Movie Stars Who Made Shows In 2022 You Forgot About

Scroll back in your brain to 2022. You remember the blockbuster movies, the billion-dollar franchises, the endless multiverse jokes.
But do you remember that Sylvester Stallone quietly launched his first scripted TV series? That
Julia Roberts headlined a Watergate drama? That Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Carell,
and even Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway slipped into limited series that came and went faster than your free streaming trial?

Thanks to peak TV, many of these prestige projects got buried under a mountain of content. The result: entire shows starring A-list movie actors
are now half-remembered tiles on a homepage you once scrolled past at 1 a.m. This guide digs them back up, explains what made them special,
and helps you decide which ones are actually worth adding to your “watch later” list before they vanish again.

Why 2022 Was the Year Movie Stars Quietly Took Over TV

For years, “movie star” and “TV star” felt like different job titles. That line basically dissolved by 2022. Streaming platforms needed big names
to launch new originals, and movie actors wanted juicy roles, longer character arcs, and the kind of prestige that awards voters love.

Limited series became the sweet spot: eight to ten episodes, one and done, no long-term commitment. The downside? With dozens of streamers
dropping new shows weekly, even high-profile projects got lostespecially if they weren’t part of a superhero universe or a breakout viral hit.

That’s how we ended up with a weird time capsule of 2022 TV: shows packed with Oscar winners and pop-culture icons that you either missed completely
or watched, loved, and then… never thought about again. Let’s fix that.

1. Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King

Yes, Rocky did TV. In Tulsa King, Sylvester Stallone plays Dwight “The General” Manfredi, a New York Mafia capo exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma,
where he decides to start his own off-beat criminal empire. The series launched on Paramount+ in November 2022 and blends crime drama with dry,
fish-out-of-water comedy.

It’s notable as Stallone’s first lead role in a scripted television series, and the show leans into his legendary tough-guy image while treating him
like an aging mobster trying to figure out smartphones, dispensaries, and modern crime. Early on, it drove new sign-ups for Paramount+, but if you
weren’t already subscribed in 2022, it probably never crossed your radar.

Why it’s worth revisiting: it’s surprisingly funny, lighter than most gritty crime shows, and an easy binge if you like mob stories with
a playful edge and lots of character actors chewing scenery.

2. Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in Gaslit

Remember when Julia Roberts did a Watergate show? Gaslit is a political thriller limited series based on the Slow Burn podcast,
focusing less on the usual Nixon-centric angle and more on the people orbiting the scandalespecially Martha Mitchell, played by Roberts, and her
complicated marriage to Attorney General John Mitchell, played by a heavily made-up Sean Penn.

The show premiered on Starz in April 2022, right in the middle of everyone still catching up on ten other limited series. Critics praised Roberts’
performance as a socialite who refuses to shut up about what she knows, only to be dismissed, gaslit, and written off as unstable.

Why it slipped through the cracks: Starz doesn’t generate as many pop-culture memes as bigger platforms, and Watergate fatigue is real.
But if you enjoy historical drama with a sharp, slightly cynical toneand you want to see Roberts doing something thorny and political instead of romantic
this one’s a gem.

3. Samuel L. Jackson in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

Before he started gearing up for a crime-universe spinoff, Samuel L. Jackson delivered a quietly devastating performance on Apple TV+
in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Based on Walter Mosley’s novel, the 2022 limited series follows Ptolemy, an elderly man with dementia
who gets the chance to temporarily regain his memories through an experimental treatmentand uses that window of clarity to investigate a long-buried mystery
and put his affairs in order.

Jackson is better known on screen for one-liners and action, but here he leans into vulnerability: confusion, fear, flashes of anger, and then moments of
sharp, painful insight when his mind clears. Critics highlighted his performance and that of Dominique Fishback as Robyn, the young caretaker who becomes
his anchor.

Why it’s worth revisiting: it’s emotional, slow in a deliberate way, and absolutely a performance piece. If you want to see a movie icon doing nuanced
character workand you don’t mind tearing upthis is one of the more underrated offerings in Apple’s prestige pile.

4. Steve Carell in The Patient

In The Patient, Steve Carell sheds almost every trace of his comedy past and dives into a tightly wound psychological thriller.
The FX on Hulu limited series follows Dr. Alan Strauss, a therapist who’s kidnapped by a patient, Sam, who happens to be a serial killer.
Sam chains Alan in his basement and demands therapy to help him stop killing.

Episodes are shortoften under half an hourbut emotionally dense. Most of the series is essentially two people talking in a single room,
with flashbacks peeling back Alan’s grief, family history, and ethical limits. Critics praised Carell’s restrained performance, noting how he
communicates fear and calculation with tiny shifts in expression rather than big dramatic explosions.

Why people forgot: it wasn’t flashy, it dropped weekly, and it was easy to mentally file under “oh, I’ll get to that when I’m in the mood
for something dark.” If you’re into tense character studies and don’t mind slow-burn pacing, this is exactly that show.

5. Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson in The First Lady

Showtime’s anthology drama The First Lady assembled a ridiculous cast: Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford,
and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt. The 2022 series jumps between three eras, exploring how each First Lady navigated public expectations,
private struggles, and political pressures inside the White House.

Reviews were mixed. Critics loved the performancesespecially Pfeiffer’s portrayal of Betty Ford’s vulnerability and strengthbut felt the storytelling
tried to juggle too many timelines and themes at once. Still, you don’t often get this many heavyweight actors in one show, each re-creating
iconic women from American history.

Why it’s worth revisiting: treat it less like a perfectly structured drama and more like a trio of overlapping character studies. Watch for the acting,
the costuming, and the way each woman’s private life collides with history, rather than expecting a single, tight plot.

6. Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway in WeCrashed

Before 2022 was over, the “startup disaster” genre officially became a thing. Apple TV+ jumped in with WeCrashed,
a biographical miniseries about the rise and chaotic implosion of WeWork, starring Jared Leto as Adam Neumann and Anne Hathaway as his wife and partner,
Rebekah.

The show tracks how a shared-workspace company ballooned to a sky-high valuationand how delusion, ego, and questionable leadership brought it back down.
Leto leans hard into accent and eccentricity, while Hathaway plays Rebekah as both believer and enabler, oscillating between idealism and entitlement.

Why you might have skipped it: by 2022, audiences had already seen multiple “tech bros gone wild” stories, and WeWork fatigue was real.
But if you’re fascinated by startup culture, branding, and the psychology of founders who believe their own hype, this one still has plenty to chew on.

7. Zoe Saldaña in From Scratch

If you associate Zoe Saldaña mostly with sci-fi blockbusters and blue/green CGI characters, From Scratch will surprise you.
This Netflix limited series follows Amy, an American artist who falls in love with a Sicilian chef, Lino. What begins as a sun-drenched romance in Italy
slowly becomes a story of immigration, illness, grief, and the ways families collide and then close ranks around loss.

The series is based on Tembi Locke’s memoir and leans into its emotional core: it’s sentimental, lushly shot in Italy and Los Angeles, and very focused
on love, food, and family. Critics highlighted Saldaña’s dramatic performance and the show’s ability to balance heartbreak with warmth.

Why it’s worth revisiting: it’s a great “I need a cathartic cry” show. If you enjoy emotional dramas, beautiful locations, and family dynamics that feel messy
and real, this is an easy recommendation.

8. Colin Firth and Toni Collette in The Staircase

True-crime fans may know the original French docuseries, but HBO Max’s 2022 dramatized version added another layer.
The Staircase stars Colin Firth as novelist Michael Peterson, accused of murdering his wife Kathleen (Toni Collette), found dead at the bottom
of the stairs in their home. The show explores not only the trial but also how the family fractures under public scrutiny and how a documentary crew
shapes the narrative.

Firth’s quiet, ambiguous performance keeps you guessing: is he a grieving husband, a skilled manipulator, or both? Collette, meanwhile, makes Kathleen
feel like a real person rather than just “the victim,” giving extra weight to every flashback.

Why you forgot: in a year with multiple crime dramas, this one got blended into the pile, especially if you had already seen the original documentary.
But if you’re interested in how true stories get repackaged, and you like performances that live in the gray area, this series is worth another look.

Why These 2022 Shows Slipped Out of View

All of these series had the right ingredients: big stars, prestige platforms, strong marketing at launch. So why do they feel like half-remembered dreams now?

• Streaming overload: Dozens of new shows dropped every month in 2022. If you missed a premiere week, it was instantly old news.
• Limited-series fatigue: Viewers love one-season showsuntil there are too many of them. Even high-quality entries started to blur together.
• Fragmented platforms: With stories spread across Paramount+, Apple TV+, Hulu, Netflix, Starz, and Showtime, it was impossible to keep up
  without juggling multiple subscriptions.
• Serious subject matter: Many of these shows tackle heavy themesdementia, serial killers, political scandals, startup implosions.
  That can make them easy to delay in favor of lighter comfort TV.

The upside: now that the hype cycle has cooled, you can approach them on your own timeline, with fewer spoilers and less pressure to binge in a weekend.

How to Rediscover These Forgotten 2022 Star Vehicles

If you’re ready to dig back into 2022’s overlooked star-powered shows, here’s a simple strategy:

1. Match your mood to the show:
   In the mood for crime and dark humor? Start with Tulsa King. Want emotional drama and a good cry? Go for From Scratch or
   The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.
2. Think in mini-seasons:
   Most of these are eight to ten episodes. Treat each series as a “mini season” of TV in your personal schedule instead of trying to juggle three at once.
3. Use the star as your anchor:
   If you’ve only seen Steve Carell as Michael Scott or in broad comedies, The Patient becomes a fascinating reintroduction to his serious side.
   Same with Zoe Saldaña outside of sci-fi franchises.
4. Accept that you will forget again:
   That’s okay. TV is temporary, but the experience is what matters. Think of these shows as short, intense novels you pick up, love, and pass on.

There’s something oddly satisfying about catching up on a show long after the marketing storm has passed. No discourse, no hot takesjust you, the story,
and a movie star doing something a little off the beaten path.

of Real-World Streaming Experience: What It’s Like Revisiting These 2022 Shows Now

Imagine opening your streaming app and realizing half your “My List” is basically a museum of 2022: titles you meant to watch, titles you vaguely
remember from trailers, titles where you thought, “Wait, they did a series?” Re-discovering these shows now feels a bit like finding
movie-theater ticket stubs in an old jacketnostalgic, slightly embarrassing, and kind of delightful.

When you press play on one of these forgotten projects, the first thing you notice is how different the vibe is without the original noise.
Back in 2022, timelines were full of hot takes about which limited series was “essential,” which actor deserved awards, and which docu-drama
had the best wig budget. Watching in 2025 or beyond, you get the luxury of silence. No one is arguing about whether Viola Davis’ portrayal of
Michelle Obama was “too mannered,” or whether WeCrashed was too sympathetic to the Neumannsyou’re just watching, deciding for yourself.

You also start to see patterns that were harder to spot in the moment. You notice how many of these shows are about memory and perspective:
Ptolemy trying to hold onto his identity, a therapist replaying the choices that led him into a basement prison, first ladies reframing their legacies,
founders rewriting their own myths in branding decks. When you binge them outside their original release window, those themes echo back and forth
in interesting ways. It becomes less “a random mix of prestige shows” and more “one long conversation about how we tell stories about ourselves.”

There’s a practical upside, too: your expectations are lower, in a good way. You’re not looking for The Greatest Show of the Year.
You’re looking for “a solid eight-episode crime drama with Stallone doing gruff dad jokes” or “a tear-jerker with beautiful Italian scenery.”
It’s easier to appreciate what a series does well when you’re not grading it against a whole awards season in real time.

And then there’s the social side. It’s oddly fun to text a friend, “Did you ever watch that Steve Carell hostage therapist show?” and watch the dots appear
as they try to remember whether they did or didn’t. These series become conversation starters in a different way nownot “Did you see last night’s episode?”
but “How did we all miss this when it came out?” or “Can you believe Zoe Saldaña was doing this and also promoting massive franchise movies at the same time?”

Most importantly, revisiting these 2022 projects is a reminder that you don’t have to chase every new release to get great TV.
Sometimes the best watch is something that’s been sitting quietly on a streaming shelf, waiting for the moment when you’re actually in the mood for it.
And when you finally hit play on a show that almost slipped through the crackseven one stuffed with A-list starsit feels like you’ve pulled off a tiny,
personal pop-culture heist. The algorithm forgot; you didn’t.

Conclusion: Your 2022 TV Do-Over Starts Now

2022 was chaotic, overloaded, and full of prestige projects that never got the attention their casts deserved.
From Stallone’s mobster reinvention in Tulsa King to Julia Roberts’ fierce turn in Gaslit, from Samuel L. Jackson’s heartbreaking
performance in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey to Zoe Saldaña’s emotional journey in From Scratch, there’s a whole mini-era of TV waiting
to be rediscovered.

You don’t have to remember every marketing campaign or awards campaign. Just pick one of these forgotten 2022 shows, press play, and let a movie star
remind you why they became famous in the first place.