2022 best TV shows I watched

Yes I’m late, good thing no one is paying for this content.

Do we need an intro? No? No, I don't think so either. Here's my favourite tv of 2022.

1.       Severance

Everyone talks about the music dance experience, and for good reason. Milchick is a fantastic character, and this is the scene where he struts right off the screen and into your nervous personal space. The mood of the MDE, the dancing itself, is simultaneously frightening and contagious. (Never watch the MDE alternatively set to Meshuggah, by the way. You don’t need that much stress in your life.) But Milchick is not alone, not even close, in this fascinating and fantastic cast characters. Hilly, Dylan, Irv and Burt all have their turns as the centerpiece in your severed mind. And that’s not even counting Mark, the star or at least protagonist of the show, or Cobel, or Ms Casey. It’s just such a great mystery, doled out in ways similar to how Lost grabbed our attention and affection by showing be one window and then another, and only over time the stuff between, the stuff that was behind the walls. The season finale is so satisfying and not, a cliffhanger that was made before season two was greenlit. Ballsy, and perfect. If not for living in the age that we do, I would have already rewatched this show at least two more times. (TOO MUCH CONTENT, TOO BAD.)

 

2.       Andor

As my friend Chris said, Star Wars finally showed us why they are fighting the Star Wars. And he’s right – there’s no space Jesuses with laser swords, there’s no racist stereotypes in computer generated yet still rubbery suits. This is a glimpse of the crush of fascism and oppression finally becoming too much. The sparks of a revolution – the rebellion. The prices paid by the little folks, and the upper crust too who oppose it as well, are clearly illustrated for us, for our sickening, so that we can finally understand the why’s of the Wars. And while the show clearly takes place in the Star Wars universe, Tony Gilroy sprinkles aliens and technology and architecture around only sparingly but just enough so that when something familiar shows up, its impact is that much greater. We're used to tie fighters being cannon fodder, as when a hundred of them are dispatched to take out eight X-wings. Ho-hum. But one single fighter doing a fly-over of the lush green hills of Aldhani? Literally awesome! May I also say, mad props to Denise Gough for her stellar work in this and Under the Banner of Heaven in this last year.

 

3.       Our Flag Means Death

Like What We Do In The Shadows, this show with those familiar Kiwi fingerprints started a little slow. It was worth a smile or two early on, really just due to Rhys Darby being his regular charming as all F self. Then episode 3 happens, and between Rhys, as Stede, singing “Man for sale!”, and Leslie Jones’ turn as Spanish Jackie, the show took off. And there’s no mistaking that any one person was alone responsible for this upshoot; the whole cast came together over the course of the next few episodes. The high society episode, for example, is fucking weird and great on about five different fronts. And THEN, still later in the season, the show takes another turn into something so completely unexpectedly wholesome-ly romantic and heartwarming that I was just left stunned, and warm-hearted. The season just got more and more, well, delightful I’d say, as it sailed its course. Amazing work, mates!

 

4.       The Bear

How do you know when a show is good? When it has invaded your daily lexicon, is one sign. For example, when you start calling your friends ‘cousin’. You know, the kitchen speak is just, in the world we – certainly I – live in, it’s like self-parody now. Come on now, with the 'yes chefs'. But cousin, that’s something else. It’s the better, more meaningful version of ‘bro’, or ‘dude’. And the Bear is the better and more meaningful version of, well, just about any chef-based movie or tv show you can think of. Seriously, what do you think is better? (Maybe something like the extremely underrated 100-Foot Journey, okay I will give you that one. ‘Cause god I love romcoms.) Marcus is great, I love his little journey. I don’t even have to say anything about episode seven, because you’ll know when you watch it - but it is great. The music is pretty good too! Actually my biggest critique about the whole series may be that they didn’t use the instrumental part of Layla as the final episode outro. Is it 'cause it would be too predictable? And did I just lodge a complaint against Radiohead? You bet and you bet! (Another shoutout to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for appearing in the Bear and Andor this year - nice script choices, cousin!)

 

Honourable mentions: What We Do In The Shadows, Peacemaker, Harley Quinn, Station 11? (I don’t know if this was good tv, but I do still think about it from time to time – like, Jeevan, man!)

Notables as yet unwatched: Better Call Saul, Atlanta, the Rehearsal