TV lookahead: 22 highlights to look out for in 2022

It’s fair to say that 2021 was a great year for TV.

Line of Duty had record viewing figures for drama. And the final of the Men’s European football championship gained the biggest TV audience since the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997.

Numbers aren’t everything though and it’s true there’s a general feeling in some parts of the TV industry that it’s streaming services that are really pushing the envelope when it comes to quality. But the traditional broadcasters are still having a significant impact, and not just the main two channels.

In my annual preview a year ago, I described how Channel Four’s (then-upcoming) It’s A Sin “follows a group of friends… as the Aids crisis begins to unfold”. That bland description cannot come close to conveying the way the five-episode drama reduced so many of us to angry tears.

So here are 22 shows and TV events across traditional broadcasters and streaming services worth keeping an eye out for on…