The Best New TV Shows of 2022

It's 2022, which means shows that came out in 2021 are so last year. It's time to get some of that new show smell in your house with something fresh. We're putting together a list of the best new TV shows of 2022 so you don't have to sort through them all, and so far, it's been pretty easy to put together because 2022 has already been a great year for new TV. From the occupational nightmares of Apple TV+'s Severance to the heartwarming joy of ABC's Abbott Elementary, there's something for just about everyone. The latest shows on our list are Gaslit, Starz's limited series about the Watergate scandal starring Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, and We Own This City, HBO's limited crime series that finds The Wire creator David Simon returning to Baltimore to chronicle more corruption.

Whether it's streaming on Netflix, HBO Max, or Hulu, or even on a broadcast network like NBC, as long as it's good and new, you'll find it on the list below. We'll also tell you where to watch it, link up a TV Guide review (if there is one), and show off a trailer so you can get a taste for yourself. Enjoy!

Check back often, as this story will be updated throughout the year.

APRIL

We Own This City

Premiered April 25 on HBO
The Wire's David Simon is back in Baltimore for another devastating tale of institutional decay. His and George Pelecanos' limited series, which is based on a nonfiction book of the same name, tells the story of the Gun Trace Task Force — a disgustingly corrupt Baltimore Police Department unit given broad authority and minimal oversight — and the reformers attempting to clean up the department after the eye-opening killing of Freddie Gray in 2015 who brought them down. The excellent cast is led by Jon Bernthal, Wunmi Mosaku, Josh Charles, and The Wire veteran Jamie Hector. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]

Gaslit

Premiered April 24 on Starz
This darkly funny, Coen Brothers-esque limited series based on the popular Slow Burn political history podcast tells the Watergate story from a different angle than the official All the President's Men narrative. Gaslit focuses on some of the less-remembered figures, especially Martha Mitchell (Julia Roberts), the outspoken wife of Richard Nixon's re-election campaign chairman John Mitchell (Sean Penn in heavy prosthetic makeup). Martha Mitchell blew the whistle on the illegal things the campaign was doing and was severely punished and discredited for her honesty. The gratuitously star-studded cast includes Dan Stevens, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Allison Tolman, Patton Oswalt, Chris Messina, and many, many other familiar faces. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]

Outer Range

Premiered April 15 on Amazon Prime Video
In this Western with sci-fi elements, Josh Brolin stars as a Wyoming rancher who comes across a startling discovery on one of his pastures: a massive and mysterious hole. Outer Range is one of those shows with lots of questions, and getting answers to those questions just leads to more questions. It's also an odd series with a host of unusual influences, like Stranger Things, Twin Peaks, Yellowstone, and more. It's not for everyone, but those it's for it's REALLY for. -Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]   

Tokyo Vice

Premiered April 7 on HBO Max
For some of us, the most exciting thing about Tokyo Vice is that it marks the great Michael Mann's (Miami Vice, Heat) return to TV for the first time in over a decade. This crime drama series, which Mann directs, is based on the memoir by American journalist Jake Adelstein, set during his years covering the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for one of Japan's biggest newspapers and documenting the web of corruption happening just under the surface. Adelstein is played by Ansel Elgort, and he's joined by Rinko Kikuchi, Ken Watanabe, and Rachel Keller. -Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]      

Slow Horses

Premiered April 1 on Apple TV+
It's been a bit since we've had a good spy drama, which makes Slow Horses a refreshing watch in these times of true crime and tech CEOs behaving badly. The series follows a group of MI5 agents who have been relegated to Slough House because of past mistakes, where they're supposed to disappear and do grunt work while superstar agents get the glory. Gary Oldman plays the team leader, a disgruntled man who can no longer give an F about anything, while Jack Lowden plays the new member of Slough House who isn't willing to fade away. It's darkly funny and thrilling. -Tim Surette [Trailer]    

MARCH

Julia

Premiered March 31 on HBO Max
Unlike Julia Child's butter-soaked cooking, HBO Max's dramedy about the groundbreaking chef is light and fluffy, a series that will appeal to anyone who likes delightful things. Sarah Lancashire has transformed herself into Child as she struggles to get her public broadcasting show The French Chef off the ground and into the homes of Americans everywhere in the early 1960s. The show is as much about women's empowerment and the making of television as it is cooking, but it's the sweet, ride-or-die marriage between Julia and Paul Child (David Hyde Pierce) that really gives the show its magnetism.  -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

The Girl From Plainville

Premiered March 29 on Hulu
The first three months of 2022 featured an unnatural number of new dramas based on ripped-from-the-headlines stories, but Hulu's The Girl From Plainville made the overblown genre finally feel necessary. Elle Fanning donned the 'brows of Michelle Carter, the New England teenager at the center of the "texting suicide" case in which she helped convince her boyfriend Conrad Roy (Colton Ryan) to kill himself. It's incredibly depressing, sure, but it's also a thoughtful examination of teenage isolation and depression, with incredible performances from Fanning and Ryan. -Tim Surette [Trailer]   

Pachinko

Premiered March 25 on Apple TV+
This adaptation of Min Jin Lee's novel about a Korean family spans generations and decades, following Sunja as a young woman (Kim Min-ha) living in Japan-occupied Korea searching for a better life and as a grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) yearning to go back home to Korea. The stunning epic mixes romance, family drama, historical fiction, and even a mystery for one of the most surprising shows of the year. It also has some amazing opening credits. -Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]    

Minx

Premiered March 17 on HBO Max
New Girl's Jake Johnson is at his Jake Johnsonest in this HBO Max original comedy. He plays a smut magazine publisher in the 1970s who teams up with a feminist (Ophelia Lovibond) to create the first skin mag aimed at women. The theme of women's empowerment set at a porn studio works quite well, actually, with equal rights on display... at least with full-frontal nudity. Minx has a lot to say, knows how to say it, and is a fun look at sexism by facing it head on. -Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]    

Bust Down

Premiered March 10 on Peacock
If It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Atlanta had a baby, it would look a lot like the Peacock original comedy Bust Down, a madcap sitcom about a bunch of weirdos who don't have much except whatever ridiculous circumstances they get into. Sometimes that's arguing with hamburgers on a grill, sometimes it's liberating ejaculate from sperm banks. But it's always hilarious, thanks to its excellent cast: Chris Redd, Langston Kerman, Jak Knight, and Sam Jay. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Tourist

Premiered March 3 on HBO Max
This six-episode import from the U.K. is a slick crime drama overflowing with style, and it stars Jamie Dornan as an Irish man who finds himself in Australia with no memory of who he is or how he got there. When strangers try to kill him, he begins to think he wasn't such a nice guy. Want to laugh AND watch someone get brutally murdered? This is the show for you. -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

FEBRUARY

Severance

Premiered Feb. 18 on Apple TV+
The idea of a solid work-life balance gets taken to the max in this trippy, unique, and funny series in which workers at a strange company voluntarily have their minds severed so that their work life is unaware of their personal life, and vice versa. Naturally, the company is up to no good, and as the employees begin to wonder more about their outside lives, things get very weird. The spectacular cast includes Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Christopher Walken. This isn't just one of the best new shows, it's one of the best shows, period. -Tim Surette [Trailer | Severance is the best show you aren't watching]

jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy

Premiered Feb. 16 on Netflix
This empathetic portrait of the artist formerly known as Kanye West took 20 years to make, like the music documentary version of Boyhood. Filmmakers Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah were there at the beginning, following West in the early '00s as he tried to transition from being an in-demand producer to superstar rapper and getting extraordinary fly-on-the-wall footage of West working on his debut album The College Dropout. And they were there when the wheels came off, documenting his ill-fated 2020 presidential campaign and obviously deteriorating mental health. The three-part series is a fully realized exploration of how West has changed over time but has always remained resolutely himself. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]

Vikings: Valhalla

Premiered Feb. 25 on Netflix
About a year after the end of Vikings, History's cult favorite action-packed historical drama, the Norsemen and Norsewomen have returned for Vikings: Valhalla, a sequel series that covers the next epoch of the Viking reign. Valhalla is set a century after the original show, and follows Leif Erikson's (Sam Corlett) journey as he becomes the first European to set foot on North America alongside his sister Freydis (Frida Gustavsson), as well as Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter), who tried and failed to claim the English throne. If you liked the clanging swords and sexy bearded warriors of the original Vikings, you'll definitely want to check this out, because it's more of that. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]

Reacher

Premiered Feb. 4 on Amazon Prime Video
Lee Child's hulking hero from his Jack Reacher books comes to the small screen with a big actor: Alan Ritchson. As the famous former military lawyer, Ritchson fits the bill better than Tom Cruise did in the Reacher movies, and Amazon's take better embodies the procedural detective work from the books. Its humor and accessibility make it an easy watch, which is a compliment. -Tim Surette [Trailer | Review | More shows like Reacher]

JANUARY

The Afterparty

Premiered Jan. 28
Chris Miller created this comedy-murder mystery miniseries (that is getting a second season) about a pop star (Dave Franco) who is murdered at his 15-year high school reunion afterparty, and the ensuing investigation into all the suspects. It's a comedy whodunnit featuring an incredible cast that includes Sam Richardson, Ben Schwartz, Tiffany Haddish, Ilana Glazer, and more. -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

The Gilded Age

Premiered Jan. 24 on HBO
If you're into period dramas in general and Downton Abbey specifically, you're probably going to be into The Gilded Age, from Downton creator Julian Fellowes. Set in 1882 New York City, The Gilded Age follows the eye rolls and stare downs of the nouveau riche and the old money, as well as the servant class that saw to their every need. The stacked cast includes Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Kelli O'Hara, Donna Murphy, and Michael Cerveris. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer | Review]    

As We See It

Premiered Jan. 21 on Amazon Prime Video
Jason Katims, creator of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, has another hit on his hands — as in hit you right in the feels — with this heartfelt dramedy series. As We See It follows the struggles and triumphs of Jack (Rick Glassman), Harrison (Albert Rutecki), and Violet (Sue Ann Pien), three twentysomething roommates who are on the autism spectrum (the actors all identify as being on the spectrum as well), as well as their aide, Mandy (Sosie Bacon), who helps them navigate jobs, dating, and their relationships with each other. It's a show that will make you laugh in one scene and cry in another, and depicts something rarely seen on television — the lives of adults on the autism spectrum — with dignity and authenticity. -Liam Mathews [Trailer | Review]    

Single Drunk Female

Premiered January 20
Freeform's dramedy about a young woman recovering from alcohol issues seems like it would be a drag, but under the eye of creator Simone Finch — whose life the show is loosely based on — Single Drunk Female becomes an entertaining and sympathetic look at alcoholism. Sofia Black D'Elia is a revelation as Samantha, whose recovery is not just a hassle for her, but for everyone she comes in contact with. -Tim Surette [Trailer]   

Somebody Somewhere

Premiered Jan. 16 on HBO
Comedian Bridget Everett stars in this indie-com about a woman named Sam learning to find herself in Kansas after the untimely death of her sister. But it's not a sad show! In fact, Somebody Somewhere is about relishing the joys of friendship, expressing yourself, and embracing what makes you unique, but in that weird way that the choir club at high school used to do. Everett's chemistry with Sam's new BFF Joel (Jeff Hiller) is an early highlight of 2022. Plus there are fart jokes and party invitations written on ketchup packets. What's not to like? -Tim Surette [Trailer]   

Archive 81

Premiered Jan. 14 on Netflix
Beware the haunted videotape! This horror series — which is based on a fiction podcast of the same — follows a video archivist, Dan (Mamoudou Athie), as he takes on a peculiar gig restoring tapes that were damaged in a fire 25 years earlier. The tapes were made by a documentary filmmaker named Melody (Dina Shihabi) who was investigating a bizarre cult that was based in a New York City apartment building. As Dan watches the tapes, he gets obsessed with finding out what happened to Melody — and becomes convinced he can save her. It's a supernatural spine-tingler with a fantastic organ-driven score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, who previously collaborated on the music for Alex Garland projects like Annihilation. They do great work. Sadly, Netflix canceled the series in March. -Liam Mathews [Trailer | Review]   

Peacemaker

Premiered Jan. 13 on HBO Max
James Gunn takes his brand of classic rock-infused superhero entertainment to the small screen with Peacemaker, a spin-off of his 2021 DC Comics film The Suicide Squad. John Cena reprises his role as Peacemaker, a dim-witted superhero with good intentions — his quest for peace means that he'll kill whoever it takes to get it — but not always the best execution. In Season 1, Peacemaker worked with a covert team to fight invading aliens, but also ended up talking about butt babies, sex positions, and the virtues of hair metal. It's an incredibly funny and entertaining debut for the franchise, and more proof that Cena is a transcendent superstar. -Tim Surette [Trailer | Review | More shows like Peacemaker]       

My Mom, Your Dad

Premiered Jan. 13 on HBO Max
Dating shows are mostly the same old boring train wreck every time, but every once in a while, one comes along that is different enough to make it an actual social experiment, and not just something producers can say is a social experiment to make it seem legit. My Mom, Your Dad is a wholesome show about dating in your 40s, as kids nominate their single parents to live in a house with other singles for a new chance at love while the kids watch everything go down from a house down the street. Though it does have some silly gimmicks — the kids can meddle with their parents, with very mixed results and inspiration — the final product is a surprisingly sweet look at how much these kids care for their parents' happiness. And can Yvonne Orji host every reality show? -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

Abbott Elementary

Premiered Jan. 4 (following a late 2021 preview)
Abbott Elementary comes in as a surprising candidate for the best new broadcast show of the season after little hype from ABC. Quinta Brunson, a Black Lady Sketch Show vet and the creator of Abbott Elementary, plays second-grade teacher Janine Teagues, the heart and soul of the series, who does all she can to give her students an education despite every possible obstacle getting in her way. The focus is on the teachers and treats the kids as a mostly unruly mob, which helps the comedy maintain its perspective and reveal its tongue-in-cheek take on schoolchildren: They're monsters! -Tim Surette [Trailer | More shows like Abbott Elementary]