2022 has been an extraordinary year for television. The pandemic forced many shows down to shorter schedules or Zoom-based episodes in 2020, which had lasting effects well into 2021, but this year feels almost like a roaring television comeback. There were so many great shows this year that I genuinely had a difficult time narrowing the list down to just 20 entries. We have been blessed with a wealth of excellent entertainment from regular networks, cable, and streaming, and now it's time to celebrate (and rank) the best of the best.
This has been an especially great year for genre TV, with an abundance of extraordinary new science fiction, fantasy, and horror shows, plus terrific new seasons from returning favorites like "What We Do in the Shadows" and "The Boys." There were so many good shows that I had to leave out some greats, like "Star Trek: Lower Decks," "Mythic Quest," and "The White Lotus." Genre fans might find themselves with too much to watch and not enough time, but that's almost a good problem to have, right? (And hey — this could help you narrow down what to watch first!)
Without further ado, here are the top 20 television series of 2022, ranked and ready to rock.
The Sandman
Fans of the Neil Gaiman comic book series "The Sandman" have been waiting for decades for an adaptation of the wild, winding story of Morpheus, the embodiment of dreams, and his six eternal siblings, the Endless. Morpheus, played by Tom Sturridge with a mess of black hair and a perpetual pout, has been taken captive by a human sorcerer and held against his will for many years. After his escape, he must try to regain his objects of power, track down the beings who have left the Dreaming in his absence, and regain control over his domain.
While "The Sandman" wasn't quite perfect, it did get a lot right about adapting such a distinctly unique tale. Some episodes work better than others, but overall it's a fun and fantastical journey into the stories from the comics that feels like it's headed in the right direction. Kirby Howell-Baptiste as the bubbly personification of Death and Boyd Holbrook as the creepy-but-hot Corinthian are both standouts, and we got to see John Cameron Mitchell, the original Hedwig from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" in drag again for the first time in years! And singing showtunes! That alone is deserving of a spot on this list.
Season 2 of the series might take a while, but it could make some tweaks to the formula and turn into one seriously great show, and that's not just a dream.
Reboot
Streaming sitcoms are a pretty new thing, as the format lends itself to serialized network TV better than streaming, where shows have to be binge-able in addition to entertaining from episode to episode. One thing that these streaming sitcoms have on their network cousins, however, is the ability to satirize and deconstruct the network structure like never before. Hulu's "Reboot" is a sitcom about a sitcom, following the stars of '90s sitcom returning for an updated, meta-comedy reboot of their show. The cast is perfect: Keegan-Michael Key is a classically trained actor who left the show to pursue a movie career that never happened; Judy Greer is his former co-star and girlfriend, who went off to star in a goofy sci-fi series and married into royalty; Johnny Knoxville is the comic relief who's coming off of a struggling stand-up career and years of drug and alcohol abuse. Add in Paul Reiser as the original showrunner and Rachel Bloom as his daughter and the new co-showrunner, and you've got comedy gold.
"Reboot" was created by "Modern Family" co-creator Steven Levitan, but it's significantly meaner and more adult than the long-running ABC series. It's a send-up of sitcoms and the people who make them that could only ever happen on streaming or a cable network like HBO, without network censors to worry about. It's crass and it's crude, but it's also hysterically funny, and the cast's incredible chemistry makes the whole thing a pure, raunchy joy.
Kids In The Hall
There are many flavors of sketch comedy, but the Canadian stylings of the sketch troupe "The Kids in the Hall" have always been delightfully, deliciously weird. The series, which premiered in 1988, contained absurdist sketches written and performed by the kids: Dave Foley, Scott Thompson, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Bruce McCulloch. There was a lot of drag, some questionable taste, and a lot of laughs. The series ended and went into syndication, where a whole new generation discovered the bizarre hilarity of characters like the Chicken Lady, Buddy Cole, and Cathy and Kathie. The frequent gender-bending and open, often brutally honest jokes about life as a queer man from Thompson meant that the original "Kids in the Hall" felt like something of a revelation for young LGBTQ audiences in the 1990s and early '00s.
The guys have continued to make comedy together, including the strange, poorly-received 1996 movie "Brain Candy," but in 2022 "Kids in the Hall" fans got a treat that seemed almost impossible: a brand new season on Prime Video. The quintet brings back some of the old favorites, including a Buddy Cole sketch that's both filthy and heartfelt, but the sketch that's going to be remembered long after we're all watching TV projected directly onto our eyeballs is "Apocalypse DJ," where Foley plays a morning-show DJ in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, giving updates on the catastrophe outside and playing Melanie's "Brand New Key," the only song available in his fallout shelter. It's bleak stuff, but still wildly funny, and is a perfect example of how the kids have grown as comedians.
What We Do In The Shadows
The faux-documentary series "What We Do in the Shadows" has been going strong for several seasons, but its fourth season was a total blast that continued to take its characters to newer, weirder situations. Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) is finally living (unliving?) her dream of owning a vampire nightclub, Nandor (Kayvan Novak) has been reunited with his favorite wife via a genie wish, and Lazlo (Matt Berry) is learning to be a parent to the unholy child spawn of Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). Guillermo (Harvey Guillen) is still struggling with being a familiar, but the season sees him finally doing some things for himself.
One standout episode from this season showed the vampires trying to renovate their crumbling home with the help of a pair of brothers who host a home renovation show, clearly spoofing "The Property Brothers." The brothers are played by comedians Randy and Jason Sklar, and they provide a perfect contrast to the absurdity of the vampires. "What We Do in the Shadows" has always been shot in fake-documentary style, but bringing in a different kind of documentary series to switch up the style was a lot of fun. There are many other kinds of reality television and documentaries out there, so hopefully, the series can play with them in future seasons. Just imagine a true crime show about the victims of the "Staten Island Stalker" or a "Behind the Music" on Nadja and Lazlo. Whatever they decide to do, I'll be tuning in.
Atlanta
Donald Glover's FX series "Atlanta" had a wild ride in 2022, with season 3 debuting in March, followed by the fourth and final season dropping in September. The surreal series that Glover once described as "'Twin Peaks' for rappers" finally came to an end, and fans will likely be talking about the final two seasons for years to come. Season 3 was kind of a strange mess, with some critics praising its one-off moral fable episodes and others finding them frustratingly ham-fisted. (I'm in the latter camp, as I found myself wondering about who was the intended audience.) It also took the characters out of Atlanta, trading streets named Peachtree for the canals of Amsterdam, which was fun but didn't quite mesh with the first two seasons. Thankfully, season 4 brought everyone back to Atlanta. It was a strong return to form with a truly heartfelt penultimate episode that finally sees Van (Zazie Beetz) and Earn (Glover) moving towards a real future together, and not just for their daughter's sake.
Season 4 had some great episodes, including standouts where Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry) loses a fight with a tractor, a truly surreal episode where Earn tries to sign a contract with R&B star D'Angelo, and a spoof of Tyler Perry that has to be seen to be believed. The series ended on an ambiguous note, leaving fans wondering if the entire thing had been a dream (yes, really), but that kind of makes sense in the bizarre, eerie world of "Atlanta." I will deeply miss Van, Al, Darius (Lakeith Stanfield), and Earn, but at least they got to go out on a high note.
Harley Quinn
The animated "Harley Quinn" series started as something of a raunchy riff, taking on the Batman universe with irreverence and a baseball bat. Season 1 was a little shaky in places (including an anti-Semitic joke that went way too far), but it found its feet in the second season and became something truly brilliant in season 3. The series' main thrust has followed Harley (Kaley Cuoco) after she and the Joker (Alan Tudyk) finally call it quits for good, and she falls in love with her best friend, Poison Ivy (Lake Bell).
The season features an episode where Harley must go into Bruce Wayne's (Diedrich Bader) mind in order to help him overcome his trauma. The episode is frankly genius, showing Bruce as a child reliving the night his parents were murdered over and over again. In the end, Harley uses her skills as a therapist to help him work through the pain, and it gives Batman more depth than he's had in a while. The show also managed to make me care about the Joker for the first time in decades, as he becomes a suburban stepdad and wants to use his powers for… sorta good. He's a criminal clown mastermind who also wants universal healthcare! It's a trip.
Harley also goes through some serious character growth throughout the series, culminating in becoming a true hero for survivors of domestic abuse. She learns how to be her own person, without Joker (or even Ivy), and it's deeply cathartic given that she was originally created only to be a sidekick. "Harley Quinn" helps show the power and possibilities of animated storytelling, and I can't wait to see more.
Russian Doll
"Russian Doll," created by Leslye Headland and Natasha Lyonne, is one serious head trip. The Netflix series follows Lyonne as Nadia, a New Yorker who got stuck in a time loop and relived her 36th birthday over and over again in season 1, along with fellow New Yorker but perfect stranger Alan (Charlie Barnett). Season 2 took the already psychedelic premise even further, with a time-traveling device deep within the subway system that takes both Nadia and Alan back in time. Their experiences in the past help them reconcile not only their generational trauma, but to figure out how to live with their own pain in their lifetimes.
Lyonne took over as showrunner for season 2 and directed some of the episodes herself. Nadia's story was inspired by Lyonne's own family history, as both had Hungarian grandmothers who escaped the Holocaust. The less you know, the better, but "Russian Doll" season 2 is some of the most audacious and inventive filmmaking I've seen in a long time. People should be prepared to feel a lot and probably cry, but "Russian Doll" is must-see TV.
House Of The Dragon
After the contentious final season of "Game of Thrones," many fans wondered if anyone would ever really want to return to Westeros. It turns out that as long as the storytelling stays salacious and there are dragons flying around, people will tune in to see tawdry tales of war, power grabs, and varying amounts of incest. The series follows the Targaryens during a bitter family feud that turns into a civil war. Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) was chosen by her father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), to serve as his heir after the death of her mother and younger brother. He then goes on to marry his daughter's childhood best friend, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), and they have three children, including two sons. Since Westeros is a patriarchy, that doesn't fly for the smallfolk or some of the members of the court, and soon there is a battle for power between the two most important women in the king's life.
The story takes place centuries before the events of "Game of Thrones," and fans who have paid close attention already know how it's all going to end, but that doesn't really matter because the character interactions are so darn good. The first season ended with the very beginning of the war that will be called the Dance of Dragons, as Alicent misinterpreted her husband's dying wishes and installed their son Aegon II on the throne, so season 2 is going to be a rip-roaring blast full of dragons, bitter rivalries, and so much more.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
The cast and crew of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" had their work cut out for them. Not only were they going to be returning to the deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise and following beloved classic characters from the original "Star Trek" series, but they also had to create a new "Trek" all of their own. "Strange New Worlds" follows Captain Pike (Anson Mount) as he commands the Enterprise on various Starfleet missions, all while knowing his own dire future. It's an interesting set-up, and having younger versions of Spock (Ethan Peck), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding), Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) was an audacious choice that paid off in spades. The series feels like a perfect mix of old and new "Star Trek," as it wraps up its stories before each episode ends, follows the hopeful Gene Roddenberry way of looking at the future, and focuses on character-driven drama instead of big, galaxy-encompassing events.
Season 1 of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" has every kind of great "Star Trek" episode, including a body-swap shore leave episode, episodes heavily laced with allegory, and even an episode the went fully into outer-space horror. The series animated cousin, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" also had a great season this year, but "Strange New Worlds" was possibly the best first season of any "Star Trek" series ever, so it more than deserves to make it on this list.
Our Flag Means Death
Sometimes, fandom can be a beautiful thing. That's absolutely the case for "Our Flag Means Death," the HBO Max original series that debuted this year and almost immediately gained the most wholesome, devoted fanbase this side of Bryan Fuller's Fannibals. The series became huge through word of mouth, which was good because the folks at HBO Max didn't exactly advertise it. Fans made costumes, drew an incredible amount of art, and baked orange cakes around the world, creating a community that all just wanted to be a part of this gay little pirate series.
"Our Flag Means Death" is a fictional story about the real pirates Blackbeard (Taika Waititi) and Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), following them as they, well, fall in love! "Our Flag Means Death" is unabashedly queer, with same-sex romances being given real, loving attention. The show also features a non-binary character named Jim, played by a non-binary actor (Vico Ortiz), and their inclusion was huge for non-binary representation. The whole (wildly diverse) cast is great, honestly, and watching "Our Flag Means Death" is a lot like escaping our own miserable world to an idealized, extremely queer pirate ship. It's pure escapist fantasy for LGBTQ folks that is some of the purest joy you can experience just by watching TV. Season two is on the way, so fans should start working on their flag-sewing skills and sea shanties because we'll be back on the deck of the Revenge before you know it.
Interview With The Vampire
Speaking of unapologetically queer TV shows … "Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire" on AMC takes the sensuality of the source material further than ever before. Based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name, the series is an updated take on the interview conducted by a journalist named Daniel (Eric Bogosian) with a brooding vampire named Louis (Jacob Anderson). In an interesting twist, the main framework of the story takes place in the modern era, decades after a young Daniel interviewed Louis and begged him to share his eternal blood. We get to see the story through Louis' perspective once more, but this time with a few more years of experience to help him process things. The series made some pretty big changes to both Louis and Claudia (Bailey Bass), but they're honestly for the better, fixing some of Rice's more problematic elements from the novels while staying true to the hearts of the characters themselves.
The series debuted this year and impressed fans of the novels with its dedication to the tone and brutality of Rice's work. "Interview with the Vampire" is a salacious, sizzling love story between some very toxic lovers. The first season covers about half of the novel, and fans should expect to see Louis and Claudia's adventures in Paris and their encounter with the vampire Armand sometime in season 2. AMC is banking on Rice's work, with a "Mayfair Witches" series on its way, so get used to plantation houses, gothic romance, and lots of blood.
The Rehearsal
There isn't anything else on TV quite like "The Rehearsal." Honestly, I don't think there's anything else quite like "The Rehearsal" in any medium, because writer, creator, and star Nathan Fielder's bizarre HBO series turned reality TV on its head in a deeply uncomfortable, thought-provoking way. His first series, "Nathan For You," operated under the premise that a fictionalized, heightened version of Fielder would try to help various (real) people with their problems, though often in the most ridiculous way possible. "The Rehearsal" takes his skewing of reality TV a step further by starting with the premise that Fielder will help people rehearse for big, scary events that they're anticipating.
What starts out as a couple of bizarre experiments in rehearsing difficult moments turns into Fielder trying to rehearse his entire life, down to "raising" a series of child actors who change as his child "ages" in a short span of time. The series starts getting into the ethics of having child actors when one of the kids actually thinks that Fielder is his dad, and that's only the tip of the iceberg for this existential nightmare. Often "The Rehearsal" is wildly funny, milking its unusual situations and awkward moments for all that they're worth.
Fielder's mind-boggling meta-comedy might be too much for some audiences, but for anyone willing to really examine social norms, storytelling, and human interactions while cringing out of their skin, "The Rehearsal" is a real work of art.
The Bear
If you've ever worked in the back of a restaurant and haven't watched the FX series "The Bear," get on it immediately. The show isn't always accurate to its Chicago setting, but it nails the experience of working in a kitchen like nothing else I've ever seen. In "The Bear," Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) inherits his brother's restaurant after his death, and he leaves his life as a chef at an elite, exclusive restaurant to try to save The Original Beef of Chicagoland from its downward spiral. Things don't go very smoothly, of course, as he tries to bring fine dining kitchen rules to a much more chaotic kitchen. He hires a new sous-chef, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and the two try to teach Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), Marcus (Lionel Boyce), and Ebrahim (Edwin Lee Gibson) how to run things like the best chefs in the world, despite being a locally-owned beef sandwich shop.
"The Bear" is a half-hour workplace dramedy that delves into tough topics like alcoholism, suicide, grief, and more, but it's also quick-witted, brilliantly paced, and feels totally fresh. It's also a foodie delight and not the kind of show you should watch while you're hungry unless you want to feel tortured. The seventh episode, "Review," is a one-take stress-fest that stands out as one of the best episodes of TV this year. Whether you've worked in a kitchen and are looking for catharsis or are trying to experience that world for the first time, "The Bear" is a raucous ride through the hells of food service.
Andor
The "Star Wars" television shows on Disney+ have been an interesting experiment, exploring corners of the "Star Wars" universe through new genre lenses, but "Andor" is something else entirely. "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett" both hew closer to the science fiction and western serials that inspired George Lucas to create "Star Wars" in the first place, while "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is another glimpse at a beloved character. They have their audiences, but they're chock full of fan-service and require an appreciation for "Star Wars." By contrast, "Andor" isn't just a good "Star Wars" show — it's a damn good television show.
The series follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in the years before the events of the film "Rogue One." "Rogue One" is also quite unlike its "Star Wars" brethren, as it's a story about a Rebel Alliance suicide mission that will eventually lead to the destruction of the first Death Star, and it's a downer. "Andor" is similarly serious, tackling tough topics like fighting fascism, the evils of prisons, and the ongoing traumatic struggles of refugees. Showrunner Tony Gilroy made the show in a way that it's a mature series for adults… that just so happens to occasionally have blaster fire.
"Andor" is a perfect example of what the "Star Wars" expanded universe can be, if creatives are given the chance to make something off the beaten path. If you had told me five years ago that I would watch Stellan Skarsgård play a bureaucratic, cutthroat revolutionary helping to create the foundations of the Rebel Alliance, I might have laughed at you. Now? It seems like the most natural thing. "Andor" might not exactly be hopeful, but it gave me new hope for the future of the "Star Wars" franchise.
Severance
"Severance" is high-concept science fiction that centers around a strange conceit: what if you could split your work lives and personal lives, creating two different personalities that don't remember each other? That's the premise of this bizarre and haunting Apple TV+ series from executive producer and director Ben Stiller, which stars Adam Scott as Mark, an employee of Lumon Industries. He's had his mind split, so his working hours and personal hours have two different, distinct personalities, and it's up to him to help new hire Helly (Britt Lower) adjust to life at Lumon. The series starts with a big mystery and only continues to add new puzzles to the pile, but it never feels like a frustrating mystery box. Instead, it's a wild, weird, exceptionally stylish thriller with some very funny moments.
Much like "Russian Doll," "Severance" is best viewed knowing as little about it as possible. It's full of twists and turns that are sure to surprise and shock, plus it's one of the best-looking, best-performed shows on streaming. Stiller might be best known for his work in comedy, but this pitch-black sci-fi tale is quite possibly the best thing he's ever done. The first season ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so the knowledge that season 2 is coming along should reassure everyone on the "Severance" fan train, whether they're just starting or have already been around the track a few times.
The Boys
The Prime Video series "The Boys," based on the comic series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, doesn't pull any punches. It's a superhero satire from "Supernatural" showrunner Eric Kripke that skewers not only superhero properties but superhero fan culture, corporate taskmasters, and American popular culture as a whole. The first two seasons hinted at the show's somewhat progressive morals, but some viewers didn't catch onto the fact that Homelander (Antony Starr) is not actually heroic until season 3. Some fans didn't appreciate being made fun of and spammed the streaming service with one-star reviews, but the rest of us appreciated seeing the worst parts of the great American experiment taken to task.
Season 3 starts with a bang, literally, as a shrinking supe sneezes while inside of his lover and pops back to normal size, exploding his beloved into pieces. It only gets more ridiculous, raunchy, and raw from there, as the superhero-fighting Boys try to take out the sociopathic Homelander once and for all, no matter the cost. Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hughie (Jack Quaid) start using temporary Compound V to gain powers and even the playing field, plus they find the lost Vought hero Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), who might actually be worse than Homelander but could be the only one to stop him. It's the biggest, boldest season yet and manages to be the smartest satire on television. It's sharp, exciting, and still really, really funny, and I can't wait to see what happens in season 4.
Better Call Saul
Like lawyer Jimmy McGill, "Better Call Saul" had some pretty huge shoes to fill. The "Breaking Bad" spin-off works as both a prequel and a sequel to the original series, following shady lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) from charismatic huckster Slippin' Jimmy to disgraced lawyer McGill to criminal lawyer extraordinaire Saul, and then it goes a step further and shows us more of his life as Gene, the lowly Cinnabon employee. "Better Call Saul" not only has the incredible highs and lows of "Breaking Bad," but Odenkirk's Jimmy is one of the most compelling characters in all of television. Both shows follow a man who embraces his true nature for better or worse, but Jimmy's nature is a little more forgivable than Walt's (Bryan Cranston). He does some pretty awful things, but he also genuinely tries to do the right thing when he can. He's a coward, but not a monster.
The final season of "Better Call Saul" is a tour-de-force, taking the world created in "Breaking Bad" and "El Camino" and expanding upon it to its most dramatically interesting conclusion. The series also made up for some of the sins of its predecessor, as Rhea Seehorn's character Kim Wexler feels like an attempt to make up for some of the less-than-stellar writing for female characters on "Breaking Bad." Seriously, Kim ends up being cooler than Jimmy 99% of the time, and Seehorn's performance is killer. Every performance is incredible, but that's almost to be expected when you have a cast that includes Jonathan Banks, Michael McKean, Michael Mando, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tony Dalton in addition to Seehorn and Odenkirk.
While it's sad to see "Better Call Saul" come to an end, at least it did so on its own terms and in stellar fashion. Jimmy would be proud.
Peacemaker
"Peacemaker" is honestly something of a miracle. When news broke that writer/director James Gunn was going to create a "The Suicide Squad" spin-off series for HBO Max, many fans were hesitant. Why would anyone want a series about the least likable character in the Suicide Squad, a closed-minded bully with a toilet helmet? What "Peacemaker" ended up being was a heartfelt lesson in radical empathy, following the fallen wannabe hero, played by John Cena, as he learns to reject toxic masculinity and learn to love himself. The series kicked off the year, debuting in January and quickly becoming the biggest television series in the world, with everyone and their mother trying to learn the incredible opening dance number.
There's so much to love about "Peacemaker," as the series manages to be deeply emotionally resonant while also being a filthy, violent joyride, with a killer sleaze rock soundtrack and an ensemble cast with nearly perfect chemistry. Much like "The Boys," "Peacemaker" tackles America's white supremacy problem, though it takes a slightly more personal tack, as Peacemaker's dad is a white supremacist supervillain called the White Dragon (Robert Patrick). With the help of his new team, the 11th Street Kids, and his new friend, Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Peacemaker learns how to be true to himself and reject his father's hateful ideals, though it will take him a lot of time and work to undo all of those years of trauma. "Peacemaker" is James Gunn at his absolute best, so it's no wonder that the series set records for HBO Max. Peacemaker is the messy, goofy, deeply damaged bisexual hero we needed most when this year was just starting, and I can't wait to see him again whenever Gunn gets around to season 2.
Barry
Bill Hader's half-hour HBO series "Barry" is ostensibly a dark comedy, though it certainly pushed the definition of "comedy" in its third season, which debuted this year. The series follows Hader's Barry, a killer-for-hire who gets bit by the acting bug while on a job in Los Angeles. He spent two seasons trying to leave his life as a hitman behind, but death and disaster seem to follow him like paparazzi after a celebrity. He's caught in a game of mutual blackmail with his acting instructor, Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), things aren't going so great with his organized crime contacts, and his girlfriend Sally (Sarah Goldberg) has caught the attention of some of Barry's enemies. Things get darker than they ever have before, but the series manages to still have moments of gut-busting hilarity, even if they're not as frequent.
The third season of "Barry" up the stakes in every way, not just with its script and characters but also in style and scope. Season 3 is "Barry" at its best yet, and it remains one of the best shows on television because it's constantly pushing the envelope. One sequence that follows Sally as she walks through several television sets on the same soundstage, harried on all sides by her employees and co-workers, is easily one of the most breathtaking and emotionally resonant scenes in anything on TV this year. Season 4 may end up being the series' last, so fans of dark comedies and razor-sharp writing should get on this one before it's over.
Reservation Dogs
Turning deeply specific and personal material into a story that's ultimately universal isn't always easy, but Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi's FX series "Reservation Dogs" does it in every single episode with incredible style and so much heart. The show follows a crew of Indigenous teenagers living on a reservation in rural Oklahoma reckoning, with the loss of one of their own, who died tragically a year prior, and it's tapping into something truly fresh and authentic. The third season started with the teens at odds after Elora (K. Devery Jacobs) ran away to California with her new friend Jackie (Elva Guerra), leaving Bear (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor) behind in Oklahoma. The overarching theme of the season is how we are shaped by grief, as the reservation dogs find their friendship strained without Daniel around, the Aunties finally open up about how much the death of Cookie, Elora's mother, changed them, and Elora finds herself truly on her own after the death of her grandmother. It's heavy stuff, but the show finds a way to still be gut-bustingly funny and warm, and the episodes are more likely to make you tear up from joy than sorrow.
There are many great moments in the third season of "Reservation Dogs," including interactions with smartass spirits, a beautiful goodbye to Daniel, and an episode where reservation cop Big (Zahn McClarnon) ends up discovering a white supremacist cult while accidentally high on Kenny Boy's (Kirk Fox) psychedelics. But there's nothing quite like "Wide Net," which follows the women of the series as they party at the annual Indian Health Services conference. Seeing contemporary Indigenous women of various shapes and sizes embrace their sexuality, celebrate one another, and misbehave like the stars of a raunchy sex comedy is some of the purest, most wholesome joy you can experience in thirty minutes. It's a perfect example of what makes "Reservation Dogs" so great because the show fully commits to representing a corner of life in America that has been in the shadows for far too long. It's earnest and authentic, it's brilliantly made in every way, and it's the best TV show of the year.
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