2022 "Streaming Watch" Roundup: HBO Max Edition

HBO Max had some clutch programming this year. Find out which shows are worth your gander.

Before we take a look at the notable HBO Max shows that came your way this year, let’s consider that the standalone streamer started the year with what I consider to be one of the top 5 shows of the year of any streamer (Apple TV+, Netflix, and Hulu included). And that is, this show (warning - Spoilers in the link here):

Station Eleven, that post-Apocalyptic series detailing how humans survive a pandemic (adapted from the novel by Emily St. John Mandel) brought our worst fears to light in its portrayal of what felt to me a more honest representation of what the world would be like if people were dying from a mass virus and humanity were stripped of modern day conveniences like electricity and internet, left with scarce resources and forced to live very simple, nomadic “hunter-gatherer” like existences. Emerging from what felt like the worst of the pandemic in early 2022 , this show came at an opportune time, reminding us of what we narrowly averted, the fragility of life, and serving as a token for what could have happened if... It’s a beautiful story and one I that I think deserved more accolades but got a pretty good rap from critics and picked up sizable award season nominations, even if the wins weren’t there.

For this, my nod for Best Overall Show on HBO Max goes to Station Eleven.

Once you watch it, read this review of the show and its finale.

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White Lotus, that award-winning unassuming hit of 2021, takes us to Sicily in its second season with a whole new cast of Upstairs, Downstairs playing out in current times illustrating the daily tensions of the exploitative rich people occupying the fancy resort in an exotic locale and the hired help that service them. Death is a core component, once again, as the first episode leaves us knowing that someone(s) has died and that this death has likely happened in the preceding 7 days since our cast first arrived at the resort. From there, the series does its best to rewind and unpack the events that led to this outcome. As always, director and creator, Mike White gives us no real redeemable characters to root for (especially the men, this season), and a few memorable characters but mostly more questions and mysteries with unresolved threads. But this is what White does best. He begs us to ask ourselves the tough questions and cringe at behaviors unbecoming but honest and telling.

For this, my nod for Most Binge-Worthy Salacious Drop on HBO Max goes to White Lotus.

Once you watch it, read this review of the show and its finale.

If you haven’t yet seen Season 1, watch it first because there is a strong connection between seasons, both in the narrative arc and also key characters who carry over to the new season from the first season.

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Somebody Somewhere is the type of quiet show that you can’t even fathom how good it is until it hits you at some point in each episode and when it hits you - that brilliance - you don’t quite know what to do with it because to boot, only a few people (with superb taste, I might add) are watching it.

The show takes place in Manhattan, Kansas, which I happen to know randomly, because someone I was friends with in my 20s and worked my first real job with, was from there and we always joked with him that he was really from Manhattan, NY and was just toying with us all. Well, turns out Manhattan, Kansas exists and it’s a pretty big place, not to mention home to Kansas State University.

All of this aside, the dramedy revolves around Sam, a middle-aged woman, who returns home to care for her sick sister and ends up stuck in her hometown a year later in a dead end job, with no friends (or so she thinks), and trying desperately to reconnect with her family and salvage any shred of authenticity to get herself out of her rut. Along the way, she makes new friends like her high school acquaintance Joel, sheds her self-doubt, and comes to terms with what “failure” means through her own journey of self discovery. The show is funny, touching, heartfelt, and showcases the vocal chops of its main star, comedian Bridget Everett, who has an amazing voice

For this, my nod for Most Heartfelt, Witty and Unexpectedly Beautiful Show on HBO Max goes to Somebody Somewhere.

Once you watch it, read this review of the show.

Vocal chops on display and friendship goals (with Joel):

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The Sex Lives of College Girls was not a show I embraced from the get-go. Season 1 was hard for me to get into. It centers on four 18-year-olds navigating their way through freshman year at a small liberal arts college in Vermont. All four of the main characters (our college girls) felt like caricatures - “the poor kid from the small town,” “the beauty queen with a lot of money,” “the overly confident, over compensating comedian,” “the insecure athlete with a powerful parent” - and while a lot of this show’s magic relies on its ability to be over-the-top while also going deep on social justice and human interest topics, stomaching some of the satire felt like too much effort at times. But, alas I got over the hump and then made my way into Season 2. While this season’s pace and relationships’ starts and stops was a lot faster than its first season, I found myself genuinely wanting to see what happened next in the lives of Kimberly, Leighton, Bela, and Whitney. I like the inclusion in showing both straight and gay relationships and that the show can go realistically dark as seen with Bela’s storyline this season where she keeps making one poor decision after another. This season also features, Charlie Hall (son of Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as a love interest of one of the four main characters and he’s a joy to watch. Coincidentally he was also a college basketball player at Northwestern hence his skills on the show on display.

For this, my nod for Most Fun-Filled “Moment of Levity” Escapist Show on HBO Max goes to The Sex Lives of College Girls.

Note: Mindy Kaling (creator) graced my Top 2022 list not once, but twice by way of Never Have I Ever.

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Honorable Mentions:

Pennyworth: Origin story of Batman’s butler, Pennyworth. In this retelling Pennyworth is hot, first off, and ambitious. His quick thinking and smart people skills have him rising in the ranks of British and American intelligence and involved in supporting or thwarting efforts spanning overthrows of political regimes and uprising of jingoist dictatorships. Plus the time and place of alternate universe in 1960s England is so chockfull of iconic 60s style fashion, makeup and hair.

Minx S2 unfortunately ended up on the chopping block alongside some other amazing HBO Max shows (The Nevers too!), in what’s been dubbed, “The Great HBO Max Purge of 2022” and mid way through production of season 2, it’s been shut down. The show is presently looking for a studio to pick it up and its fan club is pulling for it to find one.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on the video below to witness the premise: Feminist, activist writer in the 70s looking for a writing platform for the expressed purpose of to making a difference and enlightening people about the injustices of marginalized and disenfranchised groups. But she can’t get published because no one wants to read about it. Enter a low brow publisher of erotica (Jake Johnson). He sees her potential and voila you have the birth of a pro-female male nudie magazine.

Note: Currently HBO has pulled S1 from the archives so there’s nowhere to stream it that I can find. If you can, let us know. Definitely worth keeping an eye on!

You can also read more about the show here.

The Flight Attendant: Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) makes for an easy mark this season as her life continues to move like a rollercoaster despite her best intentions to get her life back on track after the dramatic and sobering ending to S1. This season we move from NYC to LA to illustrate Cassie’s west coast renewal - official undercover spy job (check), cute and kind boyfriend (check), and BFF goals intact (Zosia Mamet). It’s a wild ride and well-paced. I had to fast forward through some of the scenes where Cassie is battling her inner demons/the many versions of herself because there’s only so much I could take, but apart from this, it’s good.

Read more about it here.

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Hey Readers: Did I miss any shows on this 2022 list? How are you feeling about the HBO Max shakeups and the loss of the following shows (RIP):

1. Westworld

2. Love Life - This show was the streamer’s launch title show. I enjoyed both its first and second seasons. I don’t know that we needed a third season but bummed about not being able to access it on the platform for rewatches

3. Minx

4. The Nevers

5. Run

6. Mrs. Fletcher

7. Raised by Wolves

8. Made for Love