Top 22 Shows I Watched In 2022: No. 13

I admit that the unique release cadence for Candy, a special show on Hulu, worked quite well for me. Candy released one episode each day for a week, six episodes in all, definitely hooked me in a way that binge-worthy shows do, but also kept me thinking about the show all week in a similar way that weekly shows do.

But I'd make the argument that the cadence didn't influence my judgment on the show's quality. Candy was gripping, compelling, thought-out, and produced at the highest quality.

On top of all that, Jessica Biel carried the show with an absolutely masterful performance. She commanded every scene so effortlessly. She was flawless with every minutiae of her role. From the intimate scenes to the mundane to the energetic, she disappeared into her character and was as convincing as any actor or actress I watched this year. Biel's track record didn't prepare me for this performance, but she proved she has great acting chops.

The material in the story, based on the widely-known true case, isn't the most pleasant. Affairs are all but laughed at these days, but before our country lost its moral compass, they were shameful, life-altering events. I love how the writers conveyed just how treacherous the conspiring and coordinating of an affair was. There was always a palpable tension to it for both the characters and the audience. I particularly appreciated how guilty they made the characters feel before, during, and after the first time Candy and her new man felt (Candy more so than the guy). The guilt that Biel carried the rest of the show was as evident as if she was wearing weights on her shoulders. And for the rest of the show, there was always that looming feeling of everything hitting the fan.

And of course, it did. The fact that it involved a murder added to the intensity, the cover-ups, and the lying. And quite frankly, the show got more and more interesting with each passing moment. When the court case closed out the limited series, the drama behind the acquittal was felt as if it was on the same level as the OJ case. It was riveting television, which isn't easy for a story that recaps true events that can be looked up with a Google search.

The production of the show perfectly matched the 1980 setting of the actual events. The women wear iterations of bellbottoms, and the men wear suit jackets most of the time. The old cars, the ugly brown wood paneling in the homes, the bright, primary-colored carpets all pull you into the small-town life of this show.