Was 2022 the greatest year ever for sci-fi and fantasy TV?

As a lifelong cinephile who has witnessed the ebb and flow of the genre storytelling landscape, I can confidently say that 2022 stands tall as one of the most exceptional years in the history books. Coming hot on the heels of two years spent huddled indoors during a global pandemic, this year’s deluge of high-quality fantasy and sci-fi content was nothing short of a cinematic renaissance.

2024 has been a bit lackluster for enthusiasts of genre storytelling. The finale of “The Boys” season 4 didn’t resonate as positively with fans as previous episodes, the team behind “House of the Dragon” is having a public spat with George R.R. Martin, and the newest Star Wars content from Disney+ – “The Acolyte” – has been polarizing among fans. Given that these were some of the most anticipated and expensive genre series of the year, it’s left many genre storytelling enthusiasts feeling a bit down. However, there have been bright spots: the historical fiction series “Shogun” cleaned up at the Emmy’s and personally, I’m really enjoying the return of “The Legend of Vox Machina”. But whether it’s due to last year’s writers and actors strikes or because new seasons are taking longer than ever to air, 2024 is not the year that it could have been.

Similarly, it’s been pointed out by numerous individuals, including our very own Dan Selcke, that since the finale of “Game of Thrones,” we might have found ourselves immersed in a realm dominated by fantasy and sci-fi productions. Studios have risked significant capital on such content, aiming to attract audiences who were captivated by HBO’s mega-success. This has led me to contemplate whether 2022 will be remembered as the pinnacle year for genre storytelling, and if we’ll ever witness its equal again.

Picture this: It’s now 2022, and we’ve just survived two years of a worldwide pandemic that left us confined indoors. In search of comfort, many of us turned to television, either revisiting old classics or discovering something fresh. However, the production industry faced challenges due to social distancing rules during the pandemic, causing delays in numerous new film and TV projects. As we moved through the latter half of 2021 and into early 2022, these restrictions gradually eased before vanishing completely, which led to a surge of content.

In February 2022, Netflix debuted the first season of “Vikings: Valhalla,” a sequel to the phenomenal series “Vikings” that aired from 2013 to 2020. If you haven’t seen the original “Vikings,” I highly recommend catching up with it while it’s still streaming on Netflix. That same month, Apple+ premiered the first season of the science fiction series “Severance.” In March, the popular video game franchise “Halo” received a high-budget live-action TV adaptation on Paramount+. Disney launched their “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series in the spring.

2022 truly took off with a bang! The first batch of episodes for Stranger Things season 4 was released in May and quickly became a massive hit; I believe it’s the best season yet. The third installment of The Boys premiered in June, and I still think it outshines all other episodes. Following that, Stranger Things continued with the penultimate and final episodes of its fourth season in July.

Why was 2022 such a good year for fantasy and sci-fi TV, and can 2025 top it?

Many of these series didn’t meet top-tier standards; I find myself questioning Obi-Wan Kenobi and the initial season of Halo, with the former being canceled after just one season and the latter’s second season receiving mixed reviews, though it improved significantly. However, the overall quality of this collection is astonishingly good, surpassing what we’ve seen in the past two years by a wide margin. As an enthusiast for these genres, it was an incredibly exciting period, and I may have indulged a bit too much in my enjoyment during that time.

So When can we expect another instance of such great shows? After all, 2023 and 2024 have already delivered some fantastic moments – the second season of “The Wheel of Time” was well-received, “The Legend of Vox Machina” made a comeback, and while “House of the Dragon” Season 2 may not have met fans’ expectations overall, it did have standout episodes like the gripping fourth one. “Agatha All Along” has exceeded many people’s expectations, and I myself am quite excited about “Dune: Prophecy,” which is set to premiere next week.

But fans can hold out hope, as the real rival to 2022 might be 2025! On Disney+, Star Wars: Andor will be receiving its second and final season, Apple TV+ will air the second season of Severance, and Marvel will air the highly antitipated Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+. The Westeros-verse will get its third installment with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which George R.R Martin has been out hyping. Amazon is prepping a series called Bladerunner: 2099, FX will have Alien: Earth, and the well-regarded show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will air its third season. It is widely assumed that Amazon will release The Wheel of Time season 3 as well, which would give it an opportunity to shine as a beacon of fantasy in 2025’s sci-fi heavy roster.

2022 was arguably an exceptional year for genre TV, potentially even the best, and I’m optimistic that 2025 could challenge its supremacy.

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2024-11-09 18:41