The Best TV Shows of 2022
“What would you do if you had a time machine?”
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two of AMC’s greatest television programs uses a time machine. In Mad Men, it’s to sell Kodak photo carousel slides, in the Albuquerque Universe the time machine is a way to express a “what-if” scenario. Both shows feature characters looking back on pivotal moments in their career and wondering if life could have been different if not for the sins of their past. Before we get started, I have one question to ask:
DO YOU REALLY WANNA DO YOU REALLY WANNA TASTE IT?
15: Peacemaker (HBO Max)
Let’s go back to the beginning of 2022. DC is in good hands here with Gunn having been promoted to the head of DC Studios as the result of successes with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy series as well as Peacemaker and last year’s Suicide Squad movie. Peacemaker had my favorite TV intro of the year, with everyone involved in the cast slowly making their way on stage to the tune of Wig Wam’s “Do Ya Wanna Taste It”. It set the tone for how fun the series is, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
All episodes are currently streaming on HBO Max. A second season is planned.
Traveling to: 2013
In 2013, I learned of “Akira” through Adult Swim’s “Month of Movies”. I watched on a big screen TV in the basement, and it was one of the major glimpses into what animation could look like. From the iconic bike scene to the giant baby mutation Akira continues to blow my mind every time I’ve gone back to revisit it. Within the last couple of years, western animation has started to move forward in big ways as we’ve gotten Invincible, an hour-long animated superhero drama about how difficult it is to be a hero and in 2022 AMC delivered another unique experience.
14: Pantheon (AMC+)
An hour-long animated thriller about uploaded intelligence, Pantheon quietly came out too little fanfare. It’s a shame because some of the action sequences looked fantastic and I kept thinking of Akira with its tragic characters and being forced into an experiment by the government. As companies like Meta tries to establish a “metaverse”, Pantheon asks moral dilemmas on how this technology can lead to the start of another World War if it falls into the wrong hands.
Pantheon is available for purchase on Apple TV. A second season is planned.
Traveling to: 2020
I’ve grown tired of April Fools the older I’ve gotten, but if there’s one thing to look forward to on this day it is seeing what Adult Swim creates for it. From a stealth premiere of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie then getting shrunk down to the corner of the screen, to former TCM host Robert Osborne showing previews and pilots of upcoming originals in 2008, these telecasts are often a creative and silly way to lean into a stupid day. When the world shut down in 2020, Post Malone spent April 1st showing off new episodes of original series like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, 12 oz. Mouse, and at the end of the night a pilot for Smiling Friends that quickly became a viral sensation. The network would later announce a revival of Tuca and Bertie in that summer, and I think it’s fitting to give all three a recognition here:
13–11:Smiling Friends/Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal/Tuca and Bertie (Adult Swim)
All three shows here feature a variety of different animators and storytelling mechanics that you can’t get anywhere else on television. Smiling Friends debuted in its entirety back in January with former Newgrounds animators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack trading back and forth various animation styles like 3D modeling, gross out humor and surrealism. Genndy Tartakovsky concluded the storyline to Spear and Fang while branching out to find a way to keep the show moving forward as an anthology series.Tuca and Bertie across the three seasons it was able to air before it was canceled once again told stories about being a recovering alcoholic, abusive relationships in both a professional and personal environment in addition to using live action, Claymation, paper cutouts and many more animation techniques. If you’re looking for something to watch, all three are spectacular ways to spend some time.
Traveling to: July 2017
I’m working at the library and there’s this account with a Hobbes profile picture that came up in my Twitter feed saying that he figured out how football was going to be played in the future. So, I click on the link, and for a minute there I thought I was going to break the computer at work.
The hell is going on here?
That was my introduction to the works of Jon Bois at SB Nation. Every day there was a new chapter to read along, and the way video was incorporated into Google Earth and GIFs made it a compelling and interesting way to tell a story, and that work continues with SB Nation’s video team at Secret Base.
10: Secret Base YouTube Channel (Dorktown/Rewinder/Collapse, etc.)
I owe my appreciation of sports to Secret Base. To be able to tell stories not just through a historical lens but to be able to create thrillers, tragicomedies, and what if scenarios, there’s no other place on YouTube that’s continuously producing interesting documentaries each week covering a variety of sports and athletes.
Traveling to: 2019
I worked as a PA on Fargo for a week. It was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had at work. While I was trying to find stable work, Comedy Central was airing the best TV show about Chicago and it continues to still be a delight today:
9: South Side (HBO Max)
I can’t think of another show that is as wire to wire funny on television right now than South Side. The premiere episode features a true story about how co-creator Bashir Salahuddin got his car towed while working on the show and he went to Lower Wacker Drive to get it back. It doesn’t matter how famous you are (The Chicago Bulls Ayo Dosunmu also appears, and it’s a tremendous scene!) no one is immune from the city’s ruthless parking laws. Considering the situation at Warner Bros. Discovery where original programs are being taken off for tax write off purposes, so they don’t have to pay residuals on them, and this show is not available to be purchased digitally or on DVD, and this was dumped off once again at a time when most lists have been published, I am genuinely afraid for this show’s future.
The entire series is streaming on HBO Max. For now.
Traveling to: 2016
For a while, I really enjoyed having a late spring/early summer block of Game of Thrones followed by Silicon Valley and Veep. It was a solid two hours of programming from HBO that then led to a nightcap of Last Week Tonight. In early 2016, Alec Berg who was one of the EPs on Silicon Valley signed a long-term deal with HBO and that led to the creation of this next show:
8: Barry (HBO)
It took nearly three years for Barry to return to the airwaves, and it was well worth the wait. I’m still thinking of the chase sequence in “710N” where you only hear a motorcycle speeding across a major highway in LA. To be able to continuously pivot back and forth from comedy to a horror thriller, Bill Hader’s going to have a hell of a directorial debut someday. Henry Winkler said in a Variety interview that the next season will likely be the last for the show, and I’m excited to see how it all wraps up.
The entire series is streaming on HBO Max. A 4th and supposedly final season is coming next year.
Traveling to: 2001
During Christmas time of this year, my love for video games would start thanks to the PlayStation One. Meanwhile, a future Sanford student would start to get ready to study aboard for the summer and everything would begin to unravel.
7: The Dropout (Hulu)
“This company hurt people”
If Halt and Catch Fire is about how technology and ambition can bring people together, then the Dropout is an acidic 180 version of how lies can ruin lives. Amanda Seyfried gives a masterful performance as Elizabeth Holmes; it takes a lot to be able to not only portray someone that has been through some horrific trauma but then to able to create a monster out of it. It’s also a fascinating look through on how much new technology has been created throughout the past 20 years with inventions like the IPhone and social media. Seyfried’s Emmy was well deserved.
The entire series is streaming on Hulu.
Traveling to: Mid 2000s
Pamela Adlon’s voice has been around for a long time from Ashley Spinelli in Disney’s Recess to the Pajama Sam games by Humongous Entertainment to Bobby Hill in Fox’s King of the Hill. At a certain point she started working more to live action roles, and the creation of this next series would pave the way to doing her own feature film:
6: Better Things (FX)
Man, I can’t wait to see Pamela Adlon’s first feature she directs. After spending the past few years directing every episode from season two onward, Better Things wrapped up this past spring with a road trip to London and a deeply moving finale where everyone sings along to Monty Phyton’s “Bright Side of Life” as Pamela Adlon drives through a meteor shower. “The world is filled with bad moms”, but Adlon did her best to raise those kids and create an environment where people can be loved.
The entire series is currently streaming on Hulu.
Traveling to: 2021
I took some time off last May to just be alone with my thoughts over the Memorial Day weekend. The combination of being over worked and going through grieving completely fried my brain. One thing that helped get me out of that funk was this:
5: Hacks (HBO Max)
The second season is even better than the first with Deborah threating a lawsuit hanging over Ava for breaching her NDA. I can only hope this show can last several more years, it’s awesome having Jean Smart back on TV again.
The entire series is streaming on HBO Max. A third season is planned.
Traveling To: 2014
“Dumb Starbucks”, that’s all I needed to hear to be sold on Nathan for You. After working as a producer for How to With John Wilson and writing for Who is America, Nathan Fielder returns to the spotlight with his most ambitious work yet
4: The Rehearsal (HBO)
What if you had the opportunity to perfect a scenario like a raising a child or revealing a secret to a long-time friend? The lengths Nathan Fielder went to constructing all these different scenarios in addition to building replica bars/Raising Canes in a warehouse to sell the realism of these situations was one of the most maddening yet insightful look into how reality television can get staged.
The entire series is streaming on HBO Max. A second season is planned.
Traveling to: August 2014
One of the last nights before we all left for college, we drove around town saying goodbye to some folks that we knew from high school before going off on our own separate paths. This next show had its core group mostly separated throughout the season, but came together in the end to honor their fallen friend:
3: Reservation Dogs (Hulu)
From awkwardly butchering Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” to a trip out to California going haywire, Reservation Dogs continues where the last season ended with more depth given to its supporting cast. The second half of the season has some of my favorite episodes of the year with Willie Jack having a group of spirits surround her in prayer, Officer Red reliving one of the worst days of his life and of course the group finally reaching California after talking about one day getting there over the past two seasons.
The entire series is streaming on Hulu. A third season is planned.
Traveling to: The 1990s
Sega vs Nintendo console wars, grunge music is in with Pearl Jam and Nirvana topping the charts, the Chicago Bulls dominate the NBA thanks to Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippin. In another timeline, we land on Mars.
2: For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
Space Titanic. I have no further comments.
The entire series is currently streaming on Apple TV+, a 4th season has been announced.
Traveling to: December 2022
1: Better Call Saul (AMC)
“You are not talking about a time machine, which is both a real and theoretical impossibility. You are talking about regrets”
Better Call Saul had the impossible task to live up to the standard that Breaking Bad set. It not only managed to stand next to Breaking Bad, but Better Call Saul further enriched my love for this universe. The line that stood out to me this year was this:
“Whatever happens next, it’s not going to go down the way you think it is”
Mike was right. Even having an inside man give me the perspective of being a PA on the show, Better Call Saul continuously kept me glued to the fates of these characters throughout the spring and summer. If you were to tell me even three years ago, I would find myself in a position where I’m doing grad school and on a great insurance plan, I wouldn’t have believed you. This year started off overwhelmingly stressful, I was having night terrors about going to Walgreens to pay for my insulin back in February, by November I woke up at 4AM to buy concert tickets to see Pulp in Dublin. I walked into 2022 scared out of my mind, I’m entering 2023 with what is perhaps the brightest the future has looked for me in a long, long time.
Seasons 1–5 are currently streaming on Netflix. Season 6 is available now on DVD/Blu-Ray, it will arrive on Netflix at some point in 2023.
Honorable Mentions:
For as much as I love Harley Quinn, I took out Harley Quinn due to NFT nonsense and I honestly forgot Yellowjackets finished the remainder of the season off in early January with a couple episodes. Defunctland had a video on the Garfield Tunnel of Love ride and an entire documentary on how Disney’s Channel’s theme was created.
