The Worst New TV Shows of 2022

– December 15, 2022

What were the biggest television duds of the past year? In the gallery on this page we rank the lowest-scoring first-year primetime TV series (including limited series and specials) debuting in the United States between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Shows are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding based on scores from December 13, 2022 and must have at least 4 reviews from professional critics to qualify.

3 of 11 photo by Netflix

44 #8: The Pentaverate (Netflix)

Former SNL star Mike Myers emerged from a four-year hiatus with this comedic Netflix miniseries in which he plays eight different characters. He's also the creator and co-writer of The Pentaverate, which also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Debi Mazar, and Jennifer Saunders and centers on a conspiracy involving an Illuminati-like secret organization that controls the world. If you are expecting smart, mature comedy—well, you've come to the wrong place, though some reviewers did think the series would have worked a bit better if it had been trimmed of all its filler and edited down into a film rather than a six-episode series.

“A tiresome compendium of half-formed characters, weak social commentary and so many groan-worthy penis and poop jokes that it’s difficult to believe the headliner was once Hollywood’s top funnyman. ... You’ve got a slog that, no matter its brief runtime, wildly overstays its welcome.” —Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Where To Buy