Netflix shows dominate list of America’s favorite TV of 2022

By Victoria McNally

Recent setbacks aside, a new survey suggests that Netflix is still a big contender in the television world.

The data was first reported by OnePoll and collected from over 2,000 respondents, each of whom were asked to pick their favorites from a list of all the series they watched in 2022.

In addition to securing the No. 1 choice with Season 4 of “Ozark,” Netflix represented half of the overall top ten list, as well as half the best-scripted series.

Where the streaming service might be in more trouble is with new releases, as only three of their shows  — “Wednesday,” “Mo,” and “Inventing Anna” — appeared in the highest-ranked 2022 premieres. 

But of those, it’s “Wednesday” that seemed to captivate audiences the most. Roughly one in four (26%) of those who started the show ended up watching all of it, according to OnePoll’s data, making it the second-most finished series behind Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.”  

Although Netflix famously never reveals official viewership data for its content, the company was recently forced to disclose its biggest customer losses in almost a decade, of roughly 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of the year and 970,000 in the second quarter. 

As of October, however, it appears to have bounced back with 2.4 million new subscribers, perhaps bolstered by fan reactions to the “Ozark” finale in May and the conclusion of “Stranger Things” Season 4 in July. 

But besides Netflix’s seeming return from obsolescence, the data also reveals other interesting trends in this year’s television landscape. 

Despite evidence that HBO’s “House of the Dragon” had beat out Amazon Prime’s similarly fantastical “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” in week-to-week ratings, those surveyed were more likely to choose the latter series as their favorite.  

And although critics lauded the Tony Gilroy-penned “Andor” over the rest of 2022’s Disney+ series, respondents were generally more enamored with Marvel’s “She Hulk: Attorney At Law.” 

One thing’s for certain, which is that broadcast TV networks continue to flounder in the wake of so many cable and streaming providers – so much so that only ABC’s Emmy-winning sitcom “Abbott Elementary” stands out among new releases. 

BEST OVERALL SHOWS OF 2022

• “Ozark,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 8% 
• “Stranger Things,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 8% 
• “Wednesday” (Netflix) - 8% 
• “Yellowjackets” (Showtime) - 7% 
• “Grey’s Anatomy,” Season 19 (ABC) - 6%
• “Inventing Anna” (Netflix) - 6% 
• “Love is Blind,” Season 3 (Netflix) - 6% 
• “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Amazon Prime) - 6% 
• “The Last Movie Stars” (HBO Max) - 6% 
• “Married At First Sight,” Season 15 (A&E) - 6%

BEST SCRIPTED SERIES OF 2022

• “Ozark,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 8%        
• “Stranger Things,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 8%        
• “Wednesday” (Netflix) - 8%    
• “Yellowjackets” (Showtime) - 7%        
• “Grey’s Anatomy,” Season 19 (ABC) - 6%       
• “Inventing Anna” (Netflix) - 6%      
• “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Amazon Prime) - 6%
• “The Crown,” Season 5 (Netflix) - 6%        
• Yellowstone, Season 5 (Paramount Network) - 6%       
• House of the Dragon (HBO) - 5%        

BEST UNSCRIPTED/REALITY SERIES OF 2022

• “Love is Blind,” Season 3 (Netflix) - 6% 
• “The Last Movie Stars” (HBO Max) - 6% 
• “Married At First Sight,” Season 15 (A&E) - 6%
• “Love is Blind,” Season 2 (Netflix) - 5% 
• “The Great British Baking Show,” Season 13 (Netflix) - 5%
• “The Amazing Race,” Season 33 (CBS) - 5%        
• “Below Deck Sailing Yacht,” Season 3 (Bravo) - 4%
• “The Rehearsal” (HBO) - 4%        
• “We Need To Talk About Cosby” (Showtime) - 4%
• “Lizzo's Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” (Amazon Prime) - 4%        

BEST NEW SERIES OF 2022

• “Wednesday” (Netflix) - 8%    
• “Yellowjackets” (Showtime) - 7%        
• “Inventing Anna” (Netflix) - 6%      
• “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Amazon Prime) - 6%
• “House of the Dragon” (HBO) - 5%       
• “The Legend of Vox Machina” (Amazon Prime) - 5%
• “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+) - 5%
• “Mo” (Neftlix) - 5%
• “She-Hulk: Attorney At Law” (Disney+)  - 5%        
• “Abbott Elementary” (ABC) - 5%        

MOST STARTED SHOWS OF 2022

• “Married At First Sight,” Season 15 (A&E) - 46% 
• “The Last Movie Stars” (HBO Max) - 40% 
• “Stranger Things,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 37% 
• “Ozark,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 36% 
• “The Amazing Race,” Season 33 (CBS) - 35% 
• “The Rehearsal” (HBO) - 34%
• “Love is Blind,” Season 3 (Netflix) - 34%
• “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+) - 33%
• “Love is Blind,” Season 2 (Netflix) - 33% 
• “I Love That For You” (HBO) - 33%

MOST FINISHED SHOWS OF 2022

• “Yellowjackets” (Showtime) - 26% 
• “Wednesday” (Netflix) - 26% 
• “Ozark,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 23% 
• “House of the Dragon” (HBO) - 21% 
• “Stranger Things,” Season 4 (Netflix) - 21% 
• “Bridgerton,” Season 2 (Netflix) 20% 
• “Willow” (Disney+) - 20% 
• “Tulsa King” (Paramount+) - 20% 
• “The Big Brunch” (HBO Max) - 19% 
• “The Sandman” (Netflix) - 19%

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was conducted between Dec. 16–19, 2022. It was launched by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).