My Favorite Television Shows, Books, Music, and Podcasts of 2022

I consume a lot of media over the course of a year – don’t we all? – and with that in mind, I like to put together a “best of” post at the end of December documenting my favorite television shows, books, music, and podcasts of the year. I have quite the list this year, so let’s get into it! 

My favorite television shows, books, music, and podcasts of 2022: 

Television 

I didn’t watch a ton of new television in 2022. While I had the TV on, I tended to go for sitcoms I’ve watched a dozen times over for background noise while I worked or else reality TV I didn’t need to pay a lot of attention to. And of course, I watched nothing but cheesy Hallmark movies from Thanksgiving through Christmas! I plan to get caught up on shows like Wednesday and the new season of Emily in Paris soon. 

A few favorites from 2022: 

The Summer I Turned Pretty. I’m forever a sucker for a teenage drama and The Summer I Turned Pretty was all things lovely – coming-of-age, romance, a love triangle, plenty of friend drama… Would it be Conrad? Jeremiah? Someone else? And the twist with the mom… It was the perfect feel-good show. 

Bel-Air. I know a lot of people didn’t like the more dramatic remake of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I loved it. It went there. It didn’t shy away from social issues. It gave the characters real, gritty storylines. There were tense moments, moments of “wow, they really went there.” It was fantastic television in my opinion. I’m looking forward to where it goes in season two. 

Yellowstone. I resisted Yellowstone for a long time on principle. Everyone in my family was obsessed with it and I was so sure I wouldn’t like it. I gave it a chance on a whim one night and it took less than an episode for me to become obsessed. I watched all four seasons within a month. I know everyone loves Rip, but give me Kayce all day long. And a hot take? I don’t like Beth Dutton. I don’t think she’s the role model people think she is. She needs a therapist and rehab. But she does have some great one-liners. My personal favorite? “You are the trailer park. I’m the tornado.” 

Black-ish. Call me late to the party if you must, but I started watching Black-ish right after I moved back to Nashville and what a great show. I laughed. I cried. I got far too invested in the family and their journeys. I need to rewatch it… 

The Kardashians. Judge me if you have to, but after resisting the hype of all things Kardashian for essentially my entire life, I got sucked into their new Hulu show. I’ll go on the record as saying I am Team Khloe and after that season two premiere? I was ready to go to battle for her. 

Books 

I read a lot of books in 2022 – 27, to be exact! I’d like to have read even more – and you should see how many I have on my ‘TBR’ shelf – but I read some really great books this year. 

Lessons in Chemistry. Lessons in Chemistry was, hands down, my favorite book of 2022. It was clever and witty and the cast of characters was next level. Even the dog, Six-Thirty, had me fully pulling for him. It has serious subject matter around the expectations of women, sexual harassment, and the struggles women face in the workplace, but it also has a lot of humorous moments and heartwarming scenes where family is chosen, not given. If you only read one book I recommend, make it this one. 

No Cure for Being Human. Generally speaking, when my friend Liz recommends a book, I’m going to like it. She told me I simply had to read No Cure for Being Human and she was right. Author Kate Boweler, a professor at Duke’s Divinity School, shares her story of being diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer and being told she has months to live. She battles her faith, the lies we all believe about life, and, at times, the medical system meant to save her. It’s an inspiring read I couldn’t put down. 

Everybody Always. Tired of me talking about my BFF Bob Goff’s Everybody Always yet? Sorry, friend, I can’t stop. I wrote about how this book changed a lot for me in another post. It’s an absolute must-read. It’s inspirational, funny, and faith-filled. If you’re looking for a green light to read it (see what I did there?), consider this that light. 

Falling. Another Liz recommendation I wasn’t going to read right away – I had other books lined up – but she insisted (peer pressure…) and so I downloaded it – and couldn’t put it down. On the surface, it’s a thriller about a pilot faced with a decision: crash the plane to save his kidnapped family, or sacrifice his family to save the plane full of passengers. Below that, it’s a moving story about human nature – the good, the bad, the ugly, and our tendency to stick our heads in the sand.

Redeeming Love. I raved about Redeeming Love in this post, so I won’t rehash it too much here, but it is, in fact, another book this year that had a major impact on me. It was lovely in all the right ways, and I will likely read it again soon. 

The Inheritance Games series. I picked up the first book in this series on a whim. I couldn’t put it down and immediately went to Target for the second book as soon as I finished it. I was very much team Jameson, and the puzzles and riddles were as close to magic as they could be without actually being magic. When the last book in the series came out in August, I bought it immediately and then didn’t read it for two months because I didn’t want it to end. It was a fitting end to the series, and I was thrilled to learn she plans to write a spinoff series focused on the brothers (I’m still team Jameson). 

Music

With another cross-country move on the books for the year, I had plenty of time to listen to music while driving across state after state. I have an awful lot of favorite songs and albums from 2022, but I’ll try to share just a few. 

Midnights. No one is surprised I listened to Taylor Swift’s Midnights album on repeat from the moment it was released – and still am listening to it in heavy rotation two months later. Confession? I didn’t love it during the first listen. I thought it had finally happened – Taylor had missed. The second listen, I liked it more. By the third? I determined there were no skips, and that it may be my favorite Taylor album yet. “Anti-Hero,” “Vigilante Shit,” “Lavender Haze,” “Sweet Nothings,” “Karma,” and “Bejeweled” – you know, half the album… – are my favorite cuts. And hate me if you must, but I was able to secure the bag (tickets…) to one of her Nashville shows. I. Cannot. Wait. 

“Way Down Yonder.” The first time I heard Chase Rice’s “Way Down Yonder,” I thought “this is trash.” I didn’t like it. I heard it again though, and it wasn’t so bad. Now it’s one of my most-played songs of 2022. It made me curious about his new album, out in February 2023, and I bought tickets to his Nashville show in April because of that curiosity. The other songs he’s released from it to date – “Key West and Colorado” and “If I Were Rock and Roll” – were instant hits with me. 

“If I Were Your Lover,” “Fire on Wheels.” I’m not sure Kip Moore is capable of a bad song, but his two recent releases from an upcoming album are absolutely some of his best to date. I’ve been a fan of his since his debut single – there’s a whole story about me being so into his music (and him…) that I accidentally wrote his name into an obituary my editor caught before publishing it – and can’t wait for new stuff from him. Wouldn’t hate it if he scheduled a Nashville show in 2023 either. 

Subject to Change. Kelsea Ballerini’s Subject to Change album was another “no misses” for me. It has a 90s country vibe I can’t quit. “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too)” is my anthem for my friendships with my best girlfriends and “Little Things” sounds like it could have been a hit for Faith Hill back in the day. “What I Have” is stunning as well. She released it just after announcing her divorce from Morgan Evans (what excellent timing…) and there are certainly a few songs on it that make you wonder when it all went wrong. 

“Over For You.” Speaking of Morgan Evans… I have always been a fan of his. He is immensely talented – check out this mashup of his song “Day Drunk” and Dan + Shay’s “Tequila” – and reminds me of Keith Urban, not because he happens to be Australian, but because of his skills as a musician. He released the heartbreaking “Over For You” about his divorce from Kelsea Ballerini and his vulnerability has been beautiful to see. I’m rooting for this to be the song that breaks his career wide open – and considering driving to Chattanooga in April to see him on tour with Brett Young.

Podcasts 

Finally, podcasts. Remember that cross-country move? You can listen to a lot of podcasts during a cross-country road trip. 

The Popcast. The Popcast continues to be my favorite weekly podcast. Knox and Jamie make me laugh out loud several times each week and are just such lights. I can forgive Knox for some of his jabs at my beloved Vols since he called Precious Moments dolls “Christian Anime.” If you need a good laugh each week – and like pop culture – this is the podcast for you. 

Coffee with Kailey. Kailey Dickerson’s Coffee with Kailey podcast was another favorite of the year. She sits down with friends to have coffee and talk about life and I don’t know that I can explain how much her conversations have helped me with my own faith journey. It’s because of her that I found my church in Nashville. Her episodes with Lauren Akins, Michael Chandler, Breland, and her best friend, Ainsley Britain, are so good I listen to them several times over. 

The Deck. I love a good true crime podcast and have been a longtime listener of Crime Junkie. The Deck is hosted by Crime Junkie’s Ashley Flowers and each episode tells the story of a cold case featured on a deck of cards given out in prisons in hopes that someone behind bars may have information on one of the cases. Many of these cases are thirty-plus years old and some are brutal to listen to, but she does a great job of bringing them back to the spotlight and several are now close to being solved. 

What About Holly? I stumbled across What About Holly? while driving back to Nashville from Virginia over Thanksgiving. What. A. Ride. It tells the story of a young couple found brutally murdered in the woods of Texas. They went unidentified for decades until DNA was able to positively ID them. From there, a wild story about cults and the missing daughter authorities didn’t know they had until the families were notified of the positive identification ask about her whereabouts unfolds. No spoilers, but I couldn’t stop listening. 

Bardstown. I started listening to season one of Bardstown a long time ago, but didn’t get very far. On the drive back to Nashville from Virginia, this time just this past week after Christmas, I started it from season one again. It walks through five unsolved cases – four murders, one disappearance – in the small town of Bardston, Kentucky, known for its bourbon and beauty. A police officer ambushed, a horrific murder of a mother and daughter, the disappearance of a woman, the murder of her father while he was hunting… What is going on in the ‘Most Beautiful Town in America?’ I’m looking forward to diving into seasons two and three which take listeners beyond Bardstown – but with plenty of updates about the cold cases in Kentucky in between. 

There you have it – a few of my favorite television shows, books, music, and podcasts from 2022. What did you watch, read, and listen to this past year?