My Favorite Shows of 2022

So how good was this year in TV? Well, for starters, back in July, I made a list of my favorite 2022 shows through that point in the year that featured four series that didn’t even make the cut here. Heartiest apologies to previous #10 Yellowjackets, #9 The Afterparty, #4 Hacks, and #2(!) Under the Banner of Heaven. In any other year, you would make this list! Also not making the cut were two series that, despite endless review-bombing, trolling, and general divisiveness, I still loved wholeheartedly to the point where I listened to hours of podcasts devoted to each show per week and am now reading a 700+ fake historical record on one of them because I just can’t hold on to see what happens next. Those shows, of course, were The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon. Perhaps if I were more honest with myself, they would make this list. I probably opted for series that were a little more unique or under-seen in lieu of grand spectacle. Was it the right call? You can be the judge of that. What else? Well, after five years of pulling my hair out to avoid having ties on these lists, I could not avoid it this year. Not only are there three pairs of ties below (including one at #1 for god’s sake), I listed a tie at #10, meaning that my rock-solid, inarguable top ten list now has eleven entries. Ay caramba! But, let me circle back to my main point which was not that I’m bad at making lists, but rather, that 2022 is the best year of television I can ever remember. Considering how much the rest of 2022 generally sucked, that’s worth celebrating. So! Without further adieu, we begin…

T-10. South Side (Season 2) – Diallo Riddle, Bashir Salahuddin, Sultan Salahuddin (HBO Max)
Is this the funniest show on TV? There are only a handful of sitcoms ever that could seamlessly weave this many characters and storylines in and out of its episodes. The writing and performance talent it takes to pull that off is immense. Luckily, South Side has that talent in (Ed Lover’s cool) spades. The cast is so deep, frankly it’s absurd. There are at least a half-dozen characters here that could successfully carry a series on their own. Thankfully, South Side doesn’t make us choose between them. Instead, we watch as characters like Simon and Kareme run up against the likes of Alderman Gayle, Keisha, or Stacey. My heart, of course, forever belongs to Turner and Goodknight, who make me laugh more in twenty minutes than most comedies do over their entire run.

T-10. Reservation Dogs (Season 2) – Taika Waititi, Sterlin Harjo (FX on Hulu) I’ve never seen anything 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 in an economically depressed reservation town in Oklahoma while grappling with the suicide of their friend. And somehow, 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.

9. Industry (Season 2) -Mickey Down, Konrad Kay (HBO)
Season 1 of Industry was lightning in a bottle. The combination of having this specific world and 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, long time. Season 2 is undeniably both more mature (don’t worry, there’s still plenty of drugs, sex, and sharp turns) and, while maybe not as reckless as Season 1, a better overall season. More importantly, the storytelling decisions Mickey Down and Konrad Kay chose to make this time around should set this series up to be great for a long, long time. Which is all to say, if you haven’t started Industry yet, now is the time to get on board!

8. Irma Vep –Olivier Assayas (HBO) 
What a blessing it is to live in the same time as Olivier Assayas. 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. For those who haven’t seen this series yet, Irma Vep is an adaption of Assayas’s brilliant 1996 film, Irma Vep. In both versions, the story follows a fictionalized and much-maligned attempt to adapt the 1916 French film, Les Vampires as a modern work centering on, you guessed it, the character of Irma Vep. 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. It is at once, deeply interested in psychology, sexuality, power dynamics, the film industry, and cinema history all while featuring some of the most hilarious and bawdy jokes you will ever see, especially when they’re centered on or coming from Vincent Macaigne’s René Vidal or Lars Eidinger’s Gottfried. Truly, my only thought after watching is whether it is too much to ask for Assayas to make a third Irma Vep because I would never stop watching them.

7. Pachinko (Season 1) – Soo Hugh (Apple TV+)
Even as someone who loves TV, I am sometimes resigned to think that there is too much of it right now. So much so that, even as someone who considers television to be their favorite medium, I am completely overwhelmed. What’s most frustrating to me, however, is that many of these current series are not necessarily uninteresting or unworthy of being seen, 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, however, 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 television can afford.

6. Severance – Dan Erickson (Apple TV+)
Apparently this is the part of the list where I wax poetic about the current state of television. 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 or successful 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 likely couldn’t have existed at any other time in TV history.

5. The Bear -Christopher Storer (FX on Hulu)
We are now at the point where in alternate universes and alternate blogs, any of the following shows could have been my favorite of the year. There are a million things to praise about The Bear. 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 these characters. 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 my review, you may have a point! After all, this is a food-centric show set in Chicago featuring needle drops from Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, R.E.M., and Radiohead. What can I say, I’m just glad that a series catered this specifically to me lived up to the hype.

T-3. We Own this City – George Pelecanos, David Simon (HBO) 
Okay, I must fess up. I cheated ever so slightly in making my list. I did not watch We Own This City in 2022. That being said, I’ve finished it in time to make this list (thank you to my own procrastination) and I must say that 1. if ever there were a show to encourage me to break some rules, it’s We Own this City and 2. my list wouldn’t be accurate without it. I’ve praised most of the shows on this list for being unique, singular, and thoughtful about how they make use of TV as an art form. I’m not sure there’s anybody that’s understood what television as a medium has to offer more than David Simon. For those who haven’t watched The Wire, I think this would be a perfect entry point. Not because this series is less nuanced or more palatable than that show, but because Simon and Pelecanos are able to do what they did in that series by weaving the same magic, insight, and profundity into a more modern, non-fiction, and far shorter series. I’d also suggest this series to anyone just so they can bask in the glory of Jon Bernthal’s performance, which is fucking extraordinary.

T-3. 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 new 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 that White gets from every single person in an absolutely loaded cast. Not only are there no weak links amongst 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.

T-1. Better Call Saul (Season 6) – Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould (AMC)
I’m going to try and keep this brief as I am (spoiler alert!) writing a book about Better Call Saul (which should hopefully tell you a little of what I think about this 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. At times, I think those features may have hurt Better Call Saul when it comes to reputation and making silly lists like this. It’s a show that is so consistently great, one could easily take it for granted when it’s positioned against a flashy new series. That said, Season 6, by sticking to Better Call Saul‘s core ideas, is able to close out the series (and Breaking Bad universe!) in a way that is so magnificent, earned, and frankly just right that I’m pretty sure we’ll never see anything like it again. What’s more, the series pulls off what I now believe to be the best series ending of all time. I know I said I would try and keep this brief, but there’s just not enough I could say about how much I admired Better Call Saul and how much it’s meant to me. I’ll miss it.

T-1. Station Eleven – Patrick Somerville (HBO MAX)
Station Eleven is the reason I watch TV. In all honesty, I feel like a different and better person for having watched it. There has not been a show in the history of television that has moved me as much as this one did. Typically, that type of emotional release for me comes from a great novel. Fittingly, that’s often what it felt like watching this series (I am aware that Station Eleven is based on a novel, by the way). Getting down to brass tax, I could praise just about every element of this show. The cast is phenomenal, the costume and set design is beautifully done, and the score is outstanding. But for me, a series this successful will eventually come down to the writing and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen something as well-written as this series. Very quickly, I’d more or less define my understanding of art as a form in which one can repackage and communicate truths to others that are otherwise impossible to express. What Station Eleven expresses about human existence, and more specifically about time, love, art, memory, and loss is at once incomprehensibly beautiful and achingly true. In just ten episodes, it features three episodes that I would argue for as being the greatest tv episode of all-time (“Goodbye My Damaged Home,” “Dr. Chaudhary,” and “Unbroken Circle”). There’s just not enough that I can say to express what this show meant to me. If somehow, you have made it all the way to the end of this list and have not seen Station Eleven, please watch this series and talk to me about it! I can think of few things that would be more meaningful to me.