Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for the various TV series on this list.With so many TV shows to choose from on broadcast networks, cable channels, and various streaming services, there is no shortage of dramas and comedies, and stories that are a mixture of the two, which means that there’s also no shortage of great storytelling and excellent performances. As a result, highlighting the best gets harder and harder every year because I know that I’m missing out on shows that would likely be on this list if I’d just had more hours in a day to watch it all.
I watch a ton of television, and a wide range of it. Sometimes, I go into the viewing experience with high hopes because I’m a fan of the source material. Sometimes, I check something out because I’m interested or intrigued by the cast and creative team. Sometimes, I’m completely unaware of what’s in store for me. But every year, I always have plenty of stand-outs to shine a spotlight on, tip my hat to, and celebrate the excellence of. Keep in mind that just because something isn’t on this list, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t deserve to be, and is more likely an issue of still not being able to figure out how to add more viewing hours to keep some of those gems from slipping through the cracks. Until then, here are my selections for the Best TV of 2022.
TV Series of the Year: Andor
The Disney+ original series Andor is just great television. Its brilliance comes from the strength of its writing and its ability to make me care about a title character that I already know the outcome of, having seen Rogue One, but am still on the edge of my seat rooting for, every step of the way. In its 12-episode first season, creator/showrunner Tony Gilroy takes the character of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna, who’s also an executive producer) on his journey toward becoming a rebel hero and finding his place in the fight against the Empire. And while it might seem like he still has a ways to go before he gets there, every revolution has to start somewhere, and we already know that we’ll get 12 more episodes to watch Cassian evolve into who we know he’ll eventually be.
Best Drama Series: Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire
What I love about the AMC series Interview with the Vampire is that it feels like a beautifully poetic love letter to Anne Rice and her vision for that world and those characters, albeit soaked in blood and wrapped in a toxic relationship bow. The first season was decadent in its exploration of love and how, if you twist and manipulate that, it can easily descend into something much darker. The trio of Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac, Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt, and Bailey Bass as Claudia is absolute perfection, as they push the limits of their characters’ immortality, while the dynamic between Louis and Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) is a fascinating interplay that says so much more than is being verbally spoken. And don’t even get me started on what Armand is up to.
Best Comedy Series: The Afterparty
The first season of the Apple TV+ original comedy series The Afterparty centers around a murder at a high school reunion. What sets the funny eight episodes apart is that they feature the retelling of the same night told through a different character’s perspective, creating the unique opportunity for each to have its own style and genre – including rom-com, action flick, musical, psychological thriller, flashback, and animation – that best suits whoever is doing the telling. With Tiffany Haddish’s Detective Danner at the center of it all, along with some help from amateur sleuth Aniq (Sam Richardson), not only does the real story reveal itself and serve justice for the real killer, but Aniq also gets the girl he’s been pining for since high school.
Best Nail-Biter Series: The Bear
I’ll admit, the FX series The Bear (streaming at Hulu) gave me anxiety as I watched young chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) go from the highly competitive world of fine-dining to putting his heart and soul into transforming his family sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland, into something more. Over eight 30-minute episodes, you get to know the staff, including Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), whose talent really shone in the kitchen as she earned the respect of her co-workers. Special shout out to Episode 7 for what it accomplished in a 20-minute one-shot, putting its cast and viewers through the wringer. Between the money in the tomato cans, the renaming of the restaurant to The Bear, and Sydney’s return after a brief departure prior to Carmy’s apology, Season 2 will be serving up plenty of challenges.
Best Male Performance: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Watching Carmy over the first season of the FX series The Bear (streaming at Hulu) was like watching the walls closing in on someone trying to outrun the inevitable, ever closer to having those walls fully crush his soul. Stripped down to its core, the series is about food and family, but there are so many layers and complexities that come with that, whether it’s dealing with (or avoiding) grief after a loved one’s suicide, or figuring out how to bring the chosen family of a kitchen crew together before it implodes. Anyone who watched his work on Shameless knows what Jeremy Allen White is capable of, as an actor, but The Bear allows his authentic and raw performance to shine.
Best Female Performance: Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout
Executive produced by showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether, the Hulu original series The Dropout tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried), Theranos, and the deception that pulled the curtain back on the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire to reveal the fraud of it all. It’s a tale of ambition and big dreams, but all the optimism in the world couldn’t help the tech startup founder out of the hole she dug for herself when her attempt to revolutionize the healthcare industry turned out to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It’s fascinating to watch Seyfried go on Holmes’ journey of transformation, from socially awkward to undeniably ambitious, as her signature style and voice also evolve and her emotions are reigned in to an almost disturbing degree. It’s a precise character study that illustrates just how calculated Holmes was, never wavering from a persona that kept her detached from the mounting lies that were finally her unavoidable downfall.
Best Dysfunctional Family: House of the Dragon
From co-showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, who are also executive producers along with author George R.R. Martin, the first season of the HBO series House of the Dragon explores the Targaryen family with all the power, danger, rivalry, jealousy, betrayal, murder and love that could either make them invincible or tear them apart, likely both in equal measure. When you throw in powerful dragons, it becomes impossible to know who to trust or where loyalties lie, even among family and especially when you’re all vying for power. When you’re a Targaryen, it’s hard to protect yourself from your enemies, when those enemies could also be the ones you think love you the most.
Best Enemies: Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, House of the Dragon
Initially, our way into the HBO series House of the Dragon, as viewers, was through the friendship between young Princess Rhaenyra, heir to the Throne, and Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra’s best friend at court. While the work of Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke as the adult characters is truly remarkable, it’s Milly Alcock and Emily Carey who had the tall task of setting the stage in the first five episodes for what’s to come. Their work is riveting, as you see their friendship start to sour and the family start to fracture, with King Viserys (Paddy Considine) naming his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir, instead of his brother Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), and later marrying Alicent. It’s enough family drama to test anyone’s loyalties, and it was so expertly played that it was hard to say goodbye to Alcock and Carey with the series’ sixth episode time jump.
Best Reboot/Remake/Reimagining: Bel-Air / A League of Their Own
From Morgan Cooper, whose viral trailer that reimagined the ‘90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air inspired the Peacock original series, Bel-Air is a new dramatic take that follows Will (Jabari Banks) on a journey that quickly spirals out of control. Putting the streets of West Philadelphia behind him, as he moves into a gated mansion in Bel-Air with his Uncle Phillip (Adrian Holmes) and Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman), Will has to navigate where and how he fits in and what he wants from his second chance and this new opportunity. The series took some big swings in its first season in order to win over those skeptical about the reimagining, shook up Will and Carlton (Olly Sholotan), and didn’t provide any easy answers for Will and the Banks family, but it was all so compelling that I’m very curious to see where it all goes next in Season 2.
From co-creators and executive producers Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham, the Amazon Studios original series A League of Their Own embraces the spirit of the 1992 film from director Penny Marshall while delving much deeper into its 1940s/World War II time period and what the dream of playing professional baseball meant to a generation of women. When Carson Shaw (Jacobson) leaves her life behind to try out for the Peaches, she meets a team of smart, funny women, each of whom is trying to overcome their own obstacles in order to find themselves out on the baseball field. The cast was pitch-perfect, the characters pulled on the heartstrings in a way that had viewers all up in their feelings, and you couldn’t help but root for this team.
Best Recovery: Sofia Black-D’Elia, Single Drunk Female
Addiction, alcoholism, and sobriety are difficult subjects that often lead to challenging conversations and ongoing struggles, which is most definitely the case for Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-D’Elia) on the new Freeform dramedy Single Drunk Female, inspired by the life experiences of show creator Simone Finch. The 20-something alcoholic is forced into sobriety in order to avoid jail time, but when that leads to moving back home with her mother Carol (Ally Sheedy), who’s giving it everything she’s got to have a life of her own, and having to face all the triggers that led her to drink in the first place, figuring out who she is and what she wants while sober seems like an insurmountable task. It’s a comedy that will tear your heart out and it’s a serious drama that will make you laugh, and finding that balance for such subject matter is not easy to pull off, but this show very much does just that. And through it all, you find yourself rooting for Sam to find the best version of herself that she can successfully maintain.
Character I’m Most Rooting For: Henry Winkler, Barry
From co-creators Bill Hader and Alec Berg, the HBO dark comedy series Barry is a great show with great writing and a great cast. I love all of the characters and the actors who bring them to life, but the character that I consistently find myself most rooting for is acting teacher Gene Cousineau. When I interviewed Henry Winkler for Season 3, he told me that what he’s done in the series is the most intense work he’s ever done, which is understandable, but it’s also his best. While Barry (Hader) has spiraled further down a dark path in his attempt to have a normal life, it’s hard to see how he’ll ever be able to successfully achieve that. After everything he’s been through and everything he’s done in three seasons, to and because of Barry, you have to wonder what will become of Gene Cousineau. It’s the undeniable charm of Winkler that leads me to just want him to find some peace somewhere, far away from it all.
Best Ensemble: The Sandman
After more than three decades and many failed attempts, the beloved award-winning DC comic series The Sandman has finally been brought to life as a 10-episode drama for Netflix, developed and executive produced by author Neil Gaiman, showrunner Allan Heinberg, and David. S. Goyer. Set in a world where the Master of Dreams, aka The Sandman (Tom Sturridge), must travel across different worlds and timelines to restore the order that devolved while he was held prisoner for over a century, he’s required to visit old friends, foes and family from his vast existence, in order to re-balance the dreaming and waking worlds.
One of the greatest strengths of its series is its cast. The sizable ensemble has no weak links, to the point that I could watch any combination of them go on any sort of adventure together and would gladly watch spinoffs for each and every one of them. It also had one of my favorite episodes of any show in 2022, with “The Sound of Her Wings.” Following Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) in something of a take-your-sibling-to-work moment with Dream, we see a journey and exploration of emotion across three deaths – an elderly violinist, a man whose time has come too soon, and an infant – that showcased the nurturing and maternal nature that provided comfort in each of their transitions.
Best Limited Series: Under the Banner of Heaven
The story that’s continued to haunt me since I first watched it is the FX series Under the Banner of Heaven (streaming at Hulu). Detective Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield), a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or the LDS Church), and his seasoned partner Bill Taba (Gil Birmingham) find themselves on a disturbing case where they must investigate a prominent Mormon family, the Laffertys, for the role they played. The horrific crime forces Pyre to question his own faith in ways that he never could have expected, putting him at odds with the town and, at times, his own family. The series clearly comes from a very personal place for its creator Dance Lance Black, who was inspired not only by the true-crime novel by Jon Krakauer, but also his own experience and journey with the Mormon faith. It’s that connection that led Black to approach the story with a level of care that always honored the victims with respect and compassion.
Best Pandemic Series: P-Valley
The Starz series P-Valley never shies away from going there, and I love every inch of it, for that very reason. From creator Katori Hall, the second season saw the Chucalissa strip club The Pynk fighting for its own survival during the pandemic, with Autumn (Elarica Johnson) and Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) not always seeing eye-to-eye when it came to what was best for the business. At the same time, local politics made a mess of everything and everyone found themselves caught up in drama, as they did what they had to, just to make it through such unprecedented times. With storylines that included a stripper car wash, turning masks into Corona couture, suicide, abortion, and the ups and downs of the love story of Uncle Clifford and Lil’ Murda (J. Alphonse Nicholson), P-Valley continued to be audacious, wild, and totally genius.
Best Underdog: Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows
Joyfully ridiculous and brilliantly bonkers, I love absolutely everything about the FX series What We Do in the Shadows. The events of Season 4 were quite a wild ride, with the mansion crumbling, Nandor’s (Kayvan Novak) love life not living up to expectations, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) becoming disillusioned with his current life status, Nadja’s (Natasia Demetriou) vampire club turning out to be less than successful, Laszlo (Matt Berry) not knowing how to handle Baby Colin Robinson’s growth spurts, and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) living life from infancy through puberty and back to adulthood. By the end of the finale, they’ve all been left having to come to terms with things not turning out as intended and decide what their next steps might be. And whatever comes next in Season 5, I just want Guillermo to finally come out on top.
Best Fantasy Series: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
From showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, the Amazon Studios multi-season drama series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth’s history, thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and at a time when a terrifying villain called Sauron is looking to conquer the kingdoms, defeat the heroes, and gain control over all life. With a finale that provided some answers, namely that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) was, indeed, Sauron and that Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) had been lied to, all along. Following an ensemble cast of characters that are both familiar and new, the eight-episode first season set up an epic adventure with more battles, more heartache, and more heroism to come, and that’s expected to take five seasons of story in total to conclude.
Best Adaptation: Vampire Academy
Over the course of its 10-episode first season, the Peacock original series Vampire Academy, based on the book series by Richelle Mead, has seen characters fall in love, learn what it means to sacrifice, experience grief, and find out what they’re capable of, both good and bad, and yet that feels like only the beginning. As life for best friends Rose Hathaway (Sisi Stringer) and Lissa Dragomir (Daniela Nieves) is about to change in a big way, all the characters we’ve gotten to know have been altered by the events of the finale, which make what could come next that much more exciting. Co-creators Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre had the seemingly impossible task of making a series adaptation that lives up to fan expectations, and with a clear understanding of the story’s strengths, changes that were seamlessly woven in, spot-on casting, and enough twists to keep viewers wanting more, they did just that.
Best Series About Making a Series: Reboot
From Modern Family creator Steve Levitan, the Hulu original series Reboot follows the stars of an early 2000s family sitcom called Step Right Up, as they reunite for a reimagined reboot. Actors Reed (Keegan-Michael Key), Bree (Judy Greer), Clay (Johnny Knoxville), and Zach (Calum Worthy) must face their own dysfunction and unresolved issues if they’re ever going to get their lives and careers back on track, and all of their screw-ups along the way account for a lot of laughs, but their sincerity makes them endearing. When you throw in the abrasive and politically incorrect creator of the original series (Paul Reiser) and a showrunner (Rachel Bloom) who has personal motivations for wanting to revisit it now, you get something that feels like a very current take on something that Hollywood has been doing for ages.
Best Friends: Somebody Somewhere
Starring and executive produced by comedian and singer Bridget Everett, the seven-episode HBO original comedy series Somebody Somewhere is a beautifully human look at small-town life and the struggle of not knowing what comes next. Sam (Everett) is experiencing a loss that she can’t seem to get on the same emotional page with her family about, and she’s trying to find her voice in a hometown where she’s unsure of where she fits in. But if she can open herself up to those who genuinely want to be there for her, whether it’s Joel (Jeff Hiller), who idolized Sam in high school, her scrappy sister Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison), or Fred Rococo (Murray Hill), who’s just looking to bring a little bit of happiness to the world, living every day might actually help her feel alive.
Best Workplace Series: Minx
From creator/showrunner Ellen Rapoport and executive producer Paul Feig, the 10-episode HBO Max comedy series Minx takes place in 1970s Los Angeles and follows self-proclaimed feminist Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond), as she pursues her dream of putting out a magazine that will change the lives of women. When she crosses paths with Bottom Dollar porn publisher Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson), Joyce quickly realizes that, in order to achieve her goal and further the feminist revolution, she might need to do things a bit differently than she expected, thereby turning her original vision into the first erotic magazine for women. As much as I love Johnson and Lovibond in these roles, and I really do, what truly makes the show is the ensemble surrounding them, including Joyce’s mother-of-two sister Shelly (Lennon Parham) and the team at Bottom Dollar, with Doug’s assistant Tina (Idara Victor), photographer Richie (Oscar Montoya), and model Bambi (Jessica Lowe). The excitement for a continuation of the story in Season 2 was recently squashed when Warner Bros. Discovery cancelled it while they were filming, but I’m still holding out hope that we could possibly still see more.
Best Holiday Episode: Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, “Night of the Lights”
The only thing better than Fraggle Rock is a Fraggle Rock holiday special, and “Night of the Lights” provides a huge helping of the kind of holiday cheer that only the Fraggles can deliver. Always up for a fun adventure, the Fraggles – Gobo, Red, Wembley, Mokey, and Boober – are encouraged by Jamdolin (voiced by Daveed Diggs) to find the brightest light. Along the way, through songs and merriment, the Fraggles learn that maybe they do have more in common with the smallest of Doozers and largest of Gorgs than they realized, as the true meaning of the holiday becomes clear. And the best part of the episode is that it’s a non-denominational holiday that feels inclusive of everyone and focuses on celebrating the spirit of the season.
Best Dance Sequence: Jenna Ortega, Wednesday
Yes, that dance sequence is great. There’s no denying it. It’s a rare defining moment that stands out so much that the season, and likely the series (however many seasons it ultimately ends up being), will always be remembered for. It’s strange, unusual, a little bit dangerous, and entirely compelling, much like Wednesday Addams, herself. Along with that dance becoming a viral TikTok trend, Wednesday became the second most-watched Netflix series and it joined the very exclusive club of clocking over one billion hours of viewing time, in less than a month after its release.
Best Reality Series: The Big Brunch
Created and hosted by Dan Levy, who also served as a judge alongside culinary experts chef Sohla El-Waylly and restaurateur Will Guidara, the HBO Max original cooking competition series The Big Brunch made me laugh, made me cry, made me smile, and absolutely made me hungry. The eight-episode series was centered around brunch, and the wide array of food that can include, celebrated inspiring undiscovered culinary talent from across the country. The ten competitors shared their backgrounds and their stories with their food presentations, all while vying for the chance of winning a $300,000 cash prize that would most certainly help them get ever closer to their dreams of becoming successful chefs. Not only did the series make me want to try all the cuisine, but I also wanted to hang out with the folks responsible for the delicious creations.