As the world began to open up again in 2022, there was arguably less of an excuse to binge TV series. That also posed a conundrum: with the proliferation of really great shows out there, where the hell do you start?
While there may be an endless number of 'Best TV series of 2022' lists out there, but these are the shows that best summed up 2022: the shows that provided the biggest talking points, or the juiciest storylines, or perhaps those that perhaps best captured where we are, post-pandemic.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
It wasn’t planned that way, but two massive fantasy sequels inadvertently went toe-to-toe in 2022 when ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel House of the Dragon debuted within weeks of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power - aka the most expensive television show ever made. For our money, House of the Dragon was the better show. Although it took a few episodes to get going, the tension and drama built magnificently throughout Season 1 (leaving us with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger), its characters were more memorable and the writing was excellent, as it followed the story of the beginning of the Targaryen dynasty’s decline, 200 years before the events in Game of Thrones. Plus, y’know, dragons.
THE WHITE LOTUS
The first series of The White Lotus was so close to perfect, that it seemed like making another might just spoil it. On the contrary; with a new (well, almost new - the incredible Jennifer Coolidge was one of the returning cast members) group of characters transported to a luxury resort in Sicily this time around, Season 2 may have been even better than its predecessor. As with Season 1, we find out that someone in the resort has died in the opening episode, before we’re taken back one week earlier. Who has died, and who is responsible? Could it be one of the rich young married couples? The naive son of a womanising businessman? The put-upon PA to Coolidge’s millionaire heiress? With the likes of Michael Imperioli and F. Murray Abraham in the mix this time, it’s a whodunnit with great actors, serious style, dark humour and some stunning scenery, to boot.
HARRY & MEGHAN
Has there ever been a Netflix documentary that has caused such real-life controversy? We can’t imagine that Harry & Meghan went down too well within the walls of Buckingham Palace, but as one-sided as it may have been, it certainly threw the cat amongst the pigeons in the wake of the royal duo’s escape to California. Despite the heavy-handedness of it (the constant parallels with Diana, as valid as they may have been, were tiresome), the four-part series posed as many questions as it answered. With Season 4 of Netflix’s The Crown pretty much flopping earlier in the year, ‘Harry & Meghan’ aptly ticked the streaming service’s ‘make a hit out of a British royal scandal’ box.
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS
The second adaptation of a Sally Rooney novel had a lot to live up to. Yet not only did Conversations with Friends arrive at a very different time to Normal People (i.e. not in the midst of a brutal, unprecedented lockdown that forced everyone to stay indoors and watch telly), but it was a very different story, too. Happily, the Lenny Abrahamson-directed Conversations proved equally worthy of its predecessor; an unconventional love story between a college student, her best friend and a thirtysomething married couple, set against the backdrop of Dublin and Croatia, and with some stellar performances from Alison Oliver, who played lead character Frances, and Joe Alwyn as charismatic actor Nick.
BETTER CAUL SAUL
There were a number of series that wound up after a successful run in 2022, but none of them were as acclaimed as Better Call Saul. In fact, the prequel (and also, sequel) to Breaking Bad has been so consistently acclaimed throughout its 7-year-tenure that many have declared it a better series. Without giving too much away, the sixth and final season wove a perfect balance of an ongoing story that contained multitudes: humour, darkness, love, violence, drama and salvation. Bob Odenkirk - who suffered a heart attack on set during filming, by the way - was remarkable in his portrayal of lawyer Jimmy McGill, how he became the conceited motormouth defense attorney Saul Goodman, and how his story ultimately panned out. The show’s ending was near-perfect and the entire season simply made for stunning television.
