procrastinator’s top tv of 2022

The Bear

TV years have gotten a bit murky. It used to be if it was on broadcast tv you watched it or you didn’t. Now with so much cable and streaming we’re often catching up. I know I am. Including all the cable channels who could watch it all?

And if I had the time I definitely don’t have all the channels. The biggest shift was I finally got HBOMax, but not until late in the year. I have definitely not caught up on all the 2022 fare, though you’ll see I was able to get started. I am also dabbling with getting different options for a limited time (e.g. Paramount+ and Apple+).

Recency bias may have resulted in some of this ranking but as you know on any given day who knows but you gotta land somewhere.

  1. The Bear (Fx/Hulu) – If I’m lucky every season there is something new and special that draws me in, this was it for me this year, a very tense tale of a ‘real’ chef heading home to run a local restaurant after his brother dies and let’s just say things don’t go smoothly.
  2. Hacks (HBO) – I just just finished this but was so drawn into these two women and their dysfunction and personal growth together as they turn an old-school comedian’s act into something new, Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder for the win.
  3. Barry (HBO) – I can’t help myself with these painful shows where you can’t imagine how this is all going to work out, and Bill Hader’s hitman looking for a change in LA does it to a T.
  4. Somebody Somewhere (HBO) – Ok so maybe the new HBOMax subscription was a good idea (and I’ve only scratched the surface); I was really drawn in by this look at a woman’s return to her small Kansas town and her struggle to fit in with family and found family.
  5. Ghosts (CBS) – Based on an English show which I have yet to check out, Rose McIver plays a woman who inherits a family home and can see the undead, it brings lots of fun as we learn more about the long-term residents and watch them try to make a future.
  6. Abbot Elementary (ABC) – You’ve likely heard about this one and for good reason, Quinta Brunson’s teachers in Philly has a ton of heart with its silliness.
  7. Yellow Jackets (Show) – My Paramount+ temporary subscription led me to this (though I tried not to add any new shows) and couldn’t stop watching this time-split tale of present-day and the immediate aftermath of a plane crash filled with a high school girl’s soccer team, I mean that would traumatize anyone right?
  8. Evil (Para+) – I’m a big fan of the King’s series and this is no exception, this show literally creeps me out with its trio of skeptics and believers investigating ‘occurrences’ for the church, and their personal lives are not unimpacted.
  9. Reservation Dogs (Hulu) – Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma do what they gotta do to make it to California while dealing with family and local drama, a nice mix of off-format, story, and character/relationship focus.
  10. Ink Master (Para+) – This is my favorite reality show and as it was brought back it moved networks and changed judges but they were able to maintain the core of the thing (though I do miss Chris and Oliver), testing the skills of a tattoo artist to see who is the master

A few series that wrapped this year and while the final season might not hit the top ten, the series in their entirety were noteworthy (this is also a bit of a cheat to list more shows):

  • Animal Kingdom (TNT) – I enjoy a good crime drama and this So Cal surfing crime family sure brought the drama, it was a little uneven but I think quite good for what it was.
  • Atlanta (Fx) – Donald Glover really took artistic license but for the most part it was incredibly successful while also building rich characters and an interesting overall arc in this look at an up-and-coming rapper and his manager.
  • Better Things (Fx) – I just love what Pamela Adlon did with this semi-autobiographical dramedy about her family and her life surrounding Hollywood, this show was consistently in my top ten.
  • Claws (TNT) – Ok this was one heck of a campy show but if you want to watch a bunch of over-the-top nail artists take on some serious Florida crime these characters had heart and style.
  • David Makes Man (2021-OWN) – The first season of this was one of my favorite looks at coming-of-age both through the story and visuals and while the second season’s time jump wasn’t as successful for me it was still really interesting.
  • Dead to Me (Net) – Christina Applegate and Linda Cardelini play unlikely friends who won each other and me over with their approach to every ridiculous twist and turn they run into through their start with grief.
  • Deutschland 83/86/89 (2020-Sund/Hulu) – I caught these after the fact but loved the Americans-ish spy drama and the time jumps to see where it all went.
  • The Good Fight (Para+) – Christine Baranski can do no wrong and I enjoyed her years starting over at a new law firm following The Good Wife, they created something new but kept a lot of the elements of what made the former work through quirky characters, cases, and overarching issues, I actually paid to get the rest of this show.
  • Grace & Frankie (Net) – This show wasn’t revolutionary but the throwback feel of a screwball buddy comedy worked with not only great leads of Fonda and Tomlin but a fun supporting cast.
  • Killing Eve (BBC) – Ok this show kind of lost its way but that first season was enough to keep me in for moments of Eve and Villanelle’s relationship, assassins and spies, and some great outfits.
  • Ozark (Net) – This show pushed the edges of dark both metaphorically and visually but this family, with great performances, doing everything they can to survive, and maybe even thrive, through a money laundering entanglement with the Mexican drug lord, don’t get in their way.

Honorable mention: Alaska Daily (ABC), Dark Winds (AMC), Get Shorty (Epix), Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Professor T (PBS), Reginald the Vampire (Syfy), Resident Alien (Syfy), Russian Doll (Net), Single Drunk Female (Free), So Help Me Todd (CBS), Upload (Am), Welcome to Wrexham (Fx), White Lotus (HBO).

There are also a few shows I am enjoying but not up to date on: Better Call Saul (AMC), Euphoria (HBO), and The Flight Attendant (HBO).

Is this just everything I watched last year? Sadly no. But I admittedly didn’t choose the smallest subset to mention.

For critics’ picks, there’s a good list at Metacritic. What were your faves?

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returning fall favorites

Ghosts

Labor Day signals the unofficial start of fall so let’s take a look at a few of the network shows I’m looking forward to returning.

  • The Conners/Abbott Elementary/Home Economics (ABC, Wednesday 9/21) – Abbott Elementary was the belle of the ball last season, and deservedly so, it’s funny and sweet and holds together well. I’m still appreciating The Conners and Home Economics is funny enough as the characters develop.
  • Law and Order (NBC, Thursday 9/22) – This didn’t totally capture the old-school L&O magic for me, and the crossovers to series I don’t watch might get me, but I’ll give it a few more.
  • Bobs Burgers (Fox, Sunday 9/25) – I did a catch-up on this and now I guess can watch real-time, I guess.
  • La Brea (NBC, Tuesday 9/27) – This was the dumbest show, but there was something so cheesy about it I couldn’t turn away, not sure I’ll stick with it but we’ll see.
  • Ghosts (CBS, Thursday 9/29) – This was the other highlight of last season, a remake of an English show (that is also supposed to be funny) the ghosts from different eras coming together with our present-day caretakers is a treat.
  • Call Me Kat (Fox, Thursday 9/29) – This show barely makes the cut but there is something appealing about the characters that makes me smile if not laugh, following Welcome to Flatch which I could not stick with last season.
  • The Equalizer (CBS, Sunday 10/2) – I mean Queen Latifa kicking ass for the good guys, this scratches a certain itch.
  • Coroner (CW, Sunday 10/2) – This is a classic murder of the week with some overarching drama surrounding our protagonist, one of the Canadian imports I enjoyed.

Midseason or TBA returns: Grand Crew (NBC), American Auto (NBC), 9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox), Transplant (NBC), Making It (NBC).

Things change, please check your local listings.

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procrastinator’s top tv of 2021

Only Murders in the Building

For those who have lost track I am dealing with basic+ cable plus Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. So I am mostly limited from the HBOs and whatnots as well as some other streamers. I did have a free apple+ subscription that I held onto (aka paid for) long enough to finish the second season of Ted Lasso but specifically kept myself from getting into any of their dramas. I am also plotting a quick subscription to Paramount+ to catch up on Evil and The Good Fight since I’ve enjoyed earlier seasons of those (doing some math on just buying various seasons). Oh and I watched Breaking Bad, so you know that took up some time.

So yes I could watch TV for much longer to see all the shows that people proclaim were the best of 2021 but here’s where I ended up. For critic’s picks check out metacritic.

  1. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) – This was just the perfect tone and content for where I was at when I got to this, great star power with Steven Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, and it both poked fun at and told a conveying murder tale with fun twists, can’t wait for another season.
  2. The Great (Hulu) – The occasionally true retelling of Catherine the Great did a fun job of taking us into the second season, lots of hilarity and hijinks here and love/hate people and relationships.
  3. Ted Lasso (App+) – Although I heard some of the rumblings I thought overall they really took the show in a direction that worked as it evolved, will revisit App+ when we get around to another.
  4. Mythic Quest (App+) – The other show I let myself enjoy while I had the subscription, they really mastered the ongoing odd work environment and characters with killer standalone episodes, don’t be put off by the setting of a video game company.
  5. Resident Alien (Syfy) – Alan Tudyk is really such a winner in this role but the whole cast has great charm as we watch this alien become more human and it might even stop him from destroying the world.
  6. Ghosts (CBS) – I’ve appreciated Rose McIver since iZombie and she’s got herself a fun new role in seeing ghosts and translating to her husband, the ghosts themselves do a great job of bringing good characters from different time periods and living pretty full lives.
  7. Big Leap (Fox) – While this isn’t a show for everyone the behind the scenes of a reality dance competition was for me a great balance of looking at the machinations of stirring up reality drama with a sweet side both in front of and behind the cameras, hoping for another season.
  8. Squid Game (Net) – Whatever you want to say about this it sure was compelling, brutal, but compelling, and I’m very curious as to what they’re going to do in a second season.
  9. Sex Education (Net) – I still enjoy my time with these students and their families dealing with sex and relationships.
  10. Lupin (Net) – A good caper can’t be beat and I was happy to take another jaunt in this somewhat ridiculous next chapter.

Honorable: Bo Burnham: Inside (Net), Bridgerton (Net), Everything’s Going to Be Okay (Free), Girls5eva (Pea), Kim’s Convenience (CBC/Net), Leverage: Redemption (IMDB), Reservation Dogs (Fx/Hulu), The Underground Railroad (Prime), What We Do In the Shadows (Fx), We Are Lady Parts (Pea), You (Net).

What were your faves last year?

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