Shows from 2022 That Are Worth Checking Out

Like “The Sopranos,” another year’s come to an end (It’s over! Find a new show.) And as the holiday approaches, anybody who enjoys spending time online has likely been hit by a deluge of “best of the year” lists for everything from food, to gift ideas, to movies, to TV, to fishing rods, to crochet meant to support general wellness. It’s a lot.

So in that spirit, here’s a list of TV shows your dear correspondent enjoyed for all different sorts of reasons. Best of the year? Maybe, maybe not. Everybody’s got their own tastes and I learned as a camp counselor it’s always best not to yuck another person’s yum. Plus, holiday breaks are coming up and what are we going to do when we go home? Actually, talk to our families? Absolutely not, we’re going to stream baby, stream.

Hopefully, this list helps cut through the noise and endless trail of show thumbnails. Happy viewing!

“Under The Banner of Heaven” (1 season, mini-series)

Available on Hulu

FX’s “Under The Banner of Heaven” — adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by author Jon Krauker — dramatizes the investigation into the heinous murders of a mother and her infant daughter in Utah in the 1980s.

If that description makes you think: absolutely not — your dear correspondent completely understands. True crime as a genre has recently blown up to be a few things — generally exploitative (think “Dr. Death” on Netflix) or a means to reframe recent flashpoints in American history (think Ryan Murphy’s not-so-subtly titled “American Crime Story” series). “Under the Banner of Heaven” is none of these things.

A lot of this has to do with the facts of the case (the murder takes place deep in Mormon country and ripples through the insular community writ large) and the way its creators frame the story.

To help audiences travel through a community they likely know very little about (beyond what they see on the news or in musicals by the “South Park” guys), “Under the Banner of Heaven” inserts the fictional Detective Jeb Pyre into the story to lead the investigation (and guide viewers).

Pyre, played in a career-best performance by actor Andrew Garfield, is a very original take on the dogged detective. He’s virtually free of cliches. He’s not an alcoholic (he’s a practicing Mormon), he’s very loving towards his wife and daughters, he doesn’t have a dark past, nor was he once part of an elite special forces unit before taking a detective position in a small town. Instead, Pyre is kind and believably intelligent.

He asks questions, listens to people, and generally gets farther by attempting to empathize with the witnesses and suspects he encounters as opposed to waving his gun around. Over the course of the investigation, Pyre learns some hard truths about the more radical components of his belief system and fringe elements of his once idyllic community. So while the show unfolds like a classic whodunit, it’s really telling a story about a man who loses his religion. I’ve never seen anything like it on TV before or since. It’s heavy, but it’s good.

Lastly, it’s worth pointing out that Brenda Lafferty was a real victim. In keeping with the show’s overall originality, Brenda is not limited to the usual role of the departed in true-life crime shows. Instead of simply being just the person who is found to kick start the action, Ms. Lafferty’s journey is recounted in parallel with Detective Pyre’s investigation. In fact, her own agency is wholly central to the plot of the show.

Again, that’s a true crime show where the female victim’s fight for independence is as central to the plot as the investigation itself. It’s riveting stuff.

Seek this out to watch a true crime show break away from the dogma of its genre. You may or may need a tissue or two before it’s over.

We Own This City (1 season, mini-series)

Available on HBOMax

The guys behind “The Wire” took a real-life investigation into a corrupt Baltimore police unit (The Gun Trace Task Force) and turned it into a 6 episode thesis. In their more than capable hands, “We Own This City,” argues (brilliantly) that policies implemented to carry out the war on drugs not only destroy communities but also breed corruption and rot in our policing institutions like cancer.

While it’s not exactly a pick-me-up show, it’s ridiculously well-made. Nobody does class realism like David Simon and George Pelecanos — they’ve been compared to Charles Dickens — on TV today. The creators’ attention to granular detail forces audiences to look at every part of the tree until the forest leaps out at their faces. Plus, the performances, direction, and writing, make what should be a very down show, very watchable.

If you know me well, I’ve likely talked your ear off about this show already (apologies to my friends and family). And I’ve written about it at length here.

So I’ll keep this one brief and leave you with this — when was the last time you watched a piece of TV that was not only extremely good but also about maybe one of the biggest societal ills of the 21st century? Check out it on HBOMax.

The White Lotus Season 2

Available on HBOMax

The brilliant hotel-bound semi-anthology series returned and took audiences to Sicily this year for rave reviews. Like Season 1, Season 2 drops a separate group of the uber-wealthy into the illustrious titular hotel chain, winds them up, and watches them go for the audience's cringe/humorous benefit. Also, audiences are made aware from the outset that at least one member of the hotel staff or guests will be killed before the credits roll (that’s a solid hook folks).

Unlike Season 1, Season 2 takes place in Sicily and sets out to tackle issues with sex instead of wealth.

If you’re on Twitter or just hanging around the water cooler, you’ve likely heard somebody bring up the show in the past few months. However, if you need still convincing, the show’s a lot more than the viral moments — such as Aubrey Plaza’s infinite variations on resting bitch face, Jennifer Coolidge’s general hilarious vibe, actor Theo James’ prodigious prosthetic dong, or the fact that Michael Imperioli goes back to Sicily — that made the show an internet staple during its run.

Beyond the pieces of the show that attracted so many clicks and views, is creator & writer Mike White’s mastery of high-low comedy. Like a Shakespearean farce, White writes scenes that whiplash between interestingly observed pieces of the human experience and fart or sex jokes. Plus, he does all of this by writing characters who come wholly to life through phenomenal dialogue. No need for heavy exposition when you have White’s immaculate ear for how people really talk about everything from infidelity to grandparents getting older to ordering the same thing on the hotel menu for 7 nights in a row.

Anybody interested in a show that sees Jennifer Coolidge go on a cocaine bender with an Italian gigilo and makes a pretty strong case for the ways money’s rendered sex transactional should look no further than “The White Lotus Season 2.”

Also — you super don’t have to watch the first season to understand the second (everybody asks) but you should. It’s great too.

The Bear (1 season)

Available on Hulu

“The Bear” or “A good ole fashion sentimental dramedy; it’s what’s for dinner,” really does live up to the hype.

It follows French-trained chef Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White, best known as Lip from “Shameless”) as he takes over his family’s storied (and greasy) Italian beef shop in Chicago. Anybody who’s ever worked back of house can tell you — there’s enough drama in a kitchen to make at least 6 seasons and a movie on TV. For now, the folks behind “The Bear” have condensed what must be based on some harrowing real-life job experiences into one brilliant season of TV.

Naturally, the insider baseball of running a kitchen for profit isn’t the only part of Carmy’s situation that creates drama. His deceased older brother left Carmy the restaurant (and a ton of its debt), Carmy’s staff wants nothing to do with his high-end kitchen training, and his brother’s old and overly involved best friend Richie is a hand grenade of a human being. Everybody knows a Richie. He means well sure, but his personal code and brash behavior make him more wrecking ball than a social statesman.

Richie, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, is a career showcase for the actor. Anybody who didn’t know this guy could act is about to learn. Seriously, the dude who (perfectly) played Marnie’s obnoxious hipster boyfriend Desi on HBO’s “Girl’s,” delivers a performance that’s hilarious, infuriating, and hopeful. Like a real-life obnoxious best friend, for all of Richie’s bullshit, Moss-Bachrach and company never let it prevent the audience from routing for him.

In the end, “The Bear” (forgive the coming food simile, but let’s be frank it’s a layup), plays like a really well-made family meal. It’s familiar in all the right ways. It never becomes too sweet to swallow. And by the time it’s over it’ll likely remind audiences why they keep coming to the table that is TV. Sometimes we want to laugh a little, worry a little, and leave feeling satisfied in the end.

Also, I’d be remiss not to mention the lights-out supporting performance from Ayo Edebiri. I don’t know who cast this young woman, but she’s phenomenal as Carmy’s put upon and aspiring number 2, Sydney.

Reacher (1 season)

Available on Amazon Prime

If you’re under 45 you probably haven't watched “Reacher” — Amazon Prime’s series based on the series of novels by author Lee Child. However, young folks may recognize the name of the books from their dad’s bookshelf, nightstand, or vacation bag.

Yes, a piece of peak dad-TV, made it onto the list. Here’s why.

Reason one, my age puts me squarely in between Gen-Z and Millenials, but I was raised boomer. Westerns, WW2 movies, and old cartoons were such a staple in my house growing up, to this day, I can't tell you what’s going on TikTok but I can point you toward Dean Martin’s best acting performance (hint: it’s in 1959’s “Rio Bravo”). All of this means, I’m a sucker for stories about lone heroes coming to town and cleaning house.

Is it silly? Of course. But it’s comforting. Big dumb franchises are my “Real Housewives,” ‘nuff said.

Reason two, about half the episodes were written by Cait Duffy and Aadrita Mukerji. Amazon creating a diverse writer’s room to tackle one of the most masculine, big-guy-punches-justice into the world franchises ever written was not on my 2022 bingo card. But it’s all the better for it. The show’s writing beefs up the supporting characters (aka makes the show about more than just the titular hero), leans into the book’s unrecognized by inherent sentimentality, and gives actress Willa Fitzgerald a ton of time to shine as Reacher’s partner Deputy Roscoe.

All of this to say, the show’s thumbnail makes it out to be another action fantasy for the red-meat crowd. In reality, it’s more of a classic odd-couple adventure thriller.

What about the plot you ask? Well, it’s pretty simple. Super smart, super enormous ex-Special Forces officer and military investigator shows up to a small town and helps its police force solve a string of nasty murders.

I know, I know. But hey! It’s my fun trash.

Shorsey (1 season)

Available on Hulu

Anybody looking for some well-made dumb humor needs to look no further than Hulu’s “Shorsey.”

Created by the Canadian brain trust behind runaway smash hit digital show turned TV sitcom “Letterkenny,” “Shorsey” follows the misadventures of the titular pro-am hockey player in the Northern Ontario Senior Hockey Organization (or the NOSHO).

On and off the ice, Shorsey’s every teammate you’ve ever had who makes you think: “thank God that bastard’s playing for our team.” He knows the game, he can cash his checks with talent, he hates losing, and he’s like the Shel Silverstein of shit-talking.

When he’s not haranguing his own teammates to play better, he’s chirping his opponents with such poetic veracity they consider forfeiting.

So why would anybody root for a guy like this? Well, that’s the genius of the show’s simplicity: Everybody loves an underdog. Shorsey plays for the worst team in the smallest senior men’s hockey division in Canada. The tiny town the hockey club represents has all but given up on the Bulldogs when the season opens and the club owner is considering folding the franchise.

So Shorsey vows to “never lose again” and sets out to recruit the best ex-hockey players he can find (naturally all of these guys are characters too). Will you glean anything about life from this show? Probably not, except for maybe the definition of an “aqua dump.”

But dumb laughs are hard to come by, and a short season of 20-minute episodes that essentially amounts to a sports movie from Happy Madison (when they still made hits in the ‘90s), maybe just be the end-of-the-year light viewing you need.

Plus, hockey players will get a kick out of the show’s deep cuts and authenticity. It was written by and stars a guy who actually played in Canada’s senior men’s hockey league.

Andor (1 season)

Available on Disney Plus

In the spirit of transparency, “Andor” is my favorite show to emerge in 2022. It may also be the best-written piece of popular entertainment ever squeezed out of Disney’s franchise machine. Seriously.

The show’s description sounds like something “The Onion” cooked up to satirize how far the entertainment industry has fallen down the intellectual property rabbit hole. “Andor” is a spin-off show about an obscure Star Wars character (Rebel Spy Cassian Andor) who only appears in one film, itself a spinoff (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”).

So why is the show so damn good and not a joke? One man, two names: Tony Gilroy.

Gilroy’s resume is chock full of Hollywood success, he penned the Bourne franchise and won the screenplay Oscar for the George Clooney vehicle “Michael Clayton.” All of this to say, this guy can write. He’s also on the record saying he doesn’t give a shit about Jedi.

Which honestly, may have been the very thing Star Wars needed to get jump-started. Instead of cramming tons of random cameos and possible merchandise moments into “Andor,” Gilroy and company have created a taut thriller about the horrors of living under a truly oppressive government like Star Wars' Galactic Empire.

Basically, the show asks: “What does the birth of a rebellion look like?” and “What kind of people lay down their lives for change?”

Its answer is 12 stunning episodes of television. George Lucas’ vision of Star Wars drew inspiration from serial sci-fi adventures, westerns, and samurai movies; Gilroy’s vision is clearly pulled from old war movies and noir.

The story follows Cassian Andor, a grifter from a backwater working-class planet who’s just trying to survive one more day. After a violent act of righteous self-defense (Andor executes two corrupt security guards in the show’s opening 10 minutes) spirals out of control and puts Andor on the Empire’s radar, he escapes from home and winds up on an odyssey of sorts.

Without giving away too many spoilers, before the season’s end the show features the heist of an Imperial military outpost, a massive prison break, a violent riot, an appearance in a kangaroo court, adult (i.e. sexual and not just hetero either) relationships, a deep dive into the Empire’s colonization strategy, an unblinking look at bureaucratic evil, a criminally arranged marriage, and so much more.

The cast is incredible. The writing’s ridiculous. And the show delivers something fans were worried Disney’s mega-commodification of Star Wars would never allow again: an actual, honest-to-God story.

The Sandman (1 season)

Available on Netflix

There’s a ton that could be said about “The Sandman.” How it's a brilliant adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s medium-altering comic book series. How its art direction has to be one of the most unique things on TV this year. Or how its casting should be taught wherever people who cast go to schools. But I’ll spare you my rants and ravings, because “The Sandman” really is an acquired taste.

So here’s the rub. The story kicks off when Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, who oversees and manages everything humans can think up from the wonders of imagination to the awful creations found in nightmares, is freed after being imprisoned for 100 years. A century away from the job has left the Realm of Dreams in total disarray.

What’s worse? One of Morpheus’ most dangerous nightmares (personified as a serial killer with tiny mouths under his eyelids) has been on the loose and running amok in the Lord of Dreams’ absence. So Morpheus spends the season getting his house in order.

If that description made you think, “no fucking way,” by all means skip the show. However, if any of you genre dorks out there (like me) don’t mind a little philosophy mixed into their high-fantasy, I recommend checking out “The Sandman.”

One episode is just a 45-minute conversation between Morpheous and his sister, the personification of Death, about the way humans deal with mortality. It’s bonkers and honestly a bit beautiful. All that said, if you read the comics you watched the show already, and if you tuned out during the plot description then there’s no way you care enough to give it a shot.

And that’s okay. I can’t watch live golf broadcasts or “Law and Order: SVU.”

House of the Dragon (1 season)

Available on HBOMax

The last but not least entry on our list, is HBO’s attempt to salvage their flagship franchise “Game of Thrones,” after burning all goodwill with one of the worst final seasons of all time.

To their credit, it worked. “Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon” — set 300 (or something) years before the Dany crossed the Narrow Sea or Jon Snow should’ve stayed in that cave — tells the story of a civil war fought between the Targaryen dynasty at the height of their reign over the kingdom of Westeros.

If that last sentence reads like a meaningless string of verbs and proper nouns to you, be warned, “House of the Dragon” doesn’t come with cliff notes. It’s not too dense to hop into without having watched “Game of Thrones,” but it definitely doesn’t have a lot for the same kind of careful world-building that explains the rules of the show’s fictional medieval world.

However, its masterful direction also renders some of the world-building a moot point. More so than the original show, “House of the Dragon” relies on visual language to communicate what its characters are experiencing to the audience. Not to say “HoTD” is suddenly being composed via crash zooms and montages, but a smaller cast and fewer locations makes room for more elegant camera moves and thoughtful compositions (i.e. see all the ways power’s communicated by people simply entering the throne room over the course of the season).

Plus, there are way more dragons this time. Insanely talented TV action director Greg Yaitanes (he’s the man who helped elevate Cinemax’s “Banshee” beyond schlock into a realm of pulpy euphoria back in the day) made the finale’s pivotal dragon fight so terrifying.

And the cast is so good it should be illegal. Seriously, Matt Smith and Emma D’arcy are so good they make incest seem palatable to modern audiences (it is for the record, bad). Another shout-out to the directors here. Director Claire Kilner made an illicit trip to the night market in Episode 4 play out with the causal intimacy of a film like “Before Sunrise.” Until of course, the intimacy gets very urgent and dangerous. I would definitely keep an eye out for Ms. Kilner, she’s crazy talented.

But the real highlight is the British character actor, Paddy Considine. Paddy’s been in the game for a while, appearing in everything from criminally underrated indie movies like “Dead Man’s Shoes" to comedic bit parts in Simon Pegg comedies “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End.” So it’s a nice victory lap that his performance as the kind but weak King Viserys is one of the best things about the show.

Really saying anything more would risk giving too much away, so I would say if you’re looking to get into big franchise viewing over the holiday, check out “House of the Dragon.”