Changes from 2021: There were more than usual this year, an everpresent sign of the pace and volume of TV these days. But I will say there is also one small piece that is becoming more and more present: shows taking a year off in between airing seasons. So we have stuff on the list this year that last aired in 2020 (or in one case, 2019), and some stuff that is off the list after being on in 2021 that is likely to reappear in 2023. There's a lot of "new normal" going on in TV these days.
Show Ended / Was in a Miniseries: Modern TV is going to have a lot of these that are just miniseries. Many will be successful enough to become recurring series (generally a bad idea) but we'll always have a set. I do think 2021 had more shows that ended, from Pose and Narcos, to Gentified being cancelled.
#20 - Beartown
#17 - Gentified
#12 - Lupin
#11 - The Serpent
#9 - Maid
#8 - Pose
#6 - Mare of Easttown
#5 - Narcos: Mexico
Didn't Air in 2021: This is what I'm talking about. With the exception of Curb, which will come back only if Larry wants it to, all of these shows are likely to air a new season in 2023.
#19 - Invincible
#18 - Loki
#14 - I Think You Should Leave
#13 - Curb Your Enthusiasm
#7 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
#4 - The Great
#3 - Succession
Wasn't As Good / Didn't Watch in 2021: Honestly, I don't know what I'm waiting on here in watching it. To my defense, it only just came out.
#15 - Mythic Quest (didn't watch S3 yet)
Anyway, with that run through the ones that get chopped off the list, let's get to the actual list.
I wanted to like this more, something of 2022's version of "The Trust", another FX show that I watched because it was on FX. And the bar is high enough there that the show was still good. The acting was great, with Jeff Bridges putting a top-tier "Jeff Bridges" type leading performance. The action shots were quite good, though a bit repetitive with all the shootouts. There were some nice, small, quiet, tense moments that could evoke a Breaking Bad. Just the plot was intentionally slow. The first season ended in an interesting place, and I'll be back to watch more, but this was the rare show that, while still more than good, ended up less than the sum of its parts.
19.) Irma Vep (HBO)
I never watched the original movie that came out in the 90s, so I won't get into any comparisons of it vs. this show. But what I read about it seemed interesting enough, and that word "interesting" is a great descriptor for Irma Vep. The plot is loosely a grizzled French Director trying to ressurect an old 30s movie of Irma Vep (a Vampire), with the leading star being played by Alicia Vikander, who is playing a famous actress trying to go "gritty". It's hard to really describe though what exactly the show is, other than to say it is weird, it is emotional, and it was a great performance by the French director who played one of my favorite random characters in a while. The aimlessness utlimately hurt it for me, but the show was always a bit entertaining and wild.
18.) Hacks (Season 2, HBOMax)
Hacks was one of the few returning shows. It dropped a bit in my list, but mainly because the focus on the side characters, particularly Marcus, was a bit more muted this time around. Of course, Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are still both brilliant, and the story itself is still quite touching. Stakes aren;t super high, and it is a bit cool to watch the fake life of a old coming on the road. The comedy itself was a bit more muted this season as well, which left more time for the relationship between Deborah and Ava to be examined and torn apart even more. There's more to come, and I'll be ready when it does.
17.) The Gilded Age (Season 1, HBO)
I'm sure The Gilded Age isn't the first show to focus on high society New York in the turn of the 20th Century, but its the first I've watched, and the first that doesn't focus on the underwold (at least not as the primary focus). The story of social climbing, of the palacial estates, of life back then, of what I guess is New York City in an unrecognizable form. The normal people you expect to be great like Carrie Coon and Christine Baranski were great as expected, but I found myself really growing to appreciate Morgan Specter as George Russell trying to go good. The shows plot couild be tighter, and maybe it will grow into it in its future seasons, but for exposing a time period in America that I haven't seen get a spotlight on, puts it on the list.
16.) Peacemaker (Season 1, HBOMax)
Man how I loved everything about John Cena, who immediately became one of my favorite wrestler turned actors ever, with his amazing leading performance here. THe rest of the main gang was pretty good itself, and James Gunn's writing was as sharp as ever. This is, to me without a close second, the best thing DC has ever put out. Yes the story was a bit convoluted and silly, but everyone from Cena's Peacemaker, to the other ARGUS members, to even the strechiest role of Freddie Stroma as Vigilante, played in straight, honest, and hilarious. I rarely find these superhero shows tight and well crafted enough to put on the list (a few exceptions, like Loki last year), but Peacemaker was just brilliant for what it was, a 30-minute suspension of belief each week. Also, Jesus Christ that dance number opening is just sensational, my favorite opening in terms of music and action since Pope Lenny's walk and wink in The Young Pope.
