Table of Contents
Top 10 Best TV Shows To Binge In 2022
The Mandalorian
With Star Wars on the big screen currently on hiatus, it’s up to Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s Disney+ series to keep the flame burning. And it does so excellently, blending Western ideals, samurai adventures, and as much Star Wars mythology as you can handle into something both new and reverent of what has come before. It also gave birth to the worldwide meme icon known as Baby Yoda, which no one can ever take away from us. This is the path to take.
Season 2 has just begun, so now is an excellent time to catch up.
Streaming on Disney+ in the United Kingdom and the United States
CREDIT: AMAZON
The Young Men
What should have been a cheap, crude jab at superhero excess is instead a hilarious, insane exploration of men’s monsters and the people who try to keep them in line. Based on the comic book run by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys finds Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher commanding an unruly gang of vigilantes who are at odds with the public’s favorite superhero team, The Seven. Season 2 adds Aya Cash’s insane, selfie-obsessed Stormfront, as well as more tension between Anthony Starr’s dead-eyed Homelander and Billy. Everything has been cranked up in the new episodes.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video in the United Kingdom and the United States.
CREDIT: SCHITT’S CREEK
Schitts Creek
Dan Levy’s comedy took a while to gain fame — it recently won all of the comedy categories at the Emmys for its last season. And it may take a few episodes to warm up to this narrative about a wealthy, entitled family that lose everything and relocate to the titular little town, which patriarch Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) bought on the spur of the moment. But, unlike Arrested Development, this warring clan develops new shades and aspects of themselves over the course of the seasons, becoming characters you truly root for. If you give it a chance, it will warm your heart.
Streaming on Netflix in the United Kingdom and the United States66
CREDIT: NBC
The West Wing
For a long time, landing a walk-on role on The West Wing was the ultimate for all aspiring TV actors. Aaron Sorkin’s political drama was smart and witty, showcasing the writer’s ability for rapid-fire banter and rich, politically resonant themes, proving that television could be both amusing and intellectual at the same time. After Sorkin’s departure at the conclusion of Season 4, the show underwent a brief dip, but quickly recovered with a slew of startling adjustments to both character roles and format. It all came to a logical end at the end of President Bartlet’s second term, but The West Wing remained one of the most cerebral shows on television throughout its tenure and a comforting image of what a more democratic government could be like.
Lasso, Ted
TBC in the UK/US, Apple TV+
Ted Lasso is a program that should not function as wonderfully as it does. It is a true revelation and a rush of excitement that lifted many spirits in the gloomy bog that was 2020. While adjusting to life in the UK, Jason Sudeikis’ American Football coach will continue to encourage and lead AFC Richmond. Season 3 has already been commissioned, but co-creator Bill Lawrence believes that will be the last of it.
CREDIT: NETFLIX
Star Trek: Discovery
Its initial voyage was exciting, if occasionally hampered by its crew’s emotional travels. And, with Season 2, Discovery rediscovered the sense of pleasure that Trek occasionally achieves. Season 3 focuses on going somewhere no one has gone before – sending Burnham and company (no Pike or Spock, they’re getting their own show) to a far future, a bleak realm where the Federation no longer exists. But it’s still entertaining.
Netflix in the United Kingdom
Stream on CBS All Access in the United States.
Cobra Kai
This Karate Kid sequel, which debuted on YouTube, moves the plot forward to the present day, when Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso is a successful car dealership owner with a family and William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence is a burned out handyman at his run-down apartment complex. When the latter sees the opportunity to re-launch the Cobra Kai dojo, he sees a new opportunity for a better life, but old scars are there waiting to be torn open. Both men are assigned to young students, setting the stage for tension, drama, and bonding. The first two seasons are now available on Netflix (a third will be available in January), and a spin-off of a 1980s film franchise has no business being this amazing.
UK and US: Stream
The Queen’s Gambit
Scott Frank’s follow-up to Godless is this deft, stylish adaptation of Walter Tevis’ novel. Anya Taylor-Joy plays Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy whose prowess with the pieces is only matched by her struggles with addiction. It brings the chess scenes to life, and the storyline is equally as serious.
Stream on Netflix in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Gangs Of London
Gangs Of London is unquestionably the most violent show on television; it’s also a masterclass in action direction and choreography — which should come as no surprise given that it’s directed by Gareth Evans, who also directed The Raid. The show stars Joe Cole as Sean Wallace, the violent scion of the Wallace crime family, who goes on a revenge-fueled rampage when his father (Colm Meaney) is murdered. However, emerging performer Sope Dirisu steals the show as enforcer and undercover police Elliot Finch, crushing skulls and breaking limbs. Yes, it’s scarier than most horror films, and you’ll spend a lot of time wincing and watching through your fingers, but it’s a thrilling trip from start to finish.
CREDIT: CHANNEL 4
Derry Girls
Lisa McGee’s Norn Iron-set sitcom from the 1990s has had two great seasons, cementing itself as Britain’s favorite new comedy. While The Troubles give a serious backdrop to events, the foreground stays gut-bustingly amusing, with its beloved cast — Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicol Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, and Dylan Llewellyn – delivering lightning-fast quips at a breakneck pace. The ideal balance of warmth and wit.
UK: Stream on all four channels
Netflix in the United States
I May Destroy You
Few shows cross the line from incendiary to vital, history-making television, but I May Destroy You does. The show is based on the mind of Chewing Gum creator Michaela Coel, specifically the memory of a sexual assault that she survived during a difficult period of her writing career. Arabella (Coel) and her best friends are tasked with untangling the knotty, overwhelming topics of sexual consent and pleasure, as well as the aggressions that they face as members of the Black and queer communities. I May Destroy You could easily have been a drama that left you reeling from the heaviness of its subject matter, but Coel avoids this by weaving humour and kindness into the fabric of a production that is much needed today.
Devs
Alex Garland’s transition to television would never be conventional. Devs is anything from boring, delving into such weighty topics as fate, quantum theories, and the countless worlds buried under Nick Offerman’s gorgeous beard. Sonoya Mizuno’s Lily investigates her boyfriend’s odd absence from the software company Amaya, where they both work, and the tale just goes deeper from there. Garland’s ability to weave technology and morality together is on full display here, with Devs feeling at home with Ex Machina while also being afforded the breathing room that a TV series (even if it is only eight episodes long) provides.
iPlayer in the United Kingdom
Hulu in the United States
Normal People
Servant
M. Night Shyamalan has haunted TV before, but with his new Apple series, the budget was boosted, the episode count lowered and the tension ratched up to almost unbearable levels. Created by Tony Bagsgallop, the show follows couple Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell), who are in mourning after an awful tragedy. The devastated parents turn to a hyper-realistic baby doll that looks like their late son Jericho, as a therapeutic device to get through their debilitating grief. But what was supposed to be a short-term solution turns extra creepy when the mother bonds a bit too much with the doll. And when they hire a nanny, Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), things get even creepier… Paranoia builds, live eels are skinned and by the end of the first run of episodes, you might just be doubting your own senses. A horrific delight.
UK & US: Stream on Apple TV+
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