The best TV shows of 2022, so far
polygon.comWe’re only partway through the year and 2022 is already absolutely packed with new shows. Unlike the other best of lists we’ve put out (movies! games! anime!) TV is more of a constant deluge these days, with a fountain of streaming services sharing more shows than a reasonable person could keep up with.
In light of that, we’re here to help you suss out some of the best shows of the year so far. That last part is key — this is a list we expect to update several times through the year, as new shows drop, older shows settle into our memories, and we (like everyone else) catch up on the unsung gems of 2022.
What counts as a 2022 show? Glad you asked. Any show where the season in question ended in 2022. And don’t fret if it looks like your favorite show is falling down the list; this list is in “newest first” order, so new additions will be added to the top as they make the cut.
Severance doesn’t seem like it should work as well as it does. Every bit of the sci-fi thriller — from its tightly tuned performances to the evocatively low-key score, even to the concept of the show itself — feels like a high-wire act, a series of plates spinning atop sticks and staying perfectly balanced. The world where Lumon Industries has allowed (or, more disquietingly, required) workers to sever their work and home identities is trippy and methodic, like an Escher painting come to life.
After all, what do your work and personal self have in common beyond just happening to be the same person? As Severance unpacks just how different those interests are, the result gets more and more chilling as it expertly reminds us of what is actually lost even in the cleanest of work-life balances. —Zosha Millman
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