TV

Your Guide To The Best TV Shows Coming Our Way In 2022

Featuring the finales of some of the biggest TV shows ever, and a certain Sally Rooney adaptation...

by Merryana Salem  14 January 2022
tv shows 2022 photo

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Another year, another 365 days of potential binge-watching ahead — and given the current situation with the Omicron variant, there’s a good chance we’ll be spending quite a bit more time on the couch than we’d previously expected.

Luckily, there’s a hell of a lot of good TV on the way this year — from eagerly awaited adaptations to epic series finales and budding new favourites. So let’s take a look at what 2022 is promising to bring to the small screen.

Archive 81

Based on the popular horror podcast, Archive 81 follows an archivist who takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets sucked into a dangerous web of lies that involves his boss and a demonic cult. The series is coming to Netflix on the 14th of January.

The Afterparty

If you were a fan of Knives Out, The Afterparty is definitely something to look forward to. Starring Tiffany Haddish, the series follows a detective trying to solve a murder at a high school reunion, but no one’s stories from the night match up. The series is coming to Apple TV on January 28.

Shining Vale

Starring Friends alum Courtney Cox, Shining Vale is a mysterious new horror family sitcom about a dysfunctional family who moves into a haunted house in a small town. We’ve yet to see a trailer for the new series, but consider me intrigued.

House Of The Dragon

It’s been a long road back to TV for Game of Thrones fans, but House of the Dragon teases an epic return to Westeros. Set centuries before the events of the original series, House of the Dragon will follow the rise and fall of House Targaryen aka Daenerys’ ancestors. There’s yet to be a release date, but HBO promises 2022.

BEL-AIR

The dramatic reboot of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is heading our way this year. Produced by Will Smith, the premise is similar to the original sitcom but executed with a grittier edge. The reboot will stream exclusively on Stan from February 14.

The Gilded Age

From the team behind Downtown Abbey comes your next addictive period drama, The Gilded Age. The series follows a young woman’s move from the country to New York and her entanglement with a railroad tycoon. The series will premiere on Foxtel on January 28.

The Woman In The House Across the Street From The Girl In The Window

A satire on melodramatic thrillers such as The Woman In The Window and The Girl on The Train, The Woman In The House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window stars Kristen Bell as a recluse who spies on her hot neighbour and in doing so witnesses a murder. The series will premiere on January 28.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Definitely the series my little Star Wars heart is most excited for on this list, Obi-Wan Kenobi will drop on Disney+ later this year. The series will see Ewan McGregor reprise his role as Obi-Wan and Hayden Christensen reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker, though details beyond that are being kept very secret.

Barons

Set in the 1970s, Barons follows a surf-crazed group of hippy friends who turn their backs on the world in search of their ideal patch of surfing paradise. Little do they know that their desire for ultimate freedom will take them from the beach to the boardroom, creating billion-dollar empires. But in selling their surfing dream to the world, these best friends become fierce rivals. The series will premiere on ABC this year.

Conversations with Friends

Were you devastated by Normal People? Well, get ready to be emotionally destroyed by the next Sally Rooney novel adaptation, Conversations With Friends. The series, following a young woman as she navigates relationships at college, will likely premiere on Stan later this year.

1899

From the creators of Netflix’s time-bending horror series Dark comes 1899. The period mystery series follows immigrants sailing to the New World when they encounter a nightmarish ghost ship. The series will premiere on Netflix sometime this year.

Inventing Anna

The Netflix true-crime miniseries will explore the infamous case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary heiress who stole the money of New York’s elite. The series will premiere on Netflix on February 22.

The Sandman

Based on Neil Gaiman’s beloved series of comics, The Sandman is a dark fantasy series following Dream, the personification of dreams as he escapes his cursed prison, reclaims his power and causes chaos for reality. If you need something to tide you over while waiting for Good Omens season 2, The Sandman is set to premiere on Netflix in 2022.

Pam and Tommy

Highly hyped and equally as controversial, this limited series deals with the fallout surrounding Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s infamous sex tape. Starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan in the titular roles, Pam and Tommy will stream on Disney+ from February 2.

Stranger Things

Needing no introduction, the highly anticipated and long-awaited fourth instalment of Netflix’s Stranger Things is due out in winter this year.

The Devil’s Hour

The Devil’s Hour is a UK horror series that tells the story of Lucy Chambers (Raine), a woman who wakes up every night at exactly 3.33am, in the middle of the so-called devil’s hour between 3am and 4am. But that’s not all. Her mother speaks to empty chairs, her son seems to have lost all emotion, and then there’s her reclusive murder obsessed neighbour. The series will stream early this year on Amazon Prime.

Significant Others

Significant Others tells the intriguing Australian story of a single mother who fails to return from her morning swim, leaving behind two teenagers and a fractured family searching for clues in the rubble of the catastrophe. Putting the pieces together is the awakening that threatens to tear this family apart. The series will premiere on ABC later this year.

The Dropout

Based on the podcast by Rebecca Jarvis and ABC Audio, The Dropout dramatises con-woman, Elizabeth Holmes’ attempt to revolutionise healthcare and her billion-dollar fall from grace. The series will premiere in March.

Atlanta

Donald Glover’s cult hit series, Atlanta has been on hiatus since before the pandemic. However, March 2022 finally promises a return for the bizarre beautiful series.

Killing Eve

The final series of the psychological thriller is almost here. Killing Eve’s fourth season will be written by  Sex Education’s Laura Neal who’s been teasing a “totally glorious” end to Villanelle and Eve’s saga.

The Walking Dead

I’m unsure who, apart from me and my dad, still watches The Walking Dead. For anyone out there who does, The Walking Dead’s final season is almost upon us with the final run of episodes will begin airing weekly in February on Foxtel.

Peaky Blinders

The long-running British gang drama will finally come to an end this year. The trailer for the 6th and final season teases the rise of the Nazis as well as heartache for the Shelby family. Peaky Blinders’ 6th season is coming in early 2022.

Merryana Salem (they/she) is a proud Wonnarua and Lebanese–Australian writer, critic, teacher and podcaster on most social media as @akajustmerry. If you want, check out their podcast, GayV Club where they yarn about LGBTIQ media. Either way, she hopes you ate something nice today.