2022 In Review: The 20 Best Shows

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TVLine's annual year-end retrospective has officially begun, and we're getting the toughest decisions out of the way first.

As we look back on 2022 — another superb year for television, by any measure — we know that our list of the very best TV shows from the past 12 months could easily boast dozens more deserving entries. Alas, our Year in Review begins with a ranking of only the 20 biggest standouts of 2022, which indeed went through several rounds of painful cuts.

Back in June, we took stock of the year's best TV series thus far, and several of those picks — including CBS' Ghosts, Netflix's Stranger Things and Prime Video's The Boys — clung on to maintain a spot in our December ranking. But in the six months since that initial selection was published, we've become fans of newbies like Hulu's The Patient and Disney+'s Andor, while returning vets like HBO's The White Lotus and AMC's Better Call Saul awed us with their latest outings.

But as much as we love a good spoiler here at TVLine, we won't ruin the entire list for you. Keep scrolling to see our picks for 2022's best shows — including our No. 1 pick for the best show — then drop a comment with your own favorites!

Still to come in TVLine's Year in Review: Worst Shows of 2022, Biggest Plot Twists, Sexiest Scenes, Character Deaths That Nearly Killed Us, Shocking Cast Exits and much, much more!

We would've never expected a killer doll to wind up on this list, but here we are! Don Mancini's Syfy splatterfest was heaps of silly fun, delivering big belly laughs and some of the year's goriest and grossest displays. Fans of the films were once again reunited with all their legacy faves, but watching Jennifer Tilly serve endless camp was the crème de la crème of the year's genre TV. Here's hoping Chucky continues to slay well into the future.

(Sign up for Peacock to stream Chucky)

Knowing that HBO Max's 1970s-set comedy is about a feminist whose partnership with a porn publisher gives rise to a kinda woke Playgirl, we anticipated d—ks. And we got lots. What we didn't necessarily anticipate was to be delighted, but we got that, too. Turned out, the series was all about defying expectations, whether by keeping Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson's sparring partners platonic, casting a poignant shadow over the self-discovery of Lennon Parham's unfulfilled housewife, or just making us regret having judged the show by its centerfold.

(Sign up for HBO Max to stream Minx)

Watching Harper Stern backstab her way up the corporate ladder made us all sorts of squirmy, but this spotlight on the cutthroat world of finance was once again a gripping watch. The addition of Jay Duplass' billionaire gave Harper yet another mountain to climb, adding even more tension to the show's high-stakes pacing. Bolstered by strong performances from Myha'la Herrold and Ken Leung, Industry might once again have been the year's most slept-on series, but it also continued to be one of the best.

(Sign up for HBO Max to stream Industry)

In the back half of Season 1 and this fall's second season, the CBS supernatural comedy has only cemented the quirky charm that made it an instant hit when it debuted. With fun-loving chemistry between its group of ghosts and livings, the show has leaned into its strengths with aplomb, delivering episodes both heartfelt and funny. From Isaac's hilarious seduction of Hetty as he came to terms with his sexuality, to Thor's sweetly unexpected reunion with his son, to the unraveling of Alberta's murder mystery, Ghosts never fails to make us want to book a stay at Sam and Jay's haunted B&B.

(Sign up for Paramount+ to stream Ghosts)

The Americans creators Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg are masters at crafting unbearably tense psychological drama, and they pulled off another triumph with this lean and mean face-off between a serial killer and the therapist he's taken hostage in a desperate bid to curb his psychotic urges. Steve Carell and Domhnall Gleeson were both fantastic as hostage and captor, respectively, with their therapy scenes playing out like intricately constructed chess games of the mind. The narrow scope — and the half-hour episode length — only ratcheted the tension up further, building to a violent crescendo that had us contemplating some extra therapy sessions of our own... in the very best way, of course.

(Sign up for Hulu to stream The Patient)

If Pamela Adlon's singular dramedy is TV's response to the hangout film, we would've gladly killed time with Sam Fox for years to come. But all great things must come to an end, yet the masterpiece's fifth season left us wanting more. From Adlon's contagious cackle and spirit to her daughters' undulating sea of problems, Sam's league of cohorts helped deliver a patchwork of what a single mom of Gen Zers deals with, all while making it feel real, relatable and so incredibly funny.

(Sign up for Hulu to stream Better Things)

The word "epic" was all but coined to describe the penultimate season of Netflix's 1980s-set smash. Sure, some viewers may grouse that episodes were too long, but let's be real: They never felt stretched for the sake of stretching. Rather, the extended runtimes allowed for the kind of little "moments" and character development that made the big moments — and they were whoppers here! — pay off as more than mere spectacles.

Rarely does a series' fifth season feel as exciting and engaging as its first. Then again, it's not every day we're treated to a drama as richly crafted as Hulu's dystopian tale, which this season found Elisabeth Moss' June floundering as she wondered what came after the longtime target of her rage had been vanquished. Add in a too-delicious twist of fate for Yvonne Strahovski's Serena (who essentially found herself a powerless handmaid in the wake of Fred's death) and a stellar two-hander of an episode chronicling Noah's birth, and we had one of the series' best overall outings to date.

(Sign up for Hulu to stream The Handmaid's Tale)

The hilarious ABC workplace sitcom about the teachers at an underfunded Philadelphia school proved that the broadcast comedy is not only alive, it's thriving. Creator/star Quinta Brunson has crafted a series that explores the difficulties facing the public school system while still offering up heartwarming optimism and plenty of laughs. And while we love everyone in this all-around stellar ensemble, we have to give a special shout-out to Janelle James' superficial Principal Ava, an immensely quotable character who's become an instant classic.

We jumped at the chance to take another luxury vacation with Mike White's razor-sharp HBO satire, and Season 2 has given us more of the exquisitely uncomfortable class warfare we've come to love while adding a sexy European flair. Jennifer Coolidge is once again a delight, of course, as pampered goofball Tanya, but we actually prefer spending time with the newcomers, especially Meghann Fahy's sunny trophy wife Daphne and Haley Lu Richardson's frazzled assistant Portia. The carnal misadventures and misunderstandings have culminated in a twisted farce of sex, lies and betrayal that it's our pleasure to untangle as Season 2 approaches its final two episodes.

(Sign up for HBO Max to stream The White Lotus)

Everything you love about the supernatural drama was there in Season 3, only moreso: More insidious genius from the powers of darkness, more out-there phenomena with no easy explanations, and way more sexual tension between new priest David and his co-worker Kristen (courtesy of some very sly storytelling). Plus: the fierce and funny Sister Andrea had an increased presence, we got some answers (and a lot more questions) re: Andy's plight, and the twist on which the season ended was one for the infernal record books.

(Sign up for Paramount+ to stream Evil)

This already-renewed adaptation of Min Jin Lee's novel of the same name was no small marvel, elegantly toggling as it did between multiple timelines all while being told in three subtitled languages. As it chronicled the never-easy life of a woman named Sunja, the sumptuous, wonderfully cast saga mined great drama from illicit romance, familial strife, heartbreaking deaths and the longing for one's homeland, resulting in a legit, on-screen page turner.

They had us at "hi." Season 1 of Netflix's romantic dramedy, adapted by Alice Oseman from her graphic novel series, took English schoolboys Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) from strangers to chums to more — and us from enchanted to obsessed. The writing was so earnest, the directing so beautiful, the performances so fragile and real that it's impossible to overstate the impact of these eight half-hour episodes. Short of one's own first kiss, nothing was as sweet.

Prime Video's dark, deranged superhero satire scaled audacious new heights (see: the premiere's Termite sex scene and Episode 4's sex-toy fight sequence) in its third season, while, miraculously, remaining as grounded as ever. It also cemented Antony Starr's Homelander as one of the best villains TV has ever seen. The psychopath was as funny as he was terrifying. And thanks to the baddie's rich, complicated backstory — not to mention Starr's supremely underrated performance — we couldn't help but feel for the guy.

(Sign up for Prime Video to stream The Boys)

What fun it was to watch this Apple TV+ gem unspool its freshman season, which became one of the current TV landscape's freshest and most riveting thrillers. Set at Lumon Industries, an insidious biotech company that allows employees to mentally separate their work and home lives via microchip, Severance masterfully balanced dark comedy with an immersive sci-fi mystery, building to an impeccably crafted Season 1 finale. And there's not a weak link in the cast, either; Britt Lower was especially great as new Lumon hire Helly, who embodied the soul-crushing cycle of cubicle life with every deadpan line reading.

Sterlin Harjo's dramedy showed absolutely zero signs of a sophomore slump. While drama between Bear and Elora sizzled throughout, watching the gang come together to acknowledge their lingering pain from a friend's suicide was simultaneously gut-wrenching and heartwarming. Actors Devery Jacobs and Paulina Alexis stole our hearts, while the quirky oddballs of the rez (like Uncle Brownie and Spirit) delivered outstanding comedic support to the crew. This coming-of-age tale was filled with loss, laughs and heart, and maintained its status as one of TV's smartest and most unique offerings.

(Sign up for Hulu to stream Reservation Dogs)

Is HBO's hitman comedy even a comedy anymore? It definitely didn't feel like one during its incredibly dark and bleak third season... and yet it's one of the best and most thrilling shows anywhere on TV. The psychological drama was intense, yes, but it was still laced with pitch-black humor, along with a number of eye-popping action scenes. (That bike chase!) Plus, the actors hit new heights, especially Bill Hader as the titular killer and Sarah Goldberg as aspiring starlet Sally, whose Hollywood dreams turned into a nightmare.

(Sign up for HBO Max to stream Barry)

Disney+'s Rogue One prequel series had no Jedi, lightsabers nor talk of the Force, zero Darth Vader, and precious few foam latex aliens. Instead, many franchise fans got the live-action story for which they have long clamored, a street-level look at life for "the rest of us" during the Empire's rise. Those who stuck with the slow burn were rewarded with the finest Star Wars series yet, rife with terrific performances, distinctly memorable set pieces and compelling characters that cemented their place in the sweeping saga's lore.

(Sign up for Disney+ to stream Andor)

It's hard to imagine a more convincing closing statement than the final season of AMC's Breaking Bad prequel, which kicked things off with a riveting first half that killed off a couple of key characters (R.I.P., [Spoiler] and [Spoiler]) and ended on the year's best cliffhanger, as all of Jimmy's ethically murky chickens came home to roost. Somehow, though, the second half was even better, with Rhea Seehorn hitting new heights as a guilt-ridden Kim Wexler, a wildly entertaining black-and-white caper that gave Carol Burnett her best role in years and a supremely satisfying series finale that even rivaled Breaking Bad's own celebrated swan song. We rest our case.

Yes, chef! Hulu's frenetic, fascinating peek into the kitchen of a humble Chicago sandwich shop was one of those shows that snuck up on us from out of nowhere... and we're so glad it did. Jeremy Allen White served up one of the year's very best performances as an accomplished fine-dining chef who came back home to the Windy City to run his family's sandwich shop after his brother's untimely death, and the tightly paced episodes made us feel like we were right there in that sweltering kitchen during the lunch rush. Layered with dark humor and raw emotion, it was a deliciously unexpected treat — one so tasty, in fact, that it ranks as our No. 1 show of the year.

(Sign up for Hulu to stream The Bear)