While many websites purport themselves to be the home of the biggest nerds/geeks, Nerdist is truly the ultimate hub for all things genre. (Yes we are biased.) We have an array of tastes and areas of expertise among our small but mighty crew of editors, staff writers, and dedicated freelancers. We can break down that surprise MCU cameo and dive into the character’s comic history with ease. We’re big fans of horror, from the major releases to the giallo films that make our hearts soar.
Nerdist never strays away from a gory offering. In fact, we love to celebrate those bloody and downright shocking moments. But we also like to step outside of the typical “questions that need answers” boxes with thoughtful analysis of our favorite TV shows and movies. Characters embed themselves so deeply in our hearts that we write odes to their existence and sharp wit. We love to interview creatives and get into the nuances of crafting your favorite shows from in front of and behind the camera. Our reviews, analysis, and holistic coverage of a property is unparalleled.
And, we also know that weird and fun is a major part of being a nerdy human. We are up on some of the oddest stories on the internet, whether it is tech related or just plain gross. No matter what we are writing, Nerdist always brings you content that is informative, impassioned, and inclusive with an occasional dash (or a heavy dose) of irreverence.
We can’t list the thousands of posts we did in 2022; however, the following ones give you a taste of what Nerdist did this year.
Jump To: Features // Lists with a Twist // Reviews // Interviews // Science // Explainers // Weirdness // Gaming Love // “The Most” Posts // Horror // Honoring Creatives // Collaboration
Nerdist‘s Shining Features of 2022
From Stranger Things 4 to Star Trek: Discovery, we had a lot to say about the many genre offerings this year. Sometimes, they were deep meditations on a universe’s theme or a specific character. And other times, they gave you some needed context about a group. Oh, and we love dragons. #TeamDragon
The Tragic Singularity of Adar on The Rings of Power
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power became beloved among Nerdist‘s staff. And this thoughtful piece by our News Editor (and lover of characters with long locks) Rotem Rusak about Adar’s unique place in this universe is one of the many excellent and wholly unique dives into what made this show so special.
The Beauty of Strange Things 4‘s Horrifying Upside Down Revelation
Stranger Things 4 gave us new insights into its universe through the story of Henry Creel a.k.a. One b.k.a. Vecna. And, through his story, the realization that there is something beautiful within this frightening narrative led to this analysis by Staff Writer Mikey Walsh of the show’s overarching themes.
The Sandman Reveals a Heartbreaking Deep Cut From the Hellblazer Comics
Oh, you thought we only knew the “Big Two” comics? Think again. Finding comic Easter eggs in a show or film is one fun thing. But connecting something seemingly miniscule yet important to the comics that amplifies that story in retrospect? Genius. Thanks to freelancer Jules Greene for this very popular piece.
Kino Loy’s Journey on Andor
Andor is yet another stellar 2022 show. So, of course we—specifically our Editor-in-Chief and Star Wars maven Amy Ratcliffe—had something to say about its brilliantly crafted characters and stories. This examination of Kino Loy’s journey and how it is representative of the show’s ultimate arc tells you all you need to know about why Andor is necessary viewing.
How Star Trek: Discovery Grew Into Its Trans Representation
Nerdist writers are not afraid to take a show or film to task when it falls into nasty tropes and stereotypes. When you love something, you want it to be its best and provide solid representation for everyone. And, by the same token, we are willing to give a show credit when it is due. This timeline of Star Trek: Discovery‘s fumbles and triumphs with its trans representation is a beautiful marriage of both admitting its faults while acknowledging changes.
The Boys Expertly Lampoons White Christian Nationalism
Whoo Lordt. There’s a lot to say about The Boys in any given episode. But, while we like to dig into the world’s wild moments and satire, we also realize that it is giving a heavy dose of social commentary. The Boys ability to use acerbic wit to put a closer eye on white Christian nationalism is unmatched. Freelancer Abby Jo Morris delivered the goods with her analysis.
Viktor Hargreeves’ Journey on The Umbrella Academy Makes Perfect Sense
There is perhaps no journey more beautiful and brilliant than showing up the way you want to in the world. That’s what we saw with (often unlucky) Number Seven Viktor Hargreeves. While some felt like his revelation came out of no where, it in fact reflected the journey that many trans people experience. And this feature piece by our Platform Manager Ali Mattingly details his entire arc with incredible care and thought.
Who Are the House of the Dragon‘s 17 Dragons?
While many of our features are breakout pieces that look at a property through a new lens, that’s not always the case. We know you all are out there searching for answers to your big questions. And there was perhaps no bigger question this year than this one. We love dragons and you do too.
The History, Characters, and Legacy of the First Marvel Comic
Some of our most informative (and fascinating) feature pieces are history-focused. This one leans right towards our average readers interest and leans on the expertise of one of our comics gurus. Staff Writer Eric Diaz details this first issue and how its legacy shows up in today’s MCU.
The Comics History and MCU Future of Marvel’s Illuminati
We explain a lot of things at Nerdist that we know you wanna know. And this post is a perfect example of our comic knowledge helping your better understand what’s going on in the ever-expanding MCU.
Nerdist‘s 2022 Lists with a Twist
We all love a questions that needs answers post or one that ranks things. They are fun lists! But, we like to take the concept of lists and do something a little different with them.
The Yellowjackets Characters As Fairytale Archetypes
One simply cannot rank the greatness of this group of wilderness girls. But we can honor each one of them (along with the few guys) and discuss how this show is actually a fairytale. Cleverly written by Rotem Rusak with artwork done by our own Ali Mattingly, this post caught fire on the internet.
The Best Pop Culture References in Ms. Marvel
2022 was a wonderfully fun year for Marvel television shows. We all fell in love with Kamala Khan, the quirky New Jersey teenager who became a bonafide hero. This show is great for many reasons, including its heavy dash of both American and Pakistani (and South Asian) pop culture references. Thanks to our freelancer Maryam Ahmad, we were able to spot them and create our own amazing workday playlists.
The Best Wednesday Quotes From the Supreme Addams Family Member
Wednesday came in towards the end of the year and resonated deeply with our readers. We knew we’d get plenty of mystery and murder in this series along with Wednesday Addams signature deadpan personality. But whoa did Jenna Ortega bring it with this role, from her look to an overflow of incredibly quotable lines. This is the list by Features Editor Tai Gooden is what you need to clapback at your enemies.
Nerdist‘s Stellar Reviews of 2022
Why yes, we do like to do a review. However, we take it far beyond the surface level responses, making connections to pop culture trends and a franchise’s history. We are choosy about what we review but when we do choose… it’s always fire.
The Batman Is the Dark Knight Movie We’ve Been Waiting For
Our Senior Editor Kyle Anderson is well-known for his sharp and balanced reviews. And, as a Batman aficionado, his review of the film gave depth and layers that make it stand out from the crowd.
Turning Red Is a Sweet Story About Growing Up, Not Apart
A major tenet of truly being inclusive (beyond standard lipservice) is knowing when to have the right person on the job. And that’s what we aim to do at Nerdist by ensuring that reviews and general coverage of films (and TV) that center on specific people are done by the right folks. It is not only the right thing to do, but it also prevents people from speaking on matters that are not within their scope. We were very thankful and appreciative that Laura Sirikul wrote this review (and much more!) for us.
The Interviewing Genius of Nerdist in 2022
We wish we could list every single interview we did this year. From chatting with actors about infamous scenes to independent creatives about their work, Nerdist loves to bring something fresh to the interview circuit.
Andor‘s Writer and Executive Producer on Sacrifice and Getting in the Mud
Amy Ratcliffe took the reins on this interview with Beau Willimon and Sanne Wohlenberg, digging deep into the show’s theme of sacrifice. It’s incredibly detailed with refreshing insights from this creative duo.
Ms. Marvel‘s Bisha K. Ali on Partition, Representation, and Hopes for a Red Dagger Spinoff
Freelancer Maryam Ahmad and Ms. Marvel‘s showrunner Bisha K. Ali talked about everything from Partition to representation. This feels less like an interview and more like a conversation between two people about something they love, which make for the best profiles.
Wash Day Diaries‘ Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith on Their Heartfelt Graphic Novel
Covering genre is so much more than highlighting major TV/film properties and comic books. It is also about uplifting the many, many indie creators who are delivering stellar stories that make people feel seen. Tai Gooden’s interview with Jamila and Robyn about their Black woman-centric comic and interesting creative origin stories is an example of why uplifting creatives matters.
Nerdist Gets Science-y in 2022
Yeah, we are a little science-y. We may not get into it as much as we do the MCU, but there’s always something cool happening in our world.
Nope‘s Science Consultant Reveals the Name and Inspiration for the Movie’s Alien
For us, the crossover between science and pop culture is the best. And, our readers really dug this interview by Science Writer Melissa Miller with Nope‘s Science Consultant Kelsi Rutledge about Jean Jacket, that flying saucer that, well, wasn’t a flying saucer after all.
630-Foot Giant Sinkhole Has Ancient World Growing at the Bottom
Some science news things are so weird, you just gotta write them up. The title speaks for itself.
Robot Gets More Realistic Expressions, Stares Into Your Soul
And, there’s always a bit of techy news in the world. But nothing quite like this frighteningly realistic robot. We like it and also do not like it.
Nerdist, Home of Comic Explainers
We mentioned earlier that we like to explain things. And one of our biggest “lanes” is with comics. Thanks to an array of experts and a variety of tastes among us, someone here knows something (or a lot of things) about everything.
Talokan, Wakanda Forever‘s New MCU Kingdom, Explained
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opened us up to Namor’s aquatic world. And, for those who wanted to understand it better, this explainer gave all the necessary information.
Who Are the Thunderbolts? The MCU’s Phase 5 Team, Explained
Over the years, Rosie Knight has provided a lot of great insight into the Marvel world through her explainers. And 2022 was no different. She dove into the comic origins of the Thunderbolts and prepped us for what we can expect from them in Phase 5.
Who Is She-Hulk‘s Villainous Wrecking Crew?
Did the Wrecking Crew show up the way we thought they would in She-Hulk? No. Did all of us even know who they were at first? Also no. But if they ever appear again in the MCU, we are up on everything we need to know about them.
Nerdist‘s Very Weird Yet Wonderful 2022 Stories
This year got weird from all fronts. Some weirdness came from no where while others parts of it came from our desire to make you deeply uncomfortable. And, at times, the weird news also made our hearts happy.
190-Year-Old Pansexual Tortoise King Is Oldest Living Land Animal
Tortoises are inherently weird. But we really love that Jonathan is living his best life. In fact, he might outlive us all at this rate.
Lab-Grown Brain Cells Learn to Play PONG, May Be Sentient
In “things to keep you up at night” news, we want you to never forget these brain cells. This seems to be a horror movie waiting to happen.
The Hobbit Cartoon From the ’70s Is Pure Nightmare Town
Kyle didn’t have to do this, but he did and we are glad. As a part of our Tolkien theme week celebration, he took us back to this very weird animated offering from the 1970s. And we haven’t stopped thinking about it since then.
We Pecan’t Deny It: This Strange Pecan Pizza Is Pretty Good
Please forgive Mikey Walsh for this corny yet catchy title. His continual forays into the dark weirdness of food will always be a hit.
Nerdist Gets Into the Game
Gaming is always a fun route to go down. From video games to tabletop adventures, we love to escape the world through this medium. And we had quite a few great posts about gaming in 2022.
5 Video Games Inspired by John Carpenter’s The Thing
Whoo hooo for crossover! Video games and horror make quite the duo. Freelancer Joshua Mackey wrote this interesting post for our Summer of ’82 week, where we celebrated the films that defined that summer.
Dragonlance Authors’ New Book Dragons of Deceit Is a Love Letter to Fans
Writer Kelly Knox is a tabletop gaming expert. So, its no surprise that she gave us this stellar post about the latest addition to the Dragonlance saga. Part interview, part ode to this world, and part history, we love to see it.
Nerdist Does the Most with Most Posts
The Most Shocking, Gross, and Plain Weird Moments of The Boys Season Three
The Boys season three did exactly what people thought it would do… THE MOST. So many wild moments, bloody battles, and overall chaotic happenings went down this season. And, because Tai is a fan of chaos and carnage, she put together a two-part list of the most shocking and gross moments in The Boys.
How Attack on Titan Influenced the Most Shocking Scene in Men
It’s always great when two seemingly unconnected things are actually tied to each other. That’s the observation Rosie Knight made after watching Men and discovering via a Q&A that its baffling ending is influenced by Attack on Titan.
Nerdist Explores the Horrors of 2022
TV got the upper hand over movies this year. However, horror had quite the epic run with Scream (2022), Barbarian, Smile, Halloween Ends, Cabinet of Curiosities, and more. So, it’s only right that we showed the bloody and often underappreciated genre some big love this year.
These 5 Horror Films Define the Social Climate of 2022
Freelancer Lindsey Romain took five of the year’s biggest films and held them up against our many socials ills in this standout feature. Capitalization, the hunger for relevance, and navigating a new world all fit into what we see happening around us. It is an affirmation of what we at Nerdist already know: horror always holds a mirror to society.
Cabinet of Curiosities Offers One of the Best Lovecraft Adaptations of All Time
Guillermo del Toro brought his brand of scary to Halloween this year with Cabinet of Curiosities, an anthology series on Netflix. Overall, it resonated with us but one particular Lovecraft adaptation stood out from the crowd.
Nerdist Honors Marginalized Creatives
This ties into our mission of amplifying independent creators. It is vital to make space for those from marginalized communities and identities. Having an array of opinions from all types of fans matters and we believe that fandom is a place where everyone belongs. The below posts are two of many that exist on our website to highlight Black, Latinx, and Indigenous creatives, among others.
These 9 Geeky and Nerdy Latinx Podcasts Are a Pure Delight
Cheers to these podcasters who have created a space for themselves in the audio world. Their insight is valuable and their contributions to fandom are worth several rounds of applause.
Dr. IndigiNerd on Creating the World’s Only Native Comic Book Shop
Big thanks to Dr. IndigiNerd for speaking with us about his Native-owned comic shop that specifically sells Indigenous comics and graphic novels.
Let’s Come Together and Celebrate!
We are all pretty busy but sometimes we pull our forces together for a collaborative post. It’s a reminder of how important each and every voice on our website is and how much we love what we do.
These Brilliant Book Characters Are Our Fictional Favorites
The women of Nerdist (including a few freelancers!) joined forces to highlight our favorite women book characters. The choices span genres and include everything from comics to classic novels.
Thanks to each and every person who wrote for Nerdist in 2022. And thank you to the many, many readers who took time to engage with our content. We cannot wait to see what comes next in 2023.
