The Best TV Shows Of 2022

Streaming on: BBC iPlayer

There are an abundance of emergency service dramas on our televisions at any one time, but few are quite as impactful as The Responder, BBC’s five-part series following Martin Freeman’s Chris Carson, a police officer pushed closer and closer to the edge every day by the soul-sapping situations he has to deal with. This is Tony Schumacher’s screenwriting debut, his past life as a copper lending a bleak authenticity to his remarkably lean script – and Freeman is on impeccable form, putting in a powerful performance as a man worn down by the grim realities of his work, but who still wants to do some good in the world. Similarly to This Is Going To Hurt, this is thrilling TV that brings the stark reality of blue-light life into full, fascinating focus.

Streaming on: Disney+

Battling both Covid delays and star Jeff Bridges' cancer diagnosis, it's almost a miracle that The Old Man was finished, let alone turned out as well as it did. Black Sails duo Robert Levine and Jonathan E. Steinberg adapted Thomas Perry's 2017 novel, and the result is much more than just Bridges kicking arse and taking names. It's a layered character study of a man whose sins have come roaring out of the past, and how that impacts those around him. Alongside the main man as ex-CIA agent Dan Chase, there was solid work from John Lithgow (as his former handler-turned-hunter), Alia Shawkat as Lithgow's star intelligence analyst and Amy Brenneman as a woman who is unexpectedly drawn into Chase's orbit.

Read the Empire review of The Old Man.

Streaming on: Apple TV+

Everybody loves an underdog. Mick Herron’s Slough House books are espionage thrillers with a twist, focusing on the rejects, outcasts and misfits of her majesty’s intelligence service — a delightful proposition that translates perfectly to this Apple series. Gary Oldman steals the show as swearing, farting, washed-up spy Jackson Lamb, overseeing a gaggle of operatives in exile, including the recently demoted and shamed River Cartwright (Jack Lowden). Delightfully, we were blessed with not one but two seasons of the show this year, the first — a taut conspiracy involving a kidnapping, extremists and weaponising public opinion — landing in April, and the second — involving sleeper agents, unsung heroes, and an undercover trip to the Cotswolds — hitting Apple TV+ earlier this month. Both stories were gripping from start to finish, but the real delight here is the character-work. Lamb’s team of fuck-ups are lovable losers one and all, but it’s Oldman that dominates, his scenes spent trading barbs with Kristin Scott Thomas’ icy intelligence chief being pure, profanity-laden art. Funny, surprising and occasionally touching, Slow Horses’ setup may position it as Poundland Le Carré, but the execution is anything but.

Read the Empire review of Slow Horses Season 1.

Read the Empire review of Slow Horses Season 2.

Streaming on: Prime Video

It was Amazon’s multi-million dollar gamble that paid off, with the streamer splashing enough cash to fill Mount Doom in order to bring a new age of Mordor and Middle-earth to life. Set a few thousand years before Frodo and co. formed the Fellowship, Rings Of Power spun magic from the stories of a younger Galadriel (Morfydd Clark, living up to a role made famous on the big screen by Cate Blanchett) and her quest to track down Sauron when everyone around her seemed convinced he was gone for good. Spectacular visuals and storytelling that took in a variety of characters made for compelling viewing — from the wise and earthy Harfoots to the aloof elves and the grounded (literally) Dwarf kingdoms. Money well spent!

Read Empire's review of The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power.

Streaming on: NOW

While touted as David Simon’s follow-up to The Wire, this adaptation of Justin Fenton’s nonfiction book is more a postscript to his fictional noughties series about the effect of drugs, crime and policing on the streets of inner-city Baltimore. Jon Bernthal stars as Sergeant Wayne Jenkins, the charismatic head of BPD’s corrupt Gun Trace Task Force — think The Shield’s Vic Mackey, only more brazen and less fictional — whose approach to law enforcement involves cracking skulls and lining his own pockets at every turn. Set predominantly in the aftermath of the 2015 BPD killing of Freddie Gray, the show hops back and forth in the timeline of Jenkins’ career (Bernthal’s increasingly scraggly facial hair acting as a handy temporal guide), steadily peeling back the layers of institutionalised, endemic corruption that appears to reach every echelon of Baltimore society, and going far beyond the methods of a handful of brutal cops. It’s a fast-moving, take-no-prisoners show that demands laser focus throughout, Simon laying bare the rot at the heart of an American institution that may ultimately be beyond repair.

Read the Empire review of We Own This City.

Streaming on: All 4

Jack Rooke’s bittersweet show, moulded on his own experiences of grief and growing up gay, is a masterful exercise in blending heart and humour. The series begins with Jack (played by Derry Girls’ Dylan Llewellyn) mourning the loss of his dad to cancer, leaving him and his mum (Camille Coduri, an utter delight) to look after each other. After Jack eventually peels himself out of his depressive cocoon and starts university, he meets Danny (Jon Pointing), who is masking his own problems with a party-hungry fresher’s exterior. Rooke’s strengths lie in his detailed and tender writing, full of nuance and familiarity that will strike a chord with anyone, but especially those who relish a Harvester salad bar. A kind-hearted, self-deprecating and hilarious coming-of-age treat.

Streaming on: BBC iPlayer

Part riveting crime drama, part intensely moving rumination on the devastating impact of the 1984 miners’ strike on working-class communities, this massively ambitious six-part BBC1 drama written by James Graham (Quiz) also delves into the scandalous deployment of “spy cops” – police officers sent as undercover infiltrators into “radical” communities where they often stayed for years, forging relationships with people who had no idea who they really were. With a Rolls Royce ensemble of British acting greats (David Morrissey! Lesley Manville! Adeel Akhtar!), this exceptional achievement feels like the spiritual successor to classic series by the likes of Alan Bleasdale, Dennis Potter and Jimmy McGovern. It’s that good.

Everyone’s favourite hitman returns. The third season of Bill Hader’s blackest-of-comedies saw the soldier-turned-assassin-turned-wannabe-actor hit all kinds of rock bottoms, as he continues to avoid taking accountability for his actions. Now that his father figure and former acting coach Gene Cousineau (an impeccable Henry Winkler) knows his secret, Barry is forced to go to even greater lengths to keep it hidden, drawing the wrath of old manager Fuches (Stephen Root) and alienating girlfriend Sally (Sarah Goldberg), who is in the midst of showrunning her own series, in the process. Every element is taken to the next level – the comedy is more hilariously blunt and surreal, the action more elaborate and suspenseful, and the dark moments? Hoo boy, they are darker than ever. With this season, Hader solidifies his talents as a director – making the fact he’s confirmed to be helming every episode of the fourth season all the more exciting.

Streaming on: NOW

The luxurious settings of The White Lotus series may look like dream getaway locations, but in writer and director Mike White’s hands, they descend into pure nightmare. After the first season of the satirical comedy-drama blew everyone’s minds in lockdown, White delivers this second instalment – this time set in the sunny climes of Sicily, with only Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya checking in for a return appearance. From the off, we know another mysterious body (or bodies) has been found, and once again White slowly, carefully unpicks who and why they end up dead. Where Season 1 focused on complexities around class, Season 2 really digs in to sex and relationships, examing monogamy, marriage, power, exploitation and more. The stellar new cast, including Aubrey Plaza, Theo James, Will Sharpe, Michael Imperioli and Haley Lu Richardson, make for a fascinating ensemble, and the glamorous, unsettling tone that made the first season so compelling remains despite the new tranche of characters. An opulent, obsession-inducing delight.

Read Empire's review of The White Lotus Season 2.

Streaming on: Netflix

It took three years for us to finally head back to Hawkins, but boy, was it worth the wait. Season 4 is Stranger Things’ biggest and scariest yet, with the gang trying to take down sinister serial killer Vecna despite being more separated than ever. Reigniting the world’s love for Kate Bush and spawning a new metal idol in Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), the Duffer brothers’ nostalgic supernatural thriller series broke viewership records for Netflix, racking up over a billion hours watched with the release of Volume 2 (no doubt helped by those incredibly long, but undoubtedly earned, episode runtimes). Thrilling, emotional and cleverly connecting the dots on Stranger Things seasons past, Season 4 is pure blockbuster TV, and sets us up for an epic fifth and final trip to the Upside Down.

Read the Empire review of Stranger Things 4 Volume 1.

Read the Empire review of Stranger Things 4 Volume 2.

Streaming on: BBC iPlayer

Adapted from Adam Kay’s best-selling memoir of the same name, This Is Going To Hurt thrusts the viewer into the chaotic life of a junior doctor in the overworked, under-resourced Obstetrics and Gynaecology department of the NHS. Ben Whishaw gives a career-best performance as Kay himself, managing to deliver the charm, comedy and cruelty required of the role, and mastering the art of the fourth-wall-break. Newcomer Ambika Mod shines as new junior colleague Shruti, and Rory Fleck Byrne also provides strong support as boyfriend Harry, both of them often in the firing line when Adam’s overwhelm reaches breaking point. A terrific, tragically comic drama that sets the bar for material moving from page to screen, as well as painting a vivid picture of healthcare workers’ experience across the UK.

Read the Empire review of This Is Going To Hurt.

Streaming on: All 4

Expectations were always going to be high for the third and final season of Lisa McGee’s superlative schoolgirl comedy – thankfully, the show managed to stick the landing, delivering another hilarious, emotional run of episodes, plus an excellent hour-long special finale. The girls were up to all their usual shenanigans – breaking into the school on the eve of GCSE results day, an anarchic train ride to the Portrush amusement park, trying to secure tickets to a Fatboy Slim gig – but this series also gave us some surprises. That Liam Neeson cameo, for one, plus a shock death, and an episode set almost entirely in 1977 that lets us see the previous generation of Derry girls at the school disco. That final episode wrapped up our journey with Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Orla (Louisa Harland), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) and wee English fella James (Dylan Llewellyn) perfectly, as they and Norn Iron itself moved on to pastures new.

Streaming on: BBC iPlayer

The Western is a genre almost as old as cinema itself – but Hugo Blick’s 1890-set The English manages to feel completely brand new, thanks to its refreshing tone, dazzling cinematography, and emotional core. Emily Blunt is wealthy Englishwoman Cornelia Locke, who arrives in the States ready to seek revenge, and runs into Pawnee scout Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer) along the way. This is a love story, adorned with humour and violence and an incredibly evocative depiction of the American West as a brutal, lawless place, ready to chew up and spit out anyone who dares attempt to conquer it. Endless bright blue skies and searing sunshine beat down on the vast sandy landscapes and those trying to survive them, each bloody outburst matched by a show of warmth and kindness. Spencer and Blunt’s chemistry is pure magic, his stillness as ex-soldier Eli matched by her steely determination and soft naivete. As cinematic as small-screen stories can get.

Read Empire's review of The English.

Streaming on: NOW

Those Westeros withdrawal symptoms were soothed this year with the arrival of prequel series House Of The Dragon, which focuses on the Targaryen dynasty during Paddy Considine’s King Viserys’ rule. It may be smaller in scope than its vast, world-spanning predecessor Game Of Thrones, but the machinations of who shall succeed Viserys and sit upon the Iron Throne were no less compelling, with his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), second wife Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), dastardly brother Daemon (Matt Smith) and supposed ally Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) all amongst those vying for the crown. Full of dragons, drama, devious schemes and lots (and lots) of death, this series had everything one could want from this most grown-up kind of fantasy – and the story of the Targaryen’s downfall is only just getting started…

Read Empire's review of House Of The Dragon.

Streaming on: Apple TV+

After her work on Catastrophe, Divorce and Motherland, we know to expect great things when Sharon Horgan creates, writes and appears in a show. Bad Sisters certainly kept that streak going, blending dark comedy with Horgan's eye and ear for memorable, believably flawed characters. In this case, the focus is on the Garvey sisters, played by Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson, who face investigation from life insurers when their bellend brother-in-law (Claes Bang, in full-on smarm form) turns up dead. It's binge-able (and the whole first season is now available on Apple TV+, so no waiting to find out the various twists and turns), and if (when) you end up loving it as much as we did, you’ll be glad to hear that a second season is on the way.

Read Empire's review of Bad Sisters.

Streaming on: Disney+

There are two things you can reliably expect to feel after watching an episode of The Bear – hungry, and very, very tense. Carrying on the ultra-stressful-yet-ultra-compelling kitchen drama precedent set by this year’s one-take film Boiling Point, The Bear follows fine dining chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), who returns to his home city of Chicago to take over the failing family restaurant after his brother’s death. He faces pressure from sister Natalie (Abby Elliott) to shape things up, from cousin Richie (an excellent Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to keep things the same, from new sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edibiri) to revolutionise the place, and from his own grief, pain and perfectionism, which he can’t help but bottle up inside. This show is fast, it’s loud, it’s masterfully shot and impressively performed, and creates a world richer than Carmy’s braised beef sandwiches. We can’t wait to devour a second helping.

Read Empire's review of The Bear.

Streaming on: Apple TV+

Another Apple TV+ banger, this enveloping, timey-wimey serial killer thriller really delivers. Adapted from the Lauren Beukes novel by Silka Luisa, it stars a typically outstanding Elisabeth Moss as newspaper archivist Kirby, who still carries the scars (both literal and figurative) from being violently attacked some years before. With the help of journalist Dan (Wagner Moura) she begins an investigation to track down her assailant, hindered by the fact that neither he, nor she, nor the fabric of reality itself, appears firmly anchored in time. Far from a straight up re-telling, Luisa’s adaptation tamps down some of the novel’s more formulaic aspects, while dialing up the weird, leaning into the inconstancy of Kirby’s reality in a way that’s both effective and highly unsettling. Moss, meanwhile adds another role to her collection of traumatised women, proving definitively that no one can encapsulate that cocktail of bone-deep pain, steely defiance and barely-restrained fury quite as effectively as she can.

Read the Empire review of Shining Girls.

Streaming on: Netflix

All eyes were on the second half of this Breaking Bad prequel, which had long stepped out of the shadow of that original, much-loved show. Proving itself just as beautifully constructed and superbly acted, Saul developed in ways even its creators couldn't have foreseen – Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill was originally going to evolve into slimy Saul Goodman much earlier, before the team realised how much they liked Jimmy and wanted to follow his story for longer. With Odenkirk the solid core, the last couple of seasons saw Rhea Seehorn's Kim Wexler step into the fan-favourite slot, and she soared. Emmys all round next year, please, as this is a show that not just stuck the landing, but added an extra backflip afterwards with its emotional finale.

Read Empire's review of Better Call Saul Season 6.

Streaming on: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s Severance is the ultimate slow-burn TV show. It draws you in with its high-concept first episode, setting the foundation for a cold, white-walled, blue-tinged world in which employees at mysterious company Lumon industries undergo the titular procedure, completely separating their work selves from their home ones. The perfect method for achieving work/life balance, right? Not quite, as Mark (Adam Scott), Helly (Britt Lower), Irving (John Turturro) and Dylan’s (Zach Cherry) work selves, or ‘innies’, start to resist against Lumon’s oppressive regime, desperately trying to reconnect with their ‘outies’. Stark and deliberately paced at first, as the series unravels, Severance pulls you deeper and deeper into Lumon mythology, impeccably playing out the conflict that would occur from having part of your being forever trapped at work. The visuals are unique and inspired, the writing and performances excellent all round – and the pulse-pounding last episode surely goes down as one of the best season finales of all time.

Read the Empire review of Severance.

Streaming on: Disney+

If you'd been suffering from Star Wars fatigue, perhaps disappointed by the listless and franchise-plot-pushing Book Of Boba Fett, or the mixed fortunes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which built a less-than-satisfying series around one of that galaxy far, far away's best characters, you might have greeted the arrival of Andor with a Rancor-sized shrug. After all, did we really need to know more about Diego Luna's Cassian Andor, when we know the tragic fate that awaits him at the end of Rogue One? Turns out, in Tony Gilroy's hands, the answer was yes, absolutely, on multiple fronts – even if it wasn't the Star Wars that we've all become so used to.

That unfamiliarity was actually part of the plan, somehow makes the show all the more appealing. Certainly, Baby Yoda has his place, and we're still big fans of Mando and his gang, but Andor gave us something the movies and TV shows spawned from George Lucas' original story have rarely attempted: merging real-world issues with everyone’s favourite space opera. Forget the hero's journey – this was full of characters who were neither outright villains or dyed-in-the-wool goodies, and who saw the galactic struggle from a certain point of view. Boots-on-the-ground types, struggling to survive, with no Jedi to sweep in and help. And the dialogue! Chewy (not that one) and sophisticated; dark and smart.

Plus, it didn't hurt that the series boasted one of the best ensembles around, from Stellan Skarsgård, playing complicated rebellion organiser Luthen, to Denise Gough as the sneering Imperial officer Dedra Meero, who has truly taken the aims of the Empire to heart. Luna excelled, given incredible moments to play and people with whom his story intersects, including Adria Arjona's dedicated rebel Bix, Andy Serkis’ slowly radicalised prisoner Kino Loy, and Fiona Shaw, breaking hearts and spitting fire as his adoptive mother Maarva. Gilroy and his team have revolutionised theStar Wars galaxy, and restored our confidence in the franchise one carefully crafted set-piece at a time.

Read the Empire review of Andor.