DailyO Recommends: 22 unmissable series from 2022
As we inch closer towards a new year, we take a look back at the many television/OTT gems that 2022 had for us to offer.
From social commentaries to high-octane anime, from lighthearted binges to thrilling family dramas. Here are 22 unmissable series from 2022 (not in any order):
22. Big Mouth
Even for a cartoon character, going through puberty isn't easy. Andrew is learning that first hand as he experiences the nightmare that is growing up in this animated series geared towards adults.
Big Mouth's latest season continues its vulgar and flashy take on sexual health, masculinity, queer identities and a lot more.
Where to watch: Netflix
21. The Midnight Club
At a manor with a mysterious history, eight members of the Midnight Club meet each night at midnight to tell sinister stories and to look for signs of the supernatural from the beyond.
With its series of personal, unadulterated, campy stories, The Midnight Club is a sombre reminder of how grief and horror are inextricably linked; both embodying the most remarkable scope for intimate storytelling.
Where to watch: Netflix
20. The White Lotus
Dark secrets and twisted truths of the guests, the staff and the locale of a resort are unveiled over the course of a week that was supposed to be a relaxing vacation.
Entangled in an entertaining web of deceit and adultery, The White Lotus and its dysfunctional characters make for some of TV’s best class satire.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
19. Derry Girls
In Derry, Northern Ireland, a young group of girls embark on many exciting adventures after they attend a Catholic girls' school in the midst of a national conflict.
In continuation of the Irish sitcom's tradition to dabble in the hilarity of the everyday, Derry Girls balances its plentiful laughs with unexpected moments of socio-political bleakness.
Where to watch: Netflix
18. Wednesday
While attending Nevermore Academy, Wednesday Addams attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a killing spree and solve the mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago.
A Gen-Z retelling of a television classic, Wednesday is a testament to its lead star’s dedication to her craft in this delightfully devious high school comedy.
Where to watch: Netflix
17. This Fool
Julio Lopez has a heart of gold and goes out of his way to help everyone but himself. Julio attempts to better his community, overcome his codependency issues with his family, and navigate working-class life in South Central.
This Fool plays around with stereotypes and cliches surrounding the Mexican-American identity in this heartwarming satire.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
16. The Rehearsal
Nathan Fielder returns to television to explore the lengths one person will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life. Fielder stars as the director of rehearsals, which are elaborately staged scenarios re-creating parts of ordinary people's lives that are meant to help them prepare for a big moment in their lives. A construction crew, a legion of actors and seemingly unlimited resources all come together to allow ordinary people to rehearse for these moments by giving them the opportunity to play them out in carefully crafted simulations of Fielder's own design.
Part reality show and part social experiment, The Rehearsal makes for mind-numbing television that will make you question your own morals.
Where to watch: Disney+Hotstar
15. Archive 81
An archivist takes a job restoring damaged videotapes, but finds themselves getting pulled into a mystery involving the missing director and a mysterious cult that they were documenting.
A rare instance of compelling television horror, Archive 81 pays homage to film-noir through its meticulously crafted narrative.
Where to watch: Netflix
14. Chainsaw Man
An impoverished young man makes a contract with a dog-like devil granting him the ability to transform parts of his body into chainsaws. He eventually joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters, a government agency focused on fighting against devils whenever they become a threat to the world.
In a befitting start to what is certainly shaping out to be a generation-defining new anime, Chainsaw Man surpasses expectations in its execution, wit and style; leaving you desperate for more.
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
13. The Rings of Power
Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the series is based on author JRR Tolkien's history of Middle-earth. It begins during a time of relative peace and covers all the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men.
Building in nerve-racking anticipation towards an all-too-familiar evil, The Rings of Power shows promise as the start of something truly magical in its jaw dropping spectacle.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
12. The Boys
The Boys is set in a universe where superpowered individuals are recognized as heroes by the general public and work for the powerful Vought International multi-billion dollar corporation that markets and monetizes them. Outside their heroic personas, most are arrogant, selfish, and corrupt. The series primarily focuses on two groups: the Seven, Vought's premier superhero team, and the Boys, vigilantes looking to bring down Vought and its corrupt superheroes.
Heavy, disturbing and gratuitously gory, The Boys marvels in excesses, making it one of the outrageous TV parodies today.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
11. Stranger Things 4
Still reeling from the events last year, the Hawkins gang tries to move on with their lives. However, formidable new threats are brewing both on Earth and the Upside Down.
Capitalising on the spirit of the 80s, Stranger Things 4 is bigger, darker and dead-on nostalgic.
Where to watch: Netflix
10. Under the Banner of Heaven
As detective Jeb Pyre investigates the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her baby daughter in a suburb in the Salt Lake Valley, he uncovers buried truths about the origins of the LDS religion and the violent consequences of unyielding faith.
A telling expose on blind faith and masculine authority, Under The Banner of Heaven attempts to challenge the malicious tenets of organised religion.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
9. House of the Dragon
A prequel to Game of Thrones, the series is set about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen Conquest and portrays the events leading up to the beginning of the decline of House Targaryen, a devastating war of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons".
Despite thematic similarities with its shared Westerosi mythos, House of the Dragon’s spectacular ensemble cast and subversive writing style helps the show carve out a niche of its own.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
8. Attack on Titan
Set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans; the story follows Eren Yeager, who vows to exterminate the Titans after they bring about the destruction of his hometown and the death of his mother.
Having progressed with genre-defining aplomb, Attack on Titan’s decadal legacy carves its position as one of the most intricately crafted pieces of fiction ever written.
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
7. Ramy
Ramy, the son of immigrant Muslims living in New Jersey, navigates through a life that is torn between faith, his community and new age ideals.
In its signature unapologetic style, Ramy navigates the confines of the orthodox through the self-deprecatory lens of its lead and showrunner.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
6. The Bear
A young chef from the fine dining world comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after a heartbreaking death in his family. As he fights to transform both the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges kitchen crew that ultimately reveals itself as his chosen family.
While The Bear’s directorial prowess serves as an anxiety-inducing onslaught on our senses, capturing the breakneck speed of the kitchen; it shines the most outside of it.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
5. Atlanta
Earn works as a manager for his cousin Alfred, an upcoming rapper, and they try to make a name for themselves in the music industry. Earn struggles with providing for his child and lover.
With both its concluding seasons wrapping up, Atlanta’s eccentric political-surrealism reaffirms its position as one of the weirdest (yet brilliant) series ever made.
Where to watch: FX
4. Reservation Dogs
Following the exploits of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma who steal, rob and save in order to get to the exotic, mysterious and faraway land of California. To succeed, they will have to save enough money, outmaneuver the meth heads at the junkyard on the edge of town and survive a turf war against a much tougher rival gang.
Reaffirming our faith in the untapped potential that subaltern voices hold in their capacity for storytelling, Reservation Dogs holds no reservations, and that’s what makes it one of the very best of its time.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar
3. Station Eleven
Twenty years after a flu pandemic resulted in the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors who make their living as traveling performers encounter a violent cult led by a man whose past is unknowingly linked to a member of the troupe.
A unique new take on post-apocalyptic fiction, Station Eleven is a poignant tale of reflection and reconciliation that does justice to its notoriously difficult to adapt source material.
Where to watch: HBO Max
2. Severance
The series follows Mark S as he leads a team of office workers on the ‘severed’ floor of a mega-corporation called Lumon. The workers on the severed floor have undergone surgery that splits their 'work selves' from their 'personal selves' upon their arrival on the severed floor.
Raising pertinent questions surrounding workplace integrity and security, Severance lays bare the nature of corporate work culture and the uncomfortable dark truths that these corporate entities wish to stay comfortably locked up, preferably on the severed floor of their headquarters.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
1. Andor
The story of rebel spy Cassian Andor's formative years of the rebellion and his difficult missions for the cause.
From the get go, Andor has gone against the grain, pushed back and pushed harder, leveraging its unique position in the Star Wars canon to champion artistic vision that it has so masterfully delivered.
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar