BARRY S3 | Binge now, first on Showmax
Rotten Tomatoes’ Best Series of 2022 (So Far), Barry S3 finds our favourite hitman desperate to leave his violent past behind in favour of his newfound passion for acting. But getting out of contract killing is messy. While Barry has eliminated many of the external factors that pushed him towards violence, he soon discovers they weren’t the only forces at play …
S3 of the hitman comedy has a 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Daily Beast calling it, “the best show on TV”; Variety hailing it as “a masterpiece … funnier and sharper than ever… TV’s most fascinating protagonist”; and Entertainment Weekly writing, “I’ve never seen violence like the violence on Barry. HBO’s hitman comedy is a legitimate thrillfest, and the new season has three of the best action scenes I’ve ever seen.”
The first two seasons won six Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for co-creator Bill Hader and Outstanding Supporting Actor for Henry Winkler (Arrested Development’s Barry Zuckerkorn). S3 sees Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg and Anthony Carrigan (as fan favourite NoHo Hank) all return in their Emmy-nominated roles.
HBO recently renewed Barry for a fourth season, with Hader set to direct the full season.
THE SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS S1 | Binge now, first on Showmax
Nominated for Outstanding New Series at the 2022 GLAAD Awards, The Sex Lives of College Girls follows four first-year roommates at the fictional Essex College in Vermont, taking on the highs and lows of the best years of their lives.
Created by six-time Emmy nominee Mindy Kaling (Never Have I Ever, The Office) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer Justin Noble, HBO Max’s 18SNL sex comedy has a 97% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. AV Club says, “The way the show tackles how teens cope with sudden freedom is both funny and truthful,” while Rolling Stone describes the show as “Fifty Shades of Freshman.”
Also nominated for the 2022 MTV TV Awards Here for the Hookup prize, The Sex Lives of College Girls has already been renewed for a second season by HBO Max. Look out for Pauline Chalamet (Timothée Chalamet’s sister, from The King of Staten Island) as one of the four leads.
WESTWORLD S4 | Stream episode 1 now, with new episodes every Monday, first on Showmax
One of Rotten Tomatoes’ most anticipated series of 2022, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the fate of sentient life on Earth.
The 18VSNL-rated, eight-episode fourth season brings back Thandiwe Newton in her Emmy-winning role as Maeve, as well as Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris in their Emmy-nominated performances as Bernard and The Man In Black respectively. Three-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul, Emmy nominees Evan Rachel Wood and Tessa Thompson, and Screen Actors Guild nominees Luke Hemsworth and Angela Sarafyan are also returning, with Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) joining the cast this season as a recurring guest star.
Inspired by the film written by Michael Crichton, Westworld has won seven Emmys to date, with a further 45 nominations, and has twice been named Best Science Fiction Series by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. It has an 80% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.6/10 rating on IMDb.
As Mashable puts it, “It’s hard to talk about Westworld‘s fourth season without fear of giving too much away, so I’ll just say this: It’s awesome… As Westworld continues to expand outside its original park, the callbacks are treats for viewers who remember just where we started. However, they’re also proof of just how far the show has come from its original concept, making this season a strong synthesis of the old and the new of Westworld. With its epic scope and some of the show’s most devastating storytelling so far, Season 4 of Westworld is not one you want to miss.”
TIME | Binge now
Time was named Best Miniseries at the 2022 BAFTAs, where Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings) won Lead Actor and Stephen Graham was up for Supporting Actor.
Eric is a prison officer who tries to protect those in his charge, including a newly imprisoned inmate consumed by guilt for his crime. When one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice between his principles and his love for his family.
Time has an 8.2/10 rating on IMDb and a rare 100% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Strong writing and a magnificent performance from Sean Bean make for an incredible, thought-provoking watch.”
RESIDENT ALIEN S2 | Binge now
Nominated for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series at the 2022 Critics Choice Super Awards, S1 of Resident Alien starred Alan Tudyk (Hoban “Wash” Washburne in Firefly and Serenity) as an alien trying to pass himself off as a small-town human doctor, solve a murder, and decide whether to go through with his secret mission to wipe out humanity. Tudyk was nominated for Best Actor at the 2022 Critics Choice Super Awards for the role.
Created by five-time Emmy nominee Chris Sheridan (Family Guy), the Syfy comedy has a 94% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, who call it “one of the treats of last year.” Resident Alien also has an 8.1 rating on IMDb, who call it “one of the funniest shows – about destroying the entire human race.”
Look out for guest appearances from three-time Emmy winner Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and People’s Choice winner Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) in Season 2.
THE INVESTIGATION | Binge now
Named Best Foreign TV Film/Miniseries at the Shanghai International TV Festival, The Investigation is a Scandi-noir that recreates the real-life investigation into the 2017 murder of young Swedish journalist Kim Wall, which made headlines around the world as “the submarine case”.
Showrunner Tobias Lindholm wrote the Oscar-winning Another Round, as well as Oscar nominees The Hunt and A War, which he also directed. He also wrote the BAFTA-winning political drama series Borgen.
Multi-award-winning Danish actor Søren Malling (Borgen) leads the cast as Jens Møller, the head of Homicide for the Copenhagen Police, alongside Berlin winner Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones’ Euron Greyjoy) and Cannes winner Pernilla August (Star Wars).
The Investigation has an 84% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Independent praising its “radical take on the true crime genre” that “elevates true crime into something far more engaging”.
RAGDOLL | Binge now
Detectives try to untangle the case of the Ragdoll Killer, who has murdered six people and sewn their bodies into the shape of one grotesque body nicknamed the Ragdoll.
Based on Daniel Cole’s bestselling debut novel, Ragdoll stars People’s and Teen Choice winner Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Killing Eve) and Thalissa Teixeira (Trigonometry, F9: The Fast Saga).
Ragdoll has a 92% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Guardian saying this “wicked Killing Eve-style thriller will make you wriggle with joy.”
THE RISING | Binge now
When Neve Kelly (Danish actress Clara Rugaard) discovers she’s dead, she’s scared and confused … and furious. Determined to track down her killer, she must learn to navigate this new existence in order to find justice from beyond the grave.
The Rising is based on the award-winning 2017 Belgian series Hotel Beau Séjour. Den of Geek calls the show, “a supernatural crime mystery exploding the ‘perfect victim’ myth,” adding, “By giving its victim a voice and not falling into the trap of pious moralising, The Rising rights several wrongs.”
RECENT ACCOLADES FOR SHOWMAX SERIES
Rotten Tomatoes has just released their list of The Best TV and Streaming Series of 2022 (So Far). Not only is Barry S3 in the coveted #1 spot, Somebody Somewhere is at #11 with a 100% critics’ rating.
Other Showmax series that cracked the list include:
- Hacks S2 (#3, date TBC)
- Irma Vep (#5, date TBC)
- The Responder (#12, binge from 1 August 2022)
- The Tourist (#22, date TBC)
- Minx (#23, date TBC)
- This Is Going To Hurt (#30, binge from 1 August 2022)
- Gentleman Jack S2 (#33, date TBC)
- Peacemaker (#34, binge now)
- The Girl From Plainville (#35, binge now)
- The Staircase (#36, binge from 1 September 2022)
- Julia (#37, date TBC)
- We Own This City (#40, binge from 1 September 2022)
- Women of the Movement (#44, binge now)
- The Flight Attendant (#55, date TBC)
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (#61, binge now)
- Euphoria S2 (#66, binge now)
- The Baby (#67, binge from 1 August 2022)
- The Gilded Age (#71, binge from 1 August 2022)
If your tastes lean more British than American, The Guardian‘s list of The Best TV of 2022 So Far includes Cheaters, My Brilliant Friend S3, Station Eleven and Yellowjackets, all of which are available to binge now on Showmax, as well as crossover titles with Rotten Tomatoes’ list like Gentleman Jack S2, Hacks S2, Julia, Somebody Somewhere, The Responder and This Is Going To Hurt.
EVERYTHING ON SHOWMAX IN JULY 2022
To see everything on Showmax in July 2022, including S3 of the SAFTA-winning Showmax Original reality series Life With Kelly Khumalo; the two-part reunion for the Twitter-topping, record-breaking The Real Housewives of Lagos; and blockbuster movies like No Time To Die, A Quiet Place Part II, The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, Gunpowder Milkshake, and In The Heights, click here.
