The 10 Best TV Shows of 2022

Matt Roush

Compiling a Top 10 list of any year’s TV output is both fun, as a way to look back at the shows that brought you the most enjoyment, and also an exercise in frustration — even more so during a time when the amount of new content is so overwhelming, especially in the streaming world.

Whittling down 2022’s impressive catalog of titles meant leaving off some major series of epic scope (House of the Dragon, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) and more intimate scale (The Bear, Somebody Somewhere), of immense popularity (Yellowstone and its prequel, 1883) and niche cult appeal (Evil, Girls5Eva). Some of my favorite performances of the year — Jean Smart in Hacks, Sarah Lancashire in Julia, Steve Carell in The Patient — aren’t represented in this list. But what remains is a snapshot of the shows that resonated with and entertained me most memorably in another banner year for an ever-evolving medium.

10
Better Call Saul
Where to Stream Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul

2015–2022

Though we hate goodbyes, 2022 gave us quite a few well-executed exits, most notably Better Call Saul’s suspenseful and bittersweet reckoning for the con-man Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) we once knew as Jimmy McGill. Who’d have guessed it would take Carol Burnett, in a stunning cameo, to bring this irrepressible crook down, thus concluding the Breaking Bad saga, one for the ages. Honorable mention to these series finales: FX’s deeply personal Better Things, the politically charged and wonderfully surreal The Good Fight on Paramount+, Netflix’s dark parable of greed Ozark, and NBC’s This Is Us, whose departure gave us the best kind of heartbreak.

9
The Crown
Where to Stream The Crown

The Crown

2016–2023

The metaphors in Season 5 of Netflix’s royal drama were hardly subtle, likening Queen Elizabeth II to a yacht in danger of being decommissioned. But airing a mere two months after the beloved real-life monarch’s death, Peter Morgan’s compassionate treatment of these public figures felt as compelling as ever, though causing more controversy as its fictionalized approach was contested by still-living participants. The recasting, especially Imelda Staunton as the Queen and Elizabeth Debicki as the estranged Princess Diana, was once again superb, reconfirming the series as the jewel in the streamer’s overstuffed crown.

8
Interview With the Vampire
Where to Stream Interview With the Vampire

Interview With the Vampire

2022–

This was a banner year for creatures of the night, none more seductive than AMC’s passionate series adaptation of Anne Rice’s iconic The Vampire Chronicles franchise. Supernatural thrills are charged with extravagant erotic tension and deep philosophical angst in a Gothic romance (between Sam Reid’s mercurial Lestat and Jacob Anderson’s dashingly conflicted Louis de Pointe du Lac) where lust mingles with bloodlust. Honorable mention to FX’s ragtag Staten Island crew of hapless immortals in the rollicking fourth season of What We Do in the Shadows, and to Showtime’s engrossing Let the Right One In, about a father caring—and killing—for his eternally 12-year-old vampire daughter.

7
Ghosts
Where to Stream Ghosts

Ghosts

2021–

Few comedies have as much imaginative spirit as this CBS hit, an endearingly rib-tickling romp about a rural estate haunted by a hilarious assortment of ghosts from eons of history. Where else can you find a gruff Viking crushing on a dippy 1960s hippie for eternity?

6
Pachinko
Where to Stream Pachinko

Pachinko

2022–

Soo Hugh’s gorgeous historical drama on Apple TV+ takes you back to another time. Adapting Min Jin Lee’s acclaimed novel about Koreans displaced during the Japanese occupation of the early 20th century, the series evokes a bygone era when sweeping multigenerational epics were more common on TV. I miss them.

5
Gaslit
Where to Stream Gaslit

Gaslit

2022

Starz’s colorful Watergate drama is a showcase for Julia Roberts, chewing the scenery as notorious D.C. gossip Martha Mitchell, the bane of husband and Attorney General John (a padded Sean Penn). Among the stellar supporting cast: Shea Whigham as an unhinged G. Gordon Liddy and Dan Stevens as a nakedly ambitious John Dean.

4
Reservation Dogs
Where to Stream Reservation Dogs

Reservation Dogs

2021–2023

Winner of prestigious Peabody and American Film Institute awards, this deadpan and dead-on comedy from FX/Hulu about a group of Native American teens who scheme and dream of a better future should be much higher-profile.

3
The White Lotus
Where to Stream The White Lotus

The White Lotus

2021–

Writer-director Mike White’s Emmy darling relocates to scenic Sicily for its enthralling second season on HBO, once again dramatizing the pitfalls of privilege with an impeccable cast of emotionally fraught travelers. From the uneasily nouveau riche to the neurotically spoiled—welcome back, Jennifer Coolidge as basket-case heiress Tanya—Lotus inspired the year’s best guessing game as viewers took odds on which hotel guests wouldn’t survive their stay in paradise.

2
Severance
Where to Stream Severance

Severance

2022–

It doesn’t get much more mind-blowing than this. A dark and hypnotically weird workplace satire like no other, this sci-fi thriller from Apple TV+ is like Dilbert on acid, following an office of drones whose work identities are kept surgically separated from who they are on the outside. When the worlds begin to collide, Severance becomes edge-of-your-seat TV.

1
Abbott Elementary
Where to Stream Abbott Elementary

Abbott Elementary

2021–

Jumping to the head of the class is Emmy-winning star and creator Quinta Brunson’s (right) wonderfully funny, tart-sweet ABC mock doc about the underfunded, overworked staff at a Philadelphia public school. Not a weak link in this superb ensemble, and as outrageously inappropriate principal Ava, a comedy star is born in scene-stealer Janelle James.

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  1. B

    BlueClover

    Abbot Elementary is brilliant!! Love it every episode.

  2. G

    GreenPalmtree

    StarTrek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus and Andor on Disney Plus were also awesome, entertaining, noteworthy, inventive, and creative.

  3. O

    OliveProcessor

    I don’t watch most of these.

    My top shows for 2023 are: The Cleaning Lady, all three FBIs, Big Sky and Walker

    1. O

      OrangeBike

      I love The Cleaning Lady, Big Sky and the OG FBI. Not loving the FBI spin offs this season.

  4. G

    GoldTeepee

    At least two broadcast shows made the list.

    I can’t argue about Abbott Elementary. It’s a smart and funny comedy.

    I would add ABC’s The Conners . But I wouldn’t know what to delete as I don’t watch the other shows listed.

    Chicago PD is my favorite procedural with stellar performances . But it’s too dark and grim to be loved by critics and award voters.

  5. D

    David G

    Gaslit is an underrated blast,if you're a certain age it's a lot of fun.

  6. O

    OrangeBike

    My top 5 favorite comedies:

    The Conners

    Abbott Elementary

    Welcome To Flatch

    Call Me Kat

    Goldbergs

    My top 5 favorite dramas

    Chicago PD

    Big Sky

    The Rookie

    FBI

    Cleaning Lady

    Honorable mentions:

    Grey's Anatomy

    Station 19

    Rookie Feds

    LA BREA

    9-1-1

    My most disappointing returning dramas:

    FBI Most Wanted

    FBI International

  7. P

    Patricia Robertson

    No, no, no and no! Abbott Elementary? I didn't make it past the first episode. The true #1 is Only Murders in the Building, which didn't even make your list? Your taste is in your mouth.

    1. R

      Rick

      I also don't get that one, and I made it through much of the first season. I had seen and loved "The Office," so at a certain point I gave up on ever seeing Abbott noticeably differentiate itself from that. If I wanted to watch "The Office" again, I would.

    2. O

      OliveBandAid

      I am in agreement with Abbott Elementary. How it gets the praise that it does is mind-boggling. I gave up after the first couple of eps last year but had friends convince me to give it another shot. I watched the whole first season and the first few episodes of this season. The show is simply not very funny. Period.

      Ghosts is wonderful. Young Sheldon is still funny. Young Rock is actually entertaining. Home Economics has its moments. Not much else in the sitcom genre on today's TV landscape.

      Resident Alien deserves to be on this list.

    3. B

      BlueClover

      why you mad? lol make your own top 10 then

  8. M

    Morris Pak

    Any list not shoehorning in the overrated Wednesday is indeed a good list. No offense to the fans.

    At least a vampire show made it, but I rather it be Let the Right One In.

    Not sure how Yellowjackets isn't on this list but then I realize people only hulu, netflix, hbo, amazon has series and movies. What evas

    Abbott and Reservation Dogs looks fun. I will take a look at them.

    Gaslit, riiight because of Julia Roberts??? Ghost was way better in the british production. How did that make the list? lol

    BCS deserves it. Where's Stranger Thing 4 and The Sandman? Really those should be up there easily as well.