The 30 best TV shows of 2022

Behold: the most exciting, ambitious, addictive, heartbreaking, hilarious, and simply stellar series to grace our screens this year

By Tim Lowery, Saloni Gajjar, Manuel Betancourt, Quinci LeGardye, Mary Kate Carr, Hattie Lindert, William Hughes, Matt Schimkowitz, Sam Barsanti, Drew Gillis | December 5, 2022 | 1:00pm

TV Lists Naveen Andrews

Clockwise from left: Jeremy Allen White in The Bear (Photo: Matt Dinerstein/FX), Christina Ricci in Yellowjackets (Photo: Kailey Schwerman/SHOWTIME), Quinta Brunson in Abbott Elementary (Photo: ABC/Gilles Mingasson), Fiona Shaw in Andor (Photo: Lucasfilm), Lee Minho and Jae Jun Park in Pachinko (Photo: Apple TV+) Graphic: Rebecca Fassola

Will 2022 be remembered as the year we all could finally agree that there is too much TV? We’re … not sure. But despite the overload of series (we’re looking at you, Netflix) and how unsustainable the current model feels, we’re not complaining. The last 12 months have gifted us some fantastic television, with newbies like The Bear, that little summer show that could, and the epically priced epic The Rings Of Power, not to mention the final runs of beloved series like Atlanta and Better Call Saul. So here are The A.V. Club’s 30 best TV shows of the year. To be included, a series simply needs to have aired a new episode in, yes, 2022 (so that means you just made the cut, Yellowjackets). And now, as the kids say, on with the countdown.

30. The Dropout (Hulu)

The Dropout | Trailer | Hulu

For better or (mostly) worse, 2022 was the year of the scammer show. But there was only one scammer to rule them all: Amanda Seyfried’s Emmy-winning performance as Elizabeth Holmes in . It was the role of a lifetime for Seyfried, who perfectly embodied Holmes’ , her anger, and her blind ambition. But the series didn’t coast on one career-making performance. Instead, it gathered a murderer’s row of a supporting cast, most notably Naveen Andrews as a formidable Sunny Balwani, but honorable mentions go to William H. Macy, Stephen Fry, Alan Ruck, Laurie Metcalf … the list goes on.The Dropout cleverly explored perspectives beyond Holmes’, from the belabored Theranos employees on the inside to the journalist trying to take the company down from the outside (shoutout to Hulu golden boy Ebon Moss-Bachrach). The miniseries was empathetic to its villains without excusing their misdeeds, relentlessly focused on the characters’ humanity while also being very funny about their foibles. Credit to showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether, creator of the fan-favorite sitcom New Girl, who proved she could deliver one of the year’s best dramas. [Mary Kate Carr]

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