Best shows of 2024

(James Poniewozik)

We live in the Age of Like. You can click stars and hearts from one end of the internet to the other to express your contentment. Like is fine. Like is good. But like isn’t the same as love. Love is more challenging. It asks more of you and it risks more. Like can’t break your heart.

The good news is, there was a ton of TV to like in 2024. But it was harder this year than most to find those special, challenging, distinctive shows to l-o-v-e, which is what I think year-end lists like this are all about.

All this is an outgrowth of a phenomenon I call “Mid TV” — the burgeoning category of well-cast, professionally produced shows that look like the groundbreaking TV of the past but don’t actually break ground of their own. This TV has its place — I watch a lot of it, happily — but that place is not on this list. (The shows that did make it are arranged alphabetically.)

Farewell, 2024; here’s to a more-than-mid 2025!

“English Teacher” (FX)

There’s a popular “Simpsons” meme in which the school principal, Seymour Skinner, wonders to himself, “Am I so out of touch?” and concludes, “No, it’s the children who are wrong.” What the rookie-of-the-year sitcom “English Teacher” posits is: Maybe the children are wrong, and so are the adults, but we’re all also sort of right, and all this is part of life. Less apocalyptic than “Euphoria,” more acerbic than “Abbott Elementary,” the series surveys the post-COVID educational culture wars with more curiosity than judgment. That, it turns out, is one of the best ways to learn. (Streaming on Hulu.)

“Fantasmas” (HBO)

On one level, this six-episode sketch fantasy is about how hard it is to find a place to live in New York City. On another, it’s about how Julio Torres’ mind is a bigger space than any condo in the five boroughs. Among the surreal inventions you will find in its many rooms are a biography of the rebellious, misunderstood letter Q; Fufu’s, a swinging nightclub for gay hamsters (which is near a CVS, also run by hamsters); a tiny, Smurf-like social media consultant who lives in a toadstool-shaped house; and the “Office of Incorporeal Services,” for people who want to live unencumbered by a body. Sweet and surreal, it’s the year’s finest head trip. (Streaming on Max.)

“Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show” (HBO)

At various points in his introspective docuseries, comedian Jerrod Carmichael acknowledges that his project — chronicling his efforts to live openly as a gay man and to shed his secrets and others’ — is perhaps a bad idea. For him, maybe. For the viewer, it’s a fascinating, twisty exploration of the complications of living in one’s truth. By the end, you may not be sure whether honesty is the best policy, but it’s definitely Carmichael’s most fruitful subject. (Streaming on Max.)

“John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.” (Netflix)

I would not have guessed that anything interesting would happen in the talk-show genre this year, and I certainly would not have expected that it would involve one more young comedian dude getting the desk job. But maybe because it aired an ephemeral six episodes, maybe because it gave Richard Kind the second-banana role he was born for, this shaggy comic tribute to the specific weirdnesses of Los Angeles was better than talk as usual. (Streaming on Netflix.)

It’s a mystery to me why, even as TV assembles one franchise after another out of acquired intellectual property, the mesmeric adaptation of the wildly popular Neapolitan Novels of Elena Ferrante never built a big audience in the United States. But it was a wonder from the start through this year’s final season — an imaging that found a lyrical visual style to reproduce both the plangency of Ferrante’s prose and the brutality (emotional, sometimes physical) of her story. (Streaming on Max.)

“Say Nothing” (FX)

“You can call me a difficult woman, but I couldn’t live with the silence,” says Dolours Price (Maxine Peake) at the end of this limited series. Dolours (played by Lola Petticrew as a younger woman), a soldier with the Irish Republican Army, is one of many voices — some victim, some transgressor, some both — that fill this arresting story of the Troubles, based on the book by Patrick Radden Keefe. It’s a tough but enthralling work that traces old scars, revives bitter memories and measures a generational account of multiplying injustice. (Streaming on Hulu.)

“Shogun” (FX)

Too many limited series these days fall into one of two categories: “This should have just been a movie” or “This was, in fact, already a movie.” Not so this grand reimagining of the James Clavell novel (and 1980 miniseries), which puts its length to good and transfixing use. Although still focused on John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an Englishman enmeshed in the struggles of feudal Japan, the new version foregrounds and enriches its Japanese characters while maintaining the original miniseries’s soapy intrigue and epic sweep. (Streaming on Hulu.)

Early in this series’s final season, bar employee and amateur singer Sam (Bridget Everett) harmonizes in her car to Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy,” the new-wave hit about a young gay man who leaves home. “Somebody Somewhere” was about the small-town people — gay, straight, transgender, cisgender — who stay and the networks and communities they form to support one another. Warmly funny and open to its characters’ complications and nuance, Everett’s slice-of-life comedy had a small life — three short seasons — and a heart as big as Kansas. (Streaming on Max.)

The Summer Olympics (Peacock)

Cramming the entirety of the Olympics into a few hours of linear TV has always meant trade-offs, while the promise of livestreaming has often fallen short. For the Paris Games this summer, however, the smorgasbord of offerings on Peacock got it just right. Whether you wanted to zero in on a favorite event or monitor a “Multiview” like an amateur sports producer, everything from the sublime to, well, whatever Raygun was, was at your disposal. The Games also aired on NBC and cable channels for traditionalists, but this time streaming brought home the gold. (Streamed on Peacock.)

“We Are Lady Parts” (Peacock)

How to succeed after success? It’s a question as old as rock music, and this comedy about an all-female, all-Muslim British punk band followed its first season with a deeper, more expansive look at its members as they try to maintain their integrity after scoring a big-label deal. Their pigeonholing — being embraced for their “funny Muslim songs” but being constrained from telling the truth about their experience — can also be the challenge of a likable comedy. But this banger of a second season said a lot and made it sing. (Streaming on Peacock.)

Honorable Mentions: “Baby Reindeer” (Netflix), “The Decameron” (Netflix), “The Diplomat” (Netflix), “Evil” (Paramount+), “Hacks” (Max), “St. Denis Medical” (NBC), “Sunny” (Apple TV+), “The Sympathizer” (HBO), “The Vince Staples Show” (Netflix)

Flawed But Fascinating: “The Bear” (FX), “My Lady Jane” (Amazon Prime Video), “3 Body Problem” (Netflix)

Best international shows

(Mike Hale)

The crackerjack thriller, the well-executed and finely acted police procedural, the complicated and moving family drama — all the forms of television that America gave to the world are being given back to us, with considerable skill. And in great abundance: Over the course of the year I looked at 995 international TV series, for anywhere from a few minutes to a few episodes each, in preparation for this list. Here, in alphabetical order, are 10 that pulled me through to the finish.

“Babylon Berlin” (MHz Choice)

Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries) and Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch), the Benson and Stabler of Weimar Germany, returned to American screens after a four-year absence. The fourth season of this period police drama was as jazzy and addictively entertaining as its devoted fans have to come to expect, anchored by Fries’ tough, soulful performance as Ritter, the prostitute-turned-detective trying to keep it together in a society that is rapidly falling apart. (Streaming on MHz Choice.)

“Blue Lights” (BritBox)

The Troubles are alive in this Northern Irish crime drama, a legacy of damage, suspicion and hatred that threatens cops every time they step out of their cars. Filmed on location in and around Belfast, “Blue Lights” is a paragon of the police procedural, presenting familiar elements — rookie jitters, opaque politics, unwise workplace romance — with emotional nuance and unforced humor. Sian Brooke, playing a middle-aged woman who brings the instincts of a social worker to her new job as a cop, stands out in the terrific ensemble cast. (Streaming on BritBox.)

“The Confidante” (Max)

Victimhood with a twist: Chris (Laure Calamy of “Call My Agent”), who joins a support group for survivors of the Bataclan massacre in Paris and collects money from a government relief fund, was not actually there. Chris is a fabulist and a grifter, but she is also a victim, in some sense, and she uses the crisis to create a story for herself that is better than the aimless one she had been living. The French miniseries puts the viewer deep inside her point of view, and Calamy’s performance is a chilling blend of childlike entitlement and shrewd calculation. (Streaming on Max.)

“The Day of the Jackal” (Peacock)

Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 film of the Frederick Forsyth novel “The Day of the Jackal” had the same single-minded focus as the chameleonic assassin at its center. This engrossing British thriller has to open things back up to fill eight episodes and a planned second season, so now the gunman has unnecessary back story, and the contemporary setting brings with it unneeded parallels between the killer’s remorselessness and the capitalist heartlessness of his clients. But it is all worth it, because he is played by the preternaturally sensitive actor Eddie Redmayne, who is able to show us the soul that his character has to submerge in order to do his job. (Streaming on Peacock.)

“Everything is Fine” (Hulu)

From Camille de Castelnau, a primary writer on the great French spy series “The Bureau,” comes a moving, surprisingly sprightly family drama about a fractious clan drawn together by a child’s illness — bringing their messy lives into the sterile environment of the hospital. It features a powerhouse groups of actresses, including Sara Giraudeau as the sick girl’s mother, the terrifically vibrant Virginie Efira as her aunt, Nicole Garcia as her grandmother and Hiam Abbass as one of the doctors. The lives of the female characters are alternately comforted and complicated by various self-absorbed Frenchmen, one of whom is literally a clown. (Streaming on Hulu.)

“Kleo” (Netflix)

Who knew that ideological disillusionment could be so funny? In the second season of this German series whose comedy is very dark but whose spirit is deceptively buoyant, the former East German spy Kleo (Jella Haase) continued her violent search for the red suitcase that might hold the answers to why her homeland treated her so badly. (Streaming on Netflix.)

“The Lesson” (ChaiFlicks)

From the tension and disputation of life in Israel emerges, perhaps not surprisingly, really good TV. (How that will be affected by the particularly horrific events of the last year is an open question.) Winner of the best-series award at the Cannes TV festival in 2022, this smart drama tracks the spiraling, destructive consequences of a classroom confrontation between a liberal teacher and an angry, strident student, showing how the personal and the politi

cal are fused at every step. (Streaming on ChaiFlicks.)

“A Shop for Killers” (Hulu)

For those with a taste for brutal, entertaining empty calories. A resourceful young woman (Kim Hye-jun) learns that the uncle she idolized was selling more than garden supplies out of his bunkerlike home; now she is the target of an army of ruthless mercenaries. This high-body-count South Korean action thriller probably doesn’t get made if not for “Squid Game”; they share a hyperbolic, post-Tarantino energy, a Darwinian mind set and an eye for track suits. But while I found the first season of “Squid Game” mostly loathsome, I enjoyed the more clever, less synthetically didactic theatrics of “A Shop for Killers.” (Streaming on Hulu.)

“Until I Kill You” (BritBox)

This British true-crime drama is like the anti-”Baby Reindeer”: told from the point of view of a “difficult” woman who finds herself in a relationship with the wrong man. Anna Maxwell Martin gives an absolutely convincing performance as Delia Balmer, an idiosyncratic, self-pitying, uncomfortably honest London nurse who falls for the rapist and murderer John Sweeney (Shaun Evans of “Endeavour”), partly because his restless anger matches up with hers. In 2024’s oddest TV coincidence, Balmer and Sweeney met in 1991 in the same Camden Market pub where Richard Gadd of “Baby Reindeer” would meet his stalker 23 years later. (Streaming on BritBox.)

“Without Sin” (Acorn TV)

The hyperactive cops-policing-cops series “Line of Duty” made the British actress Vicky McClure a star, but it was not exactly a comprehensive showcase for her talent. She gets that in “Without Sin,” playing a woman shattered by the death of her teenage daughter who has an unsettling meeting with the man who is in prison for the girl’s murder. (Streaming on Acorn TV.)

And 10 more equally deserving series: “All and Eva,” Sweden (Viaplay); “Fleeting Lies,” Spain (Hulu); “Funny Woman,” Britain (PBS); “Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born,” Korea (Hulu); “The Long Shadow,” Britain (Acorn TV); “The Mothers of Penguins,” Poland (Netflix); “Slow Horses” Season 4, Britain (Apple TV+); “My Brilliant Friend” Season 4, Italy (HBO); “Unsilenced,” Israel (ChaiFlicks); “Where’s Wanda?,” Germany (Apple TV+).

Best shows that ended

(Margaret Lyons)

We’re saying goodbye to some real bangers this year, standouts and veterans even as TV felt more mid than ever. To qualify for this list, arranged alphabetically, shows had to be officially concluded or canceled, so those still on the maybe lists for alternate-platform resurrections were not included. Series also had to air new episodes in 2024 (or at least since we published last year’s list), and miniseries did not count — those were always going to end when they ended, and thus they face such different questions of pacing and possibility.

Finally, as always, there are far too many shows for any one viewer to watch, and I’m surer than ever that I’ve missed plenty.

“The Big Door Prize” (Apple TV+)

This modern-day fable aired two dreamy seasons, and as any fan of fragile, supernatural dramedies knows, the bigger the mystery, the more likely the show is to be canceled before it is ever solved. And lo: Rest in power, “Prize.” Adapted by David West Read from a book by M.O. Walsh, the show followed the residents of a quirky town whose lives are disrupted when a fortunetelling machine of sorts shows up in the local market, promising to reveal one’s “life potential.” But finding out what should or could have been does not necessarily improve one’s life — though, of course, the draw is that it might. “Prize” will be buried alongside so many other mystery-box shows, but it might be better thought of as a treasure-box show, its tone and characters as so many tiny, dazzling gems. (Streaming on Apple TV+.)

“Chad” (The Roku Channel)

Aw, poor “Chad,” a show that barely stood a chance. It premiered on TBS in 2021 and was initially renewed for a second season — but then given the ax before it ever aired. In 2022, the Roku Channel acquired it, but that second season did not air until this year, at which point the show was just regular-canceled once and for all. Boo! Nasim Pedrad created and starred in the show as a 14-year-old boy, Chad: anxious, horny, openhearted, awkward. The show wore its weirdness proudly, using its unconventional casting to poke at the truer-than-true humiliations of teenagedom. (Streaming on the Roku Channel.)

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)

Larry David’s influential exegesis on discomfort ended in April, after 12 seasons that spanned 24 years. Part farce, part improv, part Hollywood sendup, part petty peccadilloes, “Curb” operated like a parabolic mirror, capturing all the annoyances, contrivances, standards and rules of the universe, however small or large, and focusing them into one incandescent point: Larry. Well, “Larry.” (Streaming on Max.)

“Evil” (Paramount+)

The first season of the supernatural religious drama “Evil” aired on CBS, but the show moved to Paramount+ for its next three seasons. For a moment this spring, after Paramount canceled the series and Seasons 1 and 2 landed on Netflix, it seemed as if Paramount’s loss could be the bigger platform’s gain. But apparently no dice; this is the end of the “Evil” road. Like other shows created by Michelle and Robert King (“The Good Wife” extended universe), “Evil” was often smarter than its brethren. Its characters were often characters, and it played in both humor and horror with equal ability. (Streaming on Paramount+)

“My Brilliant Friend” (HBO)

Based on the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante, this fascinating portrait of friendship — and all its cruelties, intimacies and crises — ended this year after a four-season run, but because the show covered its characters’ lifetimes in such full and patient detail, it feels as if a whole world has ended. The show was gorgeous in every conceivable way, and the beauty and complexity of the characters’ relationships is reflected in the show’s visual richness. I swear you can feel actual warmth from the sunlight on the screen. (Streaming on Max.)

“My Lady Jane” (Amazon)

This is the cancellation that most baffled me this year: a juicy, silly, steamy, savvy fantasy dramedy about shape-shifting in a faux Tudor kingdom. What’s the point of making shows if we’re just canceling the playful ones? Created by Gemma Burgess, the show followed Jane (Emily Bader), a quintessential sassy heroine being forced into a marriage with an obnoxious — yet sexy — nemesis. There are plenty of self-serious period dramas, and good number of irreverent, giddily anachronistic ones, but none with quite as much verve and brains as this. (Streaming on Amazon.)

“Rap (Expletive)” (Max)

Technically this two-season comedy created by Issa Rae ended in 2023, but its final episode aired on Dec. 21, after last year’s list ran, and its cancellation announcement was not until January. I’m counting it. Aida Osman and KaMillion starred as Shawna and Mia, two Miami rappers whose output and popularity improve when they collaborate. The show captured the joy and electricity of creative partnership as well as its pitfalls, but its true calling card was its ability to depict obsessive — depressive? — internet usage in artful and knotty ways. The borders between the characters and their online selves were permeable, and the show toyed with that both in the plotlines and in its camerawork and visual style. (Streaming on Max.)

“Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)

I’m still in denial that this beautiful, delicate show is ending, but it goes out so perfectly that some of the sting is taken out. The Kansas-set show, created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, stars Bridget Everett. But “stars” feels like too meek a term for Everett’s performance a Sam, a woman in her 40s trying to find her footing after her sister’s death — or maybe trying to find her footing for the first time ever. Lots of shows, especially comedies, reach cathartic moments and then revert to the base line, hitting an internal reset button. But on “Somebody Somewhere,” those big breakthroughs stay important and have lasting effects. If you’re used to no change — convinced of it, paralyzed by it — even a little change is a lot. (Streaming on Max.)

“Sweet Tooth” (Netflix)

A little bit “Station Eleven,” a little bit “The Walking Dead,” a little bit “Muppet Babies,” this three-season postapocalyptic fantasy was uneven and sometimes dumb. But man, when it was good — particularly in its first season, though occasionally later — it was beautiful, haunting and imaginative. Jim Mickle adapted the show for television based on the comic books by Jeff Lemire, and the story follows Gus (Christian Convery), a little boy who is also part deer. He was the first hybrid baby born when “the sick,” as the show calls its catastrophic pandemic, started wiping out much of humanity, and the bad guys are always looking for him. Adeel Akhtar’s riveting performance as the conflicted Dr. Singh, whose work on a potential vaccine also makes him a target, lent the show most of its gravitas. (Streaming on Netflix.)

“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

I’ll miss you most of all, Lazslo. Over its six seasons, this vampire mockumentary, based on the movie but its own entity from the start, found bizarre, brilliant and often grotesque ways to poke fun at the human condition. It pulled off season-long misdirection and wild twists, genre-busting one-offs and the most magical way to pronounce “New York City.” At a time when the definition of TV comedy has grown to include shows with single-digit jokes per season, “Shadows” was also a glorious outlier in how funny-funny it was, happy to use any manner of joke to wring more laughs out of its scenes. (Streaming on Hulu.)