A Look Back At Hit Television And Streaming Series Of 2022

TV & Film

Mar 7

2022 may go down as one of the most prolific all-time best years in television. Between the hit shows on network television and the plethora of highly produced, popular shows on streaming services, viewers of all kinds flocked to the screen for high-quality content, sometimes in record numbers. Here’s a look back at a few of my favorite shows from 2022 (Note that I personally did not watch House of the Dragon or Better Call Saul, otherwise they would probably top the list too).

Other 2022 Series Worth Mentioning:

Bel-Air Season 1(Peacock)
Better Call Saul Season 6 (AMC)
The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)
Candy (Hulu)
The Dropout (Hulu)
Flight Attendant Season 2 (HBO Max)
House of the Dragon (HBO Max)
Light and Magic (Disney+)
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 (Amazon Prime)
Miss Marvel (Disney+)
The Patient (Hulu)
Stranger Things Season 4 (Netflix)
Umbrella Academy Season 3 (Netflix)
Wednesday (Netflix)

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Honorable Mention: The Boys, Season 3 (Amazon Prime)

The superhero show for adults continued to be incredibly entertaining with over-the-top action and violence. The story continued to feel relevant and not just some excuse to make cool things happen on the screen. I can’t wait for Season 4, which will feature a family reunion of sorts.

5. The Witcher, Season 2 (Netflix)

The Witcher Season 2 was a perfect elevation of what was set up in the first season, and it expanded the established Witcher universe with more quirky stories, lores, and interesting characters. Everyone was dying to see what would become of Ciri after discovering her destiny at the end of Season 1, and I've got to say, her growth in Season 2 was incredibly compelling to watch. Her struggles and training made where she ended up feel so rewarding. The gauntlet episode was particularly entertaining (I'm a sucker for puzzly death traps since they feel "video-gamey") and brought the fiery side out of her and the Jedi-esque mentor role out of Geralt.

All in all, it was a fine season. Geralt was fantastic throughout, but the highs I felt after the show evaporated into steam with the news that Henry Cavill will be leaving the show.

4. Moon Knight (Disney+)

Oscar Isaac may have turned in the best acting performance of any in MCU history. He was brilliant playing both versions of his Moon Knight character. The story was fast-paced and left the audience wondering what was going on, yet gave enough clarity to keep you engaged. That's hard to do considering the giant twist midway through the season and a couple of other shocking moments throughout. I was okay with this MCU origin story not connecting to the larger story in any way. However, if they make a second season, which is teased by Kevin Feige, then it may need to connect to the bigger picture a little bit.

3. Andor (Disney+)

Andor was the highest-quality Star Wars project since Disney bought Lucasfilm in terms of production, acting, and writing. This is the more mature, developed side of Star Wars I hope we see much more of in the future. The rhetoric out there saying that this show isn't really Star Wars is absolutely ridiculous. Andor exposed a different side of the Empire and why, awesome Sith notwithstanding, it is the true enemy of Star Wars. Dedra Meero's determination and willingness to do whatever it took in the name of the Empire made her such a compelling character. The prison arc was fascinating, including a stellar performance from Andy Serkis. The season finale was a perfect way to tie in all of the season's stories (and the scene with the spinning ship was one of the coolest moments in all of 2022). Brilliant show.

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Amazon Prime)

Once upon a time, before Marvel took off, it could be argued that The Lord of the Rings series was nerd culture’s favorite franchise not named Star Wars. The Rings of Power thoroughly enriched the story and added value to The Fellowship of the Ring. It also reinvigorated many peoples’ love for the franchise. It was fun trying to guess which characters from the show would turn out to be the key characters from the movies. The production value of the show was as high quality as any show in the streaming era. For how grandiose it was, there was a lot of care in the little details that enriched Tolkien's universe nicely. Sure, a couple of stories from the original lore were tweaked a bit, but that is not justifiable negative criticism of this show. The true criticism is how we'll need to wait a couple of years before Season 2.

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+)

So many things could have gone wrong with this show. And for some, they did. Creating a new story within a timeframe that, more or less, has already been predetermined is no easy feat, but the writers pulled off a fantastic story that doesn't ruin the integrity of the original trilogy. Well, not too much, anyway. Young Luke's encounter with Reva raised some questions and Reva's ability to survive Vader was also ridiculous.

Watching Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor sparring in the prequel trilogy era was so joyful. That particular scene would have completely fit within that prequel timeline. That episode was the most well-written episode I watched from any show last year. The way the sparring lessons paralleled the characters’ moments in the present was a perfect match, and they fit within the character arcs of Anakin and Obi-Wan. Not only did the show have great writing, but the show had the best finale of any show I watched last year, too. Obi-Wan and Anakin's fight was such an emotional journey. Despite all the controversies surrounding this show, Obi-Wan Kenobi didn’t disappoint me. It helped that Vader has that awesome moment of using the Force to pull down that entire ship!

I’m hopeful that 2023 will have plenty of hit shows, too. HBO Max’s The Last of Us is off to a great start. Star Wars fans are looking forward to The Mandalorian Season 3 and Ahsoka. That ‘90s Show was a great nostalgia trip. And the finale to Picard could be the sendoff we’ve always wanted. Hopefully, the writers’ strike doesn’t get in the way of another great year of television.