Top Ten Television Shows of 2024

Usually when I sit down to write up my annual Top Ten List, I have a host of shows that I struggle to whittle down. This time around, however, while I had a decent sized list of shows to choose from, the culling process felt significantly easier than in years past because there just weren’t a lot of truly GREAT shows.

Some of that is due to the dual strikes of 2023, which meant that there were fewer shows this year. Some of it is because we’re now waiting an average of 1.5 years between seasons of shows on streaming services (hey, at least Severance will finally be back in January). And some of it is because there just aren’t that many exceptional, generationally great shows on the air anymore. And you know what? That’s okay. Even without a bunch of shows I think will go down in the pantheon of television history, this is still a heck of a line-up. So, without further ado, here’s my list of the Top Ten Television Shows of 2024.

10. Agatha All Along, Disney+

I went back and forth on whether or not to include Agatha All Along on this list. While it was the best offering from the MCU in, well, years, it didn’t quite stick the landing (although it was more successful than its predecessor, WandaVision). But you know what? There were very few shows that enticed me week in and week out like this one. Kathryn Hahn proved she is a force to be reckoned with. Aubrey Plaza was absolutely delightful. Joe Locke held his own against some real heavyweights. And the trio of Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata, and Ali Ahn made up the best coven you could hope for. The joy that Agatha All Along brought into my life each week earned it a spot on this list. It turns out a comic book story could be smart, funny, deeply emotional, and tell a complete story without falling into any of the traditional traps such adaptations tend to. I can’t wait to see when we’ll catch the surviving characters in the future. But until then, perhaps I’ll head down, down, down The Road one more time.

9. The Penguin, HBO/Max

Two comic stories in my top ten? Well, yes. And they couldn’t be more different tales – even if they both follow villains on their path to, well, achieving their true story purpose. The Penguin was billed as a chance to follow Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobb as he amasses power in the Gotham underworld and becomes the villain that will gain the attention of Batman (Robert Pattinson, although he does not appear in the series). What we ended up getting was a stunning performance from an unrecognizable Farrell, and an even better performance from Cristin Milioti as Sofia “The Hangman” Falcone. The duo worked together and worked to destroy one another over the course of the series, which ended with one of the most tragic conclusions I’ve ever seen in a comic property. While we know we’ll be seeing Farrell’s Cobb again in this Batman universe, I can only hope we’ll get another chance to see Milioti’s Falcone, who more than proved that she’s just as terrifying and dangerous as any member of Batman’s Rogues Gallery.

8. English Teacher, FX on Hulu

The teachers in English Teacher aren’t the type you might expect to find on a television comedy, especially in the age of Abbott Elementary. Rather, this group of high school teachers, led by series creator Brian Jordan Alvarez’s Evan Marquez (the titular English teacher), are often far more concerned with their own personal issues than with making sure their students are thriving. Sure, they’re perfectly fine teachers (well, most of the time), but they can’t quite seem to understand their Gen Z students (who don’t share their Millennial values) or their parents (who are way too involved in their kids’ lives). They’re burnt out, trying to do their jobs with a bunch of roadblocks in their way (some of their own creation, of course), and getting paid next to nothing. But lest you think this is a bleak look at the teaching profession, it’s not really. It’s a hilarious send-up of generational confusion, self-centered individuals, and the horrors of trying to make sense of the world around us. It’s funny, I promise.

7. A Man on the Inside, Netflix

If English Teacher is a snarky comedy, A Man on the Inside is like a warm hug – a show that pulls at your heartstrings while still bringing the funny. The premise is simple: A widower, urged by his daughter to get back out into the world, answers an ad to work undercover at a retirement home to find out who stole the necklace of a resident. But, like creator Michael Schur’s other exceptional comedies, our hero Charles (Ted Danson, great as usual) gets more than he bargained for when he starts to forge genuine friendships with the other residents while deceiving them. It’s funny, full of some legends of the screen as the residents, and packs an emotional wallop that makes you fall in love with each and every character by the end of the season.

6. Ripley, Netflix

Gorgeously shot in black and white, this adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley offers depth and complexity that you can only get from a miniseries. It doesn’t hurt that it also has the incredible Andrew Scott in the titular role, a snake who slithers his way from scene to scene, charming when he can but seething internally throughout nearly every interpersonal interaction he undertakes. We watch as he worms his way into the lives of Dickie and Marge, setting off alarm bells before he makes the choice that sends him on the run from both Marge and Inspector Pietro Ravini. The cinematography is as stunning as anything I’ve ever seen on television with the use of the black and white scale heightening the claustrophobia as the walls start closing in around Ripley. It’s a series that demands your attention while never asking you to sympathize – or even empathize – with Ripley. Rather, we’re asked to watch him make his moves, make some grave errors, and try to come out the other side alive and well. It’s a wild but wholly intriguing ride.

5. Hacks, HBO/Max

I honestly assumed for much of the year that Hacks would be my number one show on this list. After all, its third season was, without a doubt, its absolute finest to date. Stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder were at the top of their game as Deborah and Ava fell back into their traditional toxic dance only to end the season in a very different place than season’s past. Showrunners Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs, and Lucia Aniello once again managed to take the same central arc (Deb and Ava start to work together, churn out great work, achieve something they thought was impossible, only for the partnership to go up in flames due to their actions) and make it sing even more, with a twist in the finale that felt entirely fitting without being telegraphed. While it didn’t land at the top of my list, I cannot say enough great things about this season of television and this show on the whole. Hacks is a sensational comedy and deserves all the praise it earns – and hey, unlike some shows, it really is a comedy.

4. Say Nothing, FX on Hulu

It’s hard to adapt a beloved book to the screen. And it’s even harder to adapt a non-fiction book successfully. Sure, there were parts of the rich and engaging “Say Nothing” book that didn’t make it to the excellent miniseries, but the central throughlines of that complex story were present. Built, like the book, around the mystery of the disappearance of Jean McConville, the series weaves throughout a 30-year span of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, exploring key players in the conflict but never fully passing judgment on anyone in the historical tale. There were monsters and victims on each side and many more caught in the ether between the two ends of the spectrum. With spectacular performances and a clear, concise story to be told, Say Nothing was a spell-binding series.

3. Shōgun, FX on Hulu

Usually, telling someone that a series requires you to read subtitles is the kiss of death to getting them to watch the show. But somehow, Shōgun overcame the collective fear we seem to have of foreign language shows (even though there were English language sequences in the mostly Japanese series) and not only became a critical darling, it became one of the most popular shows of the year. And the praise – which included multiple Emmy Awards this fall – was well earned. Unlike the previous adaptation of this story, this version was much more centered on the Japanese characters rather than the White interloper (although he was still a key part of the story being told). This majestic series swept us away with its stunning set pieces, beautifully calibrated performances, and epic storytelling.

2. Interview with the Vampire, AMC

Here’s how good the second season of Interview with the Vampire was: I’ve read Anne Rice’s novel and I’ve seen the 1994 film based on it, but still, I sat there watching the final episodes of the season hoping against hope that the fate of Claudia might end up being different. Of course, it wasn’t, but boy did I try to bargain with the screen that perhaps Claudia might get to move with her new companion to Monaco and live out the rest of her eternal life.

The action in season two swings from New Orleans to Paris, with Lestat a less overbearing presence in the story and more a ghostly voice in Louis’s head, but Interview with the Vampire somehow becomes even richer this time around. The complexity of the characters grows – particularly with Eric Bogosian’s Daniel (our interviewer) and Delainey Halyes’ Claudia – and the story becomes darker as we see the cracks in the key relationships within the story turn into chasms: Louis and Lestat, Daniel and Louis, Armand and Louis. Is it pulpy at times? Absolutely, we’re dealing with vampires here, after all. But there’s such humanity in the performances, even as the darkness of the characters and the story grow darker and darker. It’s a truly sensational season of television.

1. Somebody, Somewhere, HBO/Max

I’m still a bit in denial that Somebody, Somewhere has ended its three season run. And I’m still pretty annoyed that HBO canceled such a gorgeous series about friendship and family – found as well as blood. The third season was all about our central character, Bridget Everett’s Sam, trying to find her place in her circle of friends and the world around her. Sure, that was more or less the focus of the series throughout, but this time around, Sam is seeing everyone around her grasp their brass rings – whether it be in relationships or in their own freedom from the past that held them down – and can’t quite seem to do the same for herself. But when she starts to break through her own fears and start to open up to those around her? What a joyful revelation. And her realization that those closest to her – like her platonic life partner, Joel – aren’t quite as content as they seem to be on the outside is a great lesson to us all to not assume things about others to be true.

There’s no finite ending to the story – by design, according to Everett, who wants to believe these characters will continue to live on after the credits start to roll on the final episode of the series – but we get to see just how far they’ve come over the course of these three seasons. And how much they’ve been able to teach us about how important it is to get out of your own way, take chances, and not be afraid to be who you want to be even when the world is trying to tell you to conform. Friendships can be just as important as family – they can become your family. Love is out there should you want to take the steps to make yourself vulnerable enough to receive it. And laughter is the best medicine. Somebody, Somewhere was a real gift to us all.