It’s no secret that 2021 was an incredible year for fantasy and science fiction television. The Wheel of Time, The Witcher, The Expanse, Arcane, Squid Game, and any number of other excellent shows dominated the conversation and kept us entertained for our second long year of extended indoor activity. And let’s not forget all those Disney+ Marvel shows we got as well.
But if 2021 was a good year for genre TV, 2022 is looking even better. Whether you long for thought-provoking voyages into deep space or distant lands filled with dragons and elves, this year we’ll be getting a ton of new shows to scratch that itch.
Including (drum roll)…House of the Dragon, HBO’s first Game of Thrones spinoff! Amazon’s highly anticipated and astronomically expensive Lord of the Rings prequel is set to air as well. So in addition to some groundbreaking new shows, we’ll also get some of the highest profile fantasy releases since Jon Snow shanked Daenerys and Drogon flew away with what remained of our hearts.
Since there’s a lot of new stuff to sift through, we’ve compiled as much of it as we could find into this one handy guide for your viewing convenience. We’ll be updating it throughout the year, adding new release dates and information as they’re announced, so make sure to check back or bookmark it for easy access. It’s dangerous to go alone, so take this!
Here are all the sci-fi and fantasy shows we know for sure are coming in 2022, as well as a few that may yet see their way to our screens. Starting with…
A Discovery of Witches season 3 — Sky One/AMC/Shudder — January 7 (AIRING NOW)
A Discovery of Witches may not be the biggest fantasy show out there, but its fans are incredibly passionate. An adaptation of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, the show begins with mild-mannered historian Diana Bishop discovering a bewitched manuscript with all kinds of information about magical beings. As she uncovers its secrets with the help of a biology professor named Matthew Clairmont (who also happens to be a vampire), she must confront her own magical past, as she’s descended from a line of witches.
In this world, witches and vampires do not get along, which obviously means that Diana and Matthew start a love affair for the ages, which flies in the face of ancient taboos. The show gets pretty wild from there on out; most of the second season is spent time-traveling, and the vampire family tree is so complicated you could teach a university course on it.
The third season of A Discovery of Witches will be its last. Like a lot of other shows, it was affected by the pandemic, so there won’t be as many episodes as initially planned. It’s airing now on Sky One, AMC and Shudder. — Dan