The 14 best TV shows of 2022 and where to watch them
From blockbuster franchises to surprise hits, these are the top TV shows of 2022 and where you can watch them.
Leigh Paatsch
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So you couldn’t keep up with the non-stop glut of new shows in 2022, and so, you kind of gave up after a while?
No shame in that. There is always the long, hot summer ahead to take stock and make amends by catching up on all the good stuff you might have missed.
Consider this list of recommendations the perfect launch pad for finding a fresh series of high quality you can truly sink your teeth into.
All of them debuted during 2022, and a fair whack of them will be back with new seasons in 2023.
So what are you waiting for? Turn off the phone, pick up the remote and get set to discover your next favourite show …
ANDOR
DISNEY+
Official Synopsis: A prequel series to Star Wars’ Rogue One. In an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a Rebel hero.
Unofficial Lowdown: Not all Star Wars TV spin-offs have been created equal. Or have justified their reason to exist. This absorbing, intelligent and gripping new production changes all that. In fact, it just might be the best thing to carry the Star Wars brand in quite some time.
BAD SISTERS
APPLE TV+
Official Synopsis: The Garvey sisters (Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson) come under suspicion from life insurance investigators after the suspicious death of a notoriously abhorrent brother-in-law.
Why Watch?: If you like your humour short, sharp, shrewd and right on target, then this Irish variation on the Big Little Lies premise must go right to the top of your list. Series creator Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe) has one of the most original comedic voices in the business, and her castmates have a field day with the brilliant dialogue.
THE BEAR
DISNEY+
Official Synopsis: Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a young chef who has worked in world-class restaurants, is forced to come home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after a heartbreaking death.
Why Watch?: This spiky, raw and emotionally combustive series seemingly came out of thin air mid-year to be suddenly hailed as one of 2022’s very best. Now the hype has died down, one thing is perfectly clear: that original opinion is correct. You don’t have to be a foodie to feast on the vividly flavoured fare being served up here. If Martin Scorsese was starting out in TV in the present era, this is what might result … yes, it is that great.
CLARK
NETFLIX
Official Synopsis: The incredible story behind Sweden’s most notorious gangster, Clark Olofsson, whose infamous crimes gave rise to the term “Stockholm syndrome”.
Why Watch?: A Swedish-language six-parter with impeccable 60s and 70s period production values and a cracking lead performance from the chameleonic actor Bill Skarsgard (aka Pennywise the Clown in It).
THE CURSE
BRITBOX
Official Synopsis: In 1980s East London, Big Mick (Tom Davis) and his friends Albert (Allan Mustafa), Sidney (Steve Stamp), and Phil (Hugo Chegwin) plan to steal 100,000 in cash, but stumble upon a cache of gold worth more than $60 million.
Why Watch?: If it had have just been a cheeky call-back to the early work of Guy Ritchie – circa Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – that would have earned more than a generous pass mark. However, this well-assembled and swiftly-paced production aims higher, goes harder and never bores for a moment.
EAT THE RICH: THE GAMESTOP SAGA
NETFLIX
Official Synopsis: A three-part documentary series investigating the phenomenon of GameStop’s precipitous stock market plunge in 2021, featuring interviews with journalists, hedge fund managers and members of Reddit’s wallstreetbets community.
Why Watch?: That old saying about fools, money and a sure parting of the ways? It is proven once again in this incredible chronicle of a get-rich-quick scheme that suddenly pivoted and became an investment black hole that swallowed many a Wall Street wise guy.
GEORGE & TAMMY
PARAMOUNT+
Official Synopsis: The story of the country music power couple, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, whose complicated-but-enduring relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time.
Why Watch?: The first episodes of this eagerly anticipated six-parter only dropped last week, and it is already stamping itself as one of the year’s best. If the sublime casting of Michael Shannon as Jones and Jessica Chastain as Wynette isn’t inviting enough, there is a glittering soundtrack studded with heartbreaking hit (hers) after hard-drinking hit (his).
THE OFFER
PARAMOUNT+
Official Synopsis: The momentous story behind the making of one of the greatest movies of all time, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.
Why Watch?: A consistently entertaining series frames its funkily fascinating tale through the eyes of its up-and-coming producer Albert Ruddy (Miles Teller), a determined, if deluded young creative who wasn’t expecting such a hard time from hauling Mario Puzo’s epic Mafia novel to the big screen. Squeezing ten whole episodes from the yarn might be a little overambitious, but there is plenty of good stuff happening to keep Godfather tragics riveted. Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple co-stars as Ruddy’s redoubtable right-hand woman Bettye McCart.
PISTOL
DISNEY+
Official Synopsis: A six-part mini-series charting the shambolic birth, self-sabotaging career and influential afterlife of Great Britain’s founding fathers of punk rock, The Sex Pistols.
Why Watch?: Series creator Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) adapted the series from the best-selling memoir of Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, which means the legendarily dodgy duo of vocalist Johnny Rotten and manager Malcolm McLaren don’t exactly come out of this smelling like roses. A picture-perfect production design swiftly transports you to the grotty glamour and great music that has happening all over England in 1976-77.
SEVERANCE
APPLE TV+
Official Synopsis: Mark Scout (Adam Scott) is one of several employees at Lumon Corporation who undergo a procedure which separates their work and home memories so they can only recall the ones related to where they are.
Why Watch?: Working from behind the camera, showrunner and director Ben Stiller has landed on a captivating combo of sci-fi, psych profiling and sophisticated storytelling that is going to catapult this extraordinary series in several fascinating directions in the seasons ahead. If its intimidating portrait of corporate office life doesn’t get you thinking about your work-life balance, nothing will. Watch out for Patricia Arquette, the show’s not-so-secret sinister weapon.
SHERWOOD
BINGE, FOXTEL or RENT
Official Synopsis: In the British village of Sherwood, an ever-widening investigation into the murder of a local uncovers unthinkable links to an infamous miners strike in the region during the 1980s.
Why Watch?: The wow factor builds incrementally from zero here, so show a little patience and you will be richly rewarded with one of the great TV whodunits of the past decade. Most pundits have this series marked down as the best thing to come out of the UK this year. Yes, Sherwood really is that great. The characters are shrewdly, yet deeply developed, as is the you-are-there intensity of its atmosphere. Start with an open mind and get set to finish with a blown mind. Stars David Morrissey.
SPECTOR
STAN
Official Synopsis: A four-part documentary series about the life of actress Lana Clarkson and how music producer Phil Spector was convicted of her murder.
Why Watch?: Unjustly overlooked to date, this is one of those rare true-crime doco offerings that treats the victim of a terrible, inexplicable act with the respect and dignity they deserve. The memory of Lana Clarkson has been trampled upon mercilessly since her horrifying death at the hands of Phil Spector. Mostly because she never mattered much on the Hollywood scene, while Spector was a genius of the recording studio. The four-part length is warranted here, generating an understanding of a complex case never before achieved.
TULSA KING
PARAMOUNT+
Official Synopsis: After spending 25 years in jail, Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) finds himself exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to set up a satellite operations for his New York Mafia boss.
Why Watch?: File this away as “much better than it has any right to be.” If you’ve written off Sly Stallone long ago for anything that isn’t within the Rocky or Creed movie universes, then it is time to reconsider your stance. This quality series has a production pedigree that is a gilt-edged recommendation unto itself: showrunner Terrence Winter has a track record that includes guiding hands on The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, while series creator Taylor Sheridan has movie and show credits to die for (Sicario, Hell or High Water, Yellowstone).
WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES
DISNEY+
Official Synopsis: This darkly comedic crime drama series chronicles how Indian immigrant Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) created The Chippendales dance troupe, and the deadly actions he took against potential competitors.
Why Watch?: Another wildcard play worth taking. This is the other side of male stripping that the Magic Mike movies never got around to showing us. It ain’t a pretty sight … and all of it is true. Nanjiani (The Big Sick, TV’s Silicon Valley) is really coming along as an actor who can do just about anything, too.
Originally published as The 14 best TV shows of 2022 and where to watch them
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