As 2022 winds down, there has been an overwhelming amount of excellent programs available for premium viewing, and we’re in danger of drowning in them. ABC (yep, A-B-C, the network) produced the finest comedy of the year, Ozark returned to Netflix with a bang, and Amazon gave us a gorgeous peek into the lives of three young people on the autistic spectrum. Additionally, Apple TV+ entered the streaming market with two of the year’s most successful shows, Pachinko and Severance. It’s not a matter of whether or not there’s any good television, but whether you have the time to watch it all. Here are a few shows we think you should add to your watch list.
Interview With the Vampire
Fans of Anne Rice’s legendary Gothic novel Interview With the Vampire are finally receiving the film adaptation they deserve, nearly three decades after the catastrophic misfire starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Rolin Jones’ version is opulent, vivid, and unapologetically sensual, telling the classic narrative of two undead lovers locked in a disastrous romance with some shrewd modifications, such as moving the majority of the action from colonial New Orleans in 1791 to New York City in 1910. Rather than a white Creole plantation owner, like in Rice’s version, Louis is a Black businessman owning a saloon in the red light district, where he struggles with his sexuality and suffers innumerable racial brutalities. Louis suggests, “Let the narrative attract you, just as I was seduced.”
The Rehearsal
Crazy smart is the best way to describe Nathan Fielder. Although he was one of the most socially inept men on reality TV, the comedian/prankster captured our hearts with his brilliant plans. His most recent wacky idea, an acting school where students stalk and imitate random people as part of a technique he dubs “The Fielder Method,” was even used by Christian Bale in a modified form in his film Amsterdam. Using these talents, Nathan guides actual individuals through difficult role-playing scenarios on The Rehearsal, keeping note of every word and possible aspect of the set. Nothing goes as planned, however, and Nathan learns this the hard way as he becomes personally embroiled in the process.
Derry Girls
Netflix’s hilarious coming-of-age comedy about teenagers living through the Troubles in Northern Ireland has concluded after three hilarious seasons. Wow, that was a fantastic conclusion. In the final season before they graduate from their Catholic high school, the gang is worried about finals, grades, and the future. While the usual antics are present (you will laugh until it hurts), the show’s penultimate season has a more serious tone as the cast confronts profound questions about what drives us to cross the threshold from childhood to adulthood. The Derry women must continue to thrive.
Andor
The troll sounds are coming from you. There’s a new Star Wars program on Mickey Mouse+? Is it not over yet? Is that Luke Skywalker?! After JJ and Rian, I swore off Star Wars forever. Yeah, I can hear you! Really. I do. I was a good listener and finished The Book of Boba Fett. In contrast, Andor, a prequel to Rogue One starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, has a chance to become the service’s finest original series. Andor finally witnesses cameos and canon from throughout the Star Wars universe coming together to form a darn amazing narrative. With a doubling of his Rogue One performance, Luna reveals the full extent of his simmering defiance against the Empire. And with Denise Gough and Kyle Soller’s villains, we get some truly unconventional bad guys in Star Wars. Think
Tell Me Lies
After binge-watching Hulu’s Tell Me Lies, I get it now when sports fans yell at the screen. Considering how committed they are to ruining themselves, the fictional students of Baird University could use some one-on-one counseling. There were numerous issues that could have been fixed with relatively simple strategies, but they refused to. Stop! Lying! All of you!! Every single time!!! It was a frustrating and engaging muddle, but that was probably the point. The film Tell Me Lies is based on the best-selling novel by Carola Lovering of the same name. The Hulu adaptation deviates from the source material, but the basic premise is the same: Boy (Jackson White’s Stephen) meets Girl (Grace Van Patterson’s Lucy), Girl falls in Love with Boy, and Boy and Girl together destroy the world. Soap opera level drama, if you will.
The Bear
One of the most stressful television series ever made became a surprise hit in 2022. The Bear, an FX drama set in the world of restaurants, consistently confounds viewers. The protagonist, Carmy, is a James Beard Award–winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago after his brother’s suicide in an attempt to save the family sandwich shop. It’s a raw and frenetic family drama about trauma and addiction that you shouldn’t miss.
Never Have I Ever
Season 3 of Mindy Kaling’s charming coming-of-age comedy finds nerdy Devi in an unexpected position of power: she’s dating the popular jock of her dreams. Yet, she will have to learn the hard way that adolescent dreams don’t always match up with the real world. Even after three seasons, Never Have I Ever is still an enjoyable treat for fans of romantic drama, but it’s Devi’s family that keeps us coming back for more. The loss of Devi’s father has left a void in the Vishwakumar family, and it has sparked arguments between the young and the old over matters of love and inheritance. We promise that if you tune in, you will be entertained, moved to tears, and long for a pillow with Devi’s mother’s words of wisdom embroidered on it.
What We Do in the Shadows
In the fourth season of FX’s supernatural mockumentary, the vampires from Staten Island, who have become fan favorites, are back and better than ever. Nadja’s drive to create a vampire nightclub, Laszlo’s journey as hurried dad to newborn Colin Robinson, and Nandor’s determination to locate his thirty-eighth bride bring together the characters who were separated in the Season 3 finale. The content is just as brazen and risqué as before, and the characters develop in some surprisingly nuanced ways.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
The second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks left viewers hanging when Captain Carol Freeman of the USS Cerritos was wrongfully accused of a war crime she did not commit. In the third season, our favorite “lower deckers” take over the Cerritos to clear the captain’s name, and that’s just the beginning of the mayhem. The third season’s misadventures introduce new aliens, new planets, and new hijinks, all while putting the gang through emotional and professional growing pains. Lower Decks manages to be both a hilarious send-up of the Star Trek genre and a solid Star Trek analogue.
The Rings of Power
The Rings of Power was always going to be one of the most talked-about shows of the year, regardless of how well or poorly it was received by viewers. Thank goodness we were able to get an advance screening so we could affirm with confidence that this is quality television. Superb TV, in fact. This massive Lord of the Rings prequel takes readers back thousands of years to the Second Age, a time of prosperity, conflict, and discovery. Clearly made by a team with a deep respect for Tolkien, Rings of Power is a spellbinding visual extravaganza with just the right amount of mythic overtones. Enjoy your time wandering throughout Middle-earth.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Although the current flurry of Star Trek shows from Paramount+ has had its ups and downs, with Strange New Worlds, we have the finest Trek adventure in decades. Returning to the episodic format of the original series, this time during Christopher Pike’s command of the Enterprise, brings the series full circle. Have no worry if you’re not a Trekkie; there’s no steep learning curve, and there’s a lot to enjoy for any fan of science fiction. Strange New Worlds is a character-driven series that combines high-quality sociocultural stories with wholesome space adventure in each episode.
Bridgerton
It’s natural to worry that a breakout hit’s second season would be less successful than the first. Season 2 was a huge success, proving that everyone was mistaken to worry about Bridgerton. The slow-building chemistry and reduced amount of intense sex in a “enemies to lovers” affair made the second date different from the first, but it was still sizzling hot. The love stars of the show reached new emotional depths as they were brought together not just by physical attraction but also by their shared experiences of loss, responsibility, and selflessness. Season 3 is eagerly anticipated. Check out Lordping.co.uk to read more about Bridgerton and how this show can give us a lesson on love.
Under the Banner of Heaven
Under the Banner of Heaven, written by Dustin Lance Black and inspired in part by Jon Krakauer’s book of the same name, is a disturbing look at religious extremism, violence, and the testing of one’s faith in the wake of the brutal murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty. Mormon investigator Jeb Pyre, portrayed by Andrew Garfield in the film, is tasked with solving the crime. As he delves deeper into the radical margins of his own religion, the original mystery he finds turns out to be a “onion of a mystery,” with more and more disturbing truths being disclosed with each layer.