Staff Picks: TV shows we’re looking forward to in 2022

There’s no better way to cope with the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic than to hunker down in your room for three days and watch a show on one of the many streaming platforms. And though the world might be falling apart, it hasn’t taken down Hollywood yet — and they’ve got plenty of new content for you. These are our most anticipated TV shows coming up in 2022 — here’s to hoping we get to watch them.

Stranger Things Season 4 (Netflix) // Mera D’Aquila, Staff Writer

When it comes to my insatiable wanderlust for the past and love of all things nostalgic, “Stranger Things” never fails to deliver — a commendable feat when you consider that the show is also responsible for developing suspenseful, horrifying plotlines. It’s a delightfully thrilling mesh of the artistic ideas of Spielberg and Stephen King, and it greatly appeals to the deep love we all seem to have for the 1980s.

After the production and release date faced pandemic-related delays, season four was finally rumored to arrive on Netflix this summer. And it goes without saying that the events that await us in the next nine episodes will be, well, “stranger” than anything we’ve witnessed before. Don’t let the sunny, happy-go-lucky Californian setting fool you — there’s something indelibly dark lurking in the Golden State.

Besides another killer soundtrack infused with my favorite new wave hits, I hope that season four of “Stranger Things” will give us some long-awaited answers to our most burning questions — and wildest conspiracy theories.

Euphoria Season 2 (HBO Max) // Diana Velasquez, Culture Editor 

The Emmy ratings seem to drop lower and lower every year. But there was no greater joy for me in 2020 than to see Zendaya win Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Rue Bennet on HBO’s “Euphoria”. It was very well deserved and, now that season two is coming, I’m hoping for more awards for everyone involved.

“Euphoria” is based on an Israeli show of the same name, focusing on the lives of high schoolers as they navigate love, friendship, drugs and some very 21st century-specific traumas that teenagers experience. On paper, the show might not seem that different from any other show about high schoolers. But “Euphoria” is raw and more open with its storylines than I’ve ever seen.

Its cinematography is stunning, relying on over-the-top makeup, and bright or gloomy lighting to draw emphasis to the character’s emotional journey. A trailer for the new season dropped a couple of weeks ago, and just from that two-minute sneak peek, I’m ready to head into a downward spiral again with Rue and the rest of the cast.

The Last of Us (HBO Max) // Sinéad McDevitt, Contributing Editor

Video game adaptations have a reputation for not being very good, but shows like “Castlevania” and “Arcane” succeeded in bringing video game settings to life — so I’m cautiously optimistic about HBO’s adaptation of “The Last of Us.”

“The Last of Us” is an action-adventure game that came out in 2013, which features a man trying to protect a young girl in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. If that sounds a little generic, that’s because it’s one of the games best known for kicking off the trend of games about grown men protecting younger women.

Gamer trivia aside, another reason to be interested in this show is Pedro Pascal as Joel, our aforementioned father figure. It’s basically going to be more of the Mandalorian but on a post-apocalyptic Earth and we get to see more of Pascal’s face. I think that’s a win for everyone.

All of Us Are Dead (Netflix) // Saraya Velez, Staff Writer

I’ve never been one for zombie shows, movies or videos, but in recent years with several zombie genre releases, I’ve been swayed. The popular zombie-horror webtoon “Now at Our School,” originally released in 2009, is currently getting a revamp called “All of Us Are Dead” that is making its way to Netflix on Jan. 28.

“All of Us Are Dead” takes place primarily in a high school that is the epicenter of a zombie apocalypse. A group of high school students have to band together and find a way to escape their school and survive. It’s similar to the cinematic masterpieces of the Korean zombie genre, such as “Kingdom,” “Train to Busan” and “#Alive,” that concentrate on that “survival of the fittest” concept.

The eight-episode series will feature fresh faces in the Korean film industry, which I’m excited about. It’s not to say that I don’t love the veterans Lee Min-ho, Gong Yoo and Bae Suzy, but sometimes it’s great to see newcomers. With new faces and concepts in store, I’m anticipating a good start to the new year with “All of Us Are Dead.”