2022 In Review: 11 Dumb Things TV Did

Attention to all of TV's Powers That Be: If you're looking to make a resolution in 2023, we've got a suggestion: Make better choices.

That's right, it is that time  in TVLine's annual Year in Review, where we take stock of some "questionable" calls made over the past 12 months. And we are not talking here about individual cancellations; that's low-hanging fruit, well-discussed in dozens of other places on this site.

No, we instead are raising our collective eyebrow at dubious decisions such a spinoff announcement that killed much tension during The Walking Dead's final season... a "recasting" misstep on So You Think You Can Dance... CBS going AWOL on a major TV milestone... and The Great British Baking Show's half-baked approach to "Mexican Week."

Also due for dings this year are ABC effectively pitting Bachelorette vs. Bachelorette, some less-than-fantastic fantasy-TV scheduling, and Netflix's haste in whipping Knives Out 2 out of theaters.

But perhaps foremost in everyone's minds is the whole HBO Max mishegas! Which wasn't about any one cancellation but an ongoing "death by 1,000 cuts."

Review our curation of the Dumb Things TV Did This Year, then feel free to let loose with your own loud, wet raspberries!

Heading into The Walking Dead's 11th and final season, fans already knew that Daryl and Carol would walk out alive, given that in September 2020 it was announced that the twosome would front their own spinoff. (Melissa McBride's Carol is no longer involved, however.)

But then, with 13 episodes still left to air — including a stretch that strongly suggested that Negan would be executed — another spinoff was announced, revolving around Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan and Lauren Cohan's Maggie. Meaning that two more fates were effectively spoiled well ahead of the series finale.

"I'm still not sure why we announced that already," Morgan grumbled in a podcast. "It was sort of a shocker to me."

TWD showrunner Angela Kang measured her own words a bit more carefully when speaking with TVLine at season's end, but allowed, "It was definitely on a creative level sort of challenging, because when things are announced is not really in the hands of the actors or producers or whatever. That's more the studio having to make announcements for their own timing reasons."

After Matthew Morrison was booted as a Season 17 judge for breaking "production protocols," we were hopeful that his replacement would have the dance knowledge to match that of fellow judges JoJo Siwa and the late, great Stephen "tWitch" Boss.

Instead, So You Think You Can Dance tapped... Leah Remini? The sitcom vet was perfectly pleasant in her critiques, but she made about as much sense on a dance competition panel as Ellen DeGeneres did at American Idol's dais.

We said it before, some have argued with us, and yet we say it again:

With the long-delayed arrival of Stranger Things 4 nearly three years (!) after its Season 3 drop, and given the new episodes' XL to XXL length, Netflix was gift-wrapped a perfect opportunity to dabble in weekly releases and make the hit series' return a weeks-long "event" (and without the appearance that the likes of weekly-releasing Disney+ made them "blink").

They could have really made Stranger Things 4 "appointment" programming for all its fans to consume, scrutizine and speculate about, non-stop over multiple weeks.

Instead, Netflix stuck to its trademark "binge release" model (save for the final two, truly supersized episodes that followed a month later).

Honestly, this one's on us: We're not sure why we expected any less from a show as blatantly manipulative and disingenuous as The Bachelorette. And yet, when Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were announced as co-leads of Season 19, we assumed they'd be emotionally supported in their pursuit of true love...

...only to learn that both women would be dating the same pool of men, paving the way for humiliating rose ceremonies where Rachel's roses were straight-up rejected, or several men confessed to Gabby that they preferred Rachel's looks and personality.

Eventually, yes, Gabby and Rachel got their own separate groups of suitors, but the season was hard to redeem — and neither woman found her forever love, anyway.

For some reason, HBO decided that its adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's 546-page sci-fi novel could not be done justice as a closed-ended miniseries, but instead should be spread out over multiple seasons — meaning, that when the drama got cancelled not two weeks after its freshman finale aired, viewers were left thoroughly, and needlessly, unsatisfied.

What a strange few months it has been! And to think that at first, we thought the madness would be limited to the random-at-the-time scrapping of the HBO Max-bound, significantly completed Batgirl movie (and some Scooby-Doo! offering).

And hey, we totally get it. Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav has some $3 billion (with a B!) in debt to reduce, by any means necessary. But that doesn't change the fact that the harsh calls made across the entire WBD catalog — be they cancellations (Westworld), "un-renewals" (Minx), snuffed premieres (the animated Batman: Caped Crusader) or the removal of titles from the streaming service (Raised by Wolves, Gordita Chronicles) — add up to what feels like a death by a thousand cruel cuts.

Practical from a business sense? Sure. Inelegant and seemingly insensitive in execution? Yep.

Over the course of one week in September, four (4!) CBS classics celebrated the 50th (!!) anniversary of their respective premieres: Maude (on Sept. 12), The Waltons (Sep. 14), The Bob Newhart Show (Sep. 16), and M*A*S*H (Sept. 17).

M*A*S*H, to single out one, is widely hailed as one of the very greatest TV shows of all-time, and its seres finale shattered viewership records. So how did CBS commemorate the acclaimed war comedy's milestone?

By doing nothing. Not even a lazy, one-hour clip show during the sleepy stretch preceding this fall's Premiere Week.

Instead, Alan Alda was left to tweet out a photo of him and onetime scene partner Mike Farrell toasting the occasion.

Telling the loyal fans of a lonnnnnnnng-running daytime soap opera that it will no longer will be available on traditional NBC, but is moving to "streaming," was a lot for people who are very set in their ways to swallow.

It also created a lot of anxiety for fans at the time, so we have to wonder why NBC Universal didn't take a flyer and announce in tandem that Days of Our Lives had been renewed for at least another year beyond its current deal that last into 2023? It would have lessened the blow, and made a Peacock subscription feel like a better long-term value.

Talk about "feast or famine," fantasy fans! Way back in August 2021, Amazon announced — way in advance — that its long-awaited Lord of the Rings prequel series would debut on Sept. 2, 2022. Eight long months later, HBO decided that its long-awaited Game of Thrones prequel series would debut... not two weeks prior to its fantasy-saga rival. The significant overlap between the two projects fueled a "Which is better?" narrative that inarguably distracted from each series' particular strengths, instead of letting each enjoy its moment in the pop culture spotlight.

We can't blame the hapless British bakers for being utterly unfamiliar with Mexican cuisine — although Carole's pronunciation of "guac-ee-molo" will forever haunt our dreams. But what could've been an instructive introduction to a vibrant culture instead became a woefully ill-conceived train wreck, plagued by outdated stereotypes, peeled avocados (???) and a truly bewildering taco-making challenge. (Tacos aren't baked!!!) Let's just hope the next time Baking Show goes international, they do a bit more homework first.

At best, Netflix's release plan for Rian Johnson's follow-up to his 2019 hit was "curious": The mystery thriller was given a one-week, limited theatrical release on Nov. 23, after which it would hit the streamer on Dec. 23.

But a funny thing happened. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery exceeded any expectations at the box office, based on third-party estimates. (No, Netflix doesn't release theatrical data either!) And amid a quiet stretch at the cineplex, it has been estimated that the sequel could have enjoyed a $40 million to $50 million opening weekend if it had enjoyed a proper wide release befitting a sequel to a hit.

Meaning, many suspect Netflix left a lotta box office bucks on the table by constricting Glass Onion's theatrical run in favor of hurrying along its streaming debut.