TQ's Year of TV (2022)

MY 2022 TV AWARDS

[Previous Years: 2021 / 2020 / 2019 / 2018 / 2017 / 2016 / 2015 / 2014 LT / 2014 NLT / 2013 / 2012 / 2011]

I'm fairly confident I watched 40+ shows this year. and if time and life wasn't a factor - I would've watched 20+ more...

In years past I've tried really hard to write about television content that was released in the recent year - but as queues pile up (and life's priorities change), I'm just gonna share thoughts on what I felt was worth my time in 2022. Here's a bunch of fake awards I created:

Best Shelter In Place Show:

Station Eleven (HBO Max) 
Runner-up: Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)

I started watching Station Eleven very soon after last year's version of this post was published and saw it many lists. It's likely the best show most of you haven't seen yet. Don't worry, it's only one season.

WtW is a great fun watch - marathon watch a show that won't make you wonder if a character will die every week. Get in now before a new season drops.

Best TV Show That Has Recently Completed / All Seasons Watch Recommend:

Better Call Saul (AMC) 

Runner-up: Ozark (Netflix) 

It's wild that BCS hasn't gotten the Emmy Hardware it deserves. Make it a trilogy with the final installment set entirely in Chile and call it Young Gus.

Ozark is done. I think the ending wasn't stuck as well as others in this post. Will people rewatch this show the way they will watch shows from the Heisenberg universe?

Best TV Show That Is Seriously Great:

The Patient (Hulu)

Runner-up: Severance (Apple)

The Patient is not better than Better Call Saul, but the best self-contained single season of television this year was this absolute panic rollercoaster of a show. I hope it finally gets Steve Carrell the Emmy he should've gotten a decade ago.

Severance is worth the weird. Have yourself a Music Dance Experience.

Best TV Show That Is Bonkers:

The Rehearsal (HBO)

Runner-up: How To With John Wilson (HBO)

If you like The Rehearsal, go back and watch all of Nathan For You on Hulu.

HTwJW is on the "Nathan Fielder Coaching Tree." Wilson is as ultra-sincere as Fielder is ultra-ironic.

Best TV Show That Needs To Get Resurrected ASAP:

Girls5eva (Peacock)

Runner-up: Westworld (HBO)

GREAT NEWS - G5E is getting a better shot at Netflix for its next season!

Westworld was kinda bad - I admit it... But I do wish it was given at least a two-hour movie to wrap that mess up into an ugly ball.

Best Limited-Run Anthology Series:

The White Lotus (HBO)

Runner-up: Murderville (Netflix)

The second season of TWL wasn't as funny as the first, but it was more suspenseful. It also had a much better opening theme song.

I think Kumail's episode of Murderville was the best.

Best TV Show That Had a Disappointing Recent Season:

For All Mankind (Apple)
Runner-up: Cobra Kai (Netflix)
FAM is still a very good show, but I'm afraid the show may be losing... altitude?

CK is straight-up laughable at this moment... but as long as I'm laughing, I'm watching.

Best shows I'll likely never watch: Euphoria, Yellowstone, Pachinko

Please don't waste your time trying to convince me, because I know they are all amazing and that I know I would love them. My apologies to all offended.

Best shows that I'm not current: Mythic Quest (Apple), Only Murders in the Building (Hulu), Atlanta (FX), 

The first seasons of MQ and OMitB were very entertaining. The 3rd season of Atlanta was amazing.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

- Best show I'll try to quit: Stranger Things (Netflix)

- Best stress watch (non The Patient): The Bear (Hulu)

- Best successful attempt at what Westworld should've been: The Peripheral (Amazon)

- Best show with two seasons in one year: Slow Horses (Apple+)

- Best 90s nostalgia: Pam & Tommy (Hulu)

- Best 80s nostalgia: Winning Time (HBO)

- Best extended universe show: Andor (Disney)

- Best Heat (the Michael Mann Masterpiece) show: Tokyo Vice (HBO)

- Best use of Sam Richardson: The Afterparty (Apple)

- Best use of masculinity: Reacher (Amazon)

- Best use of satire: The Boys (Amazon)

- Best dragon show: House of the Dragon (HBO)

- Best vampire show: What We Do In The Shadows (FX)

- Best comic show: Hacks (HBO)

- Best actor show: Barry (HBO)

- Best boat show: Below Deck(s) (Bravo)

- Best show I quit: Moon Knight (Disney)

UNHONORABLE MENTIONS:

- Worst extended universe show: Obi-Wan (Disney)

- Worst show I know I won't quit: Industry (HBO)

- Worst show I did quit before it ended: The Baby (HBO)

IN THE ETHER: Real Housewives of Wherever, Sister Wives, The Masked Singer, 90 Day Fs

IN THE QUEUE: (order of likelihood I'll see in 2023)

Welcome to Chippendales

Reservation Dogs

The English

Fleishman is in Trouble

Tulsa King

The English

Trainwreck (Woodstock '99)

The Dropout

Under the Banner of Heaven

Reboot

The Sandman

She-Hulk

The Resort

The Old Man

The Man Who Fell To Earth

Interview with the Vampire

Dark Winds

Angeylne

Human Resources

Paper Girls

Until next year,
TQ

The 2022 TQ Music Awards

Welcome to my 12th annual Music Awards / year in review post.

[Previous Year End Reviews: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011]

It’s official. I’m over the hill. My peak “music fan” years are behind me. I’m writing this on December 13 because there’s no hope that I can make up for 50 subpar music seeking weeks in the last two. My annual playlist is only 19 songs long. It hasn’t been that short since 2008 (when I kept the list to the maximum that could be burned onto a single compact disc).

Song of the Year: “Hop To It” by Marc Rebillet

[runner up: “Anxious” by Carly Rae Jepsen]

“Hop To It” isn’t even a stand alone track by Marc Rebillet. The above YouTube clip is just seven minutes that was cut out of his hour long live steam earlier this year. A stream that was sponsored by a sex toy company. But who cares about those above caveats — I love this sound. Meanwhile, I don’t know why “Anxious” was subjugated as a ‘bonus track’ instead of being on the album proper.

Album of the Year: Three Dimensions Deep by Amber Mark

[runner up: The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen]

It was nearly impossible to pick a single track from Amber Mark’s album to feature on my annual playlist. Important to note: Our North American Idol, CRJ, released her best work since Emotion.

Concert of the Year: Broken Social Scene at Thalia Hall

[runner up: Broken Social Scene at Thalia Hall]

Broken Social Scene is one of my favorite bands and I’ve seen them multiple times. My favorite song of their is “Shampoo Suicide” (which they rarely play live), so when it was announced they were playing the entire album as a tour — I made sure to go to BOTH Chicago shows.

Song of the Summer: Hottest Record in the World by Digitalism

[runner up: Let’s Do It Again by Jamie xx]

Song Discovered Thanks to a TV Show / Movie of the Year: “Renaissance” by Cristobal Tapia De Veer (the remix/version used for The White Lotus season 2)

Regret of the Year: Missed shows
To paraphrase a dead Beatle, Life got in the way of my concert plans… The War On Drugs, Beach House, The National, and Amber Mark are all acts I literally had tickets to see and was unable to attend.

Best Decision I made in 2022: Recording a “Triller” video with my wife
There’s no way I’m posting that on a public post, but if you know me — ask and I may text it to you.

Thank you very much for reading. To close, here are the concert collages / showlog from 2022: