2022 came with a lot of hype in the World of Pop Culture. The not so tiny bracket of that world that is the Realm of TV Shows seemed to be packing an enormous amount of that hype and anticipation, given the insane amount of significant works to be released on TV this great year.
Speaking from a TV perspective, this year came with a barrage of beloved Sequels as well as anticipated and ambitious New TV adaptations that are bound to make waves in the fandom community upon release.
Practically every month this year is guaranteed to possess amazing Tvshows, and the month of January did a great job of kicking off the hype-train with it's explosive effect.
This past month had an insane amount of up to 10 significant Sequels and almost 20 worthwhile New Shows.
In this article I'll be introducing you to the 10 big sequels which aired in January with brief reviews so you'll know the ones worth catching up on, as well as making a recommendation list in form of a countdown for the 10 shows I see as the Best among New Shows you may've missed last month.
Starting off with Sequels, I'll waste no time at all in presenting the absolute Best that aired this past month.
Netflix which dominated 2021, came into the first month of 2022 with a dynamite impact with the first half of the Final Season of one of it's most renowned Crime shows; Ozark.
The character-driven cinematic intensity and elaborate crime society world building this show is known and loved for was taken to the max this fantastic season with a lot of thrilling and unpredictable plot developments, impactful character moments and just down right incredible scenes. It capped everything off in an absolutely jaw-dropping finale that'll leave all fans on their knees begging for the release of the 2nd half to come soon. Fingers crossed to see how this phenomenal show finally ends.
That certainly wasn't the only great returning show on Netflix in the month of January, as the masterclass tragic dramedy, After Life had a fantastic final season to end an already amazing show. The season was filled with heart-gripping moments of character development and emotional expressions watered down by it's wholesome scenery, insightful dialogues and smooth humor, providing an absolutely satisfying end to the series.
The sequel which surprised me the most this past month, was the 2nd season of the Netflix animation by Mir Studio, Dota: Dragon Blood. This season was a great improvement from it's first season which was believed to be a mediocre rushed adaptation. The storytelling felt more coherent, engaging and well paced, backed by it's splendid fight sequences to give an amazing experience.
After 2 long years of anticipation, fans of the beloved Teen Drama-comedy, Euphoria were finally blessed with a Second Season. The season started out disappointingly with style over substance, flashing so much unnecessary nudity and sex scenes, but in the more recent episodes, the story finally seem to be landing on its feet with truly amazing dramatic developments.
HBO Max made a double impact this past month, as to add to the Euphoria Sequel, a long awaited sequel of another beloved dramedy of 2019, The Righteous Gemstones also got a Second Season.
The season right from the start has been everly hilarious and crazy, this season diving deeper into the extremeties in it's plot and humor than the past one.
One of my favorite Drama TVShows of all time; This is Us also started airing it's Final Season on NBC in the month of January, and in the episodes so far its been nothing but the wholesome, seemlessly captivating and impactful family drama that stole my heart.
Apple TV+ invaded the month with the 3rd season of their Psychological-thriller, Servant which has been sufficiently haunting and dramatically twisted as it set out to be.
A sleeper hit of 2021, Resident Alien returned quite early with it's 2nd Season which has been every bit as hilarious and fun as it's first season.
CW's Superman and Lois also had an early return and it's 2nd Season has been surprisingly just as amazing both visually and narratively as it's first season.
The Final Sequel which aired last month was the 3rd season of an underrated show I personally love, Snowpiercer . So far this season has been fantastic and intriguing, and it seems to be building up quite beautifully to something epic.
Special Mentions to shows like Power Book II: Ghost (Season 2), 1883, Yellowjackets and The Book of Boba Fett which spilled into last month from December but contributed greatly to enhance the weekly experience.
TOP 10 BEST NEW SHOWS OF JANUARY 2022
10) CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING
(Comedy)
Starting off this list with a show who's title already reveals its message.
Children Ruin Everything is one of those shows that answers the question of What comes after Happily Ever After.
What seems to be a beautiful romantic life could very well sprout into something more chaotic when Kids get added into the picture.
Whilst maintaining a comforting atmosphere and smooth humor, this show exposes you to the turmoil of Parenthood in modern times using the daily life of Astrid and James as a case study.
It's a Wholesome show that's definitely worth the watch.
9) WOLF LIKE ME
(Comedy, Romance)
Speaking of twists after happy married lives, Wolf Like Me centers on Gary, a Widower and Single father with social struggles who finds love again in the most unlikely of ways.
After facing a sudden car accident on a drive to school one day with no casualties or severe injuries, a romantic journey is set to sail between Gary and Mary, the woman who hit his car. What seems to be a harmonic romance takes a sudden twist toward the dramatic when he discovers her secret identity as a Werewolf.
This show is a really enjoyable romance-comedy for a wholesome binge, and even when it gets dramatic, the jarring scenarios between the main couple make it that much more entertaining.
8) THE GILDED AGE
(Historical, Drama)
The Gilded Age was a period of great economic change in the United States as it spurred a major conflict between the old ways and the new.
HBO Max's The Guided Age is a show set in that period in 1882, centered on a young woman named Marian Brook who moved to Pennsylvania New York to live wity her aunt's Agnes and Ada. She struggles to adapt to her new home with her friend and aspiring writer Peggy Scott, while being whisked into a social war between one of her aunt's and her neighbors.
The one thing I can say about this show is that it's certainly not for everyone. Its a show fans of Historical drama are bound to at least find Insightful. It's a well adapted show with high quality production values that tells a dramatic story bearing historical significance.
7) THE WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENT
(Drama)
Racism is a globally sensitive theme that'll never cease to be relevant, especially since it's never stopped making an impact on society no matter the time period.
This is the simple reason why great cinematic works that tell tragic and inspiring stories centering this theme will always be impactful.
The Women of The Movement is a historical drama that centers on Mamie Till Mibley who dedicates her life to get Justice for her son, Emmitt who was brutally murdered on account of his race.
The story might not be very original, but its narrative hits really hard emotionally given how genuinely tragic it got. The emotional highpoints of the show are heavily captivating, as it deeply takes a dive into a woman who lost the thing she loved most in the world and took a stand to fight against such a cruel and broken world.
6) ALL OF US ARE DEAD
(Action, Drama)
How about a show to bring a lot of brutal violence and horrific thrills to balance out all the drama and comedy.
All Of Us Are Dead is a Coming-of-age Zombie Apocalypse horror thriller show on Netflix which centers on the students of Hyosan high school who fight desperately to survive after the outbreak of a virus which turns people to zombies spread across the school, trapping them in a seemingly hopeless situation.
This show adds to the winning streak which Netflix started last year in the world of K-Drama as it delivers nonstop action and heavy thrills whilst establishing proper character roles and a dramatic perspective towards such a chaotic story.
In a world swurled with chaos and confusion, the story manages to maintain an emotionally grounded narrative which would've made it deserve a higher spot on this list, but lost a few points based on how drawn out it was. 12 episodes with an hour of runtime for each episode felt too much for such a basic story.
(Action, Fantasy)
Amazon Prime made their mark in January with the release of it's latest adult comedy fantasy animated Tvshow, The Legend of Vox Machina.
A show centered on a ragtag rowdy gang of misfits and/or mercenaries for hire named 'Vox Machina' who become unlikely heroes as they embark on a mission to save the dark realm of Exandria from dark forces using their unique powers and skillsets.
The first thing to love in this show is the humor. The setting of a 'band of misfits' isn't at all new in the world of fiction but when executed properly with fun characters and hilarious character dynamics, it seemlessly ignites great humor and makes for an overall exhilarating viewer experience when added with an action packed magical adventure.
It's a fun show packed with spectacular fight scenes that gets dramatic and serious when it needs to be.
(Comedy)
A show more centered on it's comedy than anything else this past month, Abbott Elementary takes the 4th spot on this list.
A Mockumentary series centered on the teachers of a Philadelphia public elementary school bearing the same name as the title of the show, who struggle in their determination to give the children in their care proper education whilst facing several problems accrue to working in an underfunded, understaffed and undermanaged institution.
The comedy in this show is pure and seemless, as the day to day troubling experiences of these colourfully characterized team of teachers create these genuinely hilarious scenes that depict most of the problems of not only enrolling in, but managing public schools in the real world.
(Drama, Comedy)
Sometimes the most symbolic and relatable shows are the ones that feel uneventful in each episode. A dramedy that doesn't overstress it's drama or comedy gives a more realistic feel than other shows of similar genre.
Somebody Somewhere harbours this quality excellently as it takes a study into the day to day life of Sam who feels like an outsider in her own home in Kansas and struggles to fit in daily, but keeps moving forward and associates herself with similarly troubled people in order to get even an ounce of happiness.
The quest for happiness and absolution for the main character whilst being a narrative formula used in many dramedy shows, is presented in a raw and seemlessly immersive form in this show.
The dramatic bits are perfectly handled and backed up by great acting, and the flow of events seem all but realistically portrayed.
(Drama, Mystery)
Taking a dive into the mysterious, Archive 81 is a Netflix slow-burn Mystery-Drama that proved to be the biggest surprise new hit of this past month.
It tells the story of Dan Turner, an archivist who took a job restoring damaged tapes in a building which suffered a tragic event a long time ago. He gets roped into a mystery as he discovers secrets recorded in the tapes of a director Melody Pendras, who studied and investigated the building during those years.
The story sprawns into a twisted and compact narrative involving mysterious cults, several mysterious deaths and unknown mythical forces.
This show gives a perfect feel of Noir while telling a deeply intriguing and enthralling story that explodes into an intense and dramatic climax that could only be described as magnificent.
The show's many revelations and twists made the it really shine in its narrative as a fantastic Psychological-thriller, which is something that'll definitely appeal to fans of the genre.
(Action, Comedy, Sci-fi)
James Gunn's The Suicide Squad was undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of 2021, and in my review of the movie (The Suicide Squad Review), I stressed and thoroughly broke down all the aspects that made it an absolutely spectacular comic-book film.
With all the love I have for The Suicide Squad movie, one could only imagine the level of excitement I felt when my favorite character in it, Peacemaker played by former WWE star, John Cena was announced to be getting his own solo Tvshow that's sequel to the events of The Suicide Squad.
I was beyond hyped for this Tvshow and it only brings me great pleasure to say that Peacemaker has been every bit worth the hype.
The show focuses on Christopher Smith, known as the jingoistic killer, Peacemaker and his life after his epic role in The Suicide Squad Movie, as he gets recruited to be part of an A.R.G.U.S. Black ops unit consisting of a team of professional agents for a mission tagged "Project Butterfly" in which they investigate and take down some dangerous parasytic alien beings known as Butterflies from America and the world at large.
Peacemaker is without a doubt The Best New Show of January 2022, and it's a great thing to see it get the weekly hype it deserves.
There's also The After Party which felt too cringe and cheesy for a comedic murder mystery, The Responder which has seemed a bit too dramatic and unengaging in it's first episodes.
There's also Pivoting, The Promised Land and a bunch of others which weren't just good enough to make the list.
Thanks for reading this long monthly review, make sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section and share to your friends.
I'll See you all Next Time.
Nice 🔥🔥
ReplyDeleteJanuary came through 💥💥💥
ReplyDeleteHow you dey take get time to watch this stuff🥲🥲🥲
ReplyDelete