (Netflix)
Stranger Things 4 does not rely on cheap jump scares to deliver chills. This is the most complex season yet, with each episode building the mythology of the Upside Down more than ever. With the main cast more extensive than ever, this season gives each character balanced screen time and each plot enough room to develop. Stranger Things 4 ends with its most epic and ambitious episodes of the season and of the entire series. None of you will be prepared for who lives, who dies, and where this story heads for the final season, but this excellent season sets up something truly remarkable.
10. House of the Dragon (HBO)
Despite some jarring time jumps, George R.R. Martin’s prequel to Game of Thrones delivered on the palace intrigue, sex, and violence we came to love from the world of Westeros. Without White Walkers and with many more dragons, this series managed to hold its own while expanding our understanding of how the Targaryen line changed so drastically hundreds of years later. I can say that what House of the Dragon showcases in the first episode is much better than the final season of Game of Thrones but it still has a long way to rivaling the early seasons that made that fantasy series such a massive hit. With scene-stealing performances from Emma D’Arcy, Paddy Considine, and Matt Smith, this series has the potential to do a lot more in season two after leaving us with a massive cliffhanger of a finale.
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime Video)
Amazon had a lot riding on this series after shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien to adapt his iconic novels. While it shares visual similarities with Peter Jackson’s feature films, The Rings of Power takes us back to the youthful days of Galadriel and Elrond. With Sauron a specter of fear cast over the world, this series chronicled the creation of the titular rings and how they ushered in a new era for Middle Earth. With a talented and diverse cast bringing this mythology to life, this series ranks alongside the movies and is even better than The Hobbit. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an absolute masterpiece of television that has upped the ante for what we can expect from a streaming series.
8. Andor (Disney+)
I was somewhat underwhelmed by the first episodes of Andor. Something about the pacing just felt off to me. But, after the initial episodes, I was able to screen in advance, Andor took on a whole new level of cool. With Stellan Skarsgard chewing scenery while Diego Luna not only led a brilliant heist episode, a stunning space chase, and a multi-episode prison break arc, Andor managed to distinguish itself as unlike any other Star War property while deepening our understanding of the non-Force-sensitive sides of the galaxy. A truly excellent series that excels as science fiction, as a crime thriller, and as a small-screen drama.
7. Cobra Kai V (Netflix)
This season of Cobra Kai started out very disappointing. With Johnny off in Mexico trying to find Miguel, leaving Johnny and Chozen to contend with Terry Silver, this season begins with some uneven elements that tread water until the series really picks up momentum in the second half. This season brings a lot of story threads together and wraps up some subplots that have been taking too long. With this story’s end likely in sight, this season works to set up one hell of a conclusion. There are some great cameos this season and some connections to the overall series lore, but at the center remains a great balance of nostalgia for the movies that inspired it and some great development for Ralph Macchio and William Zabka.
6. The Sandman (Netflix)
It took years for Neil Gaiman‘s legendary graphic novel series to be adapted, and thankfully Netflix did it right. From the production values to the pitch-perfect casting of the entire ensemble, this series is an achievement with very few worthy comparisons. With a boundary-crossing, genre-hopping, and time-period-busting mix of subplots and overarching narrative, The Sandman comes to us as both a faithful realization of the original comic book and a modernized reinvention of the first two volumes of the graphic novel. Anyone diving into this series should be prepared to invest their time and attention as this is a very dialogue-heavy story and an emotionally heavy one as well. By the end of the tenth episode, you will be ready to continue your journey with Dream and The Endless for seasons to come.
5. The White Lotus: Sicily (HBO)
Mike White’s limited series was so popular that he turned it into a loose anthology with the title hotel as the connection. With the same formula of dead bodies leading to a season-long flashback, The White Lotus brings a new cast of interesting characters, as well as the return of Jennifer Coolidge in her acclaimed role. This season adds Aubrey Plaza and F. Murray Abraham to the Italian-set resort where death, love, and more are satirized hilariously. With a blend of dark humor, brilliant insight, and a biting worldview, no one is safe from falling prey to the charms and illusions of paradise.
4. Severance (AppleTV+)
Ben Stiller and Adam Scott joining forces for a bizarre, surreal tale should have been enough to warrant this series as must-see viewing. But, once you start watching this darkly comic horror story, you realize that this is easily one of the overall best debut seasons for a series I have seen in a long time and will be pored over and discussed as each weekly episode drops. If you are like me, you will finish each episode with many theories and even more questions. Severance is unsettling, similar to M. Night Shyamalan’s Apple series Servant. Where that series is more supernatural in nature, Severance is far more grounded in presenting the psychological trauma in its characters despite the sci-fi plot device in the title. Severance makes you question your work-life balance and keeps you biting your nails until the very last scene.
3. Better Call Saul (AMC)
How often has a prequel or spin-off exceeded the series that inspired it? Better Call Saul sounded like a joke and became a television masterpiece. Bob Odenkirk made Saul Goodman, aka Jimmy McGill, into a sympathetic character as we see him struggle in his brother’s shadow, his love for colleague Kim, and his eventual connection to Gus Fring. With stellar performances from Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks, and Rhea Seehorn, this final season contains Breaking Bad surprises while completing Saul’s arc both before he met Walter White and after. Better Call Saul is one of the best series of all time and better than the series that inspired it.
2. The Bear (Hulu)
The Bear is absolutely a series you should watch as soon as possible. What really makes The Bear so good is the portrayal of the world of chefs and restaurants. Much like we have seen in the writing and documentaries of Anthony Bourdain, and other chefs, the glamor of being a chef is often a facade over the stress, addiction, and turmoil behind the scenes. The Bear manages to mine these elements for a fascinating look into the lives of the men and women who work alongside Carmy while allowing each of their personalities to develop along with the story. Clocking in at less than five hours for the full season, The Bear accomplishes more character-building and storytelling than some shows achieve after multiple years on the air. This is not a show full of easter eggs or plot twists to unpack, but it is a wonderfully written show full of engaging performances and more heart than I have seen in any other show in recent years. It doesn’t feature a mystery to solve, action sequences, or special effects. The Bear is a damn good show and one that everyone can appreciate.
1. Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923 (The Paramount Network/Paramount+)
The Taylor Sheridan Era at Paramount is in full swing. The flagship series, Yellowstone, recently returned for a fifth season that saw Kevin Costner’s John Dutton elected as Governor of Montana and a whole slew of new enemies for his family to face off against. But, Yellowstone was flanked by two prequel series this year. While 1883 debuted at the end of 2021, more than half of the season aired in 2022. At the time you are checking out this list, we also enjoyed the premiere of the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led 1923, the next chapter in the origin of the Dutton clan and their ranch. These series perfectly balance the soapy elements of drama with great characters, all wrapped up in a reinvented Western formula. It is amazing how damn good Taylor Sheridan is at coming up with these stories; we cannot wait to watch them all.