It’s been a good year for television! It finally seems that any lasting, in-limbo productions from 2020 have borne fruit and showered blessings upon fans of good TV. It was hard to pick only 10, but below is the list.
A caveat: there are only so many hours in a day, and some shows that I’ve yet to finish likely had a strong chance of sneaking onto this list. For completion’s sake, the shows I still need to finish from 2022: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1, Amazon); House of the Dragon (Season 1, HBO); Rick and Morty (Season 6, Adult Swim); What We Do in the Shadows (Season 4, FX).
Honorable Mentions: The Bear (Season 1, FX); The White Lotus (Season 2, HBO); The Old Man (Season 1, FX); Hacks (Season 2, HBO)
10) Ozark (Season 4, Netflix)
Netflix’s Missouri crime drama wrapped up its fourth and final season this spring. Since the show’s first episode, some saw this as a trashier Breaking Bad, but I think the heightened drama is a feature, not a bug; the show’s pulpy quality lent it an overdramatic flair to which its incredible cast perfectly pitched their performances, particularly stars Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, and Julia Garner. Thanks to Netflix clinging to its all-in-one-day binge release model, this final season came and went with little pop culture notice, but the show ended on a thrilling and suitably-grim high.
9) Peacemaker (Season 1, HBO)
I wrote about how James Gunn’s Peacemaker is a surprisingly heartfelt, funny, and satisfying season of television. A continuation of Gunn’s story from 2021’s The Suicide Squad, John Cena’s Peacemaker seemed an odd choice to spin off an entire series, but a talent of Gunn’s storytelling abilities is how he imbues heart and humanity into characters who, at first glance, don’t seem worthy of the attention. With clever, inventive writing and a built-out cast of winning, charismatic performances, it’s hard to not to watch Peacemaker and wonder why other fandom series can’t showcase this same amount of personality, confidence, and color.
8) The Boys (Season 3, Amazon)
This vulgar, cynical comic adaptation about shitbag superbeings continued to shock and utterly entertain in its third season. Its absorbing, profane, and darkly funny story elements will turn off many viewers, but the show continues to lean into the madness of its core characters and pull zero punches in pushing open the shock envelope. Every time I think The Boys couldn’t possibly surprise me, the show more than answers the challenge.
7) Atlanta (Seasons 3 & 4, FX)
The long-awaited return of Donald Glover’s sometimes-surrealist dramedy about an aspiring rapper, Atlanta took some daring creative swings in its final two seasons (both airing this year). Glover and company (Bryan Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, and LaKeith Stanfield) maintained that subversive spirit and unconventional storytelling (some of which bumped against fans, like the often incredible stand-alone episodes in season 3), securing Atlanta as one of the most poignant and sharply-written shows on television.
6) Stranger Things (Season 4, Netflix)
Another long-awaited return of a beloved series, Stranger Things showed off expanded budgets (and run times). While the disparate storylines didn’t always justify the lengthy episodes (so much Russia), the show was a welcome, nostalgic return, and smartly started properly shaping its mythos and stakes to set the stage for its final upcoming season. It still isn’t perfect (the show’s fear of committing to character deaths often undermines its drama), but the strength of the show is always its likable cast, both young and old, and taking full advantage of a coming-of-age story set against a 1980s apocalyptic background.
5) Barry (Season 3, HBO)
Barry continues to be an amazing showcase for creator and star Bill Hader’s talents. The show’s initial black humor premise of a hitman-turned-actor in LA has wrought genuine dramatic tension and stakes, delivering some of the funniest and most shocking story turns I’ve seen this year. After a second season cliffhanger, the show impressively refuses to cop out of the natural consequences of the choices that its core cast frustratingly make—and the third season finale teases its most exciting story direction yet.
4) We Own This City (Miniseries, HBO)
Dramatizing the gripping true scandal surrounding the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force, this miniseries claims impressive talent in front and behind the camera. Developed by The Wire’s David Simon and George Pelecanos and anchored by a commanding, career-defining performance by Jon Bernthal, the show is a damning portrait of corruption and apathy that rot our institutions and community trust. The subject matter and Simon’s involvement will draw comparisons to The Wire, but what differentiates this series is its complex, non-linear storytelling and its outrageous, infuriating true story.
3) Star Wars: Andor (Season 1, Disney)
In a year with shows dedicated to decades-long fan favorites like Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who would’ve guessed that easily the best Star Wars show (and an arguable contender for “best since Empire”) is a series about a doomed supporting character from 2016’s Rogue One? Brought to the screen by Tony Gilroy (Rogue One, Michael Clayton, the good Bourne films), what makes Andor so special is its almost defiant attitude to not rest of the laurels of Star Wars past with cheap cameos and callbacks. The show is an embarrassment of riches: specific, thrilling, crisp writing, fed through captivating performances from its supremely talented cast (every monologue should be delivered by a raspy Stellan Skarsgård or a defiant Fiona Shaw). It’s not devoid of spectacle, but it’s a show less concerned about space battles and more interested in three-dimensional characters ruminating on the moral cost of revolution and contemplating how far they’ll go to oppose fascism. After what’s recently made it past Disney’s quality control screening, I almost can’t believe a show as good as Andor happened. It’s a joy to watch.
2) Severance (Season 1, Apple)
Few shows really sink their hooks in you from the jump, and Severance grabs you within its unmooring, confusing opening moments and never lets you go. The show is an inventive, gripping, science-fiction thriller with a disturbingly-likely high concept at its core. The unsettling premise is brought to life by standout performances (including Adam Scott, John Turturro, and Britt Lower) and brilliant writing that takes you deeper into its mystery with every episode. If I’m being honest, I do worry about the longevity of its premise going forward, lest we flounder like LOST‘s middle seasons, but the show is undeniable—from its cold open to one of the most stressful season finales I’ve endured in a long time.
1) Better Call Saul (Season 6, AMC)
Better Call Saul always seemed like a fool’s errand: why even broach the idea of returning to the world of Breaking Bad, one of the most beloved series of the past 20 years, and why make that return a prequel focused on Bob Odenkirk’s lovably-sleazy lawyer? But in the same way that you don’t bet against James Cameron, I’ve learned to trust in Vince Gilligan. Co-creators Gilligan and Peter Gould have crafted a worthy successor to Breaking Bad, more than justifying our return to Albuquerque’s drug underworld. The show never coasts on fan goodwill, with dynamic stories and character relationships that rival any featured on it’s sister show. Saul has always been a marriage of the law-focused stories and the drug cartel narrative from Breaking Bad, and in this final season, the two cross in shocking ways, pulling sharply into focus the core emotional storyline: the relationship between Odenkirk’s Jimmy-turned-Saul and Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler. Odenkirk and Seehorn deliver series’ high performances as Gillgan and Gould take their story to its beautifully understated and satisfying conclusion. I just can’t believe they pulled it off—twice.
