2022 is the year in which my kids got older and the pandemic died down and I finally started watching TV again. Yay! So without further ado, here’s some randomly assorted TV stuff I loved this year.
First off: SO MANY INTROS!
2022 was the year of the amazing TV intro. Here’s a few:
I think Severance has the best intro. I’m not done writing about this show yet!
Season 2’s intro is amazing, and so dense, an art student could write an essay about it.
Technically not this year, but whatever, this song slaps.
Better Call Saul’s Ending
Remember when Breaking Bad ended 2 episodes before it actually did? Better Call Saul fixed this by reaching its climax about 5 episodes before ending and then creating an incredibly powerful epilogue that is basically the essence of the show.
And it gave us this incredible scene:
Severance. Like, all of it.
Severance was probably my favourite show of the year. It was at the same time hilarious, dark, absurd and incredibly touching. If you watch anything released this year, this show about people who surgically separate their work selves from their private selves should be it.
Yellowjackets for being a better LOST
Yellowjackets is a show about people stuck in the wilderness after a plane crash juxtaposed with their lives many, many years later. Sounds like a certain show I love? That’s because it is. Only it’s better, because it has teenage drama mixed with cannibalism and it doesn’t just try to be like Stephen King, it is.
White Lotus
I got a bit late to the White Lotus party, but that meant I could binge-watch the first season and start season 2 in one go. And boy, did I binge-watch the first season and start season 2 in one go! The White Lotus revolves around wealthy families visiting fancy resorts and the cringe-worthy problems that ensue. These include but are not limited to getting the wrong room, drugs-so-many-drugs and pooping in suitcases.
And it features a very unhinged Jennifer Coolidge:
I finally got around to watching Succession
Succession had been on my list for ages, but I just didn’t have the brain for prestige drama. But this show about the, um, succession of a huge media empire is amazing. I secretly think it’s where Veep’s dialogue writers went after that show ended, because boy, there’s some amazing dirty words being said by some amazing actors.
But at the core, it’s not about the jokes, or about Kieran Culkin’s hilarious performance – Succession is a very recognisable family drama. There’s three seasons out, I’m halfway through the second season but I’m savouring any moment. If you don’t care about spoilers (but you totally should), here’s a scene:
Guilty pleasure of the year: Stranger Things
Because of how cool it is to like Stranger Things, it’s not cool to like Stranger Things. Go figure. I had actually given up on this show, but as soon as I had finished the fourth season’s first episode, I knew the love was just sleeping. Season four pulls the team apart in multiple substories, one which I skipped because it suuucked (sorry, Hopper). And in hindsight, the other two stories weren’t so great, either. But god damn if this isn’t one of the best-produced shows in the world right now. Even if the actors and every word they say are the worst.
I mean look at that scene – probably the most iconic one of the entire season. It doesn’t make a lick of sense. Max hurts Vecna. She runs back to the gate, giving the impression of being chased. But she’s not chased, Vecna just stands there. And stands there. And she looks back. So she knows!
But god damn if tears weren’t running down my fucking cheeks watching this INCREDIBLE episode.
Show I am most conflicted about: The Boys
The Boys – the show about superheroes that depict them the way they are (fascist) – is pretty much what reinvigorated my passion for television. It’s tense, funny, dark – and a perfect counter to my current Marvel fatigue. And with Stormfront, it has one of the most daring characters I’ve seen all year. Spoilers below:
But by the time I got halfway through season three, I started feeling Boys fatigue, too. Maybe I shouldn’t have binged it. Maybe the whole Soldier Boy plotline didn’t resonate with me. I think the fourth season will tell.
For shame award: benching This is Us
So I (finally) watched the first episode of “This is Us”, a family drama. It was the perfect pilot. It was so perfect, that I quit watching. Oops. I’ll probably get around to this show in 2023, but there’s just so. Many. Episodes…
Rediscovered from my childhood: Battlebots
When I was a teen and the weather was good, our TV could receive ITV. And ITV had “Battlebots”, a show in which home-made robots duke it out for fame and glory.
Well, it’s on Netflix now. And I watched a whooooooole lot of it.
Best stuff to watch while cooking: Starcraft 2
2022 was also the year in which I watched a whole lot of Starcraft 2 while cooking, cleaning or whatever menial task comes to mind.
My love for the best game I suck at was reinvigorated in 2022. Maybe in 2023, I’ll finally become good at it?!
Anyway, this was my 2023. There’s some honorable mentions, like finally getting around to watching “Kidding” and finding it “just fine”. Or catching up on Rick and Morty and seeing a rollercoaster in quality. Or half a season of the crown, which is turning into “Breaking Bad with Royals”.
