The 15 Best TV Shows of 2022
Editor’s Note: Find all of The Atlantic’s “Best of 2022” coverage here.
Television has always been a tether—to other people and to ourselves. In 2022, a year of turmoil and uncertainty, TV has provided something even more essential: a lifeline. Some shows reflected the moment’s surreality back to us. Some made us see other people in slightly new ways. Some offered escapism through larger-than-life story lines. At their best, the TV shows of 2022 revealed human truths through fiction. They made us laugh. They made us think. They offered some refuge from the storm.
The list below highlights the series—melodramas, drama-dramas, comedies—that helped us. These shows satirized the cramped-togetherness of the workplace and transported us to beautifully realized alternate worlds. They took us to sterile offices and gaudy resorts, to kitchens and cattle ranches and pirate ships. They provoked; they entranced; they explained. Above all, they helped bring a bit of order to a year of chaos, one enthralling episode at a time.
Andor (Disney+)
A show without lightsabers, Jedi knights, Sith lords, or familiar Force-wielding faces of any kind, pint-size or otherwise? What a relief. The writer Tony Gilroy’s endeavor is a refreshing reminder that uncharted storytelling territory remains in a universe as well-known as the one George Lucas created. , which tracks how ’s Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) evolves from ordinary person to Rebel captain, understands that watching someone discover his purpose can be as exciting as observing the discovery of a new planet. Still, the show isn’t lacking in jaw-dropping action: Cassian’s journey involves high-octane missions stretching across the galaxy,’s sixth episode is particularly riveting. No offense to Baby Yoda, but nothing he’s done has ever made me leap to my feet and cheer at my screen. — Shirley Li
