It's about that time of year to reflect on the TV shows of the past 12 months and figure out what was good, what was bad, and what was...whatever it was. It's too late to meaningfully digest any more TV before the end of the year (I'll spend it probably burning off Christmas films and rewatching 90s Star Trek episodes or whatever...shudders "old" TV from the 90s and 2000s will be comforting and non-anxiety inducing). But in the meanwhile, here's a list of new TV that I thought was halfway decent, along with some mention of TV shows that I guess I should have already watched, but which go into the watchlist until I get around to it.
I watch television in two ways: "appointment TV," which is usually premium TV I need to give full attention to, and "ambient TV," where I'm doing something else while I watch and go in and out as required. I'm not separating the two categories here, but the influence of both probably reflects in my interests in procedurals, often with quirky detective-types, superheroes and science fiction. I tend to prefer drama over comedy, and scripted over reality. I am aware of various problematic issues surrounding certain shows and their creators, but am trying to not let them influence whether shows make "the list" or not. This isn't exhaustive (though I am exhausted putting it together), and I'm looking for TV shows that are doing something interesting, however I would define it. I certainly haven't watched everything, and even missed some big ticket shows, which I note at the end.
It feels to me like 2024 has been the year of a mini renaissance in network TV. There are far fewer hours for the networks to have to program now due to conceding viewers, ad money and most of the industry to streamers. It also feels like the actors and writers strikes may have had a quantifiable effect. But overall, it feels like after losing ground to streamers over the last few years, producers at the main networks are making a reasonable case for longer season lower budget four quadrant television as a place for some experimentation with the genres and tropes that network TV itself popularized.
On the streamer side, it feels like Netflix continues to churn mediocre television, with the occasional flash of something interesting. Hulu (in some cases FX on Hulu) seems to be making consistently decent television, even if, like AppleTV+, it is critically successful television that may not necessariily find an audience. Disney+ is the only other prominent streamer that seems to have had a good year in my books, mainly in franchise fare. The remaining streamers each seem to have interesting things going on, but no consistent signs of quality, to me at least. My attention has been spread all around.
I understand the appeal of the source material to Benioff and Weiss, and this first season certainly started off strong with interestng sci-fi concepts mixed with sociopolitical issues. The question is whether or not the show can continue to be interesting without being plagued by Benioff and Weiss's own foibles when they try to fill in source material with their own original work.
I'm never into Star Wars the way I feel like I should be. But this show seemed to play with some interesting concepts, fleshed out the dark side a bit, and had a notably diverse cast that made the show worth at least one watch. I don't need another season, but it's a shame that the show isn't getting one.
Much like The Acolyte, this is here more to represent the best that Marvel can do at this moment. It makes sense to do a follow-up to Wandavision as one of the more succcesful Marvel shows and this is pretty much the only way to make that happen. Fun and whimsical, with bouts of seriousness and, of course, Patti Lupone. I hope this one gets renewed somehow, but I also can't pretend that, despite some solid episodes, this show needed to exist or has anything to say about itself or whatever is going on with Marvel right now.
I am happy this got to see the light of day. Making essentially an extended visual homage to the animated series with a new Gotham made for a nostalgic series that is a much-needed balm to the diminishing quality of the DC Animated Universe. It's a shame reception seems to have died down for this one.
It means something to have Zachary Quinto play a gay doctor and have a relationship with another man that doesn't call attention to the non-heteronormative nature of that relationship, and to have it play subtly in the background of multiple episodes.
Anything with Eddie Redmayne is a joy to watch, primarily because the man's default state seems to be visibly in pain. While the show makes me question whether the Jackal knows what he's doing at all, where the show demonstrates its smooth operations, it is truly a pleasure to watch.
The character has been softened to be able to function as a lead rather than a quirky recurring. But Carrie Preston is in fine form here, sustaining both The Good Wife and its "high value viewer" appeal and the quirky fish-out-of-water detective type that sustained USA (the network) for so long. Like a higher budget Monk, as Elsbeth subtly (but genially) takes the piss of NYC society. Still love this.
Everything I feel about parts of myself in education, rolled up into one. An acerbic alternative to Abbott Elementary, much gayer, much more skeptical, but ultimately thoughtful and cautiously optimistic.
Video game adaptations are so hit or miss, but this one feels like quite a hit. At once both a reasonable representation of the video game franchise itself but also with its own take on the absurdity of the apocalypse.
Two strong network procedurals, both entertaining if also requiring some stretching of credulity to overlook their flaws. Each is taking a different path towards balancing the plot of the episode with the plot of the season (or series): where High Potential has sidelined much of its big mystery, Matlock infuses every episode with it. I lean towards High Potential for better plot writing, but then towards Matlock for Kathy Bates and its complex, if often predictable, character dynamics.
A late entry into the list. Margo Martindale is always worth a watch. As a recurring or guest actor she elevates everything she is in, and as the lead in this, she brings the things that make her such a great character actor and shapes them into a quirky and compelling lead.
This was interesting at least on a personal level. The plot is interesting, the show is able to sidestep caricaturing Japan by, well, caricaturing Japan. It was also populated by a healthy segment of Japanese TV regulars and used those characters in ways that challenged the actors playing them beyond the characters they often play on Japanese TV. Robots, Japan, YOU, Judy Ongg...I'd prefer this quirky approach over Tokyo Vice any day of the week.
Nostalgia, but also reflecting the times in which we live, entwining the X-Men experience more closely with the gay experience and politics. Particularly in the second half of 2024, it's hard not to want to live vicariously through Magneto and his rejection of human appeasement.
- Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
- Evil (Paramount+)
- Star Trek: Prodigy (Netflix)
- So Help Me Todd (CBS)
Harrison Ford continues to turn in some of the best work of his career.
Wild Wild West line dance.
Millennial-targeted snark, the last of a dying breed of show.
Comfort.
Painful, in a good way.
Guilty pleasure.
I don't see how James Gunn can beat this.
Imperfect but still good. Lisa Colon-Zayas is the not-so-unsung hero of this season once again.
Guiltily fucked up.
Reliable viewing.
Wobbly return for Russell T. Davies but fun to watch that Disney money at work.
- Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
- Black Doves (Netflix)
- The Brothers Sun (Netflix)
- Constellation (AppleTV+)
- Grotesquerie (FX)
- Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance (Netflix)
- Interior Chinatown (Hulu)
- Kaos (Netflix)
- Landman (Paramount+)
- Like Water for Chocolate (Max)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Amazon Prime)
- One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix)
- The Penguin (Max)
- Ripley (Netflix)
- Say Nothing (Hulu)
- Shogun (Hulu)
- The Sympathizer (Max)
- Under the Bridge (Hulu)
- Palm Royale (AppleTV+)