Every year around this time, I want to write up some end-of-the-year best-of posts, but I don’t for various reasons. This year I thought I’d give it a go. So, below are 7 shows that I loved in 2022.

A few shows this year raised expectations but failed to meet them (Rings of Power, most of the Star Wars stuff on Disney). The ones on this list each exceeded my expectations. Except for one, they are all shows that aired this year. The exception will be explained below.

In no specific order:

Star Trek Strange New Worlds: I have loved Star Trek for a long time and have watched most every series over the years. Some have been great most have been pretty good. While I enjoyed Start Track Discovery the past few years, it has largely been hit or miss (and Picard has not lived up to expectations). My favourite season of Discovery was definitely the one with Captain Pike, and spinning him and his crew off into a new show was so much fun, and SNW seems much more substantial. I enjoyed the overarching story as Pike wrestles with his future and the consequences of trying to change it.

(This year, M and I have also watched Star Trek Prodigy and Star Trek Lower Decks. (I am breaking her in:) She loves them both…Prodigy is more oriented to kids, and Lower Decks is very funny. I enjoy the references to the other shows on both.)

Better Call Saul: Over the past few years, I have had several conversations where someone brings up Breaking Bad and states how much they loved it. I always ask, “are you watching Better Call Saul?” I am surprised by how often the answer is “no”. Saul has been fantastic throughout its run. Watching the character development over the years was incredible. There were so many outstanding cast members over the run of this show, but Odenkirk and Seehorn were outstanding…And as Saul obviously survives the prequel, the big stress of the final season was whether Kim did as well. As much as I enjoyed this show, I was not expecting the redemption arc. I am going to miss this show.

The Peripheral: I did know what to expect from this show. Liz left the room partway through the first episode and never returned to it. I had to go back and rewatch a few episodes to get the overall picture of who is who and whose agenda is what. There is so much going on, but I am enjoying the process and looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

Andor: Maybe Andor seemed so good compared to most Star Wars shows other than the Mandalorian. It did feel a bit disjointed at times, but it had a lot of great moments. And Gollum!

Severance: I have always loved Sci-fi (as you can probably tell from the above shows.) Severance has been so unlike anything I’ve seen before…I know it is not for everyone, but I looked forward to it every week.

Slow Horses: Liz takes credit for suggesting this to me. I saw it advertised and figured it wasn’t for me. It is brilliant, and Gary Oldham is so good as the lead character. 

The Chosen: This is the one show on the list that I’m watching that is not from this year. (Although I believe a new season has recently come out, I am watching season 1 with Liz and M.) I purposefully avoided this show because, let’s face it, this type of Christian media is so often cringe-worthy. But I finally heard enough people say something close to that last sentence that I finally gave in. It is so well done. The character development, the storytelling, all of it. It has also led to some great conversations. We have been watching an episode a day over the Christmas break, and I am already looking forward to the next episode.

Those are my favourite shows of the past year. Anything you’d add or subtract?

Photo by Nabil Saleh on Unsplash