Awards Radar TV’s: The Best of Television 2022

At Awards Radar, we know the staggering amount of content available to watch these days. For that reason we have allowed our writers an extra few weeks to take in all the amazing content that made up 2022. As is tradition, every Groundhog Day (or close to it) the Awards Radar TV team puts down our remote controls, get up from our couches, and peek outside to see… What’s it called again? Oh yeah, daylight. We then deliver our ‘Best Of’ lists, only to scurry back to our couches and watch another year of television. Below are those lists.

Please let us know if we left anyone off and share your ten best of the year in comments.

The only rule on what can be included on each list is that the first episode of the season must have aired during 2022. Therefore favorites like Ted Lasso, Yellowjackets and Station Eleven which were well-represented on 2021’s lists and cannot double dip even if they extended into the following year.

STEVEN PRUSAKOWSKI – Awards Radar TV Editor / Critic

1 – Better Call Saul S6 (AMC)

2 – Severance (Apple TV+)

3 – The Bear (Hulu)

4 – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)

5 – Barry S3 (HBO)

6 – Andor (Disney+)

7 – The Afterparty (Apple TV+)

8 – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)

9 – Peacemaker (HBO Max)

10 – Wednesday (Netflix)

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Abbott Elementary (ABC), American Auto (NBC), The Boys (Prime Video), Black Bird (Apple TV+), Euphoria (HBO), Evil (Paramount+), Fleishman Is In Trouble (Hulu), Gas Lit (Starz), Ghosts (CBS), Hacks (HBO Max), House of the Dragon (HBO), I Love That For You (Showtime), The Legend of Vox Machina (Prime Video), Let The Right One In (Showtime), Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (Prime Video), Moon Knight (Disney+), Ms. Marvel (Disney+), The Old Man (Hulu), Only Murders In the Building (Hulu), Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max), Servant (Apple TV+),  The Staircase (HBO), Stranger Things (Netflix), What We Do In the Shadows (FX), The White Lotus (HBO Max), 

Finalizing my ten this year was a bit of a struggle, because of the plethora of quality television which entertained me in so many ways. Some shows made me laugh, some made me cry, others had my heart racing and yet others soothed my soul. A few accomplished all the above. I am grateful for the entertainment. How do I pit them against each other? In the end, I settled on my ten; a list that covers the breadth of my year in television. 

Better Call Saul tops the list. The series locked itself into that position after perfectly sticking the landing with its series finale. While others tried to push it out of that spot it held firm because of the accomplishment it represented. Not only did it deliver as a standalone series, it bookended the Breaking Bad saga in a way that was incredibly ambitious. While doing so Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould delivered some of the most complex and compelling characters to ever grace any screen. Masterful writing, cinematography and performances transformed a series that I almost did not give a shot into one which has cemented itself near (or at) the top of my all-time best TV list. Saul is so much more than a Breaking Bad spin-off, it is rich and inspired storytelling that only gets better the more you watch it. Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, Giancarlo Esposito – the list of astonishing work goes on and on. 

As I look over my list I am impressed with both the returning series and the brand-new ones which surprised and delighted me. Severance melted my brain then melted my heart, just before having it beat out of my chest. The Bear is my surprise of the year and one I recommend all the time by uttering these three words, “Just watch it!” Another deliciously dark series plucked from the Apple TV+ tree, Bad Sisters from the brilliant Sharon Horgan. Speaking of dark, no one does dark humor better than Barry with killer cast performances across the board. Andor’s genre-spanning storytelling proved that Star Wars is just beginning to explore its universe with a vivid tapestry of characters and tales. The Afterparty is easily one of the most fun watches this year, murder, comedy, a Ben Schwartz musical episode, Lord and Miller never cease to amaze. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds beamed me back down to my living room as a kid, watching OG Trek with my dad. The series captured the old magic perfectly while tackling modern subjects. HBO Max’s Peacemaker was another surprise, not-my-favorite-superhero gave me my favorite superhero content of the year. You had me at choreographed opening credits. Snap twice fo Wednesday a beautifully crafted show captures the old Tim Burton magic while launching Jenna Ortega (deservingly so) into superstardom. A spooky, ooky and kooky series for the whole family.

As you see, with so many series to watch covering a wide range of subject matters and genres, I had to cheat a little (again) by providing a healthy honorable mention list.

Below are the rest of the Awards Radar TV team’s lists:

Abe Friedtanzer

1 – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)

2 – Peacemaker (HBO Max)

3 – Better Call Saul S6 (AMC)

4 – Barry S3 (HBO)

5 – Trying S3 (Apple TV+)

6 – Somebody Somewhere (HBO)

7 – Breeders S3 (FX)

8 – The Capture S2 (Peacock)

9 – Life and Beth (Hulu)

10 – As We See It (Prime Video)

Nikki Cruz

1 – Abbott Elementary S1 (ABC)

2 – Wednesday (Netflix) 

3 – The Bear (Hulu)

4 – Undone S2 (Prime Video)

5 – Barry S3 (HBO)

6 – The Offer (Paramount+)

7 – White Lotus S2 (HBO)

8 – The Dropout (Hulu)

9 – Gordita Chronicles (HBO Max)

10 – Hacks S2 (HBO Max)

Maxance Vincent

1 – Ramy S3 (Hulu)

2 – Peacemaker (HBO Max)

3 – Mo (Netflix)

4 – Barry S3 (HBO)

5 – Andor (Disney+)

6 – Moon Knight (Disney+)

7 – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

8 – The White Lotus S2 (HBO)

9 – The Bear (Hulu)

10. Ms. Marvel (Disney+)

The ‘Verse! (Bridget Brogan, Norm Felker, Lucas Longacre, Emilia Yu)

1 – Andor  (Disney+)

2 – The Boys (Prime Video)

3 – Moon Knight (Disney+)

4 – Peacemaker (HBO Max)

5 – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)

6 – House of the Dragon (HBO)

7 – Ms. Marvel (Disney+)

8 – The Legend of Vox Machina (Prime Video)

9 – LOTR: The RIngs of Power (Prime Video)

10 – She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (Disney+)

Diego Peralta

1 – House of the Dragon (HBO)

2 – Euphoria S2 (HBO)

3 – Andor (Disney+)

4 – Barry S3 (HBO)

5 – Stranger Things S4 (Netflix)

6 – Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)

7 – Hacks S2 (HBO Max)

8 – The Sex Lives of College Girls S2 (HBO MAx)

9 – Rick and Morty S6 (Cartoon Network)

10 – Tuca and Bertie S3 (Netflix)

Leila JORDAN

1 – Severance (Apple TV+)

2 – The Bear (Hulu) 

3 – Barry S3 (HBO)

4 – Peaky Blinders Season 6

4 – Minx (HBO Max)

6 – Hacks S2 (HBO Max)

7 – Andor  (Disney+)

8 – This is Going to Hurt (AMC+)

9 – Reboot  (Hulu)

10 – The Afterparty (Apple TV+)

Joshua Harris

1 – Sort Of (HBO Max)

2 – Queen Sugar (OWN)

3 – Reservation Dogs S2 (FX)

4 – Better Things S4 (FX) 

5 – Pachinko (Apple TV+)

6 – I Hate Suzie (HBO Max)

7 – Couples Therapy (Showtime)

8 – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

9 – Somebody Somewhere (HBO)

10 – A League of Their Own (Prime Video)

Danny Jarabek

1 – Severance (Apple TV+)

2 – Barry S3 (HBO)

3 – Stranger Things S4 (Netflix)

4 – Pachinko (Apple TV+)

5 – Abbott Elementary S2 (ABC)

6 – The Rehearsal (HBO Max)

7 – Wednesday (Netflix)

8 – 1899 (Netflix)

9 – Irma Vep (HBO)

10 – Undone (Prime Video)

Remember to leave your top ten in the comments and watch for more TV coverage coming to Awards Radar.