2022 Top Five - Television

Day three of my best of 2022 countdown features tv. TV has been pretty incredible this year. There are a ton of good shows with great writing, excellent casting, wonderful storylines and networks are giving the creators time to figure it all out. TV is in a very good place right now. Let's hope it continues.

Before I get into my top five I have some honorable mentions. "Abbot Elementary" is wonderful. It might be the funniest show on TV right now. All the accolades are more than deserved. Quinta Brunson is a genius. "Righteous Gemstones" had an amazing season with a great story arc from Eric Roberts. John Goodman also took on a bigger role this season and totally nailed it. I cannot wait to see where they go with the next season. "House of the Dragon" was worth the hype as well. I do not care that it had a dark hue, I don't care that the dragons were not fully featured yet and I don't care about internet nerds complaining about nonsensical plot points in a fantasy world with dragons. "House of the Dragon" created a new, unique world in the "GOT" universe. I'm ready for season two. And finally "Bluey". This is the best kids show on TV. It has surpassed "Yo Gabba Gabba" for me. I love the length of episodes, 10 minutes, the storylines, the character arc and the fact that the dad is usually the one home with the kids. It is easy for me to relate. "Bluey" is an achievement. I do, really quickly, want to shout out "Joe Pera Talks With You". I was told by many people to watch this show and I finally started last week. I have already finished the series. It is a perfect Adult Swim show but it also has heart and soul. Joe Pera did something different and it worked. I love this show. Okay, to the countdown.

At number 5 I have season four of "What We Do in the Shadows". This show continues to get better and better. Each episode is funnier than the last. The vampires are even more hilarious than ever. The Laszlo and Colin Robinson storyline all season was beautiful and heartfelt. Also, the way Berry pronounces words, it is a thing of beauty. Nandor had a nice arc with his genie this season. And Nadja had a great arc with her nightclub. Guillermo also got to stretch his legs a bit more and it was a homerun. "WWDITS" is on a hot streak and I do not see it stopping anytime soon. It may be the best comedy on TV.

At number 4 I have "The Bear". I mean, this show is amazing. The way they show food and the world of food was incredible. "The Bear" made me hungrier than any show on any cooking network. But it was the performances and choices this show made all season that put it on my list. Every actor does their job with aplomb. They all have juicy moments and they all succeed, and then some. As for the choices, there is one episode in particular that stands out. They did a 17 minute long ep that is all one shot and it is of the restaurant going down due to not being ready. It is a masterpiece. I have watched it multiple times and I love it even more with each view. "The Bear" is incredible and season two cannot come soon enough.

At number 3, closing out my run of shows on FX, I have the last two seasons of "Atlanta". Now, I think this is the best show on TV, but it isn't number 1 because I liked a few other shows a bit more. But "Atlanta" gave us two seasons and closed out the series to perfection. In season three the show took us overseas and it was a trippy joy ride. We got to see our four main characters go through some crazy situations. Darius saw Tupac get murdered. Paper Boi was in jail and had a crazy drug trip. Van went through all kinds of emotions and bludgeoned a dude with a baguette. And Earn had to deal with all kinds of nonsense being a manager overseas. He also had a crazy cold in the premiere. The final season had them back in Atlanta, but it was still as wild as ever. From the season four premiere, which saw Van and Earn get into some kind of alternate universe where they saw a bunch of exes, to Darius trying to figure out if his whole life was real or in a deprivation tank, it was great. Paper Boi also got a farm and had a conversation with Soulja Boy. Van and Earn reunited. The sushi restaurant was a great ep. And the scavenger hunt that Paper Boi went on was nuts. "Atlanta" had as fulfilling a series finale as a TV show can have. I will always adore this show.

At number 2 I have "The Rehearsal". Nathan Fielder is a genius. He is on a whole other level as a comedian and creator. What he did with "The Rehearsal" would have made Andy Kaufman proud. He showed the best and worst in people. The show started as one thing but ended as a totally different thing. It was a masterclass. I cannot fathom how much work went into making all of these scenarios happen. I am in awe of the work that Fielder has done with this show. I am on pins and needles to see what he does next. But "The Rehearsal" is going to go down in history as an all time great.

And at number 1 I have the final season of "Better Call Saul". As fulfilling and gratifying as the series finale of "Atlanta" was, "BCS" surpassed it. The final season was an achievement. It lets the actors do their thing. They got meaty scenes and everyone brought out their best effort. Rhea Seehorn was phenomenal. It is criminal that she never got an award for her work on this show. And Bob Oednekirk got to do his best oh shucks down on his luck, but totally knows that he is conning people character. Saul Goodman was a big part of "Breaking Bad", but I was skeptical on how they would do a show based on him. Not only did they do it, they made one of the best dramas of all time. As for the series finale, I believe it is the best series finale that has ever been made. It was perfect.

There you have it, my top five shows of 2022. Come back tomorrow for my top five sports moments of the year. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches the Kid's Show "Bluey"

As many of you know I can be pretty hard on the shows my kids watch. I'm not a fan of many of them, namely "PJ Masks". The ones I do like, like "Teen Titans Go!" or "Yo Gabba Gabba" has many things for the adults watching. I just prefer when watching these shows with my kids when they have something for the adults to enjoy. I appreciate when the creators of the shows put in stuff like that strictly for the parents.

When my daughter told me recently she wanted me to watch a new show with her, a show called "Bluey", I had my doubts. My son has been watching more shows that I am on board with because he is nine now and his tastes are different, and in my opinion, better. My daughter is still pretty young, five, so the shows she likes are still pretty rough for me. She loves "Teen Titans", but she would prefer to watch "PJ Masks" or "Puppy Dog Pals" or that Ryan kid on YouTube. I am not a fan of those shows. She has been getting into some superhero stuff that revolves around strong female characters, and "My Little Pony" is pretty good, so that has been a nice reprieve. But I was still on the fence about "Bluey", and then I watched it with her.

I love love love this show. It is so well made, the animation has a sweet throwback look and it is an Australian show, and a little unknown fact about me until now, I usually like most things Australian. I think it is a mixture of the accent and all the cool looking trails and mountains and greenery that country has. I'm down with Australian for sure. It is on my bucket list of places to see in my lifetime. And while "Bluey" has the accents, that is the only real Australian thing about it. They say certain phrases that I do not get, which I am sure is an Australian thing, but that is about it.

The show is centered around a four person family made up of dogs. The family is made up of all blue heeler dogs, I think, and that breed is rad. They are rambunctious and playful and imaginative, and the show shows that tenfold. Bluey herself is a very energetic and very playful big sister. She always thinks of games to play and when she plays them she plays them rough. But so does her little sister Bingo. Bingo is younger, her voice shows that, but she is just as playful. She does have more moments of clarity or sadness, but she always ends up having fun with her family. The mom and dad are both working dogs, and their jobs are a touch of genius from the writers. The mom is a police dog, and according to some research, she is a drug sniffing dog. They never actually say that on the show, but it is implied. And she works hard and also is heavily involved in her family's life as well. The dad is an archaeologist, or more proper, a dog that sniffs and searches for bones. He is more of an at home parent, constantly being the adult figure in the home in most episodes. Which leads me to what I like most about this show. The show is about using your imagination and being playful, but it is also about family and how important it is to be close and enjoy one another's company. I love that message. In every episode of "Bluey" the family is always together. Even if it is just the dad at home during the day, mom comes home and they all enjoy some quality family time. Bluey also seems to learn a lesson in most episodes that revolve around being nice to her little sister and why it is important to spend time with her. I have been working on that with my own kids, so it is nice to have "Bluey" as a response to why I want my kids to play together. I also appreciate that each episode is about 11 minutes long. That means that my kids and I can watch three or four before it is time to do something else. It is also a perfect amount of time to keep my five year old's attention.

I cannot say enough good things about this show. I highly, highly recommend it to any parents out there, both new and old, that have kids that are still young. "Bluey" rules. Now I am going to go watch an episode with my daughter. I think you should too.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.