As we wind down 2022 and look to the promise that 2023 brings, let’s take a look back at the best tv shows of the year.
2022 was a terrific year for brand-new tv shows. Out of the 10 shows on my list, eight of them are new shows. White Lotus and Cobra Kai produced their best seasons of television.
Graphic novels and comic book adaptations had a major impact once again with Disney Plus, Marvel, Netflix and Amazon diving into the more peculiar corners of these universes. Star Wars started clumsily with Book of Boba Fett but closed with a show in Andor that should be the template going forward for Star Wars television.
Before diving into the cream of the crop, let’s dive into a few honorable mentions.
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All shows included in this list finished airing their run of episodes in 2022. Any shows still airing like 1923 would be included in next year’s list.
Honorable Mentions
- The Book of Boba Fett: This Star Wars series struggled with its title character but made up for it with two stellar episodes focusing on The Mandalorian.
- Obi-Wan Kenobi: While not a homerun, Ewan McGregor‘s haunting portrayal of Obi-Wan is stellar as is the relationship with his former padawan.
- Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: Netflix’s latest animated video game adaptation is the best-animated series of the year.
- Superman & Lois Season 2: The best comic book series on the CW continues to shine with Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch in the lead roles.
- Under the Banner of Heaven: This limited Hulu series features another fantastic performance by Andrew Garfield as a detective whose faith as a Latter-day Saint is tested over the course of an investigation.
Best tv shows of 2022: The Top 10
10. White Lotus – HBO
Another group of travelers descends upon a White Lotus hotel this time in Italy. Similar to the first season, the 2nd season begins with a dead body and a guessing game over which of the featured guests has died.
Returning from the first season is Jennifer Coolidge with her new husband and an assistant played by Haley Lu Richardson. Coolidge is once again great. However, it’s Richardson’s Portia who comes across as the most decent person at the hotel. Hotel Manager Valentina also has a terrific arc where she tries to maintain the chain’s sterling reputation but also harbors a secret.
Joining Tonya at the resort are two other couples, three generations of overly stimulated men and a couple of local prostitutes. The couples are recently married Ethan and Harper played by Will Sharpe and Aubrey Plaza and Cameron and Daphne played by Theo James and Meghann Fahy. Dominic, played by Michael Imperioli, is a philanderer who takes his father and son to the resort as an apology for his infidelity.
Showrunner Mike White does a great job of giving characters layers as the series goes on. For instance, Plaza’s Harper starts by looking down at Cameron and Daphne’s relationship. Over the course of her stay, she starts to wonder whether that type of relationship is the same as what Ethan wants. Every character in this show changes somewhat and mostly for the worse, which makes the awkward comedy soar even higher.
9. Wednesday – Netflix
Miles Millar and Alfred Gough were able to breathe new life into Superman in 2001 with Smallville. They succeed once again with Wednesday. This new spin on The Addams Family places Wednesday Addams front and center. Jenna Ortega is phenomenal. For a character as morbid as Wednesday, Ortega somehow finds moments of warmth. Also adding to the series’ charm is setting the series around a mystery at Nevermore academy where she is paired with other outcasts. The supporting cast is excellent with Gwendoline Christie delivering her best performance since Game of Thrones.
The only small drawback is the mystery is pretty predictable.
8. Severance – Apple TV Plus
If you could, would you sever your working life from your personal life? This unique science fiction mixed with a social experiment of a show led by Adam Scott, John Turturro and Britt Lower is a sensational slow-building, pressure cooker of a show that showcases the horror of this concept. When a formerly severed colleague, reaches out to Mark (Scott), he begins to question his work environment. Adding to his newfound paranoia is Helly (Lower) who serves as the audience surrogate. She constantly revolts against the corporate rules at Lumon Industries, which causes Mark and the other employees to question their employers. Ben Stiller‘s directing is terrific as is the cinematography.
7. Cobra Kai – Netflix
Karate never dies. Well, at least not in Cobra Kai. Season five is the best season of the series so far. Season five does away with the everchanging allegiances that have been a series constant from day one. In season 5, every character either goes through a multiple-episode character development arc or stays the course throughout the season. Johnny Lawrence continues to be one of the best characters on television. Johnny even provides wisdom to Daniel at one point.
All of these things are great, but what makes this season shine brightest is Terry Silver as the villain. He’s ramped up the number of Cobra Kai dojos in the valley and doesn’t hesitate to humiliate Daniel at every turn.
6. The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power – Prime
The first foray into Middle Earth with The Rings of Power was hampered at times by a lack of story momentum. However, there has never been a more gorgeous-looking show on television than The Rings of Power. Every frame is stunning and sets a new benchmark for visuals on television. The performances are outstanding with Morfydd Clark shining brightest as Galadriel. The final confrontation between Galadriel and Sauron in the season finale has palpable tension. Also, there isn’t a better bromance on television than Elond and Durin.
Rings of Power improved throughout the season and with such a strong finale, the series seems poised to build on its momentum.
5. Peacemaker – HBO
Only James Gunn could make the character of Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker approach likability. John Cena is terrific at bridging comedy with drama. The weight of the decisions he made in The Suicide Squad sits with him. Gunn succeeds at showcasing Peacemaker’s potential by surrounding him with people with their own problems. Vigilante’s an even more crazed killer than Christopher and Christopher’s father is essentially a member of the KKK.
Gunn mixes his stellar comedic impulses with his horror background to a stunning degree. The unique alien invasion plot he uncorks is quite terrifying and is the best Gunn project since Guardians of the Galaxy.
4. Ms. Marvel – Disney Plus
Ms. Marvel is the best MCU show of the year in large part due to the breakout performance by Iman Vellani as Kamala Kahn in Ms. Marvel. Similar to Andor, Ms. Marvel is a stellar coming-of-age series set in a Pakistani-American family that just so happens to be set in the science fiction world, in this case, the MCU. The action sequences are fine and get better as the show figures out how to showcase Kamala’s powers. However, the show truly shines when focusing on the mother-daughter relationship between Kamala and Muneeba.
There simply isn’t another character more fun to watch on television than Kamala trying to navigate the push-pull of teenager-to-emerging heroine.
3. House of the Dragon – HBO
The first Game of Thrones spinoff, House of Dragon, does away with Game of Thrones‘ sprawling world-building for a tighter focus on the Targaryen family. House of the Dragon featured the best ensemble on television this year. Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke and Milly Alcock all deserve awards consideration for their performances.
The only frustrating aspect of the series was the frequent time jumps. The jumps can be abrupt at times. However, with writing this good and such nuanced performances, House of the Dragon is easily HBO”s best series of the year.
2. Andor
Andor is easily the best Star Wars series to date. More than being the best Star Wars series, Andor is also the best-written series of the year. Tony Gilroy brilliantly uses Cassian Andor’s origin to showcase the Empire at its most fascist and rebels in its infancy. Andor consistently delivers some of the best dialogue and monologues I’ve seen on tv in years. Diego Luna is a magnetic lead while Andy Serkis and Stellan Skarsgård deliver two of the best performances in all of Star Wars.
The prequels struggled with showing politics in Star Wars in an interesting way. Andor shines in this area with Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma. Season two can’t come soon enough.
1. The Sandman – Netflix
The Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s The Sandman is a fascinating study of humanity, divinity and growth. In short, The Sandman is the best tv show of the year. Gaiman’s surreal world uses a two-part story structure that works wonders with a one-episode reprieve in the middle that is the best episode of television of the year. The first story centers around Morpheus, the King of Dreams, trying to reclaim three important items which he begins in episode 2. Morpheus reclaims his items. Yet he’s never been more somber, which lead to The Sound of Her Wings and the best episode of television of the year.
The Sound of Her Wings is a beautiful look at the sanctity of life and the surprising, sad and yes actual grace that comes with death. The final thrust takes the story in another, creepier direction. Every scene casts powerful spells that draw you in deeper kind of like a great dream.
