2022 Television Log

January

100 Foot Wave – Chris Smith (HBO)* 
There is a barrier for me when it comes to these extreme sports documentaries. No matter how amazing or compelling they are, I can just never relate to their subjects. I am not an extreme guy. The idea of surfing massive waves off a rocky coast in Portugal does not appeal to me. That being said, I enjoyed 100 Foot Wave far more than I expected to. Sure, in every episode, I found myself saying that these people are fools. But even so, I couldn’t help but admire what they’re able to do. I particularly liked how the documentary staged itself. There are compelling storylines throughout the series. You keep watching to see if they can catch that big wave.
*Aired 2021

Station Eleven – Patrick Somerville (HBO MAX) 
A series like Station Eleven is the reason I watch TV. Honestly, I feel like a different person for having watched it. In fact, I think I am a different person for having watched it. I’m sorry to be so hyperbolic, but this series is that good. I really don’t know if a tv show has moved me as much as this one did. For me, that type of emotional release usually comes from a novel. Getting down to brass tax, I could praise just about every element of the series. The cast is phenomenal, the costume and set design is beautifully done, the score is outstanding. But for me, a series this successful will eventually come down to the writing. And man is the writing good. I’ve always understood art as a way to repackage and express truth. That’s pretty reductive, but I think it’s more or less right. What this series expresses about human existence, and specifically the way it expresses it (through time, Shakespeare, memory, and loss), is incomprehensively beautiful. Station Eleven is a masterpiece. 

Yellowjackets – Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson (Showtime) 
This is the type of show that should have two different reviews. On the one hand, Yellowjackets is a lot of fun. Much of its premise feels stripped from Lost. But it also seems to understand the particulars of what made Lost so fun. Add those elements with a solid cast and a great soundtrack, and it’s hard not to like the show! On the other hand, this show will eventually have to provide answers for the mysteries it’s creating. That was Lost’s biggest failing. Though it’s still early, the answers that Yellowjackets has given so far have been pretty bad. To that point, the final two episodes of the season, in which some of these mysteries were revealed, were clearly the two worst episodes of the series to date. We’ll see if Season 2 can get back on track.

South Side (Seasons 1* & 2) – Diallo Riddle, Bashir Salahuddin, Sultan Salahuddin (HBO Max) 
Is this the funniest show on TV? I can’t say enough good things about it. There are only a handful of sitcoms ever that could seamlessly weave this many characters in and out of its episodes. The writing and performance talent it takes to do that alone is immense. Luckily, this show has that talent in spades. The cast is so deep, it’s absurd. Throughout the series, it feels like almost every character could carry a show of their own. 
*Aired 2019, Comedy Central

February

The Righteous Gemstones (Season 2) – Danny McBride (HBO) 
I wish I could provide more insight into Danny McBride’s shows. Like Vice Principals and Eastbound & Down, Righteous Gemstones is one of a kind. It’s filthy, gross, hilarious, and somehow endearing. Where Gemstones shines is in its loaded cast and high-end production. Despite being filled with the filthiest humor imaginable, this is a show that always looks amazing. What McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green have been able to create is honestly remarkable. There’s nothing else like it on tv. I can’t wait to see what Season 3 brings.

The Afterparty – Christopher Miller (Apple TV+) 
Boy, there have been a lot of murder mystery comedies lately! I have to imagine this is close to the best version of that genre. First off, the cast here is loaded. It’s wild that someone as funny as Ilana Glazer is like the fifth or sixth leading character in this show. For me, though, I think the standout feature was the genre filmmaking in each episode. The difficulty in pulling off a satire or parody is that, from the start, you are essentially saying that the story doesn’t really matter. By giving the audience something else to enjoy- here, the genre filmmaking – I thought Afterparty was able to remain constantly entertaining even when excitement in the story naturally waned.

April

Severance – Dan Erickson (Apple TV+) 
Someone needs to take my blog-writing credentials away. At the start of every year (or so it seems), I watch something amazing and declare that it’s my series of the year: That, although it’s only January, nothing could possibly come along that could top x show. This year, x was Station Eleven, a series that I still regard as a singular and masterful achievement. My problem is not in singing its (or any other show’s) praises, but rather, in thinking that nothing else could possibly approach it. Already, Severance has proved me wrong. 

In fact, Severance may just be the best argument for the current era of TV programming. When looking at the television landscape in 2022, it’s pretty much impossible not to be overwhelmed. There are more great shows than any one person could possibly watch. Now, I’m not going to sit here and complain that there are too many quality shows. Still, I can’t help but long for the days when a series like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones could seemingly capture everyone’s attention. 

But that proposition, of course, is a double-edged sword. Severance is a show that I believe would have been too ambitious, too high-concept, and frankly too strange to have been made in those days. And although it’s as good as anything I’ve seen in the past few years, it is not a series for everyone. I would be remiss not to mention all of the qualities that make Severance so great: The meticulous attention to detail, the phenomenal direction, and of course, the brilliant performances. But, if I were to give one reason to watch this series, it is that this show couldn’t have existed at any other time in TV history. 

Abbott Elementary (Season 1)– Quinta Brunson (ABC) 
Could the network sitcom be back? Personally, I found it delightful having a week-to-week sitcom to return to. For as much as I appreciate the plethora of high-concept series available now, sometimes all I need is solid jokes and familiar characters. I’m excited to see where this series could go. Right now, it seems like the sky is the limit. 

May 

Pachinko (Season 1) – Soo Hugh (Apple TV+) 
There is just too much TV right now. So much so that, even as someone who would consider television to be their favorite medium, I am completely overwhelmed. What’s most frustrating to me is that many of these current shows are not necessarily uninteresting or unworthy of being series but instead are projects that really should be films. The main reason they are tv shows is not for any artistic reason but because that’s where the money is. Pachinko is the counter to all of this. It is the type of project that not only makes sense on television but would be ill-served if it were constrained to the format of a movie. It is a generational epic that spans languages, countries, and multiple distinct and interconnected timelines. Most importantly, Pachinko is a series centered on transcendent moments of emotional catharsis amidst waves of generational trauma. To genuinely pull that off, you need time. Something that, aside from a novel, only a television series can afford.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – Max Borenstein, Jim Hecht (HBO) 
Man, what can I say about Winning Time? It is undoubtedly an entertaining series. I would be lying if I said I didn’t look forward to each episode. What’s more, many aspects of the series are genuinely great. The performances especially are as compelling as any real-life adaption I’ve seen. Still, something about Winning Time rubs me the wrong way. The most obvious place to start would be its glaring and unapologetic historical inaccuracies. A natural counter to this point would be the hundreds of other films and series that do this very thing. Is the Social Network really any different from this series? Here, however, is where I’ll venture one idea about why these moments don’t work as well in Winning Time. Thus far in this series, they seem wholly unnecessary. Is the series any better for making Magic the finals MVP? Is it better for exaggerating the team’s struggles in that season? I don’t really think so. These moments feel so clichéd that I think sticking to a more realistic version of events would have added some much-needed nuance to the series.

Atlanta (Season 3) – Donald Glover (FX) 
Atlanta is in an interesting place this season. This series was, far and away, the best show on TV over its first two seasons. It was as entertaining, ground-breaking, surprising, and brilliant as maybe any television show in history. Season 3 is not on that level. Truthfully, it’s not even very close to that level. To be clear, that has more to do with the enormously high bar the show set in its first two seasons than a downturn in quality this season. So, where does this leave the show? Overall, I enjoyed every episode of the season. What’s more, I particularly loved how the formatting and subject matter of each episode has grown even more idiosyncratic from Seasons 1 and 2. So sure, maybe this season wasn’t as good as past iterations of the show. But, it’s still pretty special that, even in a down year, Atlanta can remain the most enigmatic show on television.

Survivor (Season 42)– Charlie Parsons, Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst (CBS) 
This was a really, really good season of Survivor. I was skeptical of some of the new twists last year but after two seasons with them, I think most of them work. What this season improved upon for Season 41 was its cast. Across the board, this was one of the best and most likable casts in a while. To that point, Maryanne is one of the best winners in a while.

June

Under the Banner of Heaven – Dustin Lance Black (Hulu) 
Under the Banner of Heaven is basically everything I could want from a series. I don’t mean that to be dismissive of everything this show does really well either. In fact, Dustin Lance Black and his creative team nail just about every aspect of this series. Ideas like the thematic flashbacks to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and the founding of Mormonism probably shouldn’t work and here they are executed to perfection (to the point where I think not including these flashbacks would have been a detriment to the show). I also love the difficult tone the series is able to strike and maintain. This is a true-crime series about a heinous real-life double murder and yet, even when elements of the crime appear mystical, I don’t think the series ever made light of their harsh reality. But despite all of this praise for the show’s direction, theme, and writing, the real standout feature of the series is the performances. Down the line, this is one of the best casts I’ve seen assembled for a miniseries. Having performers like Wyatt Russell or Daisy Edgar-Jones appear even in non-leading roles serves this series so well. And of course, Andrew Garfield and Sam Worthington steal the show as the leads. They may very well carry my two favorite performances of the year.

Barry (Season 3) – Bill Hader, Alec Berg (HBO) 
Off the bat, let me say that Barry is as good as ever. In fact, I think that Season 3 is the series’ most ambitious and best season to date. The direction in the series rivals any show on TV. The performances are at once brilliant and totally surprising. From a technical standpoint, Barry is honestly as good as TV gets. So why am I saying all of this as a preface? Because, for whatever reason, I had trouble connecting with this season on a more personal or emotional level. It’s not that I didn’t see those aspects in the series itself, but rather that I felt removed from fully accessing them. Which, just for the record, is not necessarily the series’ fault. I spend so much time thinking about art in the dichotomy of whether it’s good or not. It’s easy to forget that this type of evaluation can omit a piece’s main purpose: to connect with you. For all the accolades and reception that an album like Pet Sounds has, does it really matter if you get more from listening to, I don’t know, Jack Harlow*? I mean, obviously, quality, ambition, and talent matter. I just want to point out that sometimes they are not the be-all and end-all of success, which is my way of trying to excuse myself for liking and admiring, but not loving, Barry.
*To be clear, I love Pet Sounds and have not, as of yet, listened to Jack Harlow.

Hacks (Season 2) -Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky (HBO Max) 
For those who read my post above about admiring but not totally loving Barry, I do not have that problem with Hacks. In fact, Hacks is probably my favorite non-Tim Robinson comedy over the past couple of years. So what makes this show so special? For me, I think it comes down to the specific tone the show has crafted and maintained over its first two seasons. The show perfectly threads the needle between having meaningful, long-running story arcs that I genuinely care about and staying totally hilarious. As opposed to something like Ted Lasso, this is a series that I genuinely laugh out loud at. While that may seem like a trivial point for a comedy, it’s something that’s become increasingly rare lately. While Hacks is more ambitious and more clearly focused, it does remind me of the sitcoms I grew up loving (Seinfeld, The Office, etc.). The type of series, in other words, that I would watch endlessly just to spend more time with the characters. 

Search Party (Seasons 1-5*) – Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter (TBS/HBO Max) 
The first three seasons of Search Party are as funny as anything I’ve seen on TV. Obviously, in that assessment, I am leaving out Seasons 4 and 5 of the show. That is not due to any major dip in quality (or in laughs) but more from a change of direction in the series. While those latter seasons don’t quite get to the level of their predecessors, they are incredibly ambitious. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a comedy in which the landscape of the series changed so radically. I mean, the premise and circumstances at the end of Search Party are unrecognizable from the pilot, and somehow it all works. Here, I have to, of course, credit the four leads of the show. They are all so fucking funny. Their ability to carry any situation is what allows a series to get as bold and adventurous as Search Party did. 
*Aired 2016-2022

July

Stranger Things (Season 4) – The Duffer Brothers (Netflix)
Out of any other series on this list, Stranger Things will be the most difficult for me to critically assess. First off, there is just an enormous amount of it to cover this season. Pretty much every episode in this season had a movie-length runtime. And while other series tend to stay at the same speed or pitch during their run, this season of Stranger Things was a bit all over the place. There are parts of it that are genuinely great. Take as prime examples the performances, music, visuals, and pop culture references. There are parts of the series that are a mixed bag. Here we can put the series’ grasp on its own mythology, the extension of the narrative into (at minimum) four primary storylines, and the show’s lack of substantial character building. Of course, there are a few parts of the show that don’t work at all too. This is where I would put the series’ tendency to undercut its own storytelling stakes as well as its inability to tell this story more concisely. So how does that all add up? For as much as I can complain about the series’ runtime or pick on bad writing in certain places, I really did enjoy this season. Maybe the best praise I can offer is that even when parts of the show didn’t work for me, I never found it a chore to sit through. Do I wish the series could be better? Of course. But I think that desire actually comes from a place of deep investment as a fan. My frustration (at times) stems from knowing that this show could be great. For now, I’ll be content with a good fourth season. 

The Bear -Christopher Storer (FX on Hulu) 
2022 is on track to become my favorite television year ever, and in a year that good, The Bear may very well end up as my favorite show. There are a million things to praise about this show. It does all of the little things right. The series is perfectly shot. It’s fast, tight, and frenetic. The quick cuts match the exhilaration and panic of working in a high-end kitchen. The characters, across the board, are written and performed with such dignity. This is a funny show about a group of mostly fucked up people. And yet, the show never treats them as the punchline for the audience. Instead, we’re made to emphasize with the audience. Because the series brings us so fully into the world, we feel like we’re in on all the jokes, chaos, and stress that The Original Beef of Chicagoland has to offer. Lastly, I’ll just say for anyone skeptical of this review, you may have a slight point. After all, this is a food-centric show set in Chicago featuring needle drops from Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, R.E.M., and Radiohead. I’m just glad that a series catered this specifically to me lived up to the hype. 

August

Irma Vep –Olivier Assayas (HBO) 
Olivier Assayas is the best. What fascinates me most about his films (and now TV series) is how he manages to take a completely unique, bizarre, and singular vision and create something that is so broadly enjoyable. Too often in art (and especially in film), there is an inverse relationship between accessibility and depth. That is not the case with Irma Vep. It is the rare series that will be rewarding no matter how deeply you choose to engage with it. 

Better Call Saul (Season 6) – Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould (AMC) 
I’m going to keep this brief as I am (spoiler alert!) writing a book about the entire series. But, in short, my thoughts are as follows: No show has consistently challenged and dazzled me more throughout its run than Better Call Saul. It is a series that moves at its own pace, that delights in being subversive, and that always insists on digging deeper and deeper when any other series would have moved on to its next beat. Season 6 stays true to these ideas and in doing so pulls off one of, if not my favorite series ending of all time. I think we’ll look back at this show for years to come and be amazed by what it accomplished. 

The Last Movie Stars – Ethan Hawke (HBO) 
There is nothing better than hearing artists discuss the people and works that they most admire. Aside from being one of my favorite actors, Ethan Hawke has long been a favorite of mine because of how passionate he is about the directors and actors he looks up to. It’s a trait that makes him especially well-suited to craft a documentary like this. The entire series is a celebration of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, not just as artists, but as people. As someone who has (shamefully) not seen much of their work, I can’t imagine a better entry point than this documentary. I’m confident that I’ll spend the rest of the year seeking out their films. 

The Rehearsal – Nathan Fielder (HBO) 
Boy, has this show turned into a lightning rod! Having finished it, it is fairly easy to see why. This series is deeply, deeply discomforting. Merely watching this series forces you, as a viewer, to grapple with the ethics of what you are engaging with. It is an undeniably exploitative show. The question then becomes where do we draw the line in terms of that exploitation? Is this too far? If so, why? And for what it’s worth, I don’t have the answers to these questions. Perhaps my resistance to thinking through them is a failing on my part. What I can say, though, is that, in general, I believe art is supposed to push us out of our comfort zone. That in itself is not a carte blanche justification for this series. But one that makes me hesitant to really criticize it without thinking more deeply.

Only Murders in the Building (Season 2) – Steve Martin & John Hoffman (Hulu) 
Anecdotally, it seems like the general reaction to this installment of Only Murders has been good but not quite on Season 1’s level. Maybe it’s a delayed response, but I think I actually enjoyed this season more than Season 1. In particular, I’m really enjoying the old-school feel of this series. I love that it comes out in weekly installments and that, instead of prioritizing plot, the show excels on a character-driven level. 

September

What We Do In The Shadows (Season 4) – Jermaine Clement (FX) 
There was probably no way that Shadows could match the consistent heights they reached in Season 3. Thankfully, Season 4, while perhaps being a slightly down year for the show, is still good enough for Shadows to remain the best comedy on television. In fact, we are getting to the point where the main cast should start being compared to the likes of Seinfeld. Honestly, that may be the only series I can think of to compare with this core group of performers.

Industry (Season 2) -Mickey Down, Konrad Kay (HBO) 
Season 1 of Industry was lightning in a bottle. The combination of this world/business to explore, a cast of brilliant and previously unseen performers, and the multitude of drugs, sex, and twists made for one of the best debut dramas in a long time. Season 2 is undeniably both more mature (don’t worry, there’s still plenty of drugs, sex, and twists) and a slightly weaker season. Which, if you think about it, makes a lot of sense. Most of the characters in the first season acted with reckless abandon. Season 2, for the first time, carries real consequences for many of them. Ultimately, I think this will prove to help sustain the series for Season 3 and beyond.

October

Reservation Dogs (Season 2) – Taika Waititi, Sterlin Harjo (FX on Hulu) 
I’m not sure I’ve seen anything before quite like Reservation Dogs. This show carries so much empathy and dignity for its characters and world, all while being one of the funniest and, at times, most joyful series on TV. It is also, often, the most heartrending. I can’t emphasize enough how difficult and impressive this balance is. This is a series that, in a nutshell, is the story of a group of Indigenous teenagers living on an economically depressed reservation town in Oklahoma that are grappling with the suicide of their friend. And, week-to-week, this is the series that I most look forward to seeing because even when an episode isn’t particularly funny (or even when it is), it delivers a level of warmth and beauty that is rare in any piece of art. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1) – J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay (Amazon Prime) 
This may be the series that I have least wanted to review in my time doing this blog. That’s not because of whether or not this series is good and/or “worthy” of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic, but because every review and conversation around this show seems to be so fraught with bad intentions. Please note that I am not excluding myself from that group. On the whole, I found The Rings of Power to be pretty good. Now, perhaps I’m saying that out of some instinctive reaction against the truly awful negative trolling and review-bombing the series has had to endure. But, in all honesty, I thought that the world (and particularly the visual brightness) of the show was a delight. I was also quite enamored with most of the characters in this series. In fact, I particularly found the characters who have direct ties to the main works and films (Galadriel, Elrond, Halbrand, The Stranger?) to be the most engaging. Now, there are certainly some shortcomings in this series. Parts of the plot and their underlying logic are uneven, sometimes, the show is a bit too demanding of its audience, and of course, this series often struggles with the problem common to all prequels of managing expectations for a predetermined outcome. Alas, I still think the positives far outweigh the negatives, and if one needed some sort of anecdotal proof, I must admit that I eagerly anticipated each episode.  

House of the Dragon (Season 1) -Ryan Condal, George R. R. Martin (HBO) 
Another series that makes for a difficult review. While (anecdotally at least) it seems that the reception to House of the Dragon has been slightly more positive than The Rings of Power, it has still been met with much of the same review-bombing and trolling as its fantasy counterpart/competitor. Here, just as with Rings of Power, I feel compelled to list many of the series’ strengths. This new series, just like Game of Thrones before it, excels in its performances. Every aspect of this form, from casting to character development to the actual deliveries by the series’ actors, is impeccably done. In a series centered on scandal, spectacle, and dragons, it truly is the characters and performers that carry this show. I should also note, just as with Rings of Power, that I eagerly awaited each new episode. There is an alchemy in the plotting and world-building of this show that is gripping. What’s more, unlike Rings of Power, this series managed not to run into the existential problem with prequels. In fact, I think one of the series’ great achievements has been managing its relationship with Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, despite all of this praise, I cannot say that House of the Dragon isn’t without its flaws. The frequent time jumps in the first season prevented the series from really hitting a stride for more than a few episodes. What’s more, I think there are some baffling decisions and explanations for plot points within the show. Whether this is from the series not having the time to show its work or just lazy writing, it’s still a problem! All this, by the way, is without even mentioning the well-documented visual problems that plagued much of the season. In all honesty, I think everything listed above really speaks to the unparalleled (except for Rings of Power) size and scope of this series. On the one hand, I could make the case that House of the Dragon is the most thrilling and promising series on TV. On the other hand, it appears that the series has a decent amount of issues to resolve if it wants to approach the level of storytelling the best seasons of Game of Thrones reached. 

The Vow (Season 2)– Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer (HBO) 
To my great surprise, I found this second season of The Vow to be much more effective than the first. I still have some questions about the filmmakers’ point of view as well as their editing and production choices. But, whereas the first season often felt overlong and repetitive, I think the second season really found its footing by rooting the show into new POVs. All in all, it’s still not a show I would quickly recommend nor one that will make any year-end list. But this season was at least worth its airtime.  

December

Survivor (Season 43)– Charlie Parsons, Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst (CBS) 
I am not one to claim Survivor or any reality show of its kind is beyond thinking and writing about critically. That being said, I’m not sure I have a whole lot to say about this season other than it was the third straight “good not great” installment since Winners at War. For what it’s worth, the highs this season were about as high as Survivor gets. Jesse is already in my book as the greatest non-winner to ever play. Cody and Karla are also all-timers to me and will hopefully be back in future seasons. The downside? Well, not only did none of those players win, but instead, the winner was freakin’ Gabler. And look, I get that this is a game and crazy things happen, but it does stink to watch an entire season just to be surprised at the winner because of how much they sucked. 

The White Lotus (Season 2) – Mike White (HBO) 
Mike White is a god-tier television writer. What he did with the first season of White Lotus was not only brilliant but especially impressive considering the production considerations behind it (the need to make something self-contained and relatively isolated due to COVID). What he does in this second season is even more astonishing to me. First because while navigating constraints can be difficult, to some degree those same restrictions can also be instructive. As opposed to Season 1, in which external factors influenced the cast size, location, and narrative, Mike White had the opportunity to do almost anything for Season 2. That he is able to so neatly tie this new installment to the first season while telling a completely different story is just remarkable to watch. Second, and this may very well be on me for considering Mike White as a writer first, I think every aspect of the direction and production improves in this season of the show. The staging, set designs, and costumes are all inspired. But above all, I just can’t believe the depth and level of performance White gets from every single person in an absolutely loaded cast. Not only are there no weak links among the half-dozen or so storylines occurring in each story, each character feels fully formed with a rich backstory and unique point of view. The end result is that when these characters and storylines run up against one another, it feels organic in a way that is almost impossible to pull off in television or film. What’s more, I especially appreciate the way White is able to see these new performances and angles in both well-trodden actors and complete newcomers. The way, for instance, that he shapes Aubrey Plaza’s, Michael Imperioli’s, and Jennifer Coolidge’s performances to critique, echo, and subvert roles and archetypes they’re well-known for playing is sublime. Perhaps even better than this ability, is the way he is able to get star-making turns from someone like Simona Tabasco or Haley Lu Richardson. I hope I see these actors for the rest of my life.