Tag: TV Series

Best 15 New TV Shows of 2022

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

Despite it nearly being August, I am only ready to tell you how much I enjoyed 2022 TV series such as Peacemaker and Dahmer. But it takes me a while to catch up with so much TV out there, and last NFL season saw me working side projects on the weekend that cut into my binging time.

But after finishing The Peripheral (cool but hard to understand) as my 85th new series of 2022, I am ready to debut my list of the best 15 new TV series for 2022. You can see the 2021 list here and the bottom of this page shows tweets – yes, they are still god damn tweets and not X’s – from past years.

If you do not see your favorite listed in the top 15 or the dozen honorable mentions, there is still a good chance I watched it, but it did not click with me. Seems like Winning Time about the Lakers is probably the top show I do not enjoy as much as the average viewer. I felt they are wasting a perfect cast with too many cheap camera tricks, ugly filters, and breaking the fourth wall in an uninventive way. You’re not Fleabag. Just let the actors do what they do. But maybe I will prefer the upcoming S2.

Note: Limited series and anime are included; all documentary series are excluded.

I try my best to avoid spoilers, but no promises…

15. The Bear (Hulu)

I must point out this is just for Season 1, but I would be lying if I did not say a much stronger Season 2 influenced me to prop this one up. Remember, ranking 15th out of 85 is solid praise.

S1 still prepares you for the greatness to come later as you’ll start randomly referring to people as “chef” and “cousin” if you spend a binge with this fast-paced show. The episode that is one long tracking shot during a busy time at the restaurant is outstanding, and how can you beat a series that uses New Noise by Refused four times in two seasons? But again, I am only trying to judge S1 here.

Think of it as a Shameless spin-off following Lip’s character after he left the Gallagher family. He is basically the same self-destructive smart guy in this standout from Hulu.

14. Somebody Somewhere (HBO)

Again, this is for S1 and not an also incredible, improved S2 that has already aired. But this little slice of midwestern life is really unlike anything on TV right now. This is an ideal dramedy that is usually so lighthearted and fun to watch. I swear the actors go without a script in many of the scenes cause the chemistry just feels so natural, especially between Sam and Joel.

Speaking of Joel, try telling me this isn’t true about Jeff Hiller and Tom Brady, who are both 46 and 6’5”.

13. Spy X Family (Watched on Hulu)

I absolutely loved the first half of this anime about a spy who constructs a fake family with an assassin wife and telepathic daughter to infiltrate a school and befriend the son of a powerful target. But I took a long break before picking up the second half, and not long after they get the dog, it just loses its steam for me. By the finale, I was shocked at how slow things were moving and that bummer of a second half dropped it in the rankings for me.

But obviously this is based on a manga and there are more episodes to come. The beginning is fantastic stuff you should check out if you are a fan of anime.

12. Shoresy (Hulu)

I watched about 7 episodes of Letterkenny a few years back, liked the unique dialogue and comedy, then never got back to it. Then I saw Shoresy pop up as this hockey player spin-off series, and I ended up watching the whole thing in one sitting. Just the first scene in the first episode with Shoresy in the bathroom is something I have probably watched 6 or 7 times. It is a perfect example of the series you can expect from this one.

Eventually, I went back and finished Letterkenny and better understand the Shoresy character, who does not show his face in that show as he does here since it is the same actor as Wayne from Letterkenny.

But I loved Shoresy and only wish it had more episodes.

11. Black Bird (Apple TV+)

After three comedies and an anime, let’s get into the true crime limited series with A-list actors market that Apple TV+ is mastering these days. This was a true story about a criminal who agrees to lessen his sentence by transferring to another prison to befriend a suspected serial killer and learn about his crimes.

Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser carry this show with Hauser doing an incredible job as the killer with his signature high-pitched delivery and creepiness. Egerton’s charisma is also excellent, and for the people who say he should be the next James Bond, I am down with that after watching this one.

Ray Liotta (RIP) fans will also appreciate him playing the father of Egerton’s Jimmy character. If you enjoy prison shows like me, you should make this a top priority the next time you get Apple TV+.

10. Under the Banner of Heaven (FX/Hulu)

This is another true crime series about Andrew Garfield as a detective investigating the murder of Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Mormon character (loved her in Normal People, my top show of 2020). This show does not hold back at all about how cult-like the LDS and Mormons are. It is a dark story and Garfield, who I have really come to enjoy in recent years, does a great job with battling his character’s religious beliefs throughout the case.

9. Five Days at Memorial (Apple TV+)

Another shocking true story that looks at what a hospital went through during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Some of the saddest scenes from anything that aired in 2022 come from this series, and pet lovers will also be crushed at what happens here. Just a total disaster that they did not do a better job of getting aid to the people there.

To me, this was 2022’s Dopesick on a scale of how angry you will feel about things in this country after you watch this.

8. Chainsaw Man (Watched on Hulu)

I knew this was highly rated everywhere, but after 3 episodes, I was not feeling the juvenile dialogue from the main character, who kept mentioning how he wants to touch boobs every other line. The animation was cool, the fight scenes were bloody and good, and I liked the world they were building.

But as the season wore on, I understood the character better, why he’s had to mature from his dog-like state, and by episode 8, I was hooked and quickly finished the rest of it. This ended up being my top anime of the year and the hype is warranted. Looking forward to more episodes.

7. The Devil’s Hour (Amazon Prime)

Without giving much away, I thought this was a very original and compelling series that mixes horror, sci-fi, and mystery. A woman wakes up at the same time every night (3:33 AM), which is considered the Devil’s Hour (between 3:00 and 4:00 AM).

Her son is one of the creepiest little bastards you’ll ever see, so casting gets two thumbs way up for that one. You also get to see Jamie Tartt from Ted Lasso in a role where he understandably hates the son. Peter Capaldi is great as you would expect playing the mysterious man.

Again, I do not want to give anything away, so check out the 6 episodes and know they have already renewed it for two more seasons.

6. Peacemaker (HBO Max)

I’m so behind on this that HBO Max has already been changed to Max but fuck that stupid name. Peacemaker is one of the biggest highlights of the HBO Max era. I enjoyed the character in The Suicide Squad, but John Cena really surprised me with how good he is at this role in the series. The supporting cast is good too, and the overall tone and comedy is something right up my alley. I look forward to multiple seasons of this one.

5. Dahmer (Netflix)

As someone who loved and misses David Fincher’s Mindhunter series on Netflix, this was a solid consolation prize. It is a very detailed work in the serial killer genre of Dahmer’s bewildering murders, and Evan Peters was an excellent choice to play him. Ditto for Richard Jenkins as the father, and I must say after watching this, you have to wonder if Dahmer would have turned out the way he did if his father was not so encouraging about his dead animal fascination.

4. The Dropout (Hulu)

The 2022 TV landscape was filled with limited series on tech bros and Silicon Valley twats breaking bad. There was the WeCrashed series about WeWork and the Super Pumped series about Uber’s bad boy. I enjoyed both, but I think Hulu’s The Dropout with Amanda Seyfried portraying Elizabeth Holmes was the best one. Her performance was the best work of her career, and I had to bring back the shot of her dancing in her Steve Jobs outfit in front of his poster in the banner above. Perfectly creepy scene. Naveen Andrews (Lost) was also great as her shady partner Sunny.

What a disappointment Holmes was. If she had just waited to get a working model, she could have been a billionaire. But the greed and drive to be first to market was a huge part of these series about these grifters.

3. The Offer (Paramount Plus)

Was this really 2022? It feels like two summers ago when I binged through Paramount’s The Offer, a fun, detailed look at the real-life story behind the making of The Godfather. This was so good that it made me finally go back and watch the first two Godfather movies start to finish, making sure I had a solid viewing in HD as an adult as it had been a long time. My conclusion was that I do in fact enjoy Part I more than Part II, and it really is close to perfection. But both were great.

As for this series, Matthew Goode as producer Robert Evans stole every scene. There are movies coming out about Evans, and all I can say is good luck to those actors trying to follow what Goode did here.

2. Heartstopper (Netflix)

Finally, I got this in before S2 drops in early August.

I only discovered this show, which is based on a graphic novel, a few weeks after it aired thanks to it debuting with a very high ranking on the IMDb Top 250 Series. I questioned how good it could be (in an all-time context) as it just sounded like a coming of age, high schoolers discovering love story aimed at the LGBTQ crowd.

I ended up watching it in one sitting. The performances are fantastic, the music is on point, and the pacing is excellent. It is not heart-stopping drama, but it absolutely is heartwarming and encompasses all those feelings of shyness and awkwardness that you would expect from such a story about teens.

Seems like I probably mentioned this last year when I gave It’s a Sin, the limited series about AIDS in the 80s, a very high ranking, but the British are just so much better at telling these stories than Americans. They let the characters and story do all the talking, and it doesn’t come off as political or preachy virtue signaling.

If an American made this show, the gay kid would get an over-the-top yassification, the bi-curious kid would be a jock from a Conservative Christian family with Trump signs, and the trans girl would likely face horrifying scenes of abuse and trauma on a weekly basis.

Here, they’re just two blokes who share a trans friend. Live and let live. Simples.

1. Severance (Apple TV+)

My main interest in trying Apple TV+ was to see Severance, and it did not disappoint. With so many networks taking the limited series based on a true story approach, or making every series they can in the Star Wars, Marvel, Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones universes, this is a breath of fresh air.

This is probably the best original series with elements of sci-fi, mystery, and psychological thriller since Mr. Robot. I don’t want to give anything away, but the general premise is these people have their life at work and a life at home, and their conscience is split between the two without overlapping.

Of course, our lead character (played perfectly by Adam Scott) discovers that things are not quite right about this, and piece by piece we start to see what’s behind this company. The supporting cast is great too with Christopher Walken and John Turturro always stealing scenes, and Britt Lower as Helly should be a breakout star for her role in the office.

I’m not sure how many more episodes they can pull out of this one, but S1 left many things unanswered, and the writers have a hell of a job left to complete. But I really look forward to it, and I hope they can get paid extra to bring S2 to us. Original, quality TV is so important to have.

Honorable Mentions/Fun Binges

  • Andor: Who knew a Star Wars project could still be done well this century?
  • Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: Not familiar with the game this is a prequel to, but I dug the animation, and it has a solid story
  • Fleishman Is in Trouble: Felt like a timely series for me, exploring the difficulties of relationships, dating, and finding purpose in life as you near 40
  • House of the Dragon: It’s not peak Game of Thrones yet, but the first season had some solid episodes and I will look forward to more
  • Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head: Technically, this is top 15 for me because I love it, but just feels wrong to call this a “new series” when it literally is taking the classic at its best and just updating it with more modern plots. But it is so well done
  • Outer Range: Nice little mixture of sci-fi and mystery with a good cast
  • Reacher: Blows the Tom Cruise movies away and should be a great Amazon replacement for the departure of Jack Ryan, which was a bit of a dud the final few seasons
  • Smiling Friends: Amusing little animated dramedy series you can finish in one sitting
  • The Legend of Vox Machina: I’ve already watched both seasons of this, but it’s like that Netflix Castlevania animated series meets The Witcher, or Skyrim meets The Boys
  • Tokyo Vice: There is great potential here for this neo-noir take on investigative journalism into the Tokyo underworld
  • WeCrashed: Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway crush their roles in yet another limited series based on a greedy tech person, otherwise known as a tech person
  • Wednesday: The Tim Burton fan in me appreciated seeing this, but I wish it stayed a bit darker like his classic era, and it did not really stick with me after I finished it

Here are the previous lists from past years:

You can always find me tweeting about the shows I’m currently watching. Fortunately, I have caught up on a lot of 2023 stuff already, and I do not anticipate a deep fall due to the strikes going on. So, I might be able to get 2023’s list out sooner next year, and all I can say now is watch Beef on Netflix.

Best 15 New TV Shows of 2021

~ Scott ~ 1 Comment

That’s not a typo. While 2022 is almost halfway over (!), I am only now getting to my top new TV series that debuted in 2021. I wanted to match the effort I put in last year with my top 12 series of 2020, but I just never got around to doing this until this week, the start of a dead zone for me with no NFL or NBA games.

After starting accounts with Disney+, Paramount+, and Apple TV for the first time in the last year, there are more shows than ever to watch. I watched 81 new series that started in 2021, but I was able to break that down into a top 15 I feel good about. Are there some series I still missed? Of course.

I’m not going to share the full list I broke down, but chances are if one of your favorites didn’t make the cut, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as you did. Station Eleven (HBO Max) is likely one big example of that. I really loved the parts that focused on Jeevan, but anything with the Traveling Symphony in the future fell flat for me. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) reminded me of how people enjoy Martin Short and Steve Martin way more than I ever have or likely will.

Note: limited series and anime are included; all documentary series are excluded.

I will do my best to avoid spoilers, but no promises…

15. Dexter: New Blood (Showtime)

This may have snuck in at No. 15 just so I could talk about it. Technically a new series, this does do some justice to make up for the horrific original series finale that Dexter gave us in 2013. A fucking lumberjack? Fortunately, New Blood is better than the last four seasons of the original series, but it still is not up to par with the best of that series. Still, it was cool to see Dexter back with Deb as his new dark passenger, and Clancy Brown did a more than respectable job as the villain. The kid playing teenage Harrison did not bother me, though I have no interest in seeing a spin-off with him. Just let this thing die.

As for that ending, it was poorly received again, but I actually thought it made sense and was necessary. Would I have shot the scene differently to make it more dramatic? Of course, but I really cannot complain with the story choice they made this time.

14. Scenes from a Marriage (HBO)

This modern take on the Ingmar Bergman classic was a showcase for the acting chops of Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, two actors I’ve taken an increased liking to in the last year or two. They both shine here, but dialogue-heavy series must be in your wheelhouse if you are going to enjoy this one. I’m happy to say they took an existing IP and made it their own thing instead of a straight remake.

13. WandaVision (Disney+)

Spoiler alert: this is the only Marvel show on my list for 2021. It was the first one I watched, and I thought it was the best one. 2021 really was the year of spoofing the classic sitcom, laugh track and all, but unlike with AMC’s Kevin Can Fuck Himself, we got a pretty clear answer of why this was done in WandaVision. Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen are great together, but one season is the right length for this unique idea.

12. Midnight Mass (Netflix)

Our first Netflix entry may have been slept on, but this was a really strong take on grief and loss combined with a more typical horror storyline. But Hamish Linklater was fantastic as the priest, and the ending was something you’ll never forget. I got a bit emotional during this one a couple times.

11. Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Between the Fear Street movie trilogy on Netflix, Cruel Summer, and this show, there was a lot of 90s nostalgia in 2021. This show did a great job of balancing multiple timelines with the plane crash survivors as teenagers and the current-day survivors navigating a new mystery. Christina Ricci is supposed to be the “ugly” one of the bunch, but she still looks pretty damn good and it was nice to see her in a big role again. I look forward to the second season and where they can take this one. The first season did not take all the predictable routes you may have expected from a story about a plane crash.

10. Tear Along the Dotted Line (Netflix)

This is probably my most obscure choice for the year, but it’s an animated series from an Italian, and it does a shockingly effective job of covering depression, anxiety, and a lost love. I’d probably have it higher if it was a little longer, but this was well done and should be watched on Netflix by those having BoJack withdrawal.

9. To Your Eternity (watched on HBO Max)

I wanted to watch some great, new animes as that was missing from my 2020 collection. This one delivered with good animation, interesting characters, a few shocking and emotional moments, and the second half really gripped me with the storyline. I was mad when I finished it because I wanted more, but fortunately a second season is on the way.

8. The White Lotus (HBO Max)

I was a fan of Mike White’s Enlightened series with Laura Dern on HBO, so it was cool to see him get another chance with The White Lotus, a high-caliber dramedy. You get the clue right away that someone on this island is going to die before the trip is over, but that mystery takes a backseat to the drama these characters get into, and the rhythmic music and sounds keep a steady pace over the six episodes that fly by when you watch them. Murray Bartlett (Armond) and Jennifer Coolidge (Tanya) are highlights, and you can never go wrong with seeing more Sydney Sweeney as the generations clash in this one. I’m a bit worried of using this as an anthology series with different characters, but if they have more stories to tell, I’ll watch them.

7. It’s a Sin (HBO Max)

I watched several movies about the early days of AIDS last year, but this British series from Russell T. Davies (Doctor Who) was the best, most touching, and scariest of them all. It does a great job of showing the impact this virus had on a close-knit group of gay friends in the 80s. After later watching Years and Years (2019), which I would highly recommend, there’s a raw honesty in Davies’ work that I just don’t see as much in a lot of American works, especially those that deal with LGBT stories as we tend to make them too preachy in this country. Davies’ approach is much more authentic as he’s not afraid to show us the flaws in these characters, but honoring them with respect is still the goal.

6. Invincible (Amazon Prime)

Went in cold to this franchise. I remember watching the pilot and thinking this felt pretty tame and aimed towards younger kids. Then that scene happened. Holy shit. I was hooked from there, and an impressive voice cast (J.K. Simmons, Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Walton Goggins, etc.) sure helps bring the violence and story to life. I can’t wait for the second season.

5. Hacks (HBO Max)

I know I’m late to this 2021 party when I’ve already finished the second season of this show. But I love it. Jean Smart should win all the awards, the actress playing Ava is a delightful find for the industry, and the chemistry between Jimmy and nepotism Kayla is always fun. It’s also the only legitimate live-action comedy that made it to my top 25 finalists as I think comedy is so hard to do these days with the way people get offended, real or not, by everything. If you can make a show that’s funny without having to be animated – so not Big Mouth – then you are well ahead of the curve these days.

Since this is about the 2021 series, I tried to not let my viewing of season two influence my ranking. Season two is really just as solid as the first season, though I love to watch the world building at the start of a show, so seeing Ava have to win Deborah over in season one probably edges it out over season two. The way it ended in season two, they really could have called it a series, but I am happy to see they’re bringing it back for a third season.

Like I said, there is a real comedy drought these days, so let’s keep every good one we can find.

4. Dopesick (Hulu)

This series is almost like The Wire for the opioid crisis. I am not saying the character work is as strong as that HBO classic, but the writing and presentation is on par with how David Simon does things in his series. You get perspectives from everyone: doctors, patients, addicts, pharmacists, sales reps, the criminal Sackler family, lawyers, the DEA, and whistleblowers. Michael Keaton gets top billing, but he might not even be on screen as often as Will Poulter (a conflicted sales rep) or Michael Stuhlbarg (Richard Sackler).

No series on my list is as important as this one, because it does expose just how criminally negligent this family was in making sure Oxycontin was being pushed to people in pain without any care for the addiction to come. This show should make you furious, but it is absolutely required viewing and it is so well done it hurts.

3. Mare of Easttown (HBO)

Guess I am still a sucker for a great whodunit murder mystery with an excellent lead actress (Kate Winslet) and a jaw-dropping scene that paid homage to Silence of the Lambs. You’ll know it when you see it. I also was not able to predict the killer until the very end, so good job on that with the usual red herrings and dead ends. I hope they just leave it as a limited series, though I won’t object to seeing more Mare on my TV.

2. Maid (Netflix)

Can it still be underrated if it has glowing reviews and 77,000 votes on IMDb? But that’s still half the ratings of Mare of Easttown, and I still feel like Maid doesn’t get talked about enough as the best limited series of 2021. Margaret Qualley delivers what should be a star-turning performance in the lead, and while I usually shit on nepotism, her performance and the casting of her real-life mom (Andie MacDowell) as her mother took this series to the highest level.

Like Dopesick, it’s a series that makes you angry about the way our systems continuously fail the people who need help the most in this country. It just never seems like she is going to carve out a good life for her child and keep her away from her abusive ex. But you keep watching with optimism and the show does not disappoint.

1. Squid Game (Netflix)

I’m the guy who hounded Criterion for years to put Memories of Murder on Blu-ray. Of course I was all over this quirky, original South Korean series that took the world by storm last fall.

I watched Alice in Borderland a year earlier, which was a similar series about people having to pass games that could kill them. That’s definitely worth watching too, but Squid Game really amps up the emotional punch with a more diverse cast (ages and backgrounds) of characters.

It’s crazy, it’s intense, it’s sad, and there’s a big twist at the end. This is also why I really worry that season two will not deliver, because no matter how many unique, new games they can come up with, nothing will beat seeing this for the first time. Watching a sympathetic character get betrayed (Ali) or a smug prick meet his demise (toilet sex having Jang Deok-su) will always make you think of season one. Been there, done that.

But what a ride it was for nine episodes.

With my top two picks this year, I guess Netflix is proof that if you fire enough bullets, you’re bound to hit something. Now if only I could have thought of a non-gun reference to not sound like such a typical American.

Honorable Mentions/Fun Binges

  • Arcane (unique visual style, but I wished I loved the story more)
  • Chucky (this had every right to suck but it was a lot of fun; declines a bit after Jennifer Tilly appears)
  • Cruel Summer (90s nostalgia in a teen whodunit)
  • Halston (must see for Ewan McGregor fans as he kills it)
  • Heels (indie wrestling show done right)
  • Inside Job (good year for animated series with this conspiracy theory workplace comedy)
  • Lupin (hard to believe one guy can pull all these cons off, but it’s entertaining)
  • My Name (solid South Korean action series on Netflix)
  • Super Crooks (another interesting take on baddies with superpowers)
  • Tokyo Revengers (solid time-travel anime with more to come)

Finally, here are the previous lists from past years. These would all change a little based on shows I was slow to get to or only discovered later.

Happy binging, and remember I am always tweeting about shows on Twitter. I already see strong competition for my best of 2022, which hopefully will be finished well before June of 2023.