2022/12/27

I was thinking it perhaps would be interesting to review the last year we are leaving behind us, 2022! I remember a time, about 7-8 years ago that SCI-FI show set in space wasn’t regular anymore since the demise of Stargate Universe in 2011 after its 2^nd season. In 2022 however, it is hard to imagine this because since 2015, SCI-FI set in space hasn’t left our screens and I am very thankful for that. Not in a small way I think because of how much network and streaming services there currently are. So much content is offered nowadays, it would be strange that none of it would be SCI-FI set in space. Of course I will also name the SCI-FI shows which aren’t set in SPACE!

January:

Almost a year ago now, last January, a couple of SCI-FI shows where already in the middle of a season. Legends of Tomorrow was in its 7^th and final season, of course at that time the cancellation wasn’t known yet, at least not to the audience. Still 7 seasons is quite impressive in this day and age for a SCI-FI show. The Flash was also in the middle of its 8^th season which finished in June of this year and we know now there will be a final 9^th season next year. Star Trek: Discovery was also in middle of its 4^th season, which finished in March 2022. I myself stopped watching Discovery after its 3^rd season, not sure if I will ever pick it up again to honest. Discovery will in return in 2023 with season 5. The Expanse was also running its sixth and final season in December 2021 and January 2022. The series finale was on January 14, 2022. Hopefully we will see it continuing somehow on a streaming service! The CW reboot of 4400 was not a success, it got cancelled early on this year. In December 2021 Disney+ started releasing The Book of Boba Fett. I have tried a couple of episodes but at that time it wasn’t my cup of tea, still I am determined to come back to it again. Not sure if a season two has already planned or if this was a limited series. Doctor Who also was in the middle of season 13, although the “episodes” in 2022 where specials. Next year Doctor Who will turn 60! What an accomplishment, still I hope the creators will take a pause of a few years. In the time when Matt Smith was the doctor you already saw storyline fatigue. I stopped watching in the middle of season 8 I believe, not that I didn’t like Capaldi as the doctor but because the mediocre stories. Superman and Lois returned in January 2022 with season 3 and on January 26, Resident Alien returned with the first part of season two. First part ended on March 16^th, 2022. Second part started on August 10^th and season two finished on September 28. Resident Alien is currently one of my favorite shows. Shame that there are signs of a near future cancellation.

February:

From is more of a horror show but it definitely has some SCI-FI elements in it. Like how they get there in that town, who created this, why can’t they go out of this town. I only saw it back in September for the first time, It was really engaging, when I was watching this I wanted to watch the next episode and the next and the next! Shame it only has 10 episodes. Lead character Boyd Stevens is played by Harold Perrineau, whom most of you know from Lost or The Rookie. It has been renewed, will be back sometime early in 2023 I expect. Very much looking forward to it. Raised By Wolves’ second season started in February but got cancelled unfortunately. I haven’t seen anything of it myself yet but it was on my list to check out.

March:

In March we finally got the 2^nd season of Star Trek: Picard after a hiatus of one year. Some familiar faces, like Q and the Borg queen. I thought it was a slightly better season than season one, really looking forward to the final season in 2023 when most of the cast of The Nex Gen will return. Halo also started in March of this year, still have to watch it myself, it’s on my list to watch. Halo has also been renewed for a second season.

April:

The Man Who Fell to Earth is of course a remake, with Chiwetel Ejiofor as the alien who comes down to Earth. I really liked this story, well-acted, good story-arc. I hoped this would be renewed but unfortunately it got cancelled. The first episode was available on April 24^th. Made For Love’s second season started in April 28, it was dramedy with SCI-FI elements, I thought it was fun, entertaining but probably not enough people watched it because it has also been cancelled.

May:

May was a special month because in that month there was the long awaited release of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! I believe it was announced somewhere early 2020 but we had to wait two full years! Season one contained 10 episodes and I have to say I really loved it! Captain Pike has a natural presence whom I, in the past, also compared to Commander Sinclair of Babylon 5. The first season was received very positively, by critics and fans. It has been renewed for a second season so in 2023 we can expect the next season. Besides a new Star Trek series, at the end of May, Disney released another Star Wars limited series called Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Ewan McGregor playing Obi-Wan. It was a six episode series, I enjoyed it, it was a fairly simple story but it was entertaining and had a few interesting recurring characters like Tala Durith, played by Indira Varma and Jimmy Smits reprised his role as Senator Bail Organa. The Time Traveler’s Wife was released on May 15^th. . It’s first season only consists of 6 episodes, unfortunately it got cancelled after finishing season one. On May 20^th on Amazon the TV show Night Sky became available. Two seasoned actors, Sissy Spacek & J.K. Simmons were the main cast so you know from the start the acting will be perfect. The show started off slow but interesting and towards the end of the first season it actually got really exciting! Unfortunately, Amazon cancelled it shortly after the show ended.

June:

June is also a month we had lots of new shows or returning shows. On June 2^nd we finally got the 3^rd season of The Orville! Season two aired in 2019 so it was a really long wait, more than 3 years after the end of season two! In my opinion the 3^rd season was a real treat, I enjoyed it very much and if the season finale is also the series finale, I think I would be satisfied with that. But of course I much rather see a 4^th season coming in the near future but I am not that optimistic about that to be honest. Also on June 2^nd there was this British limited series called The Midwich Cuckoos, from a 1957 science fiction novel by English author John Wyndham. It only consists of 7 episodes but it did grab me from the first episode. It did remind me a bit about the 3^rd Torchwood series “Children of Earth”. The Boys, had its 3^rd season starting on June 3^rd, it has already been renewed for season 4 on Amazon Prime. I have watched the 1^st two seasons myself, it is a strange but engaging show, be sure not to miss it. For All Mankind started its 3^rd season on June 10, in season 3 we are in the 90’s and are ready to go to Mars. Another strong season in my opinion, the show has already been renewed early on for a 4^th season most likely returning mid 2023. In the UK the first two seasons have been announced to be released on Blu-ray & DVD. Unfortunately the release has been pushed back for a 4^th time now, so I do get a bit apprehensive but the release date of these 2 seasons on physical media is now March 27^th, 2023. Another British show, The Lazerus Project, a time-travel showed started on June 16^th, it is quite interesting and a bit of a different take on the whole time-travel concept. It also has been renewed for a 2^nd season. The Sarah Jane Adventures fans will recognize Anjli Mohindra, who plays Rani Chandra on the Sarah Jane Adventures. Westworld’s 4^th season arrived late June but few months later it was announced that this was also the last season. The Final season of Roswell: New Mexico also aired in June till September. Motherland: Fort Salem had its final season starting in June. Final episode was August 23^rd. This one I haven’t seen yet, not sure if that will ever happen. Can anyone recommend this?

July:

AMC’s Moonhaven first became available on July 7^th of this year. Its first seasons consists of only six episodes. On IMDb it really gets crushed but I started watching it and I actually liked it. It was not superb or something but it was really interesting and engaging. Yeah, sure, it is different, but different can be good! I only yesterday learned that the show was renewed for a season two while this was announced on July 28^th! Update about Moonhaven, not more than 2 days after my discovery that Moonhaven had been renewed, AMC+ reversed the renewal! So it is now effectively cancelled! Resident Evil was released on July 14^th on Netflix but within a few weeks Netflix cancelled the show! I haven’t yet seen it myself but is it that awful? And at the end of the Month Paper Girls was released, it got cancelled rather quickly also. Still deciding if to check it out.

August:

Sandman is the first new show this month, on Netflix, a huge success, still recently it was decided that instead of a new season, only a couple of episodes were ordered extra by Netflix. Apparently it is very expensive to create this show. She-Hulk :Attorney of Law, was released on Disney+ on August 18^th. I have to say, watched a number of episodes, it is okay, but not much more. Also I feel that you definitely see something is off with the movements of the She-Hulk character, you see by the way she moves it is CGI. Stargirl, another CW production, returned on August 28^th on the TV with its 3^rd season. Although it was announced that Stargirl won’t return for  4^th season.

September:

War of the Worlds, a French-British production, came back in September with its 3^rd season. Every season consists of 8 episodes, I have yet to see season 3 but I am almost done with the 2^nd season. I really liked the 1^st season, thought the 2^nd season was less engaging, was disappointed by the aliens to be honest, that they basically are humans from the future. The 3^rd season looks promising, at least in part it is set in space. The Handmaid’s Tale was back in September with its 5^th season and although I really loved the first 3 seasons, I find it hard to watch it now, don’t know what exactly is my problem but I rather watch something else at the moment. Will return to it when I am ready for it. Quantum Leap, not a reboot but more or less a follow-up to the original show with Scott Bakula. I watched the pilot, wasn’t impressed, watched the 2^nd episode, thought it was better so I probably try a few more episodes. One the positive surprises this year is definitely Star Wars: Andor! The prequel series to the movie Rogue One. When it started, it did not expect it to be this engaging, so exciting, for sure my favorite new show this year! Season two will be its last. La Brea is the last one in September, it came with a 2^nd season, to be honest I was surprised it got renewed last year. I only watched a few episodes last year of the first season, could not remember much of it, but I started to watched season one again from the start and discovered I kinda liked it. It is not great, it has many flaws but I kept watching, just started with season two.

October:

Avenue 5! It took more than two years after season one was done. Finally in October it came back with its second season and sure, either you love it, or you hate it…..I love it. Be aware, there are rumors that the second will be its last, so don’t get used to it too much! The Peripheral is a new show from the streaming service Amazon Prime. It really does look interesting, seen the first episode myself but have yet to see the other episodes. The season finale was December 2^nd

November:

After a long hiatus, Manifest finally returned with its 4^th and final season. Netflix who purchased the rights to the show after NBC cancelled it in June 2021. Netflix will release the 4^th season in two parts, first part has started this November.

December:

Even in the last month of the year we got a new TV show called Kindred! It is an 8 episode miniseries about a young woman who finds herself mysteriously being pulled back and forth to the 19^th Century.

A Quick Look into early 2023:

Well in January we are treated with a brand new show called The Last of Us, with Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as one of the main cast. Inspired by the comic, set in a dystopian future. Superman and Lois return in January with its 3^rd season. The 3^rd season of Star Trek: Picard will return in February! This promises to be a special season with the original cast (most of them) reunited. Also back in February, The Flash, it will return with its final season on February 8^th. And just a few days ago it was announced that The Mandalorian was delayed from February 2023 to March 2023. So looking forward to the 3^rd season. Might probably watch seasons 1 & 2 before season 3 starts. Other shows we, most likely, can expect within the first four months of 2023: Star Trek: Discovery; Resident Alien; From. It is an estimation, don’t hold me to it! 😊There most likely will a more shows released in the first 4 months which I have yet to discover!

Final Word

Hope you liked this blog, looking back at the year 2022. Just so that you know what was on TV or on a streaming service last year. When can you approximately expect a new season of a show you’ve watched in 2022. It shows an extensive overview of what we were offered in 2022, which is a lot in my humble opinion, perhaps too much to keep up with. If you have a remark of a question, please leave a comment behind.