The month of October is already beyond its halfway point, and it's been a fun month for pop culture fans so far. However, the month preceeding it, September 2022, the subject of this article, was one stacked with relevant pop culture releases, particularly in the world of TV and Streaming.
A month with 7 huge sequels as well as about a dozen prominent new shows, most of which being gold in their respective criteria.
The biggest and most impressive sequel that aired last month was the 5th Season of Netflix's modern hit action show, Cobra Kai.
It was a truly exhilarating sequel which went even wilder and more diverse with its Impeccably choreographed fight sequences, while on the dramatic end, immaculately extending character focus from its juvenile main cast to the adult characters and their conflicts as well.
It was an action packed season that delivered electrifying content to please its fans, and one can only expect it to get even more epic in its upcoming 6th season.
Another explosively popular action show with a plausible sequel last month, Rick And Morty has a 6th season that's been quite entertaining with its bizzare sci-fi concepts and fights, only not on the same level as its prime seasons.
Yet another animated sequel in the month of September was the 3rd season of Central Park that's been just as wholesome and amusing as its preceeding seasons.
Speaking of wholesome and amusing, after a wasteful 3rd season, the final season of Atlanta started airing last month, and it could be described that way, with a plot that at least focuses on its main cast this time, but starts off a bit too slow to be sure of a remarkable conclusion.
Hulu certainly had a big month in September, as 3 out of the 7 prominent sequels of last month are all Hulu shows.
The biggest of the bunch happens to be the 5th season of The Handmaid's Tale, which incredibly develops the interpersonal conflicts born from its previous climaxes in a setting of drama and action that crosses international borders.
The other two sequels from Hulu in September include the early 2nd season of the Emmy winning Abbott Elementary which has been absolutely hilarious and wholesome, and the 3rd season of Ramy which had little value in terms of direction and storytelling as compared to its preceeding seasons.
Now coming into the New Shows of September 2022, we certainly got an interesting bunch, with a variety of different genres and settings spread across a good number of shows that managed to stay relevant throughout the month.
As previously said, we got over a dozen new shows in September, but among that bunch, I'm here to count down and review the 10 that stood out as the best and most prominent new shows which aired in the given month.
TOP 10 BEST TVSHOWS OF SEPTEMBER 2022
(Supernatural, Drama)
Vampire Academy is a Peacock original fantasy-horror based on the book of the same name by Richelle Mead following Rose Hathaway, a half-vampire guardian in training and Lissa Dragomir, a morei princess and their exploits at St. Vladimir's Academy.
Coming from the creator of one of the most popular Vampire shows of all time, The Vampire Diaries, it does share a similar tone and story pattern which makes it a pretty charming watch, but its narrative value is pale in comparison to successful vampire shows of its kind.
(Fantasy, Action)
Coming off the heels of one of the greatest fantasy franchises in Pop Culture, The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien comes The Rings Of Power, an Amazon Prime TV fantasy set in the Second Age of Middle-Earth, thousands of years before the original movies. The story covers significant events in that time period such as the forging of the rings, the rise of Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom Numenor and that last alliance of elves and men.
Its only redeeming factor aside from its big name which made it relevant through its run, is its billion dollar worth production values, particularly its action sequences and cinematography.
(Comedy)
From the comedically brilliant mind behind Modern Family comes a brand new Hulu comedy, Reboot, centered on the dysfunctional cast of a 2000's hit sitcom titled 'Step Fight Up' who get called back for a reboot of their show by a young writer, now having to face the personal and professional issues they have with themselves and eachother in this new work environment.
(Drama, Romance)
Adapted from the 2018 novel of the same name by Carola Lovering, Tell Me Lies is a Hulu drama series telling the story of Lucy Albright and Stephen Demarco who had an 8 year long obsessive relationship which gets rekindled upon their reuinion in college evolving into a more addictive entanglement that affects not just their lives, but the people around them.
Topping all the drama off were a ton of well directed sex scenes to show just how sexually driven the world of adult romance is.
(Drama)
The Serpent Queen is a period drama from Starz based on the 2004 non-fiction book titled Catherine De Medici: Renaissance Queen Of France by Leonie Frieda, centered on the life of the 16th century Queen of France, Catherine De Medici, using a split timeline storytelling pattern to give account of the struggles she faced during her rise to power and in her prime authoritative state.
(Drama)
As the title suggests, the Netflix biographic Drama miniseries tells the story of one of the most viscous serial killers in the United States, Jeffrey Dahmer and his murders primarily of men and adolescent boys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Ohio between 1978 and 1991.
It also impressively highlights the concormitants of his actions to his family and society after his downfall and thematically depict how flawed the judicial system can be, sometimes even complicit to various misfortunes in the community. The best thing about the show is undoubtedly Evan Peters performance, as he brings to life the truly psychopathic nature of his character in a show that spares no morbid detail of a dark time in American history.
(Drama, Comedy)
Heartbreak High is a Netflix Australian dramedy show and reboot of the 2004 series of the same name, focused on the students of Hartley high school following the discovery of a map on a grafittied wall detailing the sexual exploits of a bunch of students. The architect of this being Amerie Wadia, a fellow student who becomes a social outcast after taking the fall, while her best friend and co-author of the 'incest map', Harper McLean bears newfound hatred and aggression towards her over the events of the a party the previous night which she can barely recall.
The students with leaked sexual habits are now being forced by the school to attend Sexual Literacy School (SLTs) and this breeds even more complications in their respective lives.
Friendships, romances, rivalries and all forms of affiliations born from teenage angst are well represented in this show with enough narrative flexibility to represent sensitive themes surrounding sexual awareness, racism and homophobia among others.
The show has an ensemble cast of juvenile characters, all properly characterized and developed both individually and in the relationships they form with eachother.
(Supernatural, Drama)
AMC's Interview With The Vampire is an American gothic vampire-based horror TV show based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Anne Rice, telling the story of the vampire, Louis De Pointe Du Lac as he seeks to share the story of his life and afterlife to a renowned journalist, Daniel Molloy, starting with his exploits in the 20th century with his sire and lover, Destat De Lion Court.
The ambiance of an examplary historical setting is perfectly captured in this show, in a story that impinges the full weight of its drama right from the start. The struggles of Loius both before and during his afterlife as a vampire are Impeccably highlighted, making the story that much more captivating and fascinating as well, as it takes a new deep dive into the treasures and turmoil that associate with the life of a vampire.
With brilliant acting from Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid, it delivers a spectacularly layered tragic story, hitting emotional and horrific depths in a way that already makes it one of the best Vampire shows of all time.
(Action, Sci-fi)
The latest Star Wars TV project from Lucasfilm and Disney+ is Andor, a prequel to the the Rogue One set 5 years prior, centered on Cassian Andor a thief who joined a rebellion formed in opposition of the Galactic Empire, and embarks on a journey filled with danger, deception and intrigue with his new comrades.
Diego Luna reprised his role as Cassian Andor, and truly gave a remarkable performance in this lead role.
Unlike the previously released Star Wars TV show this year, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor is a huge success in every conceivable way. The show right off its start establishes an elaborate narrative with a soothing ambiance to represent its perfectly built dystopian sci-fi world and mind-blowing visual aesthetics to complete the experience.
For a rebellion story, it gratifyingly balances its focus on the exploits of both the oppressors and rebels, with incredibly written dialogues and a well layered buildup to the origin story of a rebel hero.
(Sci-fi, Drama)
At the top of the list and undoubtedly the best TV show that aired in the month of September is none other than the first ever animated series on AMC+, Pantheon, based on a series of short stories in the Apocalypse Triptych by Ken Liu.
Soothingly and ironically, being the greatest show of last month, it was also the very first show released that month, with a first episode premiere on the morning of the 1st of September, at a 100% metric score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The story follows Maddie Kim, a bullied teenager who's life takes an unexpected turn when she received messages from an unknown entity claiming to be her deceased father. This mysterious stranger was confirmed to indeed be David Kim, but just his consciousness which was uploaded to the cloud after an experimental brain scan.
Maddie and her mother Ellen soon discover that David's bittersweet situation isn't exclusive to just him, and this opens the door to several discoveries and complications, cracking open the machinations of a mysterious tech company called Logrithms.
The story takes a similar narrative pattern to Severance, as with its new sci-fi concept, it immerses you not only into its large scale plot proceedings with the continuous unveiling of how twisted this world actually is, but to the smaller, character-driven aspects of its story as well.
Maddie, Allen, David and even the side cast consisting of Caspian, Cody, Laurie, Chanda and others all feel properly written, characterized and motivated in thier respective roles in the story and come together by virtue of stellar buildup filled with incredible dialogues to produce some truly phenomenal climaxes with thematic overtones questioning the morality of the characters and weighing the value of humanity.
With its already consistently incredible animation and music quality, it represents the various technological explorations of the story with truly mind-bending visual imagery and sound effects to make every scenery and action sequence a spectacle.
With the quality displayed in this show from start to finish, its not only deserving of the title of the best of September, but also the best animated TV show of 2022, and one of the best of all time.
From the mind of American Artist, Kid Cudi, came this astounding TV programme on Netflix to accompany his album of the same name, dedicated to his late friend Virgil Abloh.
It's a simple boy-meets-girl romance story, but fully illuminated through radiant displays of its gorgeous visuals and cinematography, with artistic explorations aided by Cudi's tantalizing music to capture the magic of every scene.
It's an hour and 30 minutes long, but an experience that'll certainly be a highlight of your day.
American Gigolo and Quantum Leap were also relevant shows in September, but couldn't reach that narrative bar to make the list.
Try to check out every show recommended on this list, especially the top ones and you are bound to have a great time.
Leave a comment of your thoughts on these shows and/or of this article, and share to your friends as well.
Stay safe everyone.
Honestly fam, I've been watching vampire academy in hope to hate it but I'm actually enjoying it and keeping you. Nice list bro Pantheon deserves number one
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ReplyDeleteLust updated
Peak month for television. Rad list, my bro.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to start a new show, I'd definitely pick from this list. Especially the Medici series. And I especially feel Lord of the rings: ring of power is going well, those incompetent beside pieces will form a perfect piece soon.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of this list is the well placed top 5, goes along way to assure that the list is premium.
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