Best TV Series 2022

Critics Consensus: Covering an era of tenuous peace with ferocious -- albeit abbreviated -- focus, House of the Dragon is an impressive prequel that exemplifies the court intrigue that distinguished its predecessor.

Starring: Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke

Critics Consensus: A gritty adventure told from the ground perspective of the Empire's reign, Andor is an exceptionally mature and political entry into the Star Wars mythos -- and one of the best yet.

Starring: Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O'Reilly, Forest Whitaker

Critics Consensus: Ms. Marvel is a genuinely fresh addition to the MCU -- both stylistically and substantively -- with Iman Vellani ably powering proceedings with her super-sized charisma.

Starring: Iman Vellani, Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah

Critics Consensus: Better Call Saul remains as masterfully in control as Jimmy McGill keeps insisting he is in this final season, where years of simmering storytelling come to a scintillating boil.

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Patrick Fabian

Critics Consensus: Foregrounding its characters and namesake again after an anthological sojourn in Europe, Atlanta closes out in its sweet spot: funny, insightful, and weird as hell.

Starring: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz

Critics Consensus: Like an expertly confected sandwich, The Bear assembles a perfect melange of ingredients and stacks them for optimal satisfaction -- and thankfully keeps the crust-iness for extra flavor.

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott

Critics Consensus: An inclusive romance told with striking sensitivity, Heartstopper is so effortlessly charming that viewers won't dare skip a beat.

Starring: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, William Gao, Yasmin Finney

Critics Consensus: Dark secrets are a family affair in Bad Sisters, a riotously funny murder mystery that makes fine use of its gifted ensemble while exemplifying creator and star Sharon Horgan's penchant for salty warmth.

Starring: Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Claes Bang, Eva Birthistle

Critics Consensus: Hacks hits the road, but Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder remain very much at home with each other in a sterling sophomore season that finds novel ways to deepen the central pair's lovable friendship.

Starring: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Rose Abdoo

Critics Consensus: Managing to up the ante on what was already one of television's most audacious satires, The Boys' third season is both bracingly visceral and wickedly smart.

Starring: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty

Critics Consensus: Bill Hader and company can take a well-deserved bow -- Barry makes its belated return to the screen without missing a step, retaining its edge as one of television's funniest and most unsettling offerings.

Starring: Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, Sarah Goldberg

Critics Consensus: Whether she's fighting bad guys, defending a client, or managing her messy social life, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law passes the bar for bingeworthy viewing.

Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth, Benedict Wong

Critics Consensus: The Last Movie Stars delivers the goods as a revealing retrospective of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward's romance, but director Ethan Hawke elevates this docuseries into a revelatory exploration of marriage and stardom.

Starring: Laura Linney, Melanie Griffith, Sam Rockwell, Billy Crudup

Critics Consensus: Strange New Worlds treks across familiar territory to refreshing effect, its episodic structure and soulful cast recapturing the sense of boundless discovery that defined the franchise's roots.

Starring: Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Babs Olusanmokun

Critics Consensus: Only Murders in the Building gets a new lease on life with a knottier sophomore outing that retains the series' core charm and wit.

Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Amy Ryan

Critics Consensus: Aside from turning this demonic household into Three Vampires and a Baby, What We Do in the Shadows doubles down on what it does best without drastically changing the formula -- and remains fang-tastic all the same.

Starring: Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén

Critics Consensus: Deftly managing an expanded roster of punchy personalities, Cobra Kai graduates to a black belt proficiency in heartfelt melodrama and sly humor.

Starring: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña

Critics Consensus: With a playful tone and an expansive sweep that allows Anne Rice's gothic opus to mull like a chalice of blood, Interview with the Vampire puts a stake through concerns that this story couldn't be successfully resurrected.

Starring: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Bailey Bass, Eric Bogosian

Critics Consensus: Fluidly animated and intelligently scripted, The Legend of Vox Machina is an addictive treat for fans of Dungeons & Dragons-style RPGs.

Starring: Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien

Critics Consensus: Audacious, mysterious, and bringing fresh insight into the perils of corporate drudgery, Severance is the complete package.

Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry

Synopsis: Mo Najjar straddles the line between two cultures, three languages and a ton of foolishness as a Palestinian refugee constantly living one step away from... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mohammed Amer, Teresa Ruiz, Farah Bsieso, Omar Elba

Critics Consensus: Reservation Dogs has bittersweet bite in its sophomore season as it mines more difficult dilemmas than before with its spiky sense of humor, making for a piquant portrait of a community and a place.

Starring: D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor

Critics Consensus: Who woulda thought? -- Harley Quinn graduates from a ribald spoof into one of the most heartening additions to the DC canon in a diabolically clever and emotionally textured third season.

Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, Alan Tudyk, Jim Rash

Critics Consensus: W. Kamau Bell deftly unpacks the Cosby scandal by allowing the conversation to be uncomfortable, yielding a robust examination of the disgraced entertainer and the culture that enabled him.

Starring: Gloria Allred, W. Kamau Bell, Lili Bernard, Todd Boyd

Critics Consensus: Station Eleven rewards patient viewers with an insightful and thematically rich assertion that -- even in the post-apocalypse -- the show must go on.

Starring: Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, Daniel Zovatto, David Wilmot

Critics Consensus: Dennis Lehane's penchant for authentic grit is on full display in Blackbird, an absorbing prison drama distinguished by its moral complexity and elevated by an outstanding ensemble.

Starring: Taron Egerton, Ray Liotta, Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi

Critics Consensus: Atlanta takes Paper Boi and his entourage out of Georgia, but this inspired third season proves that the more things change, the more they stay weird.

Starring: Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz

Critics Consensus: It may not yet be the One Show to Rule Them All, but The Rings of Power enchants with its opulent presentation and deeply-felt rendering of Middle Earth.

Starring: Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur

Critics Consensus: Not all of Russian Doll's gambles pay off in this ambitious and thrillingly audacious second season, but the show's willingness to take risks is often its own reward.

Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee, Annie Murphy

Critics Consensus: The Old Man is just as intrepid and spiky -- and derivative -- as younger action heroes, with Jeff Bridges lending invaluable gravitas to this bone-crunching thriller.

Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman, Alia Shawkat