This year I discovered TV Time, a well-designed app that makes it easy to keep track of the shows you’ve watched and want to watch. Thus, I can tell you with complete confidence that my favorite TV show of 2024 is Hacks…. or Black Doves … or The Diplomat. I CAN’T CHOOSE–2024 was a year of so many great shows!
Instead, here are my favorite ten small screen watches of last year:
Hacks. This razor-edged comedy pairs Deborah Vance–a sublime Jean Smart–a Vegas comedy icon desperate to stay relevant, with Ava Daniels–the equally great Hannah Einbinder, Laraine Newman’s daughter–a canceled millennial writer with superb comic instincts. Together, the two women proffer a masterclass in generational conflict, peeling back layers of ambition, regret, and resilience with blistering humor and unexpected emotional depth. I can’t wait for season four!
Fargo, Season Five. The final season of Fargo follows Dot Lyon, a seemingly ordinary Midwestern housewife whose hidden past unravels. With stellar performances from Jon Hamm as a villain ripped from MAGA headlines and Juno Temple shining as the wife who escaped him once and who is determined to stay free, the season weaves its signature dark humor and intricate storytelling into a gripping exploration of debt, deception, and survival.
Blue Lights. In its second season, Blue Lights shows us officers Grace, Annie, and Tommy navigate escalating gang conflicts in Belfast, with a particular focus on the Mount Eden Estate, while grappling with the long tail of violence left in the wake of “The Troubles.” With its exploration of the blurred lines between law enforcement and community relations, the series continues to deliver gripping drama in a pitch perfect setting.
The Capture. If, like me, you’re obsessed with the power of AI, The Capture will be your jam. The show is a taut, thought-provoking thriller that explores the sinister potential of deepfake technology and surveillance. With its chilling plausibility and relentless twists, the show probes the moral and ethical boundaries of a world where seeing is no longer believing. I enjoyed both seasons–sadly, it doesn’t look like there will be more–each of which stand up well on their own.
Dark Winds. This gripping psychological thriller is set in the 1970s Southwest on the Navajo reservation. In its first two seasons, Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee carefully wended their way through crime, spirituality, and cultural identity. With its gripping storytelling and layered characters, the series blends mystery with an unflinching look at the complexities of life on the reservation. Special shout out to Zahn McClarnon doing the best work of a phenomenal career. Season Three drops in March. Woo hoo!
Slow Horses. In the fourth season of Apple TV’s fab spy show, the beleaguered agents of Slough House confront a perilous conspiracy that intertwines personal histories with national security threats. Gary Oldman is again on fire as the grimy, irascible Jackson Lamb and the rest of the cast, especially Jack Lowden as River Cartwright and Jonathan Pryce as his dementia fogged grandfather more than hold their own. The series is intricately and intelligently plotted and routinely makes me laugh. Season Five starts filming this month.
The Diplomat. I missed the first season of this and so had the great joy of watching all twenty episodes in one fell swoop. I love this show. It’s funny, smart, believable, and sexy. Kerri Russell’s Kate Wyler–she plays a seasoned diplomat abruptly appointed U.S. ambassador to the UK–is a hoot as is Rufus Sewell as her very appealing Machiavellian husband. Throw in an absurdly sexy David Gyasi as the Foreign Secretary and Allison Janney as the American Vice-President we desperately wish we had and you’ve got a hell of cast having fun with a fabulous script. The next season will arrive in the fall.
Black Doves. What a great show! Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw deliver exceptional performances as complex spies entangled in a web of intrigue and personal vendettas. The series masterfully balances unexpectedly witty dialogue, an effortlessly diverse cast, and a wickedly propulsive plot. The fact that the great Sarah Lancashire is the one pulling all the strings is just icing on a delicious cake. Netflix is already working on Season Two and I can’t wait!
Silo. I’ve not yet watched season two–I’m waiting for all the episodes to drop–but I so enjoyed season one. The cast is full of truly great actors–Tim Robbins, David Oyelowo, Rashida Jones, Common, and, of course, Rebecca Ferguson–and the story is a good one. It’s a show that made me think about how difficult governing is and how hard it is to trust others when every choice is literally about survival. My kids tell me Season Two isn’t quite as compelling but I’m still counting the days until January 16th after which all the episodes will be available to binge stream.
The Artful Dodger. I am so excited there is to be more of this little gem of a show. I loved everything about it! The setting, 1850s Australia, is super fun and the medicine–the premise is that 15 years after the events of Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger is a surgeon desperate to hide his criminal past–is both entertaining and accurate. Plus, it has David Thewlis as a down on his luck Fagin and, really, I’ll watch anything Thewlis does. #RIPLupin
There were, of course, shows that let me down. The Bear felt dull, I still don’t understand all the fuss about Shōgun (although I could gaze at the planes of Hiroyuki Sanada’s face for hours), Miss Scarlett, sadly, needs the Duke for the show to sing, Reacher made absolutely no sense, Colin and Penelope had very little chemistry, so much so that I didn’t even watch the second part of Bridgerton, Season Three, I hated the last two episodes of The Penguin with a fiery passion (and I was already tired of Colin Farrell channeling Tony Soprano), and I will attest, to my dying day, that the leads in Nobody Wants This would be far better off with other lovers.
How about you? What TV shows made you happy in 2024? Which did not?