As ever, streaming shows have wowed viewers across the world all year. From “Stranger Things” to “The Playlist” to “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”, streaming shows have been as popular as ever throughout 2022 as our entertainment go-to.
Here are the five shows that took the world by storm.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Crime shows and murder mysteries have always drawn huge public interest.
The violence and terror draw our disgust, yet we can’t seem to look away.
Like the “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” before it, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” has been a huge hit on Netflix for its shocking portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious serial killers in the US.
Largely told from his victims’ points of view, the series unpacks how Dahmer murdered and dismembered more than a dozen men on a killing spree from 1978 and 1991.
Given its popularity, it was hardly a surprise when Netflix announced that it was renewed for seasons two and three.
In November, Netflix indicated that the show was going in the anthology direction as the next chapters “will tell the stories of other monstrous figures who have impacted society”.
Stranger Things
After three successful seasons, “Stranger Things” was renewed for its fourth this year.
When the new season was rolled out earlier this year, social media went nuts, as it always does for this hugely popular American sci-fi horror drama.
Since its first season in 2016 the series has become one of Netflix's flagship series and attracted record viewership on the platform thanks to its critically acclaimed acting, soundtrack, directing and writing.
With previous seasons receiving numerous awards and nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, British Academy Television Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, Writers Guild of America Awards, and Grammy Awards, this season is likely to earn similar nods at coming award ceremonies.
House of Dragons
After the death of their father, two siblings fight for the throne, thereby causing a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. That’s HBO’s apt description of its hit TV series, “House of Dragons”.
Created by George RR Martin and Ryan Condal, the series is a prequel to “Game of Thrones” and forms part of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” franchise.
The first season, which consists of 10 episodes, follows the story of the Targaryen family dynasty 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen and 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones”.
Such was its instant success that just five days after its premiere on August 21, the series was renewed for a second season.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” reimagines the popular film “The Lord of the Rings” by going back in time and setting the scene thousands of years before the events of JRR Tolkien's “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”.
The Prime Video series follows several characters (some familiar and others new) as they seek to confront the “long-feared re-emergence of evil” to Middle-earth.
Unsurprisingly, since its launch in September, fans have been lapping it up. With Amazon having bought the television rights for “The Lord of the Rings” and committing to five seasons with a billion-dollar production budget (this is set to be the most expensive television series ever), fans can look forward to more of the same in coming years.
Ozark
“Ozark” is a slow burner if ever I’ve seen one. Yet viewers the world over had grown addicted to the series by the time its fourth and final season premiered earlier this year.
The American crime drama series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as married couple Marty and Wendy Byrde.
After Marty’s business partner’s shady dealings with the Mexican Cartel are brought to light, the couple and their two children are forced to move to the Lake of the Ozarks to set up a money-laundering operation in a bid to make amends with the cartel.
After doing whatever it takes to keep their family alive in the first three seasons, Marty and Wendy fight harder than ever to keep their operation going in the series’ epic final season.