Best TV Shows of 2022 by Network

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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.

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Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 1/6/23

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R-U-P-A-U … wait a minute, there’s a sixth letter! (CREDIT: CBS/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
A Man Called Otto – This had an awards-qualifying run at the end of 2022, and now it’s expanding a bit.
MEGAN (Theaters)

TV
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 Premiere (January 6 on MTV) – Moving to MTV.
Mayfair Witches Series Premiere (January 8 on AMC and AMC+) – Alexandra Daddario stars in an Anne Rice adaptation.
-Golden Globes (January 10 on NBC) – On a Tuesday?!
Celebrity Name That Tune Season Premiere (January 11 on FOX)
Lingo Reboot Premiere (January 11 on CBS) – More RuPaul.

Music
-Iggy Pop, Every Loser

Jmunney’s 2022 Emmy Wish List, Part 4: Variety and Reality

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CREDIT: Netflix/Screenshot

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 about it 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 it too much. We’ll find out what the TV Academy thinks when the nominations are announced on July 12!

When will Holey Moley become “The Multiple Emmy Award-Winning Holey Moley”? Hopefully very soon!

I was a little surprised to see Conan on the ballot again, as our orange-topped late night legend wrapped his TBS run over a year ago. But I suppose he did last into June, and the Emmy eligibility period does begin in the previous year’s June, and I’m certainly not going to complain about honoring our boy Conezy one more time!

And finally, hopefully How to with John Wilson can shine through in the weird category it’s been submitted in.

KEY:
Bold=My winner
*=I have placed this nominee in a different category than the Emmy ballot.
**=Not on the Emmy ballot

Variety Talk Series
Conan
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Variety Sketch Series
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson*
Whose Line is it Anyway?

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The 77 Best TV Shows of 2021

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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:

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Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 1/7/22

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Pivoting (CREDIT: FOX/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
A Hero (January 7 in Theaters, January 21 on Amazon)

TV
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Premiere (January 7 on VH1)
Search Party Season 5 (January 7 on HBO Max) – Final Season Alert!
A Discovery of Witches Season 3 Premiere (January 8 on Sundance Now, Shudder, and AMC+) – I’ll probably wait until it airs on AMC proper, though.
Pivoting Series Premiere (January 9 on FOX) – Eliza Coupe in a sitcom that looks like it has some bite to it.
The Righteous Gemstones Season 2 Premiere (January 9 on HBO)
Superman & Lois Season 2 Premiere (January 11 on The CW)

Music
-The Weeknd, Dawn FM

Jmunney’s 2021 Emmy Wish List, Part 4: Variety and Reality

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CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot

It’s that time again! The 2021 Emmy nominations will be announced on July 13, which means I’ve got a Wish List for the nommy noms I’d most like to see! In case you’re wondering, I haven’t held myself to any minimum or maximum number of entrants per category, nor do I strictly adhere to official Emmy rules. (I’ve included explanations for my deviations.) And of course, I must mention that I haven’t seen everything, so there are probably some worthy considerations I may have missed. Finally, on Day 4, we wrap things up with Variety and Reality.

Did you know that there’s a talk show hosted by an alien puppet on Disney+? If you didn’t before, you do now. And you’re going to want to watch all of it as soon as possible before you die. It’s called Earth to Ned, and it’s hilarious and boasts a lineup of fantastic guests. It’s got vibes of Jiminy Glick, but it’s much more kind-hearted. It’s a celebration of talk shows as an art form and general phenomenon, and that’s why I believe that it should win the Emmy for Variety Talk Series.

Variety Sketch Series is where the oddballs that don’t slot easily into any other category end up, and thus that’s where the inimitable How to with John Wilson deserves our love.

And as for Reality, my enthusiasm is much the same as it was last year, when I was demanding praise for the first season of mini-golf extravaganza Holey Moley while the second season was airing. And now this year, I’m demanding praise for Season 2 while we’re in the midst of Season 3.

KEY:
Bold=My winner

Variety Talk Series
Conan
Earth to Ned
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
WILMORE

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Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 2/26/21

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Tom & Jerry (CREDIT: Warner Bros/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
The Father (Theaters) – Olivia Colman plays Anthony Hopkins’ father
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (March 4 on Paramount+) – This is the day CBS All Access rebrands as Paramount+.
Tom & Jerry (Theaters and HBO Max) – Colin Jost in the Wedding of the Century!
The Vigil (Theaters and On Demand)

TV
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Corona Can’t Keep a Good Queen Down (February 26 on VH1)
-78th Golden Globe Awards (February 28 on NBC)

Music
-Alice Cooper, Detroit Stories – Loved him on The Muppet Show; glad to see he’s still making music.

The 67 Best TV Shows of 2020

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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.

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Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 1/1/21

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The Chase; Celebrity Wheel of Fortune; The Hustler (CREDIT: Ron Batzdorff/ABC; Carol Kaelson/ABC; Christopher Willard/ABC)

Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
Pieces of a Woman (January 7 on Netflix)

TV
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks (January 1 on BBC America)
Earth to Ned Season 1 Part 2 (January 1 on Disney+) – A delightful talk show hosted by an alien. I wrote about it on my newsletter.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 Premiere (January 1 on VH1)
Call Me Kat Series Premiere (January 3 on FOX) – Starring Mayim Bialik and cats.
The Great North Series Premiere (January 3 on FOX) – New animated show with the voices of Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Jenny Slate, Will Forte, and others.
-Alex Trebek’s last week of new Jeopardy! episodes (January 4-8, check local listings)
The Hustler Series Premiere (January 4 on ABC) – Another game show on ABC! This one’s hosted by Craig Ferguson.
History of Swear Words (January 5 on Netflix) – Hosted by Nicolas Cage himself.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2 Premiere (January 5 on NBC)
Name That Tune Reboot Premiere (January 6 on FOX) – Hosted by the one and only Jane Krakowski.
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Series Premiere (January 7 on ABC)
The Chase Reboot Premiere (January 7 on ABC) – Jeopardy! all-time greats Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer square off against contestants. Sara Haines hosts.
Mr. Mayor Series Premiere (January 7 on NBC) – Ted Danson gets right back in the sitcom swing.

Jmunney’s 2020 Emmy Wish List, Part 4: Variety and Reality

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CREDIT: ABC; IFC

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.

Now that I have made my way through the avalanche of award-worth Dramas, Comedies, and Limited Series, it’s time to get a little silly with the Variety shows. And this year, I decided to also talk about Reality, as there are enough competition shows that I plainly love to be able to fill out a ballot.

Conan is my top choice among the talkies, as Mr. O’Brien and company adapted quite naturally to the new reality of at-home production and Zoom interviews. The Soul Train/American Bandstand homage that is Sherman’s Showcase is the easy choice in Sketch Series; seriously folks, you gotta check this show out. And while I don’t always include SNL in the field, it earned a spot this year thanks to the resiliency demonstrated in its at-home episodes.

Moving on to Reality, where my Competition Program picks are dominated by game shows, naturally enough. At the top of the heap is the mini-golf showcase Holey Moley, one of the most purely fun and positive shows on the air right now. And Joe Tessitore and Rob Riggle are the perfect silly/serious M.C. pair to present the whole shebang.

KEY:
Bold=My winner

CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot

Variety Talk Series
CONAN
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

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