CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): AMC/Screenshot; ABC/Screenshot; Paramount+/Screenshot; Hulu/Screenshot)
To demonstrate how great TV can be found pretty much everywhere these days, I’ve decided to pick the best show on each network and streaming service on which I regularly watched at least one show that aired in 2022. However you’re getting your fill of TV nowadays, you’re bound to find something enjoyable. If you and your remote ever find yourself hopelessly adrift, I can vouch that the following are all great places to find your way back to safety.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law being green (CREDIT: Marvel Studios)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Emily the Criminal (Theaters)
–Fall (Theaters)
–Mack & Rita (Theaters) – Starring Diane Keaton.
TV
–A League of Their Own (August 12 on Amazon Prime Video) – Co-created by Abbi Jacobson.
–Never Have I Ever Season 3 (August 12 on Netflix)
–RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race Season 2 Premiere (August 12 on VH1) – Apparently this season has taken inspiration from The Masked Singer.
–South Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert (August 13 on Comedy Central)
–Better Call Saul Series Finale (August 15 on AMC)
–The Legacy: The True Story of the L.A. Lakers Docuseries Premiere (August 15 on Hulu)
–She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Series Premiere (August 18 on Disney+) – The “she” being Tatiana Maslany.
Music
-Sylvan Esso, No Rules Sandy
Sports -2022 Little League World Series (August 17-28 on ESPN)
Fun (or Frightening?) Fact: this year’s Emmy ballot includes nearly 3000 performers. We’ve all known for several years now just how overwhelming television has become, but somehow it still had room to launch into another level. So for my personal wish list, I decided not to think too hard. I’ll just include however many or however few selections per category I’d like to. I’ve probably forgotten some worthy contenders, but I won’t stress about that too much. We’ll find out what the TV Academy has to say when the nominations are announced on July 12!
My favorite Comedy of the season was Kyle Mooney’s singular Netflix show, Saturday Morning All Star Hits, but I can’t find it anywhere on the ballot! Not in Comedy, nor in Animation. Oh, well.
Anyway, there are a few other newbies that I’d really love to see all over the ballot, like Abbott Elementary, Girls5eva, Only Murders in the Building, and The Sex Lives of College Girls.
And one important note: Kevin Can F*** Himself is in the Drama field on the ballot, correctly. But I’ve got Eric Petersen (as the titular stereotypical thoughtless sitcom husband) down for Comedy, as the scenes with him function best as parody.
KEY: Bold=My winner *=I have placed this nominee in a different category than the Emmy ballot.
**=Not on the Emmy ballot
Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Afterparty
Barry
Dickinson
Girls5eva
Only Murders in the Building
Resident Alien Saturday Morning All Star Hits**
Search Party
The Sex Lives of College Girls
What We Do in the Shadows
Young Sheldon
CREDIT (Clockwise from Top Left): Screenshot, Netflix, Screenshot, Screenshot
For the Year of Our Screens 2021, my list includes all the shows that I would recommend to my fellow viewers as “worth watching.” So that’s 77 shows! There’s a lot of TV nowadays, and a lot of it’s also pretty good.
I utilized a self-imposed rule in which I had to watch at least 50% of a show’s 2021 output for it to be eligible. However, there were some noteworthy shows that I watched less than 50% of, so I’ve spotlighted those in an honorable mention section:
Wellington Paranormal (CREDIT: The CW/YouTube Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Black Widow (Theaters and Premier Access on Disney+)
TV
–Atypical Season 4 (July 9 on Netflix) – Final season alert!
–The Patrick Star Show Series Premiere (July 9 on Nickelodeon) – He’s got his own show now.
-2021 ESPYs (July 10 on ABC) – Hosted by Anthony Mackie.
–Wellington Paranormal Series Premiere (July 11 on The CW) – What We Do in the Shadows spinoff; already premiered in New Zealand.
–Miracle Workers Season 3 Premiere (July 13 on TBS) – They’re on the Oregon Trail now.
–Never Have I Ever Season 2 (July 15 on Netflix)
When making Best Episode lists, some TV critics limit themselves to one entry per show, but I never operate by that self-imposition, as certain shows are just masterful when crafting a single hour or half-hour (or whatever runtime they feel like using), and that ought to be reflected in the ledger. So you’ll find that several shows have wound up more than once in this list, and those tended to be the ones that also fared the best on my Best Shows of 2020 list. You’ll also find at least one program that didn’t make my Best Shows list, as it’s possible to have one excellent outing within an otherwise disappointing season. So forthwith, if someone who missed all TV in 2020 asked me for a refresher, here is where I would direct them:
Clockwise from Top Left: What We Do in the Shadows, Never Have I Ever, Better Call Saul, How To with John Wilson (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots)
Last year, I decided to rank as many TV shows as I felt like recognizing in my year-end list, and that worked out so well that I decided to do it again for 2020. So welcome to my ranking of the 67 Best TV Shows of 2020! Not every show is accompanied by a blurb, just the ones that I felt like I really needed to say something about.
I worked with a self-imposed rule that I had to have watched at least 50% of a show’s 2020 output for it to be eligible, but there were some shows that I’ve only just begun to watch that I wanted to recognize as well, so they’ve got their own Honorable Mention section. And there were also some shows that aired relatively few episodes in 2020 to the point that I didn’t think they should be eligible either, so they’ve also got an Honorable Mention section. And then there’s one more show that’s managed to establish its very own Honorable Mention section, and that’s where we start.
The 2020 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 28. As per annual tradition, I have assembled a Wish List for as many categories as I have something to say about. There is no minimum or maximum number per category, nor is there any strict adherence to official Emmy rules. And of course, there is the necessary caveat that I have not seen everything. Even with much of the country shut down for the past few months, that’s impossible.
Yesterday I kicked off my Emmy Wish List coverage with plenty of Drama. Today it’s time to laugh along with the Comedies, and boy, what a year for laughter it was! At the top of my list are those wacky vampires (Vacky vampires? Wacky wampires? Vacky wampires?) of What We Do in the Shadows, which in its second season staked itself permanently in my heart. It’s my winner for Comedy Series and all but one of the acting categories. Too bad it doesn’t have a Supporting Actress, otherwise it would’ve been a clean sweep.
Matt Berry is at the top of the Lead Actor heap thanks almost entirely to the Jackie Dayton episode (which ought to also earn Mark Hamill a Guest Actor trophy). Meanwhile, Mark Proksch slays the Supporting Actor Field thanks to Colin Robinson taking full advantage of his promotion. And Natasia Demetriou is the #1 Lead Actress because Nadja is awesome in every episode.
As for the Supporting ladies, I’ve got a little bit of everything, and ultimately it just felt right to go with the representative of the oldest show on my ballot as the winner.
Some other notables: Never Have I Ever and mixed-ish make the strongest showings of freshman series, Sex Education switches its category placement from Drama to Comedy (and remains worthy of praise), and I’m currently only on Season 2 of Schitt’s Creek, but I’m sure it’s just as good in its final season.
KEY: Bold=My winner !( )!=I haven’t caught up to the current season of this show, but I still wanted to recognize it.
Comedy Series
Atypical
Baskets
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Mixed-ish
Never Have I Ever
Sex Education
!(Schitt’s Creek)! What We Do in the Shadows
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