Our critics break down what goes into naming the best of the year.
Best of 2022
The best entertainment of the year, as chosen by Vultures critics.
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This time, looking back on that list felt more like a memory trip than usual.
And yet so many of them landed with an eh.
Roxana Hadadi:It was a weird, disordered year.
When I started drafting my best-of-TV list for this year, I had an immediate top-two slot.
There was no second-guessing my choices.
It was more difficult to fill in numbers three through ten.
Or the pacing was stilted, and that colored the whole project a certain way.
Sometimes those shows were very well done.
KV:I lovedThe Dropout.
Its got an unusual structure, with several multi-episode arcs built into the season.
It features very few previously known characters or locations.
Clearly itspossibleto make an IP-thirst show that makes fascinating creative choices.
Im still not sure why!
Why did the latter captivate so many people, and the former have such a muted reception?
Is it just that people really dont want to read subtitles?
DidThe Bearreally grab everyones attention because of howJeremy Allen Whitelooked inthat T-shirt?
Sometimes those two motivations aligned and sometimes they didnt.
When I foundThe Time Travelers Wife, I hated every minute, but also could not look away.
It makes the hair on my neck stand up.
Honing your favorites in a given year can also be an act of autobiography.
What performance really resonated with me?
What jot down of TV do I really want to celebrate?
What seems like a vibrant movement in creative TV-making I want to emphasize?
Its whyReservation Dogsis my No.
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