The rules for the Power Rankings are simple: Any current series on TV qualifies, whether it’s a comedy, drama, news program, animated series, variety show or sports event. It can be on a network, basic cable, premium channel, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, YouTube or whatever you can stream on your smart TV, as long as a new episode was made available within the past week (ending Sunday) —or, in the case of shows released all at once, it has to have been released within the previous four weeks.

The voting panel is composed of Paste Editors and TV writers with a pretty broad range of tastes. Happy viewing!

Honorable Mention:
The Gilded Age (HBO/Max), Resident Alien (Syfy), This Is Us (NBC), Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+)

Network: HBO Max
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
This Week: Disappointed we didn’t get more of the baby-cage mermen, but, we did get the flying eel god baby eating a full sentient tree so … yeah, this show is crazy!

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As you may (or may not) recall, TV’s most uniquely insane series Raised by Wolves began in Season 1 by introducing us to two increasingly human-like androids in shiny spandex, Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), tasked with caring for and raising a host of children transferred via pods after two warring factions destroyed Earth.

But from the start, Raised by Wolves began subverting expectations. The religious sect were not anti-tech; they embraced it, building androids and using them in their society. And the utopian atheist community set up with these pod children? It didn’t work. But Raised by Wolves didn’t take sides; over and over again, it showed how fanaticism on either side is dangerous.

That general fabric of belief vs unbelief constantly simmers throughout Season 2; there is a lot at play here between androids and humans, alongside the rigidity of a “just” society and the relative freedom of a burgeoning cult. But once again, Raised by Wolves grounds these grand ideas with its excellent storytelling, balancing constantly expanding mythology with constantly evolving characters. And somehow, it all kinda makes sense. Creator Aaron Guzikowski seems to have a clear vision for the series, even if moment by moment it’s impossible to predict what will come next. A snake god? A skeleton resurrected by blood milk? The Tree of Life? An android fighting pit? Puberty? You simply cannot have a series this out-there and not have a plan. So far, it’s working. —Allison Keene [Full Review]

Network: HBO Max
Last Week’s Ranking: Honorable Mention
This Week: Great guest stars and the title “The Art of Fuckery” won us over.

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Midlife crises manifest as many things, and in HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) checks off all the usual criteria. A flashy new vehicle? Yep. A flashy new relationship? Of sorts. A drastic career change? Well, that’s an understatement. Inspired by the stranger-than-fiction true story, the 10-episode historical adventure comedy follows the aftermath of Bonnet leaving his cushy aristocratic life to become a pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy. “Pirate workplace comedy” provides an entertaining entry point, and Darby serves as the show’s hapless but well-meaning boss, bringing a Ted Lasso-esque mentality to the captain who wants his crew to grow as people, not just pirates. Taika Waititi co-stars as the legendary Blackbeard who’s having a midlife crisis of his own, and poses a perfect foil to Bonnet’s antics. While the first few episodes are uneven, creator David Jenkins ultimately strikes a satisfying balance between exploring Blackbeard and Bonnet’s supercharged friendship and adding dimension to supporting players. The season doesn’t quite unearth buried treasure, but by the affecting finale, Our Flag Means Death charts its course in the right direction. –Annie Lyons [Full Review]

Network: ABC (Hulu the next day)
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
This Week: One year sober, but a heartbreaking reveal could signal a setback.

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In Simone Finch’s comedy series Single Drunk Female, Samantha (Sofia Black-D’Elia) is forced to move back to Boston and live with her mom Carol (Ally Sheedy) after her public intoxication at work leads to a criminal conviction. Once home, she must confront the fact she is an alcoholic, albeit one who has functioned for years. She needs a job and a sponsor. And, she needs to own up to the mistakes she’s made. The result is a series that blends humor with a raw and honest look at addiction. Sheedy is fantastic as a mom who loves her daughter but makes a lot of mistakes in her efforts to support her, while Black-D’Elia shines as a woman who continues to make frustrating choices even though she wants to do better. —Amy Amatangelo

Network: Hulu
Last Week’s Ranking: Honorable Mention
This Week: The accuracy of early 2000s “culture” is disturbing!

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2022 is certainly turning out to be the year of the girlboss scammer, with Hulu’s The Dropout serving as the latest installment in this true crime sub-genre. The limited series is based on the ABC News podcast of the same name that investigated the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, following her from her acceptance to Stanford University to her corporate downfall.

Here, Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) is very quickly defined as someone who wants to be one of the greats. Her ambition is intertwined with her awkwardness, something that she is so self aware of that she is constantly trying to create an outward personality to get her what she wants. Further, her attempts at self-reinvention go from endearing to unsettling, which is not only a testament to Seyfried’s talent but to the directing and editing teams behind the camera. The gradual deepening of Elizabeth’s voice and her over-practiced corporate reassurances paint an fascinating portrait of a woman perpetually on the edge.

In the end, The Dropout does an excellent job of depicting a train that deserved to get derailed. Elizabeth Holmes is painted as a textbook example of why simply having an idea is not a good justification for dropping out of a prestigious institution of higher education, and Hulu’s portrayal of her girlbossing too close to the sun is captivating through and through. In the age of the scammer show, The Dropout is certainly worth being played. —Kathryn Porter [Full Review]

Network: Hulu
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
This Week: It crushed us, but it was good.

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Much like its subject matter, Hulu’s Pam & Tommy is a series that, on the surface, feels like it’s going to be a joke. Happily, it’s not—the series not only contains surprising emotional depth but feels like an important piece of the much-needed reckoning our pop culture is currently undergoing when it comes to the misogynistic way we treated female celebrities in the 1990s. Featuring a pair of uncannily accurate physical transformations and layered performances from stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy is a series that manages to harness the utter ridiculousness of its premise for good. –Lacy Milas Baugher [Full Review]

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