Entertainment News: Best TV Shows of 2022
The year is over, and we're already drowning in great TV.
The content carousel never stops spinning, so it's up to you to get what you
want while it makes its rounds. Half of 2022 has offered an astonishing number
of series for premium viewing. Ozark made a big comeback on Netflix, Amazon
gave us a sweet look at the lives of three young adults on the autism spectrum,
and ABC (yes, A-B-C, the network) named Best Comedy of the Year.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Paramount+'s explosion of Star Trek programming has had some
ups and downs, but at Strange New Worlds, we've got the best Trek outing in
decades. Back to Basics this return to episodic storytelling from the original
series takes place while leading Christopher Pike, the predecessor to Captain
Kirk aboard the Enterprise. If you're not Trekkie, fear not: There's no
learning curve here, and there's plenty to love for any sci-fi fan. Strange New
Worlds is a hilarious, hilarious, retro, character-driven series where each
episode combines a top-notch social and cultural story with some good, clean,
and cool space-time fun.
Bridgeton
As the breakout heads into its second season, one always has
to wonder: Will there be a slump in the second year? Anyone worried about
Bridgeton was proven wrong when Season Two went up. Sure, the second outing was
different than the first: Enemies for romance lovers meant less satiating sex
and slow-burning chemistry, but it was still hot as hell. The series also found
new emotional depths in its romantic threads, held together by attraction as
much as the burdens of shared grief, duty, and sacrifice. We can hardly wait
for season 3.
Under the sky banner
After the insane murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty,
Dustin Lance Black's Under the Banner of Heaven (based in part on the book of
the same name by Jon Krakauer) is a harrowing look at religious crime,
extremism, and tests of faith. Andrew Garfield plays the fictional Jeb Pyre, a
Mormon detective tasked with investigating a murder. What he initially
discovers turns out to be an onion of mystery, with more and more disturbing
details revealed as he delves into the extremes of his church.
Barry
Barry's third season turns things up a bit. After Jane
reveals that Barry is responsible for the death of Detective Janis Moss, season
three is back in action, pushing Jane and Barry together in the most dangerous
way possible. Without spoiling anything, Barry's long-awaited new season looks
even more charged than previous seasons. But mostly, how cool would Noho Hank
be back on our screens?
Hearts tuber
Netflix's new coming of age story skips the hype of high-end
TV and instead opts for something that feels trendy: a straightforward,
intimate story. The British series follows a teenager who navigates life as one
of the few gay men at an all-boys school. He soon finds an ally in the rugby
team captain, only to discover that they may be more alike than he initially
thought. Bonus points: Olivia Colman appeared as one of the protagonist's
mothers, and yes, she steals every scene she's in.
We own this city
David Simon returns to HBO with his greatest muse:
Baltimore. Unfortunately, the source material hasn't improved much since his
masterpiece, The Wire. The good part is that we're left with a force of limited
series, chronicling the Baltimore Police Department's Disastrous Weapon
Tracking Task Force. It's full of corruption and suspicion, which makes it
perfect fodder for one of Simon's character studies in Baltimore. Jon Berthal,
Jimmy Hector, and Josh Charles shine as lead in what is sure to enter Simon's
Great Canon.
Minx
Does Minx sometimes tend to be vulgar? Surely But there's
still something intoxicating about HBO Max's Porn Valley-set starring Jake
Johnson and Ophelia Lovepond. The latter plays a feminist writer who hopes to
launch her own feminist magazine in the 1970s. The first is her posting meal
ticket catch? He's a punk mage king. Fun ensues.
Download
The time between Season 1 and 2 of the Upload was amazingly
long. (As with the premieres in Pandemic World) But even so, the sci-fi series
about the afterlife is still as fresh and original as it was in the first
season. The new installment of episodes doesn't spare any comedy but manages to
weave a story about the disparity of wealth and how it continues to affect
people in the Upload world, even after they've left.
Pachinko
Apple TV+ knows something good when they see it, so they
took the novel of the same name, put Oscar winner (Youn Yuh-Jung) on top, and
created something amazing. In the boom of Korean series available to American
viewers, Pachinko has outgrown the hype.