It’s often a little tense when new seasons of established TV shows premiere. Fans hope against hope that this season is as good (or better) than the ones that came before. The shows that succeed escape the label of a “sophomore slump.” The ones that don’t…well, at least Friday Night Lights came back swinging in Season 3.
These are the shows that outdid themselves with their returning seasons by mid-2022:
1. Barry
Credit: Merrick Morton/HBO
Barry has always been a fairly flawless 30-minute comedy, despite the fact that the show is about a guy who is essentially a serial murderer. The uncomfortable gap between laughing at Barry Berkman’s violent antics and knowing he is a legitimately bad person has always been present. But Season 3 turns that gap into a canyon, forcing both the characters and the viewers to see exactly who Barry is now — and who he’s been the whole time. — Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Barry is now streaming on HBO Max.
2. Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul is back for a final season and the stakes have never been higher. Reputations, relationships, and lives are on the line, as mounting tension exposes seldom-seen sides of characters we thought we had all figured out. Self-doubt, fear, and unease swell in some, while others defend and assert themselves in unexpected ways. As loyalty is tested, old faces return, and body bags pile up, you’ll be reacquainted with the thrill of always being one step behind the masterminds of Better Call Saul‘s world.
The first half of Season 6 features stunning performances and stays true to the unique pacing of the series. The return also cements what we’ve always known to be true: Jimmy and Kim make one hell of a team. The show is as carefully calculated as ever, yet there’s an unshakable sense of turmoil in the air. While viewers have ample time to ruminate on what’s to come, in true Better Call Saul fashion, there are more than a few moments of gripping suspense that will send your heart rate skyrocketing. — Nicole Gallucci, Senior Editor
How to watch: Better Call Saul is now streaming on AMC Plus.
3. Hacks
Credit: Karen Ballard/HBO Max
In its second season, Hacks takes the dynamite duo of stand-up legend Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and comedy writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) on the road. Between county fairs, lesbian cruises, and dumpster diving for human remains, the show dissects the relationship between its leads — played to perfection by Smart and Einbinder — with its trademark cutting wit.
While Season 2 gets off to a slower start than its first season, Hacks builds momentum into something compelling, hilarious, and, by the finale, genuinely heart-wrenching. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Hacks is now streaming on HBO Max.
4. Servant
Servant is the TV equivalent of fine dining. Like a long and indulgent high-end meal, it’s built to dazzle us slowly. And in Season 3, it feels like the Apple TV+ spookfest from creator Tony Basgallop and executive producer M. Night Shyamalan is finally digging into the main course.
With long and lingering looks at Sean Turner’s (Toby Kebbell) magnificent kitchen concoctions, the show reminds us, again and again, to consciously live in its every carefully composed moment. For a series that started with the premise of a grieving couple’s uncannily lifelike therapy doll transforming into a flesh-and-blood infant, Servant‘s riveting mystery and Hitchcockian flair make Season 3’s delicious tasting menu of episodes a recurring delight. — Adam Rosenberg, Senior Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: Servant is now streaming on Apple TV+.
5. Bridgerton
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
When Bridgerton Season 2 made it past the series midpoint without any on-screen sex or even kissing, people were ready to riot. “Where is the sex?” they asked, “The first one was hot because it had the sex!” Those people missed the point. Season 1 followed the sexy tropes of a recognizable bodice-ripper, but Season 2 drew inspiration from Bollywood romance.
The forbidden longing between Kate and Anthony is the sexy part of Bridgerton Season 2, which makes every near-miss kiss as charged as any of Daphne and the Duke’s scenes from the first season. Long live tension, and long live the Viscountess Bridgerton! — A.N.*
How to watch: Bridgerton is now streaming on Netflix.
6. Survivor
It’s quite a feat for a 22-year-old series to still be delivering high-quality entertainment on a regular basis. But that’s not enough for Survivor. The reality competition’s 42nd season, which ran from March to May, isn’t just great. Really, it’s one of the best seasons of Survivor overall.
Credit to the cast, a joyously diverse group of super-fans whose seemingly genuine love for one another consistently overshadowed the inescapable reality of deviously cunning gameplay. The plainly evident mutual respect and admiration left more than enough space for the season to organically delve into the difficult topics of race and power structures. Host Jeff Probst likes to call Survivor one of TV’s greatest social experiments, and Season 42 lived that truth in a way that few others have before. — A.R.
How to watch: Survivor is now streaming on Paramount+.
7. Russian Doll
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
What’s worse than getting stuck in an almost-endless cycle of dying and waking up in a weird bathroom? According to Russian Doll Season 2, the answer is “turning into your mother.” Natasha Lyonne and a mustachioed Charlie Barnett returned as Nadia and Alan, who find that New York isn’t quite finished bending the laws of time and space to teach them what they need to learn.
Russian Doll Season 2 compounds the first season’s themes of trauma, place, and second chances. As Nadia and Alan trip through their own personal histories in a timey-wimey series of mishaps that ends with just as much of a gut punch as we’ve come to expect from one of Netflix’s weirdest, deepest shows. — A.N.*
How to watch: Russian Doll is now streaming on Netflix.
*This blurb was previously or partially used on another Mashable list.