My Top Television of 2024

The best stuff I watched this year - and I watched a lot!

I really love good television.

I’m not a big movie person. I have a small selection of movies I really love, and a limited band of interest about what movies I’ll take the time to watch. My preference has always been television, and especially two key categories: prestige television (think Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Succession, The Sopranos, etc.), and IP content (think Star Wars, Marvel, Game of Thrones etc.). I love the medium, and when a good show is done well, there is really nothing better. I don’t really like sitcoms at all, nor do I like reality tv. For me, a show needs to being trying to tell a good story, across episodes (even if there is an element of serialization to it). I take these shows seriously, and I want them to take themselves seriously. I’m not looking for brain candy, or background music. Television, along with writing, is one of the forms of art that I truly understand, and so art, in some sense, is what I look for.

That sounds pretentious, and probably a little too serious for some of the stuff that made my list. But I think the term “art” can be understood broadly, and so I’ll make that case for each of these shows below. I want to take some time as we close out the year to rank the best shows, in my opinion, of 2024. I watched a whole lot of shows this year (as you’ll see below) and I have some pretty strong feelings about what was good, and what was not. Beyond just the ten best, though, I’ll also list some honorable mentions, some shows I watched that very pointedly did not make the consideration, some shows I’m currently watching that haven’t wrapped yet, and finally, some old shows I finally caught up on this year.

It should go without saying, light spoilers for all these shows are included below, so beware if you haven’t watched any of these.

Let’s dig in!

The Ten Best Shows of 2024

10. Fallout, season 1 (Amazon Prime)

The tenth spot was a real toss up between this, and a show we’ll get to in honorable mentions below. I’ve never been a big fan of the Fallout video games; they are certainly well done, and are a genre of gaming I generally like (First person Open World RPGs), but for some reason, I’ve just never been able to get into them, despite more than one attempt. So, I didn’t have a ton of expectations for this show, just on a personal level. But, I was really taken with this show, for the most part. The world building the creators did was just fantastic; Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and especially Walton Goggins were all great as the lead characters. The story at times was a little muddled, but that’s kind of how these IP treatments tend to go. I’m genuinely excited to see where season two goes.

9. House of the Dragon, season 2 (HBO Max)

I put House of the Dragon on this list partly because I really love this storytelling universe, and because I think this season was made with a quality that only HBO really can bring to the table on IP content. I enjoyed season one of HOTD more than a lot of people did, I think. It got a lot of criticism for the time-hopping nature of that season, as it covered about 20 years of time in just ten episodes; but I think it mostly handled that well. Season two, however, was much more focused, and did a great job of laying out the ground work for more to come as the Dance of the Dragons unfolds.

I thought that once again, Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke shone as the lead roles, especially D’Arcy. One weakness of this season, however, was the Daemon storyline, which almost criminally underused Matt Smith, leaving him stuck in Harrenhal for almost the entire season. However, the twists and turns of this season – especially “Cheese and Blood” and the “The Red Sowing.”

8. The Penguin, season 1 (HBO Max)

This was not a show I had any anticipation or expectations for. When I first heard they were making a show about The Penguin in the Matt Reeves Bat-Verse, I remember thinking, why? So, I was very pleased to find this show engaging and entertaining and well done, with a coherent storyline and fleshed out, interesting characters. Colin Farrell as the title character was fantastic, even if his mob boss accent work was a little overdone at times; and Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone stole the show; her feature episode, “Cent’Anni,” was the true highpoint of the season. And the twist at the end – I won’t spoil it here, but just wow. Not something I anticipated at all; I sat there slack jawed through it.

I’m torn as to whether a second season is warranted. On one hand, this told a neat and tidy story, and surely both Oz Cobb and Sofia will play important roles in the next Batman film, which could conceivably bring their stories to a close. On the other, this was a well-done season of television, and Farrell is magnetic as the Penguin. I definitely wouldn’t be mad about more.

7. Agatha All Along, season 1 (Disney+)

This show mirrors almost exactly what I just said about The Penguin: I was not in anticipation for it, I was confused about why it was being made, and to amplify that, it (like many Marvel properties these days) had a tortured development process. But again, I was pleasantly surprised by Agatha. This show was so, so good. Kathryn Hahn was, of course, fantastic as the title character. But Joe Locke really stole the screen as Teen, Aubrey Plaza was her typical stunning self, and the other witches – Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and especially, Patti Lupone – were great.

The season really picked up steam in the second half especially. In particular, three episodes stick out for me: first, Lilia’s feature episode, “Death’s Hand in Mine”, was stunning, a masterwork of non-linear storytelling with a redemption arc for Lupone’s character that was well deserved; the Teen/Billy Kaplan background episode, “Familiar by Thy Side” was a breakout for Joe Locke; but the season finale, “Maiden Mother Crone”, with an extended flashback telling Agatha’s story, capped off a strong season of Marvel storytelling (something the franchise really, really needed.)

6. Rings of Power, season 2 (Amazon Prime)

It’s well established here that I’m a Tolkien nut, and also someone who embraces and loves the expansion of Middle Earth on screen beyond just the Jackson films. I just love Rings of Power. The Second Age is such a rich palate for storytelling, bridging the gap between the epic tales of the First Age with enough familiarity to the Middle Earth we know – helped along by the presence of LOTR staples such as Elrond, Galadriel, and now, Gandalf – to make it an intelligible storytelling space. Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay are Tolkien lovers, which shows through in their attention to detail and the obvious reverence for the Professor’s world (just go listen to an interview with them; I’m strongly recommend this one with Joanna Robinson on House of R.)

There is hardly a bad performance from anyone in the cast. That said, Charlie Vickers as Sauron really stands out for me, especially as he navigated this season as Annatar, who is such a striking contrast to Halbrand, Sauron’s disguise in season one. If I had to pinpoint any negatives for this season, it would center first on the Harfoot story line, which was a bit slow; and also, with some of the story leaps that were necessary this season to push the Elrond/Galadriel story forward. I get why they were made, but they still hung me up just a bit. That said, again, this was a fantastic season of television, and I’m so excited about where it is going from here.

5. Slow Horses, season 4 (Apple TV+)

This top five is where we really get cooking.

Slow Horses is the first of a couple of shows on this list that I spent 2024 catching up on in full. I had never watched any of the previous seasons before this year, but I knew it by reputation, and it was sitting on my list of things to try. Boy, I’m glad I did. I love Slow Horses. Just everything about the show. Gary Oldman is, of course, amazing as Jackson Lamb. But the whole cast is fantastic, and the witty British repartee is delightful. I’m a sucker for British television (as you’ll see) and this is that.

Season four was, in my estimation, the least enrapturing of the Slow Horses seasons yet, which still leaves it as a better season of television that 95% of what is out there. The story was a bit slow at times, and it felt like Lamb was at times too sidelined, and I’m still not sure what is going on with Hugo Weaving’s villain (we’ll learn more in future seasons, presumably.) All in all, though, it was a top five show me.

And the best thing about Slow Horses? They don’t wait around; four seasons in three years, season five is already done filming, and they are at work on seasons six and seven now. This is how show making should be done!

4. Black Doves, season 1 (Netflix)

I’ve been waiting to write this top ten list partly because I wanted to watch Black Doves first. I knew I’d love this show. Another British spy thriller set in London, this time at Christmas, with Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw as the leads: what is not to like?

This show was so much fun. The banter, the gratuitous violence, the slightly confusing storyline, all the great performances; let me shout out in particular Ella Lily Hyland and Gabrielle Creevy as Gen X triggermen – it’s a gender-neutral term, as they remind us – Williams and Elanor. I’d watch 20 episodes of a spinoff about them just doing hit jobs; they are so funny.

We are clearly set up for a season two, and I cannot wait.

3. Industry, season 3 (HBO Max)

Industry was another show I spent part of this year catching up on, and it quickly became one of my favorite shows. There is just nothing else on tv like Industry. Every episode hits so hard; the showrunners leave nothing on table, and in fact, revel in writing themselves into corners they must then escape from, not just at the end of seasons, but every single episode. This season was, like the first two, electrifying. It also was the end of a trilogy, of sorts; the season ended with a break in the lives of all the main characters that left open so much ground going forward; we could keep telling these stories, of Yas and Harper and Robert and Eric, or we could go into something completely new. The possibilities are endless. That’s what so exciting; I trust the showrunners Mickey Down and Konrad Kay completely at this point.

I wrote this on Facebook back September when this season wrapped:

Season three, especially the second half of the season, really was an earthquake for the main characters of the show. With the consolidation of Pierpoint, everyone is in a new place, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these characters left for good going forward. The only one I’d put money on coming back is Harper, who is still in finance at least. Was Eric’s call to Harper a foreshadow of his death? Is Yas fading into her new vacuous life as landed gentry? Is Robert off to Silicon Valley and a spiritual awakening? And lord what do we even do with poor, despicable Rishi at this point? I could see a complete cast turnover. I could see continuing each of those storylines in detail. Konrad and Mickey have really earned our trust, to make with these characters and their stories whatever they wish. However they choose, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Moments I’m still thinking about from this season (and will be for a while):

Rob and Henry brawling in the children’s room at Lumi HQ - just absolutely hilarious.

The entire heartbreaking Rishi episode - one of the most masterful single episodes of tv ever made.

Yas watching her dad go overboard. Haunting.

Yas and Robert on the boardwalk, and then at Henry’s. What a heartbreaking story for those two.

Eric basically murdering Bill Adler in front of the entire Pierpoint board, after Bill’s vulnerability with him.

Just wow.

2. Say Nothing (FX/Hulu)

This show was not on my radar until it binge dropped on Hulu and just…wow. Based on the book by Patrick Radden Keefe, telling the story of some of the key personages of The Troubles in 1970s Northern Ireland, this show was simultaneously fun and fast paced and violent, and also tragic, and heartbreaking, and full of little human moments that were astounding. The casting for this show was fantastic: Lola Petticrew as Dolours Price, Hazel Doupe as Marian Price, Anthony Boyle as Brendan Hughes, and Josh Finan as Gerry Adams, were all electric. Maxine Peake, Helen Behan, Tom Vaughan Lawlor, and Michael Colgan as older versions of those same characters were all inspired casting choices; the plausibility of them being the same people, just older and sadder and more broken, was dead-on.

Two episodes stand out to me in particular: “Evil Little Maniacs”, about Dolours and Marian’s time in prison and the hunger strike that almost killed them was an amazing hour of tv; and “I Lay Waiting”, which focused on the tragedy of the McConville family, was one of the most affecting episodes of television I’ve ever watched. I cannot recommend this show enough.

1. Shogun (FX/Hulu)

By far my favorite show of the year, and one of my top five favorite tv shows ever made. Based on the epic novel by James Clavell, which was previously made into a miniseries in 1980, it tells a story about the shogunate in Japan in the 17^th century. Loosely based on real events, the story is compelling enough, but just the quality of this show was what grabbed me. It’s beautifully done; the world is rich and visually stunning; the music is really, really good. You should watch this show in the original Japanese, not dubbed, because the acting of the Japanese characters is only done justice this way.

And on that note, the cast: all around amazing. Cosmo Jarvis, as the English pilot John Blackthorne; Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranoga; Tadanobu Asano as Yabushige (an unexpected scene stealer); Takehiro Hira as Ishido; and finally, Anna Sawai as Mariko, the most powerful performance in a whole ensemble of them.

Here’s what I wrote on Facebook back when it aired:

Shogun wrapped its season yesterday, with a series finale that was as subtle a masterpiece as any shown I’ve seen. The whole show was that way: it was never the grand gestures or big set pieces that were going to drive this story forward. No, it was always the small character moments, the interactions that were less about what was said and more about the arrangement of bodies and the small glances, the intricate interplay of custom and tradition and protocol that characterized every interaction. I was captivated throughout by the beautiful scenery and settings, the costuming, the attention to period-specific and culturally accurate detail. Shogun was, in short, a masterful work of television, one that very quickly vaulted into my top five all time. I think the biggest sadness I have as it ends is that I don’t get to spend time with these characters anymore, who were as fleshed out and real as any I’ve ever seen in a show. I’m very much looking forward to a quick return via a rewatch. Give it a try, in the original Japanese (don’t do the dubbed version all, seriously.) What a show.

Honorable Mention

A few quick notes on some shows that almost made it into my top ten, but didn’t quite make the cut. I originally had 3 Body Problem (Netflix) in my top ten, but as I thought about it, I realized that nothing in particular stuck with me from that show the way it did with Fallout or House of the Dragon. I remember enjoying it, and thinking it was well done; I’ll definitely be watching season two when it happens, but I’ll have to revisit season one, because it just wasn’t super memorable. True Detective: Night Country (HBO Max) was one of the most aesthetically pleasing shows for me of the year; give me snow and dark arctic nights and windswept tundra any day of the year; however, the story wasn’t always great, and I wasn’t totally sold on the ending. Still, a really good show overall. Finally, The Sympathizer (HBO Max) was a lot of fun, and well made.

Watched, but not considered

There are a handful of shows I watched, that made an impression on me, but which I never considered for the top ten. First and foremost was The Acolyte (Disney+); I’m a Star Wars nut, and this one certainly had its high points. But, it never was allowed to be what it wanted to be. I’m really disappointed we won’t get a season two to iron out those storytelling kinks, because there was a lot of promise here. Disclaimer (Apple TV+) was a beautiful and weird show, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, and Sacah Baron Cohen and run by Alfonso Cuaron. I wanted to like this show more than I did; it was well made overall. But the story just did not work; it wanted to be a morality tale about rape and memory and the societal toll placed on women who are victims of assault, but it was so heavy handed in its attempts that it often fell into ridiculousness when it was trying to be deep or sincere. Finally, Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+) was another one I wanted to like a lot more than I did. I thought Jake Gyllenhaal was really good, and Peter Sarsgaard was even better. But, again, the story didn’t always make sense, and the ending definitely did not.

Didn’t watch/ Not Finished

A few shows I’m currently watching or soon planning to that might have made the list had they ended in time or had I gotten through them:

Dune: Prophecy (HBO Max) – still airing, kind of bumpy, but this last episode was really good.

Skeleton Crew (Disney+) – I can’t say enough about how much I love this show, and how happy I am to have another actually good Star Wars show

Silo, season 2 (Apple TV+) – good sci fi; I enjoyed season one more, and would probably benefit from watching season two as a binge rather than week-by-week.

The Bear, season 3 (FX/Hulu) – I love The Bear, its one of my favorite shows on TV, I just simply have not watched season three yet. Mea culpa.

Old Shows watched this year

I spent a lot of time this year also catching up on some old shows I had neglected when they came out. First up is Severance (Apple TV+), which I absolutely adored. I cannot wait for season two, which is coming in January. I also worked my way through Apple TV+’s Foundation, which I really, really like and I which I hope Apple gives ample time and resources to. I got about a season and a half into For All Mankind (Apple TV+) and just found it could not keep my attention. And finally, I just started on Squid Game (Netflix), in anticipation of season two coming out next week, and I am really enjoying it.

That’s 2024 in television! Tap into the comments, and tell me: where do you agree? Disagree? What am I missing out on?