The 10 Best TV And Film Opening Credits From 2022 (So Far)
Between network television largely axing theme songs, Netflix slapping the "skip intro" button on every opening, and movies bumping credits to the end, we've been going through a drought when it comes to good title sequences. Seemingly, however, Hollywood execs did a little brainstorming during lockdown and decided 2022 was the optimal time to bring back fun, musical opening credits. Apple TV+ seems to be leading the way, uninhibited by the added two minutes to each episode, but plenty of other networks (and even a few films) have decided to reclaim the magical feature. Perhaps the entrancing Succession title score is to thank? Maybe this is a delayed revelation from the power of the Game of Thrones opener? Or could it be that enough millennials now work in Hollywood to convince studios of the grip the Suite Life of Zack and Cody theme had on us all?
The answer as to why great opening credit sequences are back may remain a mystery, but what we do know is that 2022 has provided a boon of great title sequences. Here are some of my favorites so far:
1.After Yang
The future can't come fast enough if it means I get to compete in a virtual dance competition every night in my living room, which appears to be the case in the future of After Yang. In what has got to be the most entertaining opening credits in years (sorry to the Roma mop bucket), basically the entire cast of the sci-fi adventure perform an elaborate dance sequence in groups of four. I've watched this about 10 times now, and need it to be a TikTok trend sooner rather than later.
Watch it on Hulu.
2.The Gilded Age
Julian Fellowes is no stranger to a great opening credits sequence and a killer theme. Those piano notes in the Downton Abbey theme immediately transport me to a drawing room where Edith is moping, Violet is clucking, and Carson is giving disapproving side-eye to a footman. His new series, set in 1880s New York, also starts off its episodes with a vigorous instrumental score playing over a series of images from the era. The emergence of the railroad, the popularity of top hats and pocket watches, and, of course, the corset are all on display. It's an opening that reminds me a bit of The Crown, but without the long lead time it takes for that to pick up steam (pun intended).
Watch it on HBO Max.
3.How I Met Your Father
This one is short and sweet, just like the original How I Met Your Mother credits, which were only about 10 seconds long so as to give more time to the episodes proper. The Father credits use a new version of the same song and recycle the "snapshots of friends" concept. It's very cute and makes you instantly nostalgic if you had any love for the original.
Watch it on Hulu.
4.Inventing Anna
No one should be saying "I do not have time for this. I do not have time for you," to the Inventing Anna opening credits. The new Shondaland show focusing around a Russian con artist pretending to be a German heiress uses a collage of old-school Instagram photos to introduce the cast. Since the center of this biopic, Anna Delvey, used mid-'10s Instagram to build her reputation as an heiress, the opener turns back the clock with a bunch of IG pics that appear to be from that era. It's a fun little experiment, and there is plenty to look at each time you watch.
Watch it on Netflix.
5.Jackass Forever
This intros gets a big ole fat NSFW all over it. We are basically treated to a mini Godzilla movie, only instead of an animatronic action figure Godzilla laying waste to a miniature city, we get Jackass regular Chris Pontius's genitalia painted green and dressed up like a giant lizard. The Godzilla/penis torments the other cast members as they are introduced one by one before opening its mouth (?) and spraying them all with a substance that definitely isn't fire... A snapping turtle is then sicced on the green "creature," and we get the ole "Hello, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."
Watch it on Paramount+.
6.Pachinko
Is this the best television show of 2022? I'm willing to say yes. Sorry April to December premieres. And will this be the best title sequence of 2022? Undoubtedly. Find me another one where Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung dances through a pachinko hall in an '80s windbreaker to "Let's Live for Today" by the Grass Roots. I'd like to see anyone else flip out their jacket like Jin Ha. The show, based on Min Jin Lee's hit novel, is a masterpiece that deserves to sweep the Limited Series Emmy prizes, and the title sequence is pure joy. The entire cast, wearing Korean/Japanese garments from across a century, dance their hearts out as if they're on Soul Train, and I'll watch it again and again and again.
Watch it on Apple TV+.
7.Peacemaker
Peacemaker's opening credits make no sense at all, but nor does Peacemaker's existence at all. The John Cena-led superhero action comedy is a spinoff of last summer's The Suicide Squad in which Peacemaker is the villain, supposedly killed off, and not even close to the most likable character of the bunch. That film is the unlikely sequel (reboot?) to Suicide Squad, the much maligned but still Oscar-winning vehicle with an almost entirely different cast. The show's opener, which involves the entire cast (and a bald eagle) dancing around a neon-lit soundstage to a Norwegian glam-metal song, is bonkers, but in the best possible way. It's a fever dream, but I'm living for it.
Watch it on HBO Max.
8.Severance
While many of these openers have leaned on dancing cast members or fun photos, the credits for this bizzaro office sci-fi show are a surrealist animation spectacular. The haunting score plays as an animated Adam Scott tumbles through a series of doorways, conference rooms, and parking lots spawning clones. The unsettling opening mirrors the tone of the show as a whole and becomes more resonant the further along the journey you proceed.
Watch it on Apple TV+.
9.WeCrashed
According to Wikipedia, a "unicorn" is "a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion." WeWork, the shared office space juggernaut, was one such company, and this is the inspiration for the opening credits of WeCrashed, which follows an absolutely radiant unicorn as it trots around a WeWork. The credits, overlaid on "Happy Man" by Jungle, open each episode of the Apple TV+ original (like I said, they know how to do credits) about the demise of the company's founders Adam and Rebekah Neumann, played by Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. I have gone on the record repeatedly regarding my deep love for Anne, and she is revelatory in this deep-voiced role.
Watch it on Apple TV+.
10.Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
I know nearly nothing about basketball aside from an encyclopedic knowledge of the '90s Chicago Bulls that I gathered from my engrossed viewing of The Last Dance. Turns out, I am now adding an encyclopedic knowledge of the '80s LA Lakers to the mix because of this historical drama about the team. The opener, set to "My Favorite Mutiny" by the Coup, is a fun montage of footage from the '80s that give you a real sense of everything that was going on during that period of history, as well as a real sense of how short the basketball shorts were. It's bubbly and sporty, a nice little jolt of energy at the beginning of each episode. Makes me wonder if I should learn how to dribble.
Watch in on HBO Max.
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