Den of Geek’s Best British TV Shows of 2022

Set a year after the events of season one and the capital is in disarray, with the investors pulling the strings from behind the scenes, Asif working as their figurehead and new enforcer Koba brought in to keep order. But not all the gangs are happy. Season two’s arc is about family – can you be a gangster and still protect your loved ones? It’s a rollercoaster of gore, a complex study of terrible people and a compelling watch from start to bloody finish. RF

9. Peaky Blinders Series 6

The final series of Steven Knight’s hugely popular British gangster drama saw Cillian Murphy’s lead Tommy Shelby complete his journey to hell and back, as we watched him go from shell to man, and from bad to… if not entirely good, then at least aiming in that direction. 

In Series 5, Tommy had encountered the evil of fascist Oswald Mosley and it sparked his long-buried conscience. Series 6 saw Tommy go up against fascism here and overseas, using his brains and his fortune to attempt to leave the world a better place than he found it. It didn’t come without sacrifice, and thrilling twists that kept audiences rapt as they solved the mystery of who had betrayed Tommy in the Series 5 finale. Add Tommy’s journey to Ada’s ascent, Arthur’s descent, and the sad loss of Aunt Polly following the premature death of actor Helen McCrory, and it was a fittingly emotional series. The finale waved goodbye to the TV drama, and paved the way for a planned feature film that’s set to continue the Shelby story into the next generation. LM

8. The Lazarus Project

This Sky sci-fi from Joe Barton, creator of the also brilliant Giri/Haji, was one of the year’s biggest TV treats. It’s the story of George (Paapa Essiedu), an everyman whose life is kicked to shit when he wakes up one morning to find that the last six months never happened. At least, they happened for him, but not for anybody else, who are acting as if nothing’s up. George quickly finds out that he’s not the only one cognisant of the rewind, and becomes tangled up in a mysterious, top-secret operation that changes everything. 

With a top cast led effortlessly by Essiedu, joined by Vigil’s Anjli Mohindra, Strike’s Tom Burke, Pure’s Charly Clive and many more, The Lazarus Project is a mind-bending, action-filled thriller romp with global scope, great characters and a satisfyingly twisty story. Even better? Series 2 is already underway. LM

7. Am I Being Unreasonable?

Fans of This Country, the mock doc created by Daisy May Cooper and her brother Charlie will love Am I Being Unreasonable? but they might get something they didn’t expect. Though this story of lonely Nic (Cooper), who lives with her son Ollie (​​Lenny Rush) and husband Dan (Dustin Demri-Burns) and battles with the local mums starts like Motherland, it moves quickly into darker territory.