The 20 Best New TV Shows of 2022 So Far

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – July 1, 2022

Which newcomers on the small screen have impressed reviewers the most during the first half of the year? In the gallery on this page, we rank the highest-scoring first-year TV shows (including limited series and specials) debuting between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. Only shows with at least 7 reviews from professional critics are included.

11 of 21 photo by Carole Bethuel/HBO

84 #10: Irma Vep: Season 1

French director Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper, Summer Hours) adapts his own acclaimed 1996 movie into a satirical (and extremely meta) A24-produced limited series. Taking over the role analogous to the one portrayed in the original film by Maggie Cheung (though Cheung was playing a version of herself) is Alicia Vikander, who plays a disillusioned American actress in Paris to star in a remake of the French silent film Les Vampires. But things get complicated on the problem-plagued set when the lines between her character and her real self begin to blur. The international cast also includes Tom Sturridge, Byron Bowers, Carrie Brownstein, Adira Arjona, Fala Chen, and Vincent Macaigne.

“'Irma Vep' comes off like a more cine-literate and serious-minded 'Call My Agent' — which may not make the show an algorithm winner, but it’s no less brilliant for it.” —Bob Strauss, San Francisco Chronicle

Where To Watch