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A Few of Roeper’s Favorite TV Series of 2022
By Richard Roeper
Signal Contributing Writer
When compiling the list of my favorite TV series of 2022, I’ve opted not to include continuation seasons, e.g., “The Crown,” “Ozark,” “Better Call Saul,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “The White Lotus,” in favor of spotlighting shows that debuted this year. (If not, we’d have an awful lot of repeat titles on the list year after year.)
Among the fine efforts that didn’t quite make the cut but are worth your time if you’re up for some holiday season catch-up viewings:
“George & Tammy,” “Welcome to Chippendales,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” “The English,” “Spector,” “Cabinet of Curiosities,” “Alaska Daily,” “Eat the Rich,” “American Gigolo,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” “Wednesday,” “Five Days at Memori-
al,” “Loot,” “Mind Over Murder,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Dirty Daddy,” “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.” Also: “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Candy,” “A Friend of the Family,” “The Staircase,” “Under the Banner of Heaven,” “Gaslit,” “Outer Range,” “61st Street,” “Tokyo Vice,” “The Girl From Plainville,” “The Dropout,” “Winning Time,” “Murderville,” “The Afterparty.” Fine works, one and all — but these are my Top TV Series of 2022.
atres • Santa Clarita Signal After one of the greatest opening 5.9” credits sequences in television history, with the multi-generational cast date: dancing in a pachinko arcade to the delivery date: sounds of the Grass Roots’ “Let’s Live For Today,” we get one of the best TV series in recent years — a masterfully spun, gorgeously photographed, beautifully acted and deeply memorable work following the journey of one Korean family across some 75 years. Based on the widely acclaimed
Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at 10:15:44 AM CASCS _ LEM0101-
Sunday-Thursday, January 1-5, 2023
TM NEWHALL 22500 Lyons Ave. info Line 310.478.3836 Bringing the Finest in Film to the SCV!
BABYLON E 1:30 7:00 From Damien Chazelle, BABYLON is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles . A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH
SOMEBODY C 1:05 4:15 7:20 Naomi Ackie stars as Whitney Houston in the musical biopic, which is based on the epic life and music of the iconic singer. The film will take audiences on an emotional, energetic journey through Houston’s career and music.
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH B Sun to Wed: 1:20 4:30 7:30; Thu: 1:20 7:30 Puss in Boots discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll. Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots on his grandest quest yet.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER C 1:00 2:00 6:00 7:00 “Avatar The Way of Water”begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.
EMPIRE OF LIGHT E 1:20 4:20 7:30
novel by Min Jin Lee, “Pachinko” is a triumphant work with gleaming performances by the great Youn Yuh-jung (Oscar winner for “Minari”), Lee Min-ho, Minha Kim, Soji Arai and Jin Ha. Very specific to one family and yet universally relatable, “Pachinko” is a breathtakingly original treasure.
Set in Kansas but filmed in Chicago suburbs including Lockport and Warrenville, this is that rare comedy-drama that is equally superb in both genres, with the life force that is Bridget Everett drawing on her own experiences to create Sam, a smart and dryly funny and cynical and insecure woman in her 40s who has returned home following a family tragedy and is navigating tricky waters on a number of fronts. In addition to the earthy, grounded drama and humor, we’re treated to Everett belting out numbers such as Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up” and Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” with such power and passion that it makes our hearts soar.
‘The Bear’ (Hulu)
The buzziest new series of the year makes great use of its Chicago setting as showrunner Christopher Storer creates an instantly believable and incredibly frenetic universe set in and around a family-run Italian beef sandwich joint that is going through some MAJOR changes. We already knew Jeremy Allen White was a singular talent from his work on the Chicago-set “Shameless,” but White reaches genuine star status with his blazing performance as an award-winning chef who returns home from New York under the most trying circumstances and takes over the ramshackle family joint. The entire supporting cast is Emmy-worthy, with Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri and Abby Elliott creating characters so indelible they could each have their own series.
Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema.
THE FABELMANS C 1:00 4:00 7:10
A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves. WWW.LAEMMLE.COM
Just as Kevin Costner found the perfect television vehicle in “Yellowstone,” Sylvester Stallone is tailor-made for the role of recently paroled New York Mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, who finds himself exiled to Tulsa in a classic fish-out-of-water setup. The 75-yearold Stallone remains a formidable physical force and still has a gift for light comedy, as Dwight alternates between knocking out his foes and quipping about this strange new world he’s found himself in.
‘House of the Dragon’ (HBO and HBO Max)
Few series in the history of television have faced as much advance scrutiny and pressure as this prequel to “Game of Thrones,” set some 172 years before the death of the Mad King, Aerys, and the birth of his daughter, Prince Daenerys Targaryen. It took a while to sort out all the players and how they relate to one another (as it did with “GOT”), but “House of the Dragon” immediately captivated us with its lush location shots and elaborate interior sets, a brilliant score from “GOT” composer Ramin Djawadi, and some wild, racy and violent storylines. Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Rhys Ifans, Graham McTavish, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke and Fabien Frankel were among the standouts in the ensemble.
Oh, how I loved every minute of this sly and dark Irish comedy, and how thrilled I am it’s coming back for a second season! Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Sarah Greene, Eva Birthistle and Eve Hewson are a marvel together as the Garvey sisters, who are extremely tight and do just about everything together -- and that might include the murder of Grace’s husband, the abusive and manipulative and cruel and absolutely hiss-worthy John Paul (Claes Bang). “Bad Sisters” begins with a body in a coffin and works its way backward, as John Paul survives more attempts on his life than Rasputin, until he doesn’t.
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