The 10 best TV shows from the first half of 2022

Teachers, comedians and a hit man turned wannabe actor populate the best shows of 2022 — suggesting, perhaps, that our most ambitious and resonant stories stem from re-examining what work could and should look like. These shows capture the current moment of an entertainment industry undergoing shifts and reflect an audience that are looking for hope and happiness. So without further ado, here are the 10 top shows of the year so far.

1. ‘Abbott Elementary’: Who knew there was life left in the mockumentary format? Apparently Quinta Brunson, who helped revive the network sitcom this year as the star and creator of ‘Abbott Elementary,’ about teachers with varying levels of experience and idealism at a Philadelphia public school. A loving tribute to educators (including Brunson’s own mother) who make the most while given the least, the sharp-witted (and sharp-elbowed) series boasts one of the finest comedy ensembles on TV today, including a radiant Sheryl Lee Ralph, a poignant Tyler James Williams and an always unpredictable Janelle James. (Streaming on Disney+)

2. ‘Barry’: After three seasons, I’m still not entirely certain that ‘Barry’s’ Frankensteinish patchwork of hit man existentialism, gangland thriller and Hollywood satire quite works. But if the whole doesn’t quite cohere, its individual parts sure rivet. Bill Hader’s pitch-black comedy delivered perhaps its best season yet, with cinematic stunts, a ratcheting-up of the stakes for its guilt-plagued protagonist and an unexpectedly sweet pivot for fan favourite NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan). (Streaming on OSN+)

3. ‘Business Proposal’: Romance is never simple; sometimes, there are love contracts, blind dates and multiple hidden identities involved. But in the case of this wholesome and quirky Korean romantic comedy, it doesn’t end in disaster. Kim Se-jeong plays food researcher Shin Ha-ri, who goes on a blind date in place of her wealthy friend who isn’t interested in her father’s attempts at getting her married off. The plan is to reject the prospective groom in a ridiculous fashion. However, the man on the blind date turns out to be Kang Tae-moo (Ahn Hyo-seop), the CEO of Ha-ri’s company, who is also forced to go on dates. After Ha-ri’s ruse comes to light, Tae-moo proposes that they enter into a contractual relationship. And we all know how these things go ... (Streaming on Netflix)

4. ‘Hacks’: “Hacks” enjoyed a near-perfect sophomore season this spring by forcing its two leads, boomer comedian and fading legend Deborah (Jean Smart) and her Gen-Z ghostwriter, Ava (Hannah Einbinder), on the road to workshop some rawer, more confessional material. If Season One was a promising first draft, its follow-up was a polished, ready-to-sell manuscript, with a bemused yet affectionate focus on the testy mother-daughter, mentor-protegee relationship between Deborah and Ava. Travelling across the country meant neither woman was comfortable, and the show used every opportunity to show us who they used to be, who they are now and which selves they still find hard to face in the mirror. (Streaming on OSN+)

5. ‘Twenty-Five Twenty-One’: The internet exploded into a tears after the season finale of this much-loved show starring Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-hyuk. We won’t give too much away, but this show was praised and hated in equal parts for telling a beautiful and real love story that didn’t have the happy ending that is often expected from fluffy K-dramas. It followed the story of an 18-year-old fencer Na Hee-do and 22-year-old worker Baek Yi-jin who become friends during the IMF crisis that has touched both their lives. They grow up and fall in love when they’re ages 21 and 25, and navigate the complexities of a relationship. (Streaming on Netflix)

6. ‘Inventing Anna’: The strange, mishmash of an accent that actress Julia Garner puts on to play Anna Delvey is as hard to forget as this crazy storyline that’s based on the real life fake heiress/con artist. The hit Netflix show follows the investigation that a curious journalist undertakes as she seeks an explosive story. And an explosive story she gets as she digs into the life Delvey who conned her way into New York high society in an attempt to make a name for herself, stealing money and hearts along the way. (Streaming on Neflix)

7. ‘My Brilliant Friend’: If summer’s flight prices keep going up, it might be worth considering travelling the old-fashioned way: through television. Set in various Italian locales, the TV adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel tetralogy about two lifelong friends is easily the most gorgeous series on the list and arguably all of television. But it’s the story’s epic scope that keeps viewers returning, with competitive friends Lila (Gaia Girace) and Elena (Margherita Mazzucco) entering the 1970s — and motherhood — as women who expect more from their lives and their husbands than their mothers ever dreamed of, and keep waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. Spanning a decade in the lives of the women, the third season finds Lila and Elena increasingly inscrutable to the other, especially as they land on opposing sides of a class divide — and their envious admiration of each other hardly letting up. (Streaming on OSN+)

8. ‘P-Valley’: After a fantastic first season that situated its characters amid economic precarity despite the confetti of cash tossed around every night at the strip club where they perform, “P-Valley” returned even stronger with a gimlet-eyed view of nightlife businesses’ struggles to stay afloat during the pandemic. Created by award-winning playwright Katori Hall, the sexy, soapy, socially conscious drama continues to deepen the characterisations of the Black women and queer folk who need their club to survive but can’t agree on how to save it. The dancers’ dramatic, sweat-soaked manoeuvres around the pole never fall short of jaw-dropping, but this season, it’s the slow-burn romance between club co-owner Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) and his closeted paramour, the rapper Lil Murda (J. Alphonse Nicholson), that makes it impossible to take your eyes off the screen. (Streaming on Starzplay)

9. ‘Girls5eva’: Everyone loves a good comeback story, and this hit series is all about that. When a song by 90s girl group Girls5eva gets sampled by a rapper, the four women who faded into oblivion get a chance to rise again. They’re now grown ups who have been down on their luck, but they’re ready to give music and fame another try. It stars singer Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell and Renee Elise Goldsberry as the fab four who just want to sing their hearts out again. (Streaming on OSN+)

10. ‘Russian Doll’: In swapping time loops for time jumps, the second season of “Russian Doll” got messier — and a whole lot more emotionally engaging. For the series’s sophomore outing, star Natasha Lyonne took over showrunning duties, mining dark humour from the often harrowing project of excavating one’s family history. A meditation on inherited trauma and cycles of flawed parenting — with a dash of “Back to the Future” — it’s a decade- and continent-hopping ride through the stories Lyonne’s Nadia thought she knew about her mother and grandmother — and the women who really raised her. (Streaming on Netflix)