James Gunn's comic book blockbuster, a domestic hit about AIDS, and other standout projects in our list of the top 10 new TV series of the first half of 2022.
Cinema is increasingly losing ground to multi-episode shows in popularity, scale, and appeal to global stars. Not to mention the boldness and variety of genres and forms. And the energetic start of this year only confirms this thesis. Through the collective efforts of the 'After Credits' editorial team, we have selected for you the 10 best new TV series of the first half of 2022. Save to bookmarks and add to the list in the comments!
Severance (Apple TV+)
An ordinary office employee named Mark works in the macrodata refinement division of the huge corporation 'Lumon'. He has undergone a surgical procedure called 'severance', and now at home, he (the outie) remembers nothing about his workdays, and at work (the innie), nothing about what happens outside the office. In both worlds, Mark maintained relative calm, even boredom, until a new employee, Helly, joined his department, unwilling to put up with Lumon's strict rules and voluntary amnesia.
'Severance' is a thematically multi-layered and diverse product. First and foremost, it is a satire of boring corporate culture with impersonal workspaces, a stupid motivation system, and the dumbing down of employees. The creators ponder how capitalism has turned a person's life into an insignificant thing, a cog in an experiment to achieve some greater good. And the 'severance' procedure, presented as a scientific breakthrough, essentially resembles a way to create ideal office workers — isn't that what every employer secretly dreams of?
Read our review of the first season at
People fight burnout in different ways: some learn meditation, some take up sports, and some simply quit. But Apple TV has shown there is another way
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Peacemaker (HBO)
Do ya really wanna
Do ya really wanna taste it?
From the very first seconds of its energetic opening, literally everything tells us that this is a 100% hit. An unusual chapter in the DC comics universe, the charismatic John Cena in the best role of his career, the name of James Gunn as director (meaning his signature style, built on sharp and uncompromising humor combined with deep family dramas for the genre), and even the dancing Robert Patrick!
Peacemaker, a member of the new iteration of the Suicide Squad, must once again save the world, but this time under greater secrecy and in the company of ordinary, albeit slightly crazy, people. When needed, Gunn cleverly cranks up the absurdity to the max and makes even those who are not fans of lowbrow humor laugh. At the same time, 'Peacemaker' can easily give many dramatic projects a run for their money in terms of character depth and internal conflicts. By the end of watching the debut season, the assumptions about the new show being a hit are fully justified. We've had a taste, now we wait for the continuation of the feast!
Under the Banner of Heaven (Hulu)
And again, Andrew Garfield conquers our hearts, this time portraying the story of Detective Jeb Pyre. His faith and convictions are shaken during the investigation of the murder of a Mormon mother and her daughter, in which the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is implicated.
The series' characters constantly ask uncomfortable questions that require deep reflection. And personal dialogues evoke empathy in viewers, allowing them to easily sympathize with the characters. The narrative uses several timelines, which are intricate in their own way. As per classic genre tradition, the investigative series offers us to find the killer ourselves, experience emotional turmoil, and be in constant tension. The story turned out to be more of a challenge to established values than any moralizing with a happy ending.
Tokyo Vice (HBO)
Finding himself in a distant and unfamiliar Japan, young journalist Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) becomes a crime reporter for the country's largest newspaper. His active work and outlook on life lead to him being quickly drawn into the world of the yakuza, the ruthless Japanese mafia, where losing your life is easier than gaining any respect.
This series, from its first episode directed by the legendary Michael Mann, claims the status of instant genre classic. On the small screen, the iconic film 'The Yakuza' by Sydney Pollack seems to come to life, but updated with the technical capabilities of the 21st century, a minimum of clichés, and a real story at its core. Viewers are completely immersed in this exotic criminal world, living by its own rules. Along with the gaijin, we read this book page by page, feeling if not sympathy, then respect. It's simply impossible to tear yourself away from the screen, which is why it's incredibly frustrating that the first season ended so quickly and at the most interesting point...
The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+)
The Victorian era, Tom Hiddleston, a mysterious wilderness, and a pinch of intrigue — this is already enough to start watching the series based on the fairly well-known feminist novel by Sarah Perry. The show asks whether the legends are true, whether the mythical and rational worlds can collide, and where a woman's place is in this world.
So it is superstition, science, and faith in God that collide in a small fishing village in Essex with the centuries-old myth of the biblical sea serpent seducer. And, of course, many locals believe that the serpent has come to punish people for their sins. However good Hiddleston is, the incredible Claire Danes steals all the attention.
If you love atmospheric stories with incredible shots, beautiful dialogues, and sensual characters, you will definitely enjoy this mini-series from Apple TV+.
Patient Zero (Kinopoisk HD)
1988, the Kalmyk steppe, a classic yellow 'PAZ' bus, among the passengers a young doctor, not yet suspecting that he will soon find himself at the epicenter of a catastrophe that no one wants to notice. This is how 'Patient Zero' begins, a brave and ambitious series about AIDS — a disease that, as we know, did not exist in the USSR.
Despite some rough edges and the desire to make the series lighter and more entertaining, it is an extremely curious and important attempt to draw attention to a serious issue that remains acute to this day, you just have to look at the medical reports. Moreover, it is not only a fascinating, albeit free, retelling of one of the darkest pages in the history of the USSR, but also a frighteningly topical thing that easily projects onto our pandemic present (many of the dialogues will surprise you with their relevance).
'Patient Zero', which premiered on May 19 on Kinopoisk, skillfully and entertainingly interprets HBO's 'Chernobyl', telling the story of an impending catastrophe that is collectively ig
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Vikings: Valhalla (Netflix)
Another show about Vikings that deserves the attention of genre fans and beyond. of the cult series turned out to be no worse, if not better, due to the variety of characters, different storylines, scale of production, and decent action.
'Vikings: Valhalla' is not just a continuation of the famous series, but an independent work with a large-scale production, memorable characters based on real historical figu
Open materialThe events take place a hundred-plus years after the end of the original series' plot. And the starting point of the story is a real historical event — the St. Brice's Day massacre of the Danes. King Aethelred II of England decides to rid the country of Vikings, despite the fact that they have long since become 'locals' and even adopted Christianity.
There are religious conflicts, the ambiguity and unpredictability of characters, and severed heads and murder scenes – a full starter pack for a good Viking. A similarly large-scale continuation is already expected, so we wait for the second season and dive into this pseudo-historical project.
The Afterparty (Apple TV+)
This class reunion differs from most such events because it features world pop star Xavier (Dave Franco). After the main party winds down, the singer invites his closest classmates to his mansion for an afterparty. But the evening ends not with friendly reminiscences about school days, but with the death of one of those present. Everyone at the afterparty falls under suspicion, so the detective decides to hear each of them out to get a complete picture of what happened and identify the killer.
Each version of the story represents a different genre: for one participant it's a romantic comedy about meeting a first love, for another a horror story with a stalker, for a third a high school musical. Depending on this, the tone and nature of the narrative change, and sometimes the form — one episode is even made as an animation.
This unpretentious but absolutely , full of experiments, diverse humor, and eccentricity, is the perfect way to disconnect from the outside world and spend a couple of evenings trying to figure out the killer and have a great time.
Can you imagine a series where there is one story but 8 (!) different genres? 'The Afterparty' by Christopher Miller is exactly that project!
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We Own This City (HBO)
Are there any fans of the cult 'The Wire' among us? This series is just for you. A crime drama about cops and criminals colliding in a struggle for humanity, but in darker shades in every sense.
The show managed to bring together many pressing societal issues (yes, again about the fight for African American rights and corruption), but without going overboard and showing the consequences of many decisions. It is based on the book 'We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption' by investigative journalist for The Baltimore Sun, Justin Fenton.
The viewer observes the development of several stories that happened in different years and pieces together the overall puzzle themselves. The series aims to show how the judicial and other systems really work: whether laws are enforced, who and why the police pursue, and what the power of lawyers is. It will be interesting to see how human vices are revealed through the living stories of people.
Don't Leave Me (Non mi lasciare)
The body of a young man is found in a canal in Venice. Everything points to suicide. However, investigator Elena, who arrives in the city, is convinced otherwise — it's murder, and not just any murder, but one connected to the activities of a whole network involved in kidnapping teenagers and selling them on the darknet. By a twist of fate, she has to conduct the investigation together with her former lover Daniele.
A new Italian series, entirely directed by one of the directors of the cult 'Gomorrah', Ciro Visco, is an old-school detective show where careful attention is paid to every detail of the investigation, where there are no deus ex machina, but a demonstration of the meticulous work of law enforcement officials.
The series gains depth from the ambiguous image of the main character, who is literally obsessed with finding criminals and is ready to sacrifice her own life for it. Among the pluses of 'Don't Leave Me' is also the endlessly beautiful backdrop of Venice, which draws viewers in as much as the intricately plotted investigation.
Which of the new shows did you like the most?
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