9 highly anticipated new and returning shows to add to your 2022 watchlist

Andor, The Rings of Power, and a whole lot more

This year has seen an abundance of excellent television, with both new and returning series captivating, surprising, and affecting us. But the year isn’t done yet. We’re looking forward to these nine series, seven new and two returning favorites, that are set to premiere between now and the end of 2022.

This list includes an interesting anthology series from Guillermo del Toro, an animated project by Scott Mescudi (better known as Kid Cudi), adaptations of author Ken Liu’s work, Anne Rice’s work, and Christopher Pike’s work, and new entries in the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars universes.

In order of projected release date, these are the series we’re most excited to see before the end of 2022, as well as where you can watch them.

PANTHEON

Fans of Black Mirror and Love, Death, and Robots will find common ground in Pantheon, AMC’s first animated series. The series is based on a collection of interwoven stories written by The Grace of Kings author and The Three-Body Problem translator Ken Liu, and it follows a girl who comes into touch with an AI that purports to be her deceased father and has been uploaded to the internet. This may sound like a modest, intimate Black Mirror plot, but according to AMC’s series synopsis, the drama pivots into a worldwide conspiracy “that threatens to unleash a new form of world war.”Titmouse, the increasingly omnipresent company behind everything from Big Mouth to The Boys: Diabolical to Star Trek: Lower Decks to Critical Role’s The Legend of Vox Machina, is responsible for the choppy animation on this one. But the intriguing premise and the original material drew us in and raised our expectations. Liu, whose short story “Good Hunting” was animated in season 1 of LD&R, recommends listening to Levar Burton read “Staying Behind,” one of the pieces adapted for the series, for those who want an early sampling. Tamara Robinson

AMC premieres on September 1st.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER

Are you prepared to go back to Middle-earth?

The information of Prime Video’s next series have been few in the run-up to its premiere, but we do know a few things: The show will be set in the Second Age (far before the Peter Jackson films) and will include many locales and characters familiar to fans of the books and movies (including younger versions of Galadriel, Elrond, and Isildur). While not based on any one book, the program seeks to construct the Middle-earth universe from J.R.R. Tolkien’s post-script Appendices. —Mr. Peter Volk

Premieres on Prime Video on September 2nd.

ATLANTA SEASON 4

Atlanta, Donald Glover’s genre-bending “Twin Peaks with rappers” comedy-drama, returns to its titular city for its fourth and final season. Following last season’s hilarious (and horrifying) anthology-structured voyage throughout Europe, all bets are off for what Glover and series director Hiro Murai have in store for viewers, but if there’s one thing people have learned to anticipate from this show, it’s the unexpected. —Egan, Toussaint

The show premieres on FX on September 15th.

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY SEASON 2

Quinta Brunson’s sitcom about a public elementary school in Philadelphia won us over earlier this year, and it’ll return for season 2 this autumn. It’s a program where every single character has a lot of personality, and the jokes are humorous but never nasty. Brunson leads the superb cast as perky instructor Janine, whose wide-eyed optimism occasionally conflicts with her older friends’ more jaded viewpoints. In this show that breathes fresh life into the mockumentary model, instructors face budget cuts, naughty pupils, and their own personal lives. Radulovic, Petrana

On September 21st

ANDOR

Yes, the next Star Wars series is a prequel to a prequel — an origin story for Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), one of Rogue One’s fatal rebels. Which would ordinarily dampen our enthusiasm significantly: We’re sick of Star Wars pushing its narrative backward instead of forward, and reusing characters long after their stories have concluded. But our sample episodes of Andor have piqued our interest in seeing more of this narrative. It’s a totally different take at the Star Wars world, directed and written by Tony Gilroy (who also co-wrote Rogue One), and it’s as much a revolutionary drama as The Mandalorian’s early going was a classic Western.The 12-episode run of Andor provides Gilroy with an unusually big canvas to paint his narrative on, and the tone is something fresh for Star Wars, despite the familiar backdrop and relationships. Andor is thrilling, invigorating material for folks who adore the Star Wars setting but are continually pressing for it to tell different sorts of tales. —TR

Disney Plus premieres on September 21.

ENTERGALACTIC

I just believe that more American animation aimed at adults should (1) look as beautiful and (2) present powerful tales rather than cheap gags. America, it’s time to catch up with the rest of the world! Entergalactic appears to be a step in that direction, with stunning animation and a tale about a young musician attempting to follow his aspirations while maybe falling in love along the way. —PR

Netflix releases it on September 30th.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

This adaptation of Anne Rice’s classic books is directed by Rolin Jones of Perry Mason and stars Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones) and Eric Bogosian (Uncut Gems). It seems scary enough for the original material, plus the captivating personality of those two protagonists is enough to attract my attention. —PV

AMC premieres on October 2nd.

THE MIDNIGHT CLUB

Mike Flanagan’s Netflix deal has worked out well for both parties — both the Haunting Hill series and Midnight Mass have been well received (the latter is one of our favorite horror shows you can watch at home), and his most recent horror show is an adaptation of Christopher Pike’s young adult novel. A group of kids with terminal diseases gather late at night to share eerie stories in The Midnight Club. They agree that when one of them dies, that person will try to contact with the others from the hereafter. Strange things begin to happen when one of the children dies.Regular Flanagan collaborators Zach Gilford, Samantha Sloyan, and Igby Rigney join the cast, as does horror icon Heather Langenkamp. —PV

Netflix releases it on October 7th.

GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

Guillermo del Toro is not only directing this anthology series; he is also collaborating with a lot of terrific directors (including Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke) to make it a reality. If you enjoy supernatural horror and discovering beauty in darkness, this anthology is for you. Some of the episodes are based on previously published short tales. Others are inspired by del Toro’s own thoughts. With the impending Pinocchio adaptation, it’s truly a del Toro year. —PR

Netflix releases it on October 25th.