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.

14 of 21 photo by Apple

85 #7 (tie): Prehistoric Planet: Season 1

What if the BBC filmed one of its Planet Earth nature miniseries in the Mesozoic Era, complete with David Attenborough narration? The result would be something like this five-part Apple examination of Earth's wildlife during the age of dinosaurs. Because no camera crew was actually around to film during the prehistoric era, very expensive CGI is used to depict creatures great and small, and the result is surprisingly realistic. And dinosaurs, of course, are a bit of an Attenborough family specialty; David's brother Richard was also known to work with the beasts.

“This jaw-dropping series bringing dinosaurs to life is so immersive, so real, that you feel you are there, peering through a portal into an age that blows the mind.” —Carol Midgley, The Times

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