20 Best Animated TV Shows of 2022

2022 was a difficult time for the animation industry. Between corporate mergers, budget cuts, and changing priorities, there was a lot of uncertainty for creators and fans.

Through all the turbulence, though, animators continued to create shows that lifted our spirits, sparked our imagination, and reminded us what a rich medium animation is. 

This year, even as we said goodbye to some of our favorites, like Kid Cosmic, Tuca and Bertie, and Amphibia, we welcomed new standouts like Pantheon, Spy x Family, and Dead End: Paranormal Park.

Here, in no particular order, are our 20 favorite animated TV shows of 2022.

1. The Owl House (Disney Channel)

Disney’s The Owl House continues to be one of the best fantasy shows on television. The world-building, the action, the twists, and the turns are as riveting, if not more so, than the most well-regarded fantasy shows out there, animated or otherwise.  

Two other things that make The Owl House stand out are how it handles complex themes — such as grief or mental health — and its strong character development. It is storytelling at its finest, told with nuance and an open heart. 

We can’t talk about The Owl House without talking about its unapologetic queer representation. Since its earliest episodes, The Owl House has made queer representation a foundation of the show. As the show has progressed, that has only become more true.

Whether it’s watching Luz and Amity’s adorable relationship develop, the nods to queer culture in the background of scenes, or seeing the role of the non-binary character Raine Whispers grow, queer representation on The Owl House is abundant and beautiful. 

It will be difficult to say goodbye to The Owl House next year. Still, aren’t we lucky to have had such an enchanting and meaningful show grace our screens?

The Owl House has a TV-Y7 rating. 

2. Dead End: Paranormal Park (Netflix)

2022 gave us not one but two seasons of one of the most entertaining and inclusive new animated shows of the year, Dead End: Paranormal Park.

Dead End is an absolute joy. It is funny and inventive. It embraces horror elements just enough to be exciting and fun for adults but not too scary for younger viewers.

The show has multiple queer characters, including its lead character, Barney, who is trans. There are so few trans characters on TV, particularly in children and family programming. To have a trans character as the series’ main character is nothing short of groundbreaking.

Beyond its queer representation, the show is populated mainly by characters of color, and it does a beautiful job exploring Norma’s (one of the other central characters) neurodiversity. Dead End: Paranormal Park is exactly the show we need right now, and our media landscape is better because it exists. 

Oh, and more thing, Season 1 has a brilliant musical episode. It is sublime, and that alone would have landed Dead End on this list.

Dead End: Paranormal Park has a TV-Y7 rating. 

3. The Legend of Vox Machina (Prime Video)

The world of Dungeons and Dragons comes to life with The Legend of Vox Machina. Based on the first campaign of Critical Role, the hugely popular web series, this adaptation was eagerly anticipated by fans.

In 2022 it finally made it to the screen, and it did not disappoint. The series is a high-energy, wonderfully silly trip into a land of dragons and mages that feels modern and fresh. 

Blending bawdy humor with just enough sentiment to keep things grounded, the crew of Vox Machina quickly endear themselves to viewers. It brings new energy to some of the most familiar high fantasy tropes. 

Whether you are a hardcore Critical Role fan or have never even heard of the series, The Legend of Vox Machina is a fun, cheeky escape.

The Legend of Vox Machina has a TV-MA rating.

4. Harley Quinn (HBO Max)

Chaos still reigns supreme in Gotham on Harley Quinn Season 3. Surprisingly, though, it’s not Harley causing most of it.

This time it’s Ivy behind bedlam, with an assist from Batman himself, Bruce Wayne. In a surprising role reversal, it’s Harley who pulls Ivy, now her official girlfriend (insert queer fangirl squeal), off the ledge. It’s quite the glow-up for our girl.

The show deftly balances heartfelt relationship and character building with the sheer madness of Harley Quinn’s brand while remaining as wickedly funny as ever. 

The new dynamics between Ivy and Harley open up the series to explore deeper themes about navigating relationships and what it means to be a hero or a villain. It even finds something original to say about Bruce Wayne’s childhood trauma and his choice to become Batman. 

From its sharp, irreverent humor to its excellent writing, Harley Quinn always delivers.

Harley Quinn has a TV-14 rating. 

5. Kid Cosmic (Netflix)

Animated shows often don’t get to end on their own terms. Lucky for us, that is not the case with Craig McCracken’s sweet love letter to superheroes and retro sci-fi, Kid Cosmic.

After an epic Season 2 space adventure, the team returns to earth for the third and final season as superstars, going from the “Local Heroes” to the “Global Heroes.” All of Kid’s biggest dreams and fantasies seem to be coming true. But things aren’t what they appear, and Kid must come to terms with the past to save everyone’s future. 

Season 3 doesn’t just stick the landing. It is easily the strongest season of what was already a fantastic show. In its last season, it takes on weightier themes earnestly and empathetically, giving viewers a poignant conclusion that stays true to the series’ optimistic spirit.  

Viewers couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying end to this lovely show.

Kid Cosmic has a TV-Y7 rating. 

6. Tuca and Bertie (Adult Swim & HBO Max)

Adult animation is still a largely male-dominated field, so when Lisa Hanawalt’s Tuca and Bertie burst onto the scene, it immediately felt like a breath of fresh air. It created space for women and queer people in a part of the animation industry where they had been largely excluded.

More than just a refreshing perspective, though, Tuca and Bertie is one of the most innovative, insightful shows on TV. For three seasons, through cancellations and network changes, Tuca and Bertie boldly tackled issues few other shows did and in a way that always hit close to home.

The show’s absurd humor and its animation — which feels like a Richard Scarry Busy Town book for adults — in combination with the often heavy themes captured truths about the modern experience with unique authenticity and resonance.

Sadly, Tuca and Bertie Season 3 ended up being the series’ last. A victim of corporate changes and cutbacks, it was canceled shortly after it wrapped its season. Its cancellation will leave a gaping hole in the world of adult animation that won’t be easy to fill.

Despite its premature end, Tuca and Bertie will forever have a place as a groundbreaking series that pushed the animation industry forward. 

Tuca and Bertie has a TV-MA rating. 

7. Amphibia (Disney Channel)

In 2022 viewers said goodbye to the beloved Disney series, Amphibia. It was an ending we knew was coming. Still, it was a bittersweet moment for viewers and for the characters.

The final episodes of Amphibia, and especially the finale, capture what the series has always been about at its core: friendship, compassion, growing up, and doing what’s right even when it’s hard. 

Amphibia’s finale has some breathtaking action sequences and beautiful animation as Anne and her friends fight to save both Earth and Amphibia. Still, what stays with you is the sentimental goodbye that showcases just how much Anne and all the characters have changed and grown over three seasons.

Getting to see Anne all grown up in the ending scenes of the series is a perfect coda to Anne’s journey and a truly memorable character arc. 

Saying goodbye to our favorite characters is always tough, but it’s at least a little easier when that goodbye is as good as the Amphibia series finale.

Amphibia has a TV-Y7 rating. 

8. The Great North (Fox)

Adult animated comedies aren’t exactly known for leading with their hearts. Some  — including a few on this list — eventually reveal genuine sincerity beneath a veneer of cynicism. Few, though, wear their hearts on their sleeves as proudly as the Fox series The Great North. 

Visually, the series, which follows the close-knit Tobin family living in a rugged Alaskan town, looks like a lot of other animated comedies for adults. It also has quirky characters and madcap shenanigans that are hallmarks of shows like it. 

But there is a sweetness at the show’s core that makes it stand out and makes its humor feel different. This isn’t a dysfunctional family that has an earnest moment at the end of the episode. 

The whole point of the show is that this family loves each other an almost ridiculous amount. Some of the show’s funniest moments and wildest hijinks are motivated by how much they care for and support each other. 

The Great North is a wonderful change of pace that leads with love and warmth and is all the better for it. 

The Great North has a TV-14 rating. 

9. Undone (Prime Video)

Prime Video’s time-traveling, reality-bending series Undone returned for a second season in 2022. With its unique retroscope animation, Undone’s visual style evokes an otherworldly impermanence that allows viewers to feel the unsettling shifts in space and time with the characters. 

Undone Season 1 introduces viewers to Alma, who wakes up from a car crash to find she can move through time and influence past events. In Season 1, she uses this power to try to prevent her dad’s death.

Season 2 shifts its focus from Alma’s father to her mother. It tells a much more intimate and vulnerable story, exploring Alma’s relationship with her mother and revealing a history that changes her understanding of who her mom is. 

It also focuses more on Alma’s grandmother as Alma helps her come to terms with her tragic childhood. 

Undone Season 2 is a heartbreaking but evocative story of intergenerational trauma and healing. If Undone Season 1 blows viewers’ minds, Season 2 reaches for their hearts.

Undone has a TV-MA rating.

10. The Dragon Prince: The Mystery of Aaravos (Netflix)

After three years, The Dragon Prince returned with a new season and a new name, Dragon Prince: The Mystery of Aaravos. 

The mission of Season 4 is to protect the nascent and still fragile peace achieved at the end of Season 3. 

It’s fun to see the band back together as Ezran, Callum, and Rayla embark on another mission. There are also old friends and new additions joining them this time to shake up the dynamic a bit.

Perhaps even more interesting than the central trio’s new mission is the increased role of Amaya and her love, Janai, the newly crowned queen of the Sunfire Elves. The story following the Sunfire Elves refugee camp is messy and gray. It explores themes that don’t always have simple answers and highlights two of the series’ most compelling characters. 

The show may have a new name, but it still has the same expansive world-building and exciting adventure that made viewers first fall in love with it. 

Dragon Prince: The Mystery of Aaravos has a TV-Y7 rating. 

11. Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (Adult Swim & HBO Max)

Despite having little to no dialogue, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal is one of the most expressive shows on TV. Set against a truly brutal backdrop, the series is also one of the most sensitive shows you will find.

The show follows Spear and Fang, a caveman and a dinosaur who bond after violently losing their families. After a rocky start, the pair develop unshakable trust and respect as they try to survive their world together. 

Gorgeous animation underscores the tension between the tenderness of Spear and Fang’s relationship and the unrelenting violence they face and often have to inflict. It makes the show’s emotions feel more intense and profound. 

Season 2 ventures into new worlds as Spear and Fang leave their land on an epic adventure to rescue Spear’s, new potential love. They face more conniving foes and evils that are uniquely human. 

The heart of the show is always the relationship between Spear and Fang. It’s the thing you cheer for and that tears at your heart right up until the season’s wistful conclusion. 

Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal has of TV-MA rating. 

12. Pantheon (AMC+)

Pantheon is AMC+’s foray into the increasingly popular sci-fi topic of uploaded intelligence. It is both an intimate family drama and a high-stakes corporate thriller. And it’s all set in a world where technology is changing the nature of reality and what it means to be human. 

The series starts with three main plotlines. Each one follows characters whose lives are changed forever by companies researching how to upload people’s consciousness into the cloud. The stories become more entwined as the season progresses, culminating in a gripping and game-changing season finale. 

The series also has some excellent visuals. While the animation style is pretty straightforward for most of the season, there are moments when the series takes viewers into the cloud for fantastic fight scenes or surreal sequences that are completely exhilarating. 

Pantheon is an ambitious show. It asks big questions about personhood and identity. It critiques corporate culture in much the same tone and spirit as another standout show from 2022, Severance.

And it does all this through an emotional, character-driven narrative full of unexpected twists that take viewers on a thrilling ride.

Pantheon has a TV-14 rating. 

13. Star Trek: Prodigy (Paramount+)

There are many Star Trek shows to choose from these days. Without a doubt, the animated series Star Trek: Prodigy should be at the top of any list.

2022 saw the premiere of the second half of Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1. These new episodes delve further into the show’s larger mythology and mysteries. There have been some exciting revelations since the series returned. And each one generates as many questions as it answers. 

One of the most entertaining things about Prodigy is the way it incorporates the larger Star Trek world. It’s not uncommon to see a familiar face or a reference to another series. Season 2 takes those connections even further, finally bringing Starfleet into the action directly.

It even brings the real Captain — now Vice Admiral — Janeway into the mix after she appeared only as an AI computer interface for the first half of the season.

Whether you are a long-time Trekkie or a Trekkie-in-training, Star Trek: Prodigy is a lot of fun. It is the perfect show for parents and kids to enjoy together.

Star Trek: Prodigy has a TV-Y7 rating. 

14. Inside Job (Netflix)

Inside Job returned with more conspiracy theories, secret societies, and family dysfunction. The series is a workplace comedy with a twist. It takes place in a secret organization called Cognito Inc. that controls the world through fake news, crazy coverups, and the occasional masked orgy. 

After a surprising cliffhanger at the end of Part 1 that saw team leader Regan’s megalomaniacal dad, Rand, retake control of the company, Reagan must keep her team of weirdos together and protect the world from her father’s increasingly erratic behavior. 

With jokes about Beyonce and the Illuminati, Elon Musk, and even Bob Iger, the humor is timely and as silly as ever.

Part 2 also introduces a love interest for Reagan. Watching her try to make her relationship work shows just how much Reagan has grown since viewers first met her. Part 2 has all the farcical comedy that Part 1 did, just with increasingly sophisticated character development as well. 

Inside Job has a TV-MA rating. 

15. Bee and Puppycat (Netflix)

The beloved web series Bee and Puppycat moved from YouTube to Netflix in 2022 with the streamer’s slightly retooled and expanded reset of the original series. 

The series revolves around Bee, an impulsive, recently unemployed twenty-something living a relatively mundane life. That is until she adopts Puppycat, a strange cat-dog hybrid creature who helps her get a job at an intergalactic universe-hopping temp agency.

Bee and Puppycat transports viewers into a whimsical world full of eccentrics and oddballs. The bright, colorful animation creates a dreamlike landscape that feels warm and welcoming. 

With a sort of beguiling magic, there is something almost soothing about Bee and Puppycat. We talk a lot about comfort TV. Bee and Puppycat is best described as cozy TV. 

The experience of watching Bee and Puppycat is like being wrapped up in a fluffy blanket with a big mug of hot chocolate. It is wholesome and sweet and makes you feel good watching it.

Bee and Puppycat has a TV-PG rating.

16. Spy x Family (Hulu/ Crunchyroll)

If you follow animation news at all, then you’ve probably at least heard of Spy x Family. Critics and viewers alike have embraced the series, making it one of the most highly-rated animes of the year.

The series, part Get Smart, and part Avengers, follows Loid Forger. Forger is a spy tasked with preventing a war by going undercover as a family man. To complete his mission, he recruits a pretend daughter — who, unbeknownst to him, is a psychic — and a pretend wife — who also happens to be a deadly assassin. 

The world’s fate depends on these three being able to convince everyone that they are a happy, average family. But things are never that simple, especially when they aren’t just keeping secrets from the world but also from each other. Secrets that include their true identities. 

The series captivates viewers with its heartwarming comedy, fun spy subterfuge, and some pretty fantastic visuals. It is also notable for its departure from many typical anime tropes and the way some fans have embraced the character of Yor as an example of neurodiverse representation.

Spy x Family has earned its highly regarded reputation and will undoubtedly continue to do so into Season 2. 

Spy x Family has a TV-14 rating.

17. Young Justice (HBO Max)

Young Justice continued to prove why it’s one of the best-animated superhero shows as it balanced comic book antics with grounded portrayals of our favorite heroes in Season 4.

The show explored mental health through Gar’s journey with trauma and depression, showing that even superheroes struggle and need help sometimes. It also pulled in from comic book lore by bringing in the Legion of Super-Heroes as a nice surprise for fans that led to an intense storyline with the fate of humanity at stake.

Although the different story arcs in Season 4 could feel disjointed at times, the team does come together in the end during the final showdown with the Zods. For fans of the show since the beginning, it’s refreshing to see the original team together again.

With the finale featuring Conner and Megan’s long-awaited wedding, it feels like the end of an era for the original Young Justice team. Whether the show returns, fans finally have a season finale that provides closure. 

Young Justice has a TV-PG rating. 

18. Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)

Now in its sixth season, the animated comedy Rick and Morty remains as clever and hilarious as ever. The dysfunctional family relationship adds a complex layer to the story of a grandfather and grandson who go on dangerous, ridiculous adventures thanks to Rick’s wild inventions.

The fascinating science-fiction ideas are coupled with laugh-out-loud funny shenanigans, but what really makes Rick and Morty such an excellent animated series is that it often provides deeply thought-provoking storytelling. 

Rick and Morty has as TV-14 rating.

19. Bob’s Burgers (Fox)

Bob’s Burgers is one of the longest-running shows for a reason. For over a decade, it has consistently delivered quality television. Season 13 is no exception. 

Bob’s Burgers brings fans more of the hilarious and heartfelt antics of the Belcher family.

One of the things that Bob’s Burgers does so well and what keeps viewers coming back is that despite the absurdity of some of the stories, like Gene proposing that Louise become a “wedgie-sassin,” its core is a supportive, loving, and understanding family willing to get up in the middle of the night to assure a loved one that things will work out.

The earnestness we get from Bob’s Burgers is not something we get often from adult animation. 

Bob’s Burgers has a TV-PG rating. 

20. Little Demon (FX)

A voice cast that includes Danny DeVito as Satan and Aubrey Plaza as Satan’s ex-baby mama was enough to entice any curious animation fans to check out Little Demon. But once you dive in, the absolute off-the-wall stories start to hit you.

From Chrissy finding out who her father is to the most unconventional fight for custody over the little antichrist, Little Demon is a wild ride. Between the show’s unique premise and an all-star cast behind it, Little Demon is absolutely a memorable animated entry.  

Little Demon has a TV-MA rating.

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What were your favorite animated shows this year? Let us know in the comments below!

Additional contributions from Ashley Bissette Sumerel, Brianna Martinez, and Breeze Riley. 

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20 Best Animated TV Shows of 2021