Last week, I looked at my Most Anticipated Returning Shows of 2022. Today, I am looking at my Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2022! I will stress this is my personal list, not a list of the generally most anticipated shows or else shows like The Lord of the Rings, House of the Dragon and Halo would be on the list. But I am not personally interested in any of those shows so they are not on here.
This show would not have made my Top 10 list before the trailer dropped a week ago, but after seeing the trailer, I became very interested. The title is so long, it stretches past the point of being annoying and ventures into the absurd territory. But I really enjoy Kristen Bell and the trailer definitely gave me Flight Attendant vibes along with the obvious references to the classic Rear Window. I think this could be a fun and twisty mystery show and I'm a sucker for shows like that.
9. WINNING TIME (TBD, HBO)
I'm not a follower of the NBA so I don't have any real connection to the LA Lakers dynasty of the 1980s but I love a good sports story and this seems like it'll be exceptionally well done, in part because it's on HBO. There's also the controversy behind the scenes as this is the show that split up the longtime partnership of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay with John C. Reilly taking a role originally envisioned for Ferrell. It's definitely intriguing.
8. WEDNESDAY (TBD, Netflix)
I like when there's a new take on an existing property that seems exciting. We've been seeing versions of The Addams Family on the small screen, big screen and stage for decades but they all sort of follow the same general template. This upcoming Netflix series focuses on Wednesday Addams' teen years and also has a mystery element. The cast includes Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia and Jenna Ortega in the title role. Most importantly, the whole first season is going to be directed by Tim Burton. It might lean a little too fantastical for me but I'm cautiously optimistic.
This series is notable for being one of two TV shows starring Samuel L. Jackson in his first two regular TV roles ever. The other is Marvel's Secret Invasion, where he will reprise his role as Nick Fury and people in general are probably more excited about that. But I am more excited about The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray, a limited series about a 93 year old man with dementia who temporarily gains his memory and uses it to solve the murder of his nephew. Also starring Walton Goggins, Apple has done a lot of quality programming and this one seems like it will be another high quality entry.
6. INVENTING ANNA (February 11, Netflix)
Believe it or not, Inventing Anna is the first show that is created and written by Shonda Rhimes since Scandal. Shondaland has been alive and well with Rhimes as producer on shows like How to Get Away with Murder and Bridgerton, but she is back in the creator's seat for this long gestating show that already has some buzz. Based on a true story of a New York heiress' invented persona, the all star cast includes Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky and Laverne Cox along with Shondaland regulars like Katie Lowes and Jeff Perry. I think Rhimes is ready for her comeback as a writer.
I have very mixed feelings about How I Met Your Mother. I loved the first several seasons but thought it really went off the rails as the season went on and I was in the camp of hating the series finale. But the early promos for How I Met Your Father seem reminiscent of the great early years of Mother with the glamour of New York City. Also, after all the backlash to the original series finale, I can't imagine that the creative forces behind this version won't learn their lesson. But I guess we'll see! At the very least, this first season should be strong.
4. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (TBD, Amazon)
You might know that there are huge gaps in my movie knowledge (I've always been a TV fan, I have no time for movies!) So I've actually never seen the original A League of Their Own. But I am still very excited for Amazon's upcoming series with a strong cast including D'Arcy Carden and Nick Offerman. The setting in 1943 and the themes are likely to be explored with more depth and care than even the film (and especially the first short-lived TV adaptation back in 1993). I've been very excited for this one for awhile, I hope it doesn't let me down.
This is cheating a little bit with two shows on the list, but come on, there are two shows about Watergate coming out likely within a few months of each other. They both look pretty interesting with high profile casts (Julia Roberts/Sean Penn in Gaslit and Woody Harrelson/Justin Theroux in The White House Plumbers among others). They're also political dramas, which I love, and they're about a time in American history that hasn't really had the TV adaptation yet. I'll be happily watching both though I'm sure one will end up being better than the other.
2. THE GILDED AGE (January 24, HBO)
It feels like The Gilded Age has been in development for as long as this blog has been in existence, because it almost has. First developed in 2012 for NBC, I have been excited about this show for a long time. And it's finally coming this month, which seems hard to believe. I hope the drama, set in 1880s New York City and starring Christine Baranski, Carrie Coon and Cynthia Nixon, doesn't disappoint. This is from the creator of Downton Abbey and I wasn't really interested in that show but this is a much more interesting era and setting to me.
I was excited about the concept of The First Lady as an anthology series when I first heard about it. Then I heard the first season would include Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt and I found myself wishing it would premiere immediately. As I mentioned, I'm a sucker for political dramas and there are so many opportunities here. I'm very curious to see the performances and the format. I'm equally excited about all three stories from three different eras. If this turns out to not be a good show, I will be more disappointed than I would be about any other show on this list.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Class of '96!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 The Good Wife Characters!
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