The year is done - for the second time

Some final thoughts on Empire's Top 50 TV Shows of 2022.


Firstly, we have to finish off the list with the top three (all of which we've already or are going to meet).  #3 is Better Call Saul (#7 on The Guardian's list) - it's on my list of things to watch but I've got three seasons of Breaking Bad to finish before I tackle the six seasons of it, so it's not going to happen soon (but I am looking forward to it!).  #2 is Severance (#3 elsewhere) - I absolutely loved this and am looking forward to the next season sometime this year.  And #1 on Empire's list is...

...oh, it's Andor (a much more realistic #29 in The Guardian).  Really?  Yes, it was waaaay better than anyone was expecting it to be, but it was quite clearly NOT the best thing on telly in 2022.  All of which is a somewhat unfortunate way to end what was actually a pretty good list.  I was pretty happy with all the things that Empire had that The Guardian omitted - Slow Horses and The Old Man are shoo-ins for me and whilst I can understand that people could have issues with LOTR : The Rings Of Power and Shining Girls, I was fine seeing them on the list (and they both look absolutely gorgeous).  Looking at things The Guardian had but Empire missed, Station Eleven is the only one I'm really surprised about but Julia and Black Bird should probably also be in the discussion - Top Boy and Ozark may well also get added when I finally get round to watching them.

Summing positions across both lists, the top five with the lowest scores are The House Of The Dragon (19), Derry Girls (18), Better Call Saul (10), The Bear (6) and the "winner" is Severance (5).  Despite my continued failure to watch Better Call Saul, I'm happy enough recommending that as a list of telly to watch giving you dragons, comedy, lawyers, lots of food and whatever weirdness you want to describe Severance as - which is a fine mix!  And the presence of Better Call Saul, Barry and Stranger Things on both lists, all of which I still have to watch should give me a wake-up call as to the great TV I'm missing, but I think we know it's unlikely to work that way.

And I think that's all I've got to say about 2022 for the time being - Happy New Year!

#4 - Beautiful, but very confusing
#20 (2023) - Surprisingly good, but not for everyone

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