A quick list of my favorite things I watched in 2022 (not necessarily released this year):

Television
1. Station Eleven: I wrote about this here. I think the top 3 here stand alone in a sort of all-time tier, and this was so good that it’s still my top choice.
2. Andor (Season 1): As a Star Wars latecomer (I was in my twenties before I saw any of the movies), this is absolutely my favorite Star Wars property of all time. You don’t need any backstory, though there are fun easter eggs in there if you know it. One way I measure how much I enjoy something is by how many podcasts I listen to afterward about it to see what others thought. In this case, 3: A More Civilized Age, The House of R, and The Watch…which means I generally spent 3-4x the episode length, reveling in the episode afterward.

3. The Bear (Season 1): We watched this in like two days. Episode seven is an all-time achievement. Bursting with heart but never cloying. Captures the ways and personalities of a restaurant well.
4. Reservation Dogs (Season 2)
5. White Lotus (Season 2): I didn’t love season one—it felt a little plodding and on the nose—but phenomenal performances by Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Coolidge, Meghann Fahy, and, well, basically every other performer really put this over the top.

6. Better Call Saul (Season 6): A phenomenally satisfying conclusion to the series, plus a dose of Nebraska football! Near-perfect.
7. Ted Lasso (seasons 1 & 2): We waited a long time to watch this show (hadn’t quite coughed up the $ for Apple TV+), and it somehow did not disappoint despite how much we had heard about it leading up to finally watching it. It’s more than a feelgood comedy—which it does cleverly—it also manages to build complicated, nuanced relationships between dynamic characters, and it doesn’t totally fuck up the soccer.
8. Abbott Elementary (seasons 1&2): So realistic a take on teaching that it hurt to watch at times. A worthy successor in the line of workplace comedies, and remains hopeful without being ignorant; a minor miracle in today’s (educational) world.

9. We Own This City: Jon Bernthal as Wayne Jenkins is my singular favorite performance of the year.
10. Hacks (Season 2)

Other Show I Really Enjoyed: What We Do in the Shadows, Winning Time, Mythic Quest, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Insecure, Euphoria, Rings of Power, Under the Banner of Heaven, The Righteous Gemstones, Industry, The Sandman, House of the Dragon, Barry, Slow Horses