Top 10 new sci-fi and fantasy shows of 2022: House of the Dragon and more
By Anwesha Nag
8. The Sandman
It took nearly 30 years for someone to finally adapt The Sandman to the screen, but the wait was worth it. Neil Gaiman’s magnum opus was hailed by fans of the comic as a faithful retelling, and delighted those who came with zero expectations and simply wanted to enjoy a fantasy drama with a brooding, goth protagonist to root for.
The story kicks off in 1916, when Tom Sturridge’s Lord Morpheus, aka Dream, aka the Sandman, gets captured by Charles Dance’s sinister magus. Things turn south, as is bound to happen if you accidentally trap one of the Endless, eternal beings who represent different aspects of the human condition.
The fantastical elements of the show are a lot of fun — in the space of a few episodes, we go to Hell, confront of a serial killer with the power to manipulate reality, and accompany Death on her daily rounds — but the story is anchored by the more human moments that reveal the flaws and vulnerabilities of the characters.
7. 1899
The most mind-boggling horror-mystery of 2022, 1899 follows the passengers on a ship headed towards America from Europe. Every passenger on board seems to be hiding a secret or running away from something. The captain decides to deviate from the route to save a long-lost ship called the Prometheus, which is where things take a dark, weird turn.
Every moment you watch this show, you get the vibe that something is off about the whole thing, in case the ominous black pyramids and portals that go into the ship’s hull were not hints enough.
The somewhat predictable ending to season 1 leaves things on a cliffhanger. The season 2 trailer has already been released and watched nearly 10 million times. Coming from the creators of the blockbuster Netflix production Dark, 1899 received mixed reviews, with some dinging it for pacing problems, but it was still eerily watchable.
6. The Peripheral
The Peripheral comes from the minds of Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the same people behind HBO’s Westworld. It shares that show’s fondness for heady sci-fi concepts that make your head hurt.
The Peripheral is set in 2032. Soon enough, a VR machine helps characters jump even further into the future, to a dystopian London in 2099. And things just get more twisty from there.
Chloe Grace Moretz impresses as Flynne Fisher, through whose eyes we witness the imminent social apocalypse. With both the 2032 and 2099 timelines at risk, the season 1 finale left a lot of questions unanswered. While a second season has not been officially announced, Amazon exec Vernon Sanders recently revealed to Collider that they are “hard at work on scripts for season 2.”