We're already midway into May 2022, and while being entertained by all the shows airing this month, let's take a step back to appreciate all the hits the previous month gave us in TV.
Like the months preceeding it, the month of April had it's fair share of amazing new shows and impactful sequels, making it a really entertaining month for TV fans.
The peculiar thing to observe about the month though is that for some reason, all the most relevant New shows of the month, as well as it's most anticipated sequels are all Crime Shows, or Crime-based dramas at least, as you'll all see on my list.
Given this unique property, I'm hereby calling April 2022, The Month of Crime.
The month had sequels and new shows that immediately took a spot among the absolute best of the year so far.
Talking about Sequels, no doubt the most anticipated and biggest of them all last month was none other than the 6th Season and return of the proclaimed "Best Show on TV", Better Call Saul.
The season follows the events after the betrayal and attempted murder of crime boss, Lalo Salamanca, and so far it's been nothing short of thrilling and fantastic.
The show maintains it's production and narrative quality as it draws to a phenomenal conclusion after 6 Seasons of masterful execution in dramatizing an eloquent crime story that touches both sides of the law.
It's undoubtedly the best sequel of the year so far.
The second most anticipated sequel of the month, also being a crime show and a final season nonetheless, was the 2nd part of the 4th Season of Ozark on Netflix.
It's a sad thing to say that this show didn't have the grace of the afformentioned crime sequel. The season and ending was a huge dissappointment, bearing a passive and anticlimactic narrative in what should be it's most climactic season, and capping things off with a disgustingly inconclusive ending. It was truly shocking how a show that's maintained it's Intensity and greatness for 3 and a half seasons could fall so hard in its final part.
Sorry to all Netflix fans, because that wasn't the only dissappointing sequel from the network last month, as the second season of Russian Doll was undoubtedly a step down from its preceeding season.
Unexpecting viewers might find it quite entertaining, but it just lacks the thrills and explorative drama that made the first season great.
But where Netflix failed, HBO succeeded, as the anticipated third season of the renowned Crime-Dramedy, Barry has been absolutely spectacular so far.
The show maintains all its best qualities in another impactful season, and Bill Hader looks to be on track for another Emmy Award for his masterful work in not only starring, but writing and directing the season as well.
Leading the pack of animated sequels last month was the long anticipated 2nd season of Amazon Prime's Undone.
The season maintains its breathtaking visual quality and execution in taking a narrative path that may not be as captivating as that of the first season, but still hits really hard.
HBO Max's Close Enough was another animated success among sequels, bringing even more hilarious, wild and crazy episodes to make this the most entertaining season yet.
Sadly HBO Max didn't succeed in everything last month, as the 2nd season of Made For Love isn't at all as appealing or entertaining as it's preceeding season.
TOP 10 BEST NEW TV SHOWS OF APRIL 2022
10) GASLIT
(Drama)
Gaslit is a historical drama from Starz that sheds a new light into the Political Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon, highlighting the rather minor parts of the event, such as the affairs of his subordinates and the stories of all the other characters at play such as Martha Mitchell and her husband John N. Mitchell.
While the show does have great acting and appreciable historical significance, it isn't exactly one of high appeal, given its sternly political approach to it's storytelling.
(Drama, Anthology)
Based on the Book of short stories by Cecilia Ahern, Roar is a genre-bending anthology that faces feminism-based themes in it's 8 darkly comedic episodes.
The show stars reputable actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Issa Rae, Elizabeth Gilpin, Merritt Wever and others, and bearing considerably impressive production quality, the show offers a worthwhile watch despite being a bit lacklustre in terms of impact.
(Sci-fi)
The Man Who Fell To Earth is a sci-fi series based on the book of the same name in 1963 as well as the adapted film in 1976, which tells the story of an Alien who gets sent to earth on a mission to save it from it's end.
For a sci-fi show of it's nature, it's pretty enjoyable and intriguing.
Nigeria's very own Chiwetel Ejiofor bringing an amazing performance as the alien main character.
(Drama)
The latest show from AMC+, 61st Street is a drama which tells the story of Moses Johnson, a young black athlete who gets wrongfully arrested for the accused murder of a police officer after a drug bust gone wrong, and Franklin Roberts, the public defender who takes up the case to fight for him and challenge the broken racist judicial system.
The narrative is really captivating, and given its core theme of racism and the struggle to change a corrupt system, it holds high thematic value, especially in modern society.
(Comedy)
The American comedy from Peacock, Killing It follows a middle-aged black man, Craig Foster, who struggles to make ends meet with his job as a bank security guard in Miami, bearing big dreams to start his own business in the near future.
In a chanced encounter, he meets Jillian who introduced him to the art of state-sponsored python hunting, and they partner up to make tons of money hunting snakes to make their dreams come true.
The show is truly hilarious, each episode bearing wild comedic tendencies with it's fun characters, making it the most enjoyable show on this list.
5) SLOW HORSES
(Thriller)
Slow Horses is a spy-thriller Tvshow from Apple TV+ based on the Novel of the same name, centering a series of events that erupt after a training drill gone wrong causes Agent Cartwright to be exiled to Slough House, where the group of service rejects known as the Slow Horses, lead by Jackson Lamb gets pulled into some conflicts and mysteries and become determined to solve them.
The plot kicks into full gear quite early on in the show, and the thrills are definitely made to be felt at every corner, as the different agencies work hard to thwart the sinister forces on the move.
The legendary Gary Oldman makes his TV debut in this show as Lamb, and like all his other roles, eats it up completely.
(Crime, Drama)
Adding to the list of top quality new crime Tvshows of the past month, We Own This City is a HBO novel-based miniseries centered on the Baltimore Police Department's 'Gun Trace Task Force' lead by the eccentric Sgt. Wayne Jenkins and their attempts to fulfill their duty in a city swirled with corruption. Things seemed to be going smoothly until Jenkins gets arrested for reasons unknown. From then on, the show established a split timeline narrative, as it draws a path between the current developments and the past events that lead to them.
Jon Bernthal brings an equally energetic performance as his other roles in portraying Wayne Jenkins, and with amazing performances from the supporting cast, a coherent and engaging narrative and insightful portrayal of a flawed crime society, it's definitely a show worth placing alongside other top shows this year.
(Drama, Thriller)
The third and best new show from Apple TV+ in April is none other than the American thriller series, Shining Girls, based on the 2013 novel 'The Shining Girls' starting the one and only Elizabeth Moss.
Kirby's dreams of becoming a journalist gets sabotaged when a murderous attack from a serial killer leaves her mind broken to the point of losing the idea of reality at times, and fueled with a determination to help the police catch the serial attacker on the loose for her safety and sanity.
The show itself has a stern narrative buildup, sizzled with a lot of high-end thrills and drama, and with it's perfect pacing is undoubtedly one of the best thrillers the year has to offer.
(Crime, Drama)
Wouldn't be a Month of Crime without a bit of True Crime, would it?
The runner up on this list is none other than the Crime-Drama miniseries from FX (on Hulu), Under The Banner of Heaven, based on Jon Krakauer's bestseller.
The story follows the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her baby daughter, which leaves Detective Jeb Pyre in a test of faith as he investigates this brutal murder and uncovers the underlying secrets and dangers surrounding the LDS religion which is unnervingly linked the case.
The show masterfully highlights the perils and violent tendencies that could erupt from misguided religious beliefs.
Devotion to one's religion is a good thing, but it's not uncommon for said devotion to cause moral contrasts and hence lead to unspeakable acts in the name of faith, even in modern society. (Reference to the brutal murder of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Nigeria which happened recently)
As a True Crime show, it gives the aura of legend class shows of it's kind, such as True Detective and Mindhunter, and with it's elaborate storyboarding, well-established murder-mystery setting and spectacular drama, it's definitely one of the most elite gems airing right now.
(Crime, Drama)
Standing at the top of all shows released in April 2022, also being a Crime show is HBO Max's TV adaptation of the non-fiction novel, Tokyo Vice.
The story follows American journalist, Jake Adelstein who relocates to Tokyo in 1999 and succeeds in being the first foreigner or "gaijin" to get employed in the top publishing company in the city, and works hand in hand with detectives of the Vice Police squad to unravel and explore the dark criminal world of Tokyo, with the Yakuza and other dangerous forces lurking.
It presents a Gotham-esque version of Tokyo that's so shrouded in corruption and depravity that murders are literally ruled off as suicides in order to avoid the deadly consequences of full investigations.
Given that it's based on a true story, I can only just appreciate how much work was put into the execution. Jake Adelstein being the narrator of his own story in the novel being well adapted here gives a first hand look into the struggles he had to endure as not only a foreigner, but the one guy trying to do the right thing in a twisted society.
Ansel Elgort's mesmerizing performance as Jake Adelstein added to the elaborate storytelling to make him one of the most relatable and lovable main characters of this year.
The show slowly builds on its tension as several combustible elements come into play, and with a stern balance between the investigative part of the story and the criminal operations, it's definitely a masterclass crime narrative.
Aside from the compelling main character, the show introduces a stack of some of the most memorable side characters of this year.
The characters aren't only remarkable for their impactful roles in the plot or how they're fully utilized, but how each one is made individually interesting, bearing goals of their own while being in a story with so many dramatic conflicts.
Given the show's immersive story, perfect characterization and elaborate build of a dark criminal world, Tokyo Vice is not only The Best New Crime TVshow of year but one of The Best Shows of the year in general.
Given the way the first season ended, the story is far from over, and I really hope this gem gets its well deserved renewal for a subsequent season and maintains this quality in its sequel.
That's it for my list. Be sure to try out a good number of the shows on this list, especially the top ones or the ones that resonate with you the most, given my reviews of them.
Among the few New Shows worth mention that didn't make the list, we have The Outer Range, a Western drama that seemed really intriguing with the sci-fi based thriller of the first two episodes, but took the least interesting route as it progressed, leading it straight to failure.
Billy The Kidd is another failed Western drama of the past month that made an edgy mess of an underdog story; The Baby, a new show from HBO which tried too hard to be thrilling and ended up not being that at all; The Offer, which was meant to provide an insight into the production of the legendary 'Godfather' movies, but prioritized unimportant side stories and lead a promising biography to ruin.
Lastly we have I Love That For You that's literally one of the least appealing dramedies I've ever seen.
Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section and share this article to your friends
Stay tuned for my next monthly review for May 2022.
Stay Safe Guys.
Kindly reminder it's the month that Netflix took their biggest L
ReplyDeleteGreat list, have seen 5/10 out of the top 1 and Slow horses should be NO.4
Missed opportunity to say the mid range
ReplyDeleteThank you maxwell
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bro.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching
ReplyDeleteTime to update my watchlist
ReplyDeleteThanks bro
I sincerely haven't watched 80% of this shows 😂.... Thanks for the update
ReplyDelete