Platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and HBO Max have changed what having access to both television and film looks like. Over the past year, streaming services have played an amplified role in the success that both films and television series have had.
Before 2021 draws to a close, some streaming services are already guaranteeing that 2022 will start off with a bang. Netflix will release the fourth season of its Karate Kid spin-off series Cobra Kai just in time for the new year. There are plenty of returning and exciting new series to look out for in the new year, and here’s where to find them.
Peacemaker - January 12, 2022
Peacemaker will arrive on HBO Max in mid-January. The series will follow the events of The Suicide Squad and will run for 8 episodes. It will feature John Cena reprising his role as Peacemaker and a number of exciting cast members. Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick are all set to star in the DC series.
Inventing Anna - February 11, 2022
Shonda Rhimes will produce the Netflix series, Inventing Anna. The series is based on the Jessica Pressler article, "How Anna Delvey Tricked New York's Party People." Pressler is not unaccustomed to her real-world writing spurring a Hollywood adaptation, as her "The Hustlers at Scores" article inspired the 2019 film, Hustlers. Inventing Anna is set to star Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Lowes, Laverne Cox, and Alexis Floyd.
Bel-Air - February 13, 2022
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reprisal, Bel-Air is set to premiere on Peacock in mid-February. The new series will star Jabari Banks, Olly Sholotan, Adrian Holmes, Coco Jones, Cassandra Freeman, and Akira Akbar as the beloved characters from the 90s sitcom. Bel-Air aims to examine the conflicts, emotions, and biases that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air brought to television in an in-depth manner.
Vikings: Valhalla - February 25, 2022
Netflix will house Vikings: Valhalla, a spin-off of the Vikings series that aired on History from 2013-2020. The spin-off will be set far after the conclusion of Vikings and is set to star Sam Corlett as Leif Erickson, Laura Berlin as Emma of Normandy, and Frida Gustavsson as Freydís Eiríksdóttir.
The Lord of the Rings - September 2, 2022
Amazon Prime will house the upcoming The Lord of the Rings series. Its debut season is expected to run for 8 episodes. The series is set to star Game of Thrones alum Robert Aramayo and Joseph Mawle and will be set thousands of years prior to the events of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Augustus Prew, and Benjamin Walker are also set to appear in the Amazon series.
Ms. Marvel
Iman Vellani will star as a Captain Marvel superfan who gains shape-shifting powers of her own who adapts the name, Ms. Marvel. The series will run for 6 episodes and is expected to set up the upcoming film The Marvels, which is anticipated to premiere in 2023. Armis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, and Matt Lintz are also members of the cast.
Stranger Things (Season 4)
The fourth season of Netflix's smash hit, Stranger Things is expected to release in 2022. Major plot points of the newest season have remained under wraps, though the recently split group of teens will likely once again risk their lives to battle a threat larger than anything anyone has ever seen before. Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and Noah Schnapp will all reprise their roles.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Ewan McGregor will reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Disney Plus series. McGregor will be joined by Hayden Christensen, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series will run for 6 episodes.
Love and Death
Love and Death is expected to premiere on HBO Max in 2022. The American crime drama will star Elizabeth Olsen, Lily Rabe, Jesse Plemons, Patrick Fugit, Krysten Ritter, Keir Gilchrist, and Elizabeth Marvel. The series will tell the true story of Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife, who killed her friend, Betty Gore with an ax on Friday the 13 in 1980. Hulu is also producing a mini-series about the horrific event entitled Candy.
Moon Knight
Oscar Isaac will star as Moon Knight in the Disney Plus series. Moon Knight will consist of 6 episodes and will also feature Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy. Isaac will play the complex character who is tasked with rectifying his mercenary life of violence by protecting the innocent by the Egyptian Moon God Khonshu.
The Sandman
The Sandman is set for a Netflix release in 2022. It will star Tom Sturridge as Morpheus, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, and many others. The Sandman is inspired by the Neil Gaiman DC comic book series of the same name.
She-Hulk
The Disney Plus series will star Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk. Maslany will be joined by Mark Ruffalo, who will reprise his role as Bruce Banner. Tim Roth, Ginger Gonzaga, Jameela Jamil, and Renée Elise Goldsberry are also set to star in the 10- episode series.
The Witcher: Blood Origin
The Netflix series will serve as a prequel to the popular Netflix series, The Witcher. Set years before the current series' events, Blood Origin will show the creation of the first Witcher. It is set to star Sophia Brown, Laurence O'Fuarain, Lenny Henry, Michelle Yeoh, Jacob Collins-Levy, and Francesca Mills.
Other series will also arrive on Netflix. The fourth and final season of Ozark will release on Netflix on January 21, 2022. Locke & Key and The Umbrella Academy will both release their third seasons in 2022. Joining these beloved series is the second season of Alice in Borderland. The live-action adaptation of the popular 2005 animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is also expected to premiere on Netflix in 2022. It will star Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio Tarbell, Ian Ousley, and Dallas Liu. HBO Max will also feature the arrival of some exciting series. The highly anticipated arrival of the Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon will arrive in 2022, as will The Last of Us.
Streaming series dominated prestigious events like the coveted Emmy Awards, and the line-up for 2022 seems to promise a similar result. Even without the definitive dates for some of these series, 2022 will be a monumental year for television.