In the past year, many great shows have been released. With the growing amount of streaming services and outlets where TV shows can be aired, many amazing ones can be overlooked. Here are some shows that came out this past summer and school year viewers should definitely check out, in no particular order.

“Severance”

“Severance” is a gripping sci-fi mystery about humans who live two lives, one at their work and one outside of their work. Memories of what you do at work are separate from your non-work life. Outside of work, you have no idea what you do when you go to work every day. The Apple TV series shows off actor Ben Stiller’s ability to direct, with him directing many of the episodes. The cinematography and acting match the excellent quality of the writing. There are loads of twists and turns throughout the overall mystery that keep viewers invested. The finale will leave you on the edge of your seat, and the theme song will get stuck in your head. I would argue “Severance” was one of the best shows that aired this past year.

“The Boys”

“The Boys” season three premiered in June 2022. The show’s universe explores what would happen if superheroes were corrupt and abused their powers. The premise sounds simple but there are still many fascinating topics “The Boys” dives into. The show mocks real-life moments and politics through their hilarious parodies of the 2017 Kendall Jenner Pepsi Ad, the celebrity John Lennon “Imagine” video and others. Antony Starr plays Homelander, an evil Superman-type character. Starr can deliver a hilarious performance in one moment then a sinister one in another. He is very versatile and plays a great character. Season three is even more bloody, raunchy and action-packed than the two previous seasons, and that is why it makes the list as one of the best shows of the year.

“The White Lotus”

“The White Lotus” is a cynical show from HBO. Season two finds the ensemble cast in Sicily, contrasted to season one’s location in Hawaii. The show has themes of the class divide and power. It’s more of a dark comedy-drama, written and directed by Mike White. The writing gets you hooked within the first episode which is similar to season one, with the first scene starting off with learning about a death that has occurred at the resort. You are then forced to watch events that happened a week earlier that lead up to the mysterious death. The show makes you speculate if greed, infidelity or an accident was the reason bodies started showing up. Jennifer Coolidge returns as her same character from season one and is still hilarious. Another standout is Aubrey Plaza, who levels up from her usual deadpan style of acting. Like “Severance,” “The White Lotus” also has a killer theme song that will be hard to skip each episode.  

“The Last of Us”

HBO adapted “The Last of Us” from a video game and turned it into a nine-episode season. The show stays faithful to the original game while also having a few changes. As the season progressed, it gained more fans following the weekly releases. Although the series is sold as a zombie horror show, it is more of a drama about relationships between humans in the apocalyptic world. This doesn’t mean there aren’t zombies — they are still a threat to the characters. The acting, writing and direction are all superb which was assisted by one of the directors from the original game, Neil Druckmann. The series proves that a successful game can be adapted well; it just needs to be handled with care while considering the fans of the original source material.

“BEEF”

“BEEF” is the most recent of the shows that came out this year. The show demonstrates how far bottled-up rage will make people go. Madness spirals after the two lead characters get into a road rage incident. Taking turns to get back at each other starts to consume their actions and ends up costing them. The well-written story and conflict make “BEEF” easily bingeable. Netflix and A24 have created television unlike anything else that is out right now.