There's a weird dichotomy this year. This might have my favorite/best #1 since maybe Succession Season 1 in 2018 (quickly, in past years it was Chernobyl in 2019, and then Tiger King, Only Murders in the Building Season 1, Stranger Things Season 4 and The Bear Season 2). The #1 was one of the great TV series I've ever seen. The rest of the Top-20 is a bit of a step down. I don't know if it was just a slight lack of original story, or that a lot of them happen on Apple+ which I don't really watch. The other thought is this is just a lingering impact of the dual strikes in 2023 that pushed and delayed a lot of productions. Anyway, as normal we start with what's fallen off since 2023 - a lot of the list"
Shows Ended/Were a Mini-Series:
#20 - Perry Mason (cancelled)
#18 - Party Down (assuming it won't come back)
#16 - A Murder at the End of the World (miniseries)
#14 - Justified: Primeval (again, assuming it won't come back)
#13 - Winning Time (regrettably, cancelled)
#9 - Telemarketers (documentary)
#7 - The Great (still annoyed it got cancelled)
#6 - Bodies (miniseries)
#5 - The Fall of the House of Usher (miniseries)
#4 - Succession (ended)
Shows that Didn't Air in 2024
#17 - I Think You Should Leave
#15 - Beef
#12 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
#11 - The Righteous Gemstones
#4 - Babylon Berlin
#2 - The Last of Us
20.) Under the Bridge (Hulu)
This was a good show in what could've been a great show's body - taking a very real story of teenage bullying, class, race, and what-not, and putting some great actors about it, but leaning more into the white perspectives rather than the real story of the class / race / bullying part. It's not that it shied away from it - the characters in the foster home who bully the Indian girl and then murder her are told with some deftness to not make them out as complete monsters (well, aside from the rich girl), but I just wish more of the show focused on that. 50% of the show was incredible, the other 50% spent on Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone was merely above average, and probably would've been worse had it not been played by two great actresses.
Hey, it's another show about an investigation of a murder that rocked a small town (this one a fictional story of course). But this was investigated by a precocious high schooler. It also mixed in race slightly. It was almost the opposite, in a way, of Under the Bridge - this was lighter, more investigative, more Veronica Mars, less Mare of Eastown (though neither of these shows rose to the heights of those two). I really enjoyed the lead performance - the rare case of a US actor playing someone from England. Also enjoyed the slow pace of the story - it felt more like mystery shows of old, teasing little by little until the last couple episodes. At the end, it was a bit too small, and the peformances a bit too inconsistent to go higher, but for what was a PG-13 type show, this was excellent.
18.) Letterkenny (Season 13, Hulu)
This was the year Letterkenny, that weird Canadian comedy that is far smarter and sharper than anyone would think, finally came to an end. Realistically, it could've probably gone on much longer - they were not losing their fastball for a second. If anything, the creative minds behind the show (Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney - playing Wayne and Glen) showed they could branch off, with the great spinoff show Shoresy. Anyway, it's hard to do a last season right when you only have 6 epsidoes, but they came as close as possible, giving every part of the show spotlights as much as sendoffs. They made this random town in Canada seem so much more alive over the years. Yes it helps that the average woman in Letterkenny I geuss is a model (never a bad running joke) but the heart of the show was the main 8-9 people who were there from the start, and made the show at the end. Long live this weird, Canadian gem of a show.
17.) Three Body Problem (Season 1, NETFLIX)
It's a bit weird that the sci-fi aspect of the show that is the central problem (a society from a different galaxy far in teh future infiltrates the present to inhibit overly fast progress of the current earth) I found way more compelling than the conceit of the "game" that they all play that reveals this. The interpersonal stuff was interesting. The visual masturbation that was the game was pure Ready Player One. Still, the showe ended in a great spot, and from what I understand of the books we've barely begun to scratch the surface of how zany this well acted, dramatic pierce is. If this was Benioff & Weiss's return to TV, at least they waited for something worth coming back for.
16.) Only Murders in the Building (Season 4, Hulu)
As I mentioned earlier on the reason I find this entire set of 20 a bit weaker than in years past is because of shows like Only Murders - returning shows that were usually a bit better in years past. It wasn't like this season was bad. There were some great elements - I thought over time the three "stunt casting" characters played by Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria and Zach Galifanakis did work, but I found the humor just less successful than in years past. There is still enough chemistry between the three leads - and this year had probably the best solo Mabel story of any, but even the mystery this year seemed more forced / slightly too confusing than in years past, especially since the murderer isn't someone we really got to know or care about. The show isn't done, and I'm hopeful they can clean up a bit of the excess fluff for a Season 5 to make what was a great show that has dropped a bit towards a good show back into a great show that can match up with its three leads.
