I watched one-hundred-thirty-nine
TV seasons and mini-series this year. Here are my top 11 for
the year. There are no seasons that fell into the 'worst' category.
While in the past I simply quit watching bad television, one year ago I
began watching entire seasons of shows I didn't like just so I could review
them in full. Still none of them would I consider the worst. This is
based simply on what
I watched this year, not on
what was released this year.
Check out the previous year-end reviews.
The Top 11 of 2024:
The West Wing (1999-2006)
Rent The West Wing on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Aaron Sorkin
Starring:
Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford,
Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, Moira Kelly,
Stockard Channing, Mary McCormack, Jimmy Smits, Alan Alda, Kristin
Chenoweth
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
Personal lives hopelessly tangle with professional duties as staffers in
the West Wing of the White House try to conduct the business of running
a country.
Verdict
I enjoyed the show just as much if not more this time as I did when I
first watched it years ago. It delves into politics through people. The
characters and actors are fantastic. It's certainly idealistic, but I
appreciate that about the show. It always looks for the best path
through every deadline as we explore real issues with huge impacts.
Despite the often complex ideas, this also has a lot of humor, and that
makes it feel authentic. It's a workplace comedy at times, and it's such
a engrossing show. I couldn't wait until I had a free moment to watch
more.
The first four seasons are the peak, after that the show does
change. In the seventh season, I missed several core characters from the
first four seasons that rarely appear. The focus shifts over the last
couple of seasons. The show is more about drama and less about issues.
It's still good, but it's a step down
Full Review
Fargo (2014-)
Rent Fargo on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Noah Hawley (created for television by)
Starring: Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joe Keery, Dave Foley
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Various chronicles of deception, intrigue, and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. All of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.
In season five, a kidnapped housewife's mysterious past leads to a variety of unsavory characters. Verdict
This season is completely engrossing from the very first episode. There's less dark humor this season, though it may just seem that way with how depressing this season's focus is. It's quite heavy as the antagonist is a misogynist and racist, and that makes this season more contemporary. As terrible as that sheriff is, you can't help but wonder what he'll do next. First we wonder about the mystery at hand, and later in the season we wonder how these characters are going to survive. Surprisingly, this season manages to introduce a preternatural character that never seems as strange as it sounds. In context it completely works. This seasons is a return to form for the show.
Full Review
3 Body Problem (2024-)
Season 1 - 8 episodes (2024)
Watch 3 Body Problem on Netflix // Buy the book (paid link)
Created by: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Liam Cunningham, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Benedict Wong, Jonathan Pryce, John Bradley
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A
fateful decision made in 1960s China reverberates in the present, where
a group of scientists partner with a detective to confront an
existential planetary threat.
Verdict
This
is such an intriguing concept. Space is so vast, that communication and
preparation can take centuries. Earth finally makes contact with
another species. The nature of the relationship sours. How do you
prepare to fight an enemy that's four-hundred years away? How do you
account for future technology in those plans? This is an enemy that sees
and hears everything. How do you conceal plans? I'm a huge sci-fi fan. I
love big concepts, and this is so creative with communication and
interactions as well as how each side prepares for the eventual meet.
More than that, the core of this series, like the book, is a physics
problem; the three body problem.
Full Review
Ripley (2024)
Watch Ripley on Netflix // Buy the book (paid link)
Created by: Steven Zaillian
Based on: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Starring: Andrew Scott, Johnny Flynn, Dakota Fanning, Maurizio Lombardi, Bokeem Woodbine
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A grifter named Ripley living in New York during the 1960s is hired by a wealthy man to begin a complex life of deceit, fraud, and murder.
Verdict
I'm intrigued by anything that bucks standard conventions. This is focused on the process rather than just the action. Shot in black and white and set in 1960s Italy, this feels older than it, deliberate in story and the visuals. There's less dialog than a typical series, and that only heightens the impact as we watch Tom carry out his deceptions. It's an engrossing story of murder, intrigue, and insecurity, heightened by a vivid look imparted by the color choice.
Full Review
Fallout (2024-)
Season 1 - 8 episodes (2024)
Buy Fallout on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Graham Wagner, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Based on: Fallout by Bethesda Softworks
Starring: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Emerson, Moisés Arias
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
In
a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear
decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect
themselves from radiation, mutants, and bandits.
Verdict
This
is a fantastic adaptation. It captures the concepts that make the games
so compelling, while doing a wonderful job of bringing it to the
screen. Being familiar with the game, there are a lot of references but
you don't need that knowledge to enjoy the series. It's sink or swim in
the wasteland where everyone is chasing a scientist with a secret. There
are a lot of characters which keeps the pacing brisk. This could have
slowed down and focused on developing characters. I wouldn't have minded
more exploration and survival. Still, this is a lot of fun, made by
people who really love the games and bring that spirit to the series.
It's not just everything I hoped for in a Fallout series, it's everything I could have wanted.
Full Review
Devs (2020)
Mini-series - 8 episodes
Rent Devs on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Alex Garland
Starring: Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jin Ha, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Alison Pill, Zach Grenier
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A
computer engineer investigates the secretive development division in
her company, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her
boyfriend.
Verdict
While
this starts with a mystery, it's the probing questions this considers
that force you to continue thinking about it. Do we have free will or is
everything predetermined? That has different implications for various
characters, and throughout the season we look at what that means, the
ramifications it has, and how a technological breakthrough could affect
the world. It's a gripping season that balances science, plot, and
characters effectively. This builds such a great story that I began to
wonder if the conclusion could do the plot justice, but it completely
does. This is strong from the first to the last episode.
Full Review
Billions (2016-2023)
Season 1 - 12 episodes (2016)
Season 2 - 12 episodes (2017)
Rent Billions on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by:Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Andrew Ross Sorkin
Starring:
Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis, Maggie Siff, Malin Åkerman, David
Costabile, Asia Kate Dillon, Jeffrey DeMunn, Corey Stoll
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Hedge
fund manager and philanthropist Bobby Axelrod aggressively accumulates
wealth and power in the world of high finance, garnering the attention
of New York United States Attorney Chuck Rhoades. Verdict
The first two seasons are great and absolutely worth watching. We watch
two titans face off over the financial industry, and the show does a
great job of getting inside their heads. It feels like a realistic
depiction of how the rich live, and the story is gripping. What does it
take to become rich, and what does it take to prove someone's a
criminal? Unfortunately, the first two seasons are clearly the best, and the rest of the seasons only get worse, but the first two seasons were great.
Full Review
Blue Eye Samurai (2023)
Season 1 - 8 episodes
Watch Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix
Created by:Amber Noizumi, Michael Green
Starring: Maya Erskine, George Takei, Masi Oka, Brenda Song, Randall Park, Kenneth Branagh, Darren Barnet
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Driven
by a dream of revenge against those who made her an outcast in
Edo-period Japan, a young warrior cuts a bloody path toward her destiny.
Verdict
It's
absolutely amazing from the art style and visuals to the characters and
story. Creativity abounds in every facet of this series as we follow a
warrior intent on revenge. That generates many questions, chief among
them, is it worth it? While it's made her fierce, she's also cold and
unfeeling. It's just a joy to watch this show as it does everything
well. This is also a show about oppression and a culture where women
have no autonomy. The female samurai defies that in standing and intent
as we watch her and a princess defy the artificial bounds placed upon
them. While blood-lust pervades every violent scene, this show excels.
Full Review
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999)
Season 1 - 9 episodes (1993)
Season 2 - 4 episodes (1994)
Season 3 - 20 episodes (1994-95)
Season 4 - 22 episodes (1995-96)
Season 5 - 22 episodes (1996-97)
Season 6 - 23 episodes (1997-98)
Season 7 - 22 episodes (1998-99)
Rent Homicide: Life on the Street on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Created by:Paul Attanasio
Starring:
Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor, Andre
Braugher, Melissa Leo, Reed Diamond, Jon Seda, Zeljko Ivanek, Daniel
Baldwin, Ned Beatty, Peter Gerety, Jon Seda, Callie Thorne, Michael Michelle, Toni Lewis, Giancarlo Esposito
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
A police procedural series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
Verdict
It's rare for every season of a show to maintain this level of quality. This
show always feels grounded; in the job, the paperwork, the politics.
While detectives come and go the cases remain, and this show stays
consistent for the duration. It's riveting, and I was continually
impressed with the depth of story and characters explored through the
cases. It creates an attachment to the characters through the buildup of
small interactions depicting daily life that gives this a sense of
reality. This is underrated, and I'm surprised it isn't discussed more.
Just like the characters were diligent in working every case that came
in, this show diligently provided quality episodes week after week. The
final episode ends like any other, and that's fitting. The show always
focused on the cases. It's phenomenal, and you can see foundations for The Wire in this as well as what feels like dozens of actors that would later appear on that show.
Full Review
Interview with the Vampire (2022-)
Season 1 - 7 episodes (2022)
Rent Interview with the Vampire on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Rolin Jones
Starring: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Delainey Hayles
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Based
on Anne Rice's iconic novel, Louis de Pointe du Lac's epic story of
love, blood, and the perils of immortality are told to journalist Daniel
Molloy.
Verdict
This
season is expertly crafted from the story to the character development.
It's a riveting exploration of a strained relationship and the
perceptions of the past over a very long time. Louis contemplates his
decisions as this compares Louis to the journalist recording his story
and Louis against Lestat. We see the benefits and pitfalls of eternity. A
rose isn't without thorns. These are smart characters dealing with
extraordinary circumstances while looking back on these memories with a
certain vantage point that can distort the past. There's so much depth
to the characters and their motives that makes this such a great
experience.
Full Review
A.P. Bio (2018-2021)
Season 1 - 13 episodes (2018)
Rent A.P. Bio on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Michael Patrick O'Brien
Starring: Glenn Howerton, Lyric Lewis, Mary Sohn, Jean Villepique, Tom Bennett, Patton Oswalt, Paula Pell
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer
Plot
A
former philosophy professor who takes a job teaching advanced placement
biology uses his students to get back at the people in his life who
have wronged him.
Verdict
This is a sociopath employed a a teacher. He's pompous, petty, and absurdly self centered. Jack is terrible, lacking boundaries and morals, but in the context of a school it's hilarious due to the contrast. He thinks he's superior to everyone, especially people in Toledo, yet his machinations usually fail. Jack revels in being antagonistic when he's not trying to goad people into serving his whims. It's absolutely hilarious and ridiculous. The first season is excellent but subsequent seasons try to humanize Jack and stray from what made this so unique. The first season is absolutely great, and I wish the series had held to that.
Full Review
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