Best TV Shows of 2022, Picked by PEOPLE Magazine

01 of 15

The Bear

There's no fat on The Bear: just eight episodes, and only one of them stretching much beyond 30 minutes. But it's extraordinarily rich. Manhattan chef Carmen Berzatto (Shameless's Jeremy Allen White, with a maestro's mop of hair) returns home to Chicago to run the family restaurant after his brother's death by suicide. It's a comfy, sloppy, run-of-the-mill place, and Carmy tries to organize the kitchen along the lines of the Michelin-starred establishments he's known. That's the source of much of the comedy, which is anchored by terrific dialogue — fluid and naturalistic (the show was originally conceived as a film). But the strongest flavor is often a deep, biting sorrow as Carmy comes to grips with the loss of his drug-addicted brother. The finale kicks off with Carmy trapped in a nightmare — a cooking show gone wrong — followed by a seven-minute monologue in which he finally pours out all the emotions he's been keeping tied behind his apron strings. You'll cry like you're slicing onions. (Streaming on FX on Hulu)

02 of 15

Abbott Elementary

With a charming ensemble headed by creator Quinta Brunson, this sitcom about the staff of a struggling Philadelphia school is in a class by itself. (Streaming on Hulu and ABC.com)

03 of 15

Andor

Diego Luna stars in a riveting Star Wars prequel about Cassian Andor's early days queuing up against the Empire. He's a guerrilla in a galaxy far, far away. (Streaming on Disney+)

04 of 15

Severance

In an unnerving, paranoid satire, employees of a blandly sinister corporation split their conscious minds in two — one for home, one for the office. (Streaming on Apple TV+)

05 of 15

Julia

How might we best describe Sarah Lancashire as cooking enthusiast Julia Child? "Delicious." "Savory." "Yummy." (Streaming on HBO Max)

06 of 15

The Watcher

This suburban thriller was insane — it involved murder, Mia Farrow and a dumbwaiter — and insanely watchable. (Streaming on Netflix)

07 of 15

Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire

Jacob Anderson as Louis De Pointe Du Lac - Interview with the Vampire _ Season 1, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC — Alfonso Bresciani/AMC

The living-dead epic rose again in a new adaptation: shadowy, sexy, bloody. (Streaming on Prime Video)

08 of 15

The Offer

The story of The Godfather's journey to the big screen made for 10 "Did that really happen?!"-packed episodes. (Streaming on Paramount+)

09 of 15

The Summer I Turned Pretty

This YA tale was a dreamy mix of sentimental and cool. (Streaming on Prime Video)

10 of 15

Bad Sisters

The Garvey girls share a closeness and a cutting fierceness — but could they possibly conspire to commit murder? (Streaming on Apple TV+)

11 of 15

Bad Vegan

Sarma Melngailis became a celebrity when she opened Pure Food and Wine, a raw-vegan restaurant, in Manhattan in 2004. But her success wilted and died like old lettuce — and Melngailis wound up on the lam — after she fell in love with oddball con artist Anthony Strangis. He allegedly convinced her he could make her dog Leon immortal. Wild! (Streaming on Netflix)

12 of 15

Wednesday

The Salt Bae of Gothic fantasy, director Tim Burton sprinkles his strange seasoning — a deep fondness for the monstrous — on this series about the supernatural school days of solemnly ghoulish Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega). Only a Burton production could make us appreciate her love for a pet scorpion. (Keep an eye out for Christina Ricci, the movie version of Wednesday in the 1990s.) (Streaming on Netflix)

13 of 15

Somebody Somewhere

Sam (Bridget Everett), a middle-aged woman quietly suffocating in a small Kansas town, gawps in disbelief when her friend Joel (Jeff Hiller) shows her his own dream board, a kitschy testament to hope. "We deserve to be happy," Joel insists. Sam can only respond: "I'm not sure." This unexpectedly nourishing comedy suggests that Joel is right. (Sundays, 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO)

14 of 15

Black Bird

Rocket Man's Taron Egerton, looking so finely chiseled he deserved his own pedestal in the sculpture hall of the Met, plays an FBI informer voluntarily locked inside a prison for the criminally insane: He's going to play some very dangerous games to elicit a detailed confession from a possible serial killer, Larry Hall (I, Tonya's Paul Walter Hauser). Larry doesn't exactly grow on you. (Streaming on Apple TV+)

15 of 15

We Need to Talk About Cosby

W. Kamau Bell directed this sharp-edged, four-part examination of the disturbing paradox named Bill Cosby: both a comedian embraced as "America's Dad" and one of #Metoo's most notorious figures — "an intelligent, malignant narcissist," in the words of one interviewee. (Jan. 30, 10 p.m., Showtime)