So, 2022's been over for a few days already—but is a year really over until you’ve reviewed the best TV, movies, Michelles Yeoh, and more from it? We’d like to think not, but just in case you missed our last month of 2022 wrap-up pieces, here they all are in one convenient place for you to peruse.
It’s been an incredible year for tabletop roleplaying games, from both large publishers and indie outfits. Crowdfunding has firmly established itself in the ecosystem, and both small indie games and massive core rulebooks are making the most of the model.
io9 added “best rewatches” to our year-end coverage during the height of the pandemic—a time when new movies and TV felt mighty scarce. With Hollywood back in full swing, there’s now plenty of new content to consume, but that doesn’t mean we don’t find ourselves sneaking back into the past on occasion.
Novels were our first entry into fantasy and science fiction and remain our favorite way to escape into another world. This past year had an incredible array of wonderful books published, and we’re delighted to share some of our favorites from 2022.
Another year’s end is nearly upon us—we’ve almost made it to the next 12 months of trials and tribulations! But for now, the io9 staff is rejoicing at mostly getting through the last 12 months in one piece, thanks to a few of our favorite new characters of the year. Here’s who we want to thank for getting us through 2022.
There was no shortage of fan-tastical avenues to take into our favorite imagined worlds within themed entertainment, amusement parks, haunts, and immersive activations in 2022. Walt Disney World welcomed two new attractions between Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Meanwhile, various shows like Apple’s Severance and Netflix’s Stranger Things offered up immersive activations. Then of course haunt season was held down by Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights on both coasts. Picking the best was a no-brainer. Here’s what we got!
We’ve got good news for you... and bad news. Literally. We’ve combed through the io9 archives to discover all the news stories in 2022 that either delighted us or really bummed us out—and compiled them so you can remember the good times and what you should still be angry about in 2023.
io9 inhaled a lot of TV this year. We do it for work, we do it for fun, we do it when we really should be sleeping. We’ll be getting into our favorite shows of the year next week, but today we’re celebrating the individual moments that stood out: big twists, shocking reveals, notable brawls, character revelations, and more.
Death comes to us all, whether we’re real, fictional, or a TV series. When real people die it’s very sad, and don’t worry, we’ll be commemorating them soon. Today, we only want to mourn the characters and shows who didn’t manage to make it out of 2022. Many will be missed. We might be glad certain others finally found peace. (Looking at you, Walking Dead.) Either way, please honor those who have fallen in the way that best suits them: reading stuff on the internet.
Of course, beyond the loss of shows and movies cut down in their primes this year, we’re also taking a moment to remember some of the fictional characters whose exits hurt us the most this year, so... tread lightly!
Even bad movies can have good moments—a standout scene, a big reveal, something impactful that sticks with you. In 2022, movies (some bad, but mostly good) were filled with unforgettable moments. We’re talking animals jumping out of trucks, pirate ships flying through the air, John Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastic being murdered... the list goes on and on.
The year 2022 was a strange one for animation—the medium has never felt both as strong and as vulnerable, with dozens of incredible films and TV shows releasing alongside news of cutbacks and dismissals of their creators by a wider industry that just can’t seem to understand animation’s worth. In a year filled with greats, here’s our favourite animated shows and movies of 2022.
We love toys here at io9, and when we’re not writing about them, we’re probably playing with them. It’s been a killer year for cool nerdy collectibles, so here’s just a few of our favorite things we picked up in the proverbial toy aisle this past year.
Thanks in no small part to the epic array of streaming services now available, 2022 was a particularly robust year for genre TV—filled with shows that elevated the viewing experience with drama, humor, and emotional thrills we can’t stop thinking about. Here are io9's top sci-fi, horror, and fantasy series of the year.
When a world of new Star Trek shows was still a glimmer in the mind’s eye of CBS, the thought of a world where there was “all Star Trek, all the time” after years of the franchise’s dormancy on TV seemed unfathomable. In 2022, however, the idea finally felt actually quite fathomed.
It’s hard to argue a better year for Star Trek in the 21st century than 2022—returning favorites, big news, and bigger gambles on new series that paid off with not just some of the best Star Trek in what’s become a highly saturated market, but some of the best TV of the year full stop. Let’s take a look back at the year that was for Star Trek, where it went—and where it’s going.
Why 28? We know that’s what you’re thinking and it’s a valid question. On the surface, 28 movies seems arbitrary. Why not cut down to 25 or add two for 30 to make it cleaner? And the answer is quite simple. When compiling a list of our favorite sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and superhero genre films of 2022, we didn’t want to limit it. This year was so full of great movies, big and small, that we figured it best to highlight all of our favorites, not just some. And when we got to the point on our list where the films were just okay, no longer great, we stopped. And that number was 28.
We’ve loved her for decades, but 2022 brought Michelle Yeoh to new heights with a standout role that garnered her accolades, and at last gave her the undivided attention of an entire industry. In between her past work on Star Trek: Discovery and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and this year’s The Witcher: Blood Origin and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh’s science fiction/fantasy star is shining brighter than ever.
The io9 team is very fortunate to report on big news, bring you exclusive looks, or just spin yarns about our sections of expertise. Here are our favorite staff picks for stories we’re particularly proud of.
This is a melancholy post io9 does every year—but it’s an important one, celebrating the actors, directors, artists, composers, writers, creators, and other icons in the realms of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy we lost this year. Their influence and inspiration lives on.
Roughly speaking, we write about 4,000 or so posts each year at io9. Sometimes it’s breaking news, like Marvel Studios announcing the entirety of its Phase 5 slate. Sometimes it’s things we want to help explain to you, like our many looks at Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Sometimes, we just want to make fun of crap. Whatever you come here for, we thank you for reading—and for making these the most popular articles of 2022.