The Best TV Shows of 2022 - The Ringer

Another year, different flood of noteworthy shows to effort to sum up successful 1 finite list. (Plus immoderate honorable mentions—what tin we say, there’s a batch to celebrate!) 2022 saw beardown debuts and long-anticipated endings, IP exercises with astonishing soul, and intimate stories with affectional scale. Across streaming services and the conglomerates that backmost them, the champion tv inactive felt personal: Native American teens grappling with grief; a crooked lawyer whose sins yet drawback up to him; 1 man’s quest to expect beingness by rehearsing it. These are The Ringer’s champion TV shows of 2022.

10. Pachinko

One broadside effect of the emergence successful genuinely planetary streaming services has been an erosion of the strict borders that person historically defined TV’s distribution. Netflix became the poster kid for this planetary speech with hits similar Dark, Money Heist, and much recently, Squid Game, but this year, Apple TV+ delivered the benignant of task that’s intolerable to ideate successful immoderate different epoch of media: an adaptation of a caller by a Korean American writer that spans 1 family’s decades-long travel from occupied Korea to Japan to the United States. Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko is an absorbing epic of assimilation and survival. The constricted bid does it justness portion tailoring the communicative to its caller medium, a process that unlocks caller depths.

Led by The Terror’s Soo Hugh, Pachinko’s writers interruption a linear communicative into 2 halves: a flashback to a young woman’s determination to permission location for the involvement of her unborn child, and her grandson’s conflict to beryllium himself astatine a Japanese bank. (Directors Justin Chon and Kogonada, some enforcement producers, lend adjacent richness to rugged coastal Korea and engaged modern Tokyo.) Both stories talk to the acquisition of Korean immigrants successful Japan, besides known arsenic Zainichi—a past that’s not wide known successful the United States, but that Pachinko refuses to h2o down for the involvement of a broader audience. Not that viewers primed by a dependable fare of taste imports, oregon adjacent their ain lives, request to beryllium spoonfed. —Alison Herman

9. Severance

A pistillate passed retired successful a league room. A creation enactment with maracas, temper lighting, and “defiant jazz.” Goats wandering a fluorescent-lit hallway. These are the indelible images that made Severance lodge heavy successful our brains, similar the chips that divided immoderate employees astatine Lumon Industries into on- and off-duty selves. The concept, from creator Dan Erickson, blends the acold sterility of firm beingness with surreal fantasia. The visuals, captained by manager and enforcement shaper Ben Stiller, riff connected that halfway combination.

Severance is, connected the page, a classical enigma box, packed to the brim with questions large (what does Lumon Industries adjacent do?) and tiny (what’s the woody with those floating numbers?). But it besides avoids the genre’s superior pitfalls. We’re ne'er watching just to find retired what’s going on, nor does the assemblage ever consciousness similar Severance is dragging itself retired to drawstring america along. Instead, we’re entertained by inventive setups similar Lumon’s “break room,” and invested successful the plight of Britt Lower’s Helly R., the freshly “severed” worker we archetypal conscionable successful that fateful league room. The last occurrence revealing Helly’s “outie,” oregon real-world identity, is among the astir thrilling hours of TV aired this year, cementing Severance as 2022’s archetypal large breakout. —AH

8. The White Lotus

Mike White has it each figured out. After astir a decennary away from HBO, the writer, director, and Survivor MVP turned a pandemic stopgap into a blank check. By shooting astatine the Four Seasons Maui, the archetypal play of The White Lotus gave itself a quarantine-friendly HQ. But it besides established a playbook to transcript erstwhile the six-episode bid became a smash success. Now that The White Lotus is an anthology, with a 2nd play connected aerial and a 3rd in the works, its creator has realized the Hollywood dream: an all-expenses-paid travel anyplace successful the satellite astatine a luxury edifice of his choosing, each connected Warner Bros. Discovery’s dime.

His existent halt is Sicily, a alteration successful scenery that comes with a alteration successful theme. The White Lotus is inactive a amusement astir what the affluent privation from their vacations. (Even those who person everything are inactive successful hunt of something.) In Hawai’i, it was a consciousness of information and power astatine the disbursal of the work staff; successful Italy, it’s the imaginable for powerfulness that comes with sex, whether sold for wealth oregon freely exchanged. White has erstwhile again recruited an all-star ensemble successful pursuit of expertly choreographed chaos, featuring standout turns from Aubrey Plaza, F. Murray Abraham, Meghann Fahy, and more. The prima wattage whitethorn beryllium similar, but this 2nd play of The White Lotus is chiseled capable to beryllium the archetypal was nary fluke, and the follow-up is nary bare currency grab. This conception has legs, and we’ll travel White wherever helium wants to go. —AH

7. Our Flag Means Death

In the caller HBO Max drama Our Flag Means Death, inspired by the stranger-than-fiction relationship of British aristocrat Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), who leaves his cushy beingness down to go a “gentleman pirate,” the jokes constitute themselves. Like the aboriginal seasons of Parks and Recreation that juxtaposed Leslie Knope’s earnest admiration of authorities enactment alongside her cynical colleagues, Bonnet is hilariously adrift arsenic a cheery, eccentric person of outlaws. But what transforms Our Flag Means Death from a bully bid into a large 1 is however it rapidly abandons treating Bonnet similar a punch enactment and embraces genuinely heartfelt queer romances passim the ensemble.

Led by Bonnet and the fearsome Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), who find comfortableness successful each different amid their respective midlife crises, Our Flag Means Death brushes speech immoderate concerns implicit queerbaiting by allowing its relationships to materialize connected screen. (The romanticist fan art the show’s inspired has been arsenic delightful.) The information that this adjacent needs to beryllium commended is an indictment of a tv scenery that repeatedly lets LGBTQ viewers down. In immoderate case, Our Flag Means Death has already charted a promising people arsenic some a workplace drama and a stirring emotion communicative connected the precocious seas. —Miles Surrey

6. The English

Don’t fto its rubric fool you: The English, the six-part Amazon Prime miniseries, is much acrophobic astir the ideals upon which the United States was formed. Set successful 1890, the amusement follows English aristocrat Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), who travels to the American West successful hunt of the antheral liable for sidesplitting her son. Along the way, she crosses paths with Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout looking to settee connected the onshore he’s earned for his servitude, adjacent if helium knows it won’t travel easy. It goes without saying that the West wasn’t benignant to women oregon Native Americans, but arsenic Cornelia and Eli thrust disconnected together, The English imagines a satellite wherever radical of cardinal decency were capable to forge their ain destinies successful the onshore of opportunity.

Of course, the West is inactive brutal and lawless, characteristics the bid suggests are intrinsic to the U.S.’s DNA. The amusement doesn’t spare immoderate of its characters, nevertheless well-meaning, from the harsh realities of its setting. In the champion imaginable way, The English feels similar a spiritual relative to George Miller’s Mad Max movies, wherever acts of unspeakable cruelty are acceptable against backdrops of bleak, rugged beauty. (The show’s memorable array of broadside characters, including an aged pistillate outlaw without eyelids, adhd to the nightmarish vibes.) There’s ne'er been a Western connected tv rather similar The English: a revisionist instrumentality connected the American frontier that remains faithful to the landscape’s capableness to overwhelm, terrify, and astir of all, captivate. —MS

5. Reservation Dogs

After bursting onto the country arsenic 1 of the best shows of 2021, Reservation Dogs returned this twelvemonth with a funnier, much poignant, and adjacent much assured sophomore effort. After introducing the titular Rez Dogs—as good arsenic memorable supporting characters wrong their Native American community—the 2nd play sees our plucky protagonists travel of age: Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) picks up after-school enactment arsenic a roofer, portion Elora (Devery Jacobs) gives much thought to leaving the preservation for seemingly greener pastures.

Combining the cosmopolitan anxiousness of teenagers trying to fig retired what to bash with their lives alongside challenges circumstantial to the Native American experience, Reservation Dogs is inactive similar thing other connected television. To that end, portion the Rez Dogs stay the affectional anchor of the series, possibly the champion occurrence of the play centered connected the show’s aunties letting escaped astatine an Indian Health Service conference—their mentation of a Cancun-like getaway—which besides revealed that the women are inactive reeling from the nonaccomplishment of their puerility person Cookie (Elora’s mom). No different bid tin veer truthful wildly from moments of slapstick drama to tear-jerking pathos and ever instrumentality the landing: a promising denotation that Reservation Dogs volition beryllium a mainstay of these rankings for galore years to come. —MS

4. The Dropout

Imagine giving a show truthful bully it gets an A-lister similar Jennifer Lawrence to tip her hat and backmost off. Such is the powerfulness of Emmy winner Amanda Seyfried arsenic Elizabeth Holmes, the sine qua non of Hulu’s instrumentality connected the emergence and autumn of Theranos. The Dropout, created by New Girl’s Liz Meriwether, arrived this outpouring arsenic portion of a pack: shows similar Super Pumped and WeCrashed offered analogous portraits of tech founders gone rogue, portion Inventing Anna chronicled different charismatic young pistillate who conned the affluent into giving her wealth she didn’t deserve. All this contention could’ve been a handicap. Instead, it conscionable emphasized however hard it is to harvester societal commentary, existent crime, and quality study—and however good The Dropout did so, contempt the odds.

As channeled by Seyfried, Holmes is simply a fraud, but besides a savant: archetypal astatine science, past astatine exploiting a strategy that values hype implicit hard facts. Flanked by Naveen Andrews arsenic Sunny Balwani, Holmes’s mentor, accomplice, and paramour, Seyfried finds authentic insecurity successful a persona that’s each artifice, from the committedness of a aesculapian occurrence to that infamous voice. It each builds to a perfect, haunting last scene: a disgraced Elizabeth lets retired a pure, primal scream—then introduces herself, each smiles, to an Uber operator arsenic “Lizzie.” Before the existent Holmes was sentenced to implicit a decennary successful national situation past month, oceans of ink were spilled connected the Theranos implosion. As Lawrence was astute capable to note, The Dropout is truthful definitive it whitethorn good beryllium the past word. —AH

3. Andor

Star Wars has had a unsmooth spell of it lately: Disney has yet to enactment a caller movie connected the merchandise calendar aft the nonaccomplishment of 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, portion the slate of Disney+ bid person started to suffer their luster. (The little said astir The Book of Boba Fett, the better.) Given the franchise’s caller drawstring of disappointments, the optimistic work connected Andor—a spinoff bid to the spinoff movie astir the Rebels snatching up the Death Star plans—is that it arrived with comparatively humble expectations and minimal fanfare. Naturally, Andor is not conscionable the champion Star Wars bid to date: It mightiness beryllium the franchise’s top accomplishment since the archetypal trilogy.

With the pedigree of writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, apparently miraculous Rogue One reshoots), Andor feels similar the archetypal Star Wars task explicitly aimed astatine adults—one wherever the heroes often marque morally compromising decisions, and the afloat grade of the Empire’s cruel authoritarian tactics are laid bare. From Imperial officers dealing with shady bureau authorities successful betwixt torturing guiltless civilians to upstanding legislator Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) realizing that insurgencies indispensable get their hands dirty, there’s a existent consciousness of intent and urgency driving each scene. After years of mediocrity and nostalgia-baiting, Andor is simply a caller anticipation for Star Wars, and what IP extensions should strive to be. —MS

2. Better Call Saul

The lone happening harder than creating a prestige play that cuts done the sound is uncovering a satisfying mode to extremity it. That was conscionable 1 of the challenges presented to Better Call Saul’s last season, which not lone had to wrapper up the saga of 1 Saul Goodman (né Jimmy McGill), but besides supply a worthy bookend to the larger Breaking Bad universe. For a originative squad that relishes penning themselves retired of communicative corners, Better Call Saul’s sixth play was an particularly tricky beast: The 13 episodes jumped each crossed the timeline, including moments that coincided with Breaking Bad due and provided aged scenes with thrilling caller context. (After learning the fates of Lalo Salamanca and Howard Hamlin, we’ll ne'er look astatine Gus Fring’s underground meth laboratory the aforesaid mode again.)

But for each its propulsive thrills, Better Call Saul was inactive ne'er amended than erstwhile it homed successful connected Jimmy and Kim Wexler, and however their narration mightiness beryllium doing themselves much harm than bully nary substance however overmuch they attraction for each other. (It besides didn’t wounded that Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn delivered career-best performances connected a play basis.) That sentiment held existent each the mode done to the moving and understated finale, which underlined what Better Call Saul was each along: a emotion communicative astir star-crossed lawyers. With an fantabulous ending successful the books, Better Call Saul didn’t conscionable cement its presumption arsenic an all-time-great prequel, but 1 of the precise champion shows ever made. —MS

1. The Rehearsal

What is The Rehearsal, exactly? A documentary? A societal experiment? A pitch-black comedy? A gripping quality drama? Whatever Nathan Fielder’s latest task is, it’s dissimilar thing other connected TV. But novelty unsocial doesn’t marque The Rehearsal the amusement of the year. Over six episodes, an already intricate idea—helping regular radical hole for large events by “rehearsing” them down to the smallest detail—escalates into a futile hunt for the enactment that separates world and performance, mentation and practice, the wrong of your caput and the substance of others’ lives.

Fielder’s erstwhile show, Nathan for You, thrived connected discomfort—mostly for the viewer, and sometimes the guests. The Rehearsal turns that anxiousness inward. Fielder’s on-screen persona has agelong shown an inability to prosecute successful casual quality interaction, alternatively fixating connected progressively elaborate schemes. At first, The Rehearsal simply offers a caller benignant of overcomplicated gimmick. But aft conscionable 1 well-executed program to assistance a Brooklyn trivia subordinate travel cleanable to a friend, The Rehearsal forces Fielder to question his ain hypothesis. What if you can’t expect life’s each turn? What if you shouldn’t try? Who could you wounded by trying to power life’s inevitable chaos?

The Rehearsal works arsenic a metaphor connected aggregate levels. It’s astir filmmaking; it’s astir parenting; it’s astir marginalized radical (in this case, Jewish Fielder successful profoundly goyish Oregon) trying to recognize their oppressors. But it’s besides astir the heavy narcissism of the anxious mind—the mode obsessing implicit your ain neuroses blinds you to the information that everyone’s the halfway of their ain universe. That The Rehearsal combines this intelligence penetration with specified jaw-dropping feats arsenic rebuilding a Brooklyn barroom connected a soundstage lone cements its status. I’m arsenic excited for Season 2 arsenic I americium acrophobic of what it mightiness reveal. —AH

Honorable mentions: This Is Going to Hurt, Somebody Somewhere, Dark Winds, Slow Horses, Abbott Elementary, Los Espookys, Hacks, Atlanta, For All Mankind, Barry, The Patient, The Boys