2022 was a good year for HBO. The production company delivered strong new seasons of some of its most beloved shows, including Euphoria, The White Lotus, Barry, and The Righteous Gemstones. On the non-fiction front, Real Time with Bill Maher remained as irreverent and topical as ever.

RELATED: 10 Best John Carpenter Movies, According to IMDb

However, where HBO shone this year was with its original programming. They offered a great slate of new movies and shows, not to mention several terrific stand-up specials. 2023 looks set to be equally strong, with new releases like The Last of Us as well the second season of the Matthew Rhys-starring Perry Mason.

'Kimi' — IMDb: 6.3/10

A mixed race woman with blue hair staring at the cam

Kimi is the latest movie from veteran director Steven Soderbergh. It stars Zoë Kravitz as an agoraphobic tech worker who stumbles upon a conspiracy involving an intelligent speaker that spies on people. Soon, she is in danger from those that want to keep the truth hidden.

RELATED: 10 Best Horror Movies of the 2010s, According to IMDb

Soderbergh has a talent for slick, stylish thrillers (see Side Effects and Unsane) and demonstrates that again. However, the real star is Kravitz. It's practically a one-woman film, and she does a lot of heavy lifting. "It was a really interesting challenge. I think it was a bit scary," Kravitz told Collider. "We were saying earlier, there's nowhere to hide, and that can be really vulnerable [...] So it felt like a science experiment of a film in some ways."

'The Staircase' — IMDb: 7.1/10

Family Dinner in The Staircase

This dark family drama tells the true story of Michael Peterson, an author who was accused of murdering his wife in 2001. The show focuses on how death affects each member of the Peterson clan. It also skillfully uses dramatization to show the audience all the different theories about what happened that night.

RELATED: 10 Great '70s Movies, Recommended by Quentin Tarantino

"I think it’s the unknowable aspect of things. The story is entirely compelling because it’s just this domestic world that goes horribly wrong. These people have incredibly beautiful bonds. It’s actually the story of a breakdown of a marriage, and then all of it happens beyond that," Toni Collette has said.

'Navalny' — IMDb: 7.5/10

Navalny-documentary-sundance
Image via Sundance

This documentary follows Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in the months after he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. He recovered in a German hospital and was promptly arrested on returning to Russia, where he remains in custody. It seems that Navalny is trying to become a kind of martyr and symbol of resistance, but it's unclear whether his story will end in triumph or tears.

Navalny is essential viewing in light of the invasion of Ukraine: it's a great character study of an important Russian figure, and dares to ask: what might Russia look like after Putin?

'Branson' — IMDb: 7.6/10

branson 20220

"You don't learn to walk by following rules." This four-part docu-series follows entrepreneur Richard Branson from his childhood and his first venture, the magazine Student, to his rise to billionaire status and his 2021 space flight. It reveals a daring (some might say reckless) visionary who has repeatedly gambled his life savings on his next big idea.

The series comprises many interviews with the people who know Branson best and long conversations between the billionaire and filmmaker Chris Smith. It makes for an intriguing and surprisingly gripping watch.

'Somebody Somewhere' — IMDb: 7.9/10

Bridget Everett as Sam and Jeff Hiller as Joel in Somebody Somewhere
Image via HBO 

One of HBO's quirkiest releases of the year is this bittersweet comedy starring Bridget Everett. She plays Sam, a woman reeling from a loss who attempts to find happiness in small-town Kansas. Although she feels like an outsider, she befriends several other misfits and embarks on a journey of healing and self-acceptance.

Along the way, the series grapples with depression, addiction, and loneliness. However, despite its often bleak subject matter, Somebody Somewhere is ultimately a warm-hearted show with plenty of great jokes. The friendship between Sam and Joel (Jeff Hiller), in particular, made for some of the best feel-good TV moments of 2022.

'The Gilded Age' — IMDb: 8.0/10

The Gilded Age

The Gilded Age is a period drama set in New York City during the 1880s. It explores the class tensions of the era, as well as the rigid social rules and the rivalry between established families and the nouveau riche. Showrunner Julian Fellowes is great at juggling multiple narratives and the dynamics between two different sets of characters, whether between the upstairs and downstairs in Gosford Park or between the two competing families here.

The show does a marvelous job of recreating that moment in time and shines a light on how, even as the social rules change from era to era, human nature remains stubbornly the same. Highlights include the gorgeous costumes and the performances from Carrie Coon, Taissa Farmiga, and Cynthia Nixon.

'Winning Time' — IMDb: 8.3/10

Winning Time

Winning Time dramatizes the Los Angeles Lakers' ascendancy in the 1980s when the team dominated basketball and got into all sorts of shenanigans off the court. The ensemble cast is uniformly excellent, especially Quincy Isaiah, John C. Reilly, and Adrien Brody.

Writer/executive producer Rodney Barns says, "Everybody was carrying some type of stuff along with him, whether it was father-son or daughter-father, something that went beyond basketball. The human experience, to me, was actually more intriguing than the basketball itself."

'Peacemaker' — IMDb: 8.3/10

Peacemaker0

HBO teamed up with DC for this spinoff about John Cena's character from The Suicide Squad. On paper, it seemed like a show that no one really asked for, but it turned out to be one of the breeziest and most enjoyable watches of the year. It's relatively lighthearted for DC, which is a welcome change.

"Not everybody felt positive about Peacemaker after The Suicide Squad. A lot of folks were like, 'Why are you giving this d*pshit his own show? This guy is not a likable dude'," Cena said. "But I also find that interesting because if you look deeper into the performances of The Suicide Squad, there are these microsecond nuanced human moments, which shows potential."

'House of the Dragon' — IMDb: 8.6/10

Two men sit side by side talking

House of the Dragon was a worthy heir to Game of Thrones. It served up plenty of twists and turns, not to mention a ton of violence. It was sometimes a hard watch, but ended strong, setting the stage for a compelling second season. Fans will probably still have a long time to wait until the next Game of Thrones book, but they can at least take solace in knowing that Westeros will return to their TV screens either at the end of next year or early 2024.

Clearly, the cast and crew took their task seriously. "I care about it immensely as both a fan and as the steward and the showrunner," producer Ryan Condal explains. "I am still going to make choices that not all of you are going to like, but, on the whole, I am really looking after the sanctity and wellbeing of George [RR Martin]'s work."

'The Rehearsal' — IMDb: 8.7/10

The Rehearsal - Season 1 poster

Nathan For You was one of the most intriguing series of the last decade, a post-Borat reality show where host Nathan Fielder engaged with ordinary people who didn't realize he was playing a character. After a several-year hiatus, Fielder returned with The Rehearsal, which might be even more captivating.

This time round, Fielder gives people the opportunity to "rehearse" difficult experiences, like confessing the truth to a friend or raising a child. In the process, he got the participants to reveal fascinating (and sometimes infuriating) parts of themselves. The result was a show filled with viral moments, and Fielder's deadpan responses have never been better. While not as laugh-out-loud funny as Nathan For You, The Rehearsal is arguably sharper and more perceptive.

KEEP READING: 10 More Underrated Movies Recommended by Edgar Wright