GARY'S TOP TV OF 2022
1. Severance - the best new show in years. A unique quirkt sci-fi meets workplace comedy conceit, perfectly and compelling executed with the best twists and cliffhangers since Lost. All mixed with dry humour and the surreal plus pitch perfect performances and visuals. This show has everything.
2. Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared - funny, trippy, imaginative, dark, quotable very British very adult take on a kids puppet show sitcom. The most original show of the year and the only one we have made time to rewatch.
3. Andor - can’t believe this adult, gorgeously written exploration of fascism and resistance is also set in the world of Star Wars. Perfectly paced, engrosing, well acted. One of the surprises of the year.
4. The Rehearsal - weird and wonderful, original, hand-over-mouth
5. Better Call Saul - one of the best shows of all time and its final series stuck the landing.
6. The White Lotus Season 2 - how was this even better than the excellent series 1? It just got better and better as it went along and, unlike the usual friends you meet on holiday, you were sad to see these characters go. “These gays sre trying to murder me!” line of the year!
7. Hacks Series 2 - kept up the quality, had you feeling everything was going too well then hit you with that ending
8. The Traitors - perfection. Reality TV that writes itself better than drama. Yes the challenges dragged but this is perfectly cast, wonderfully fun and camp telly that got is all talking. There’s a reason why this is the mega HIT of the year.
9. Heartstopper - does what it does and hits it out the park. The show I have thought the mlst about since it finished, weirdly.
10. This Is Going Hurt - brutal, funny, powerful, tense, entertaining, gay and a polemic on what a treasure the NHS is.
11. I Hate Suzie Too - why I never do best of lists before the Christmas telly is over. This is the chaotic, honest, hilaious, self centres, brutal telly of series one dialed up with all the mania of Christmas. There’s just nothing better than Billie Piper’s performance in this except maybe the directing and the writing. What a show!
12. Big Boys - heartwarming, hilarious, GAY and very British. Best new live action comedy of the year
13. Responder - propulsive, funny, dynamically acted, directed within an inchnof it’s life and scouse as fuck, this is was killer telly. An original take on the police genre and, inna world where Line of Duty has nailed the bent cop so well, this show about humanity vs police work it’s a miracle this all felt so fresh.
14. House of the Dragon - nice to see this series back on track.
15. The Other Two - just the most consistently laugh out loud sitcom on TV. Perfectly skewers low level celebrity life and gay culture. Right uo my street.
16. The Bear - a mixed shouty start but a killer final two episodes that revealed a confidently written, found family, workplace drama with a huge heart all about grief, ambition, addiction and delicious food.
17. Sherwood - high high high quality British drama with a great historical context of the miners strike and how it cast a long shadow over communities all wrapped up in an entertaining serial killer plot
18. Anne - heartbreaking, powerful, inspiring. Episode one took you into the home of yhe family of a Hillsborough victim and made you feel every moment of dispair and pain then kept you on this journey with them every step fighting until the very end.
19. Married At First Sight UK - quality well cast and well made slightly trashy reality TV that gets you talking about people’s marriages - the ultimate topic of gossip
20. Cunk on Earth - is there a more laugh a minute show on TV. Another iconic comic creation from Diane Morgan.
21. Drag Race UK Series 4
22 . Mandy Series 2 - just genuinely laugh out loud funny.22. Inside Man
23. The Staircase
24. Inside Number 9 - Series 7 - great season with an all time classic and no total duds
25. RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 - back to it’s best. The Untucked episode with Jasmine Kennedy coming out was top drawer Drag Race.
26. The Sandman
27. Euphoria - Entertaining and very watchable but I wouldn’t call it good. Lex’s play and Fez’s Pulp Fiction cos play plus the gay Dad stuff. What has the potential to be the best show on TV became Unfocussed and patchwork with its Funny, imaginative, OTT directed, perfectly drawn characters you just love doing A LOT of the hard work
28. RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2 -
29. Yellowjackets - wildly entertaining and mysterious but didn’t quite stick the landing in the final episodes with the girls becoming a bit saccharine (compare them to the Euphoria girls!)
30. Derry Girls - big drop in quality and a good but flabby final .”coda” episode (why wasn’t this marketed as a finale? Why was it on the next night?)
31. Vardy vs Rooney - nice to see the story of the year playing out for us with decent actors but that’s about it
32. The Time Travellers Wife - I like Steven Moffat’s writing and did enjoy this but it was a bit weird and felt lazy.
33. Drag Race Canada Season 3 - ropey queens
34. Four Lives - shocking, depressing, frustrating but great performances (Sheriden Smith back to her best, sinister Stephen Merchant) told in workmanlike way compated to Anne.
35. Doctor Who - This is my fave TV show of all time and it’s sad to see it so low. 2022 had two awful episodes and ended on probably the best episode of this mediocre to bad era. Perfect regeneration and wonderful cameos from old Doctors and the beloved old companion Ace. A fun Doctor and good actress wasted on bad scripts. Genuine queer baiting too with the much trailed romance not even being mentioned in the last episode. Thankfully the Doctor and show regenerates…onwards and upwards!
36. Drag Race UK vs The World - promising cast hobbled by drama loving prodicers getting rid of the most beloved queens early on. Gobby pint pot of piss Baga Chipz screaming MUCH BETTA over the good vibes killed it and this show feelt weird being broadcast on a Tuesday - officially the worst day of the week.
37. The Queen’s Funeral - really well made a d directed but the content was very dull and a poor guest performance by an hard to believe Liz Truss playing Prime Minsiter
38. Trigger Point - Line of Duty that you can go on your phone to
Still To Finish - (sorry I’m still watching these shows and mean to finish them if we can!)
Somewhere Boy
The Devil’s Hour
Mood
Stopped Watching - (shows I stopped watching and have NO desire to finish)
The Witchfinders and The Pentaverate - both just not funny enough
Gentleman Jack Series 2 - what a big drop off from the excellent series 1
The Apprentice - utter dross and a staff of morons, will never be watching this show again even out of morbid interest. So out of date it’s actually painful.
Marriage - terrible terrible terrible and miserable
The Tourist - what was this show’s weird jokey tone? It’s supposed to be a thriller and nothing happens in this show! Gone is the tension and intrigue of the Williams brothers previous work (Baptiste) and in is a dull main character and comedy Aussies. Thank god Jamie Dornan is gorgeous. The first drama of the year and an early entry to the Stopped Watching list, remained my least favourite programme of the year from 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2022. Impressively shite.