Josh’s Favorite TV Series of 2024 — Part One!
I hope you enjoyed reading my list of my favorite movies of 2024! I’m very excited to now move on to present my list of my favorite TV series of 2024!
There was so much great TV this year, and while I saw a lot of it, there was so, so much that I didn’t get to!! I have such a long list of TV shows I desperately need to find time to watch: Masters of the Air, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Shogun, The Gentlemen, Manhunt, Fallout, We Are Lady Parts season 2, Hacks season 3, House of the Dragon season 2, Sunny, Bad Monkey, A Man on the Inside… and many more!! I need more hours in the day.
As usual, before beginning my list, let me start with some honorable mentions:
First off, there were several shows that were on my best TV shows of 2023 list that released their final episodes in 2024. These include For All Mankind season 4, Reacher season 2, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Nevertheless, I considered those to be 2023 shows and so didn’t include them on this year’s list.
Then there’s Star Wars: Tales of the Empire. These six animated Star Wars shorts were amazing; absolutely top-notch Star Wars storytelling overseen by the talented Dave Filoni. If you missed them, you should absolutely watch Tales of the Jedi (which charts Ahsoka Tano’s rise and Count Dooku’s fall) and then this sequel, Tales of the Empire. But it didn’t seem fair to me that these six shorts should be measured against a full season of TV (even a short modern-day streaming season). So that’s why it’s not on my list.
Finally, I wanted to make note of Futurama season 12 on Hulu. I’m only halfway done watching this season, and it’s a blast. I’m so happy that Hulu has rescued Futurama from cancellation!! (The show’s latest resurrection in its long history of resurrections!!) If I’d had a #16 on this list, Futurama would have been it; and it’s likely that had I finished the season, Futurama might have been even higher, displacing one of these other shows. I can’t wait to finish the season and, of course, I’ll post my review when I do.
OK, enough dilly-dallying! Here’s my list of my favorite TV series of 2024!
15. Echo — Marvel seemed to not have faith in this show, dumping all five of its episodes out on the same day last January with little fanfare. But I quite liked this show, with my main complaint being that at only five episodes, I wish it was longer! Alaqua Cox is terrific in the lead role as Maya Lopez (A.K.A. Echo), reprising her role from the excellent Hawkeye show. It’s very cool to see a show spotlighting a character who is female, deaf, Native American, and an amputee. Maya was a terrific character in the comics, and I love seeing her brought to life so well in live-action. I was also thrilled to see Vincent D’Onofrio back in a major way as Wilson Fisk, The Kingpin of Crime, as Marvel moves to more strongly incorporate the Netflix shows into MCU continuity. (The show also brought back Charlie Cox as Daredevil for a brief flashback action scene!) Echo boasted a wonderful supporting cast, made up of a terrific array of Native American actors: Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon) as Maya’s fierce grandmother Chula; Graham Greene (a familiar face from movies such as Dances with Wolves, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Maverick, The Green Mile) as Maya’s grandfather Skully; Cody Lightning as Maya’s sweet, good-natured cousin Biscuits; Chaske Spencer as Maya’s uncle Henry; Zahn McClarnon (Doctor Sleep) as Maya’s father William; Devery Jacobs (who voices the Native American super-hero Kahhori in What If…?) as Maya’s cousin and former BFF Bonnie; and Katarina Ziervogel as Maya’s mother, Taloa. This was a solid little show with great characters and solid action; I wish more people had seen it! Click here to read my full review. Click here to watch it now on Disney+.
14. Invincible season 2 part 2 — Invincible is a terrific animated series that adapts the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Cory Walker & Ryan Ottley. The series has what seems like a classic comic-book super-hero premise: Mark Grayson is a college freshman who is also the powerful superhero Invincible. Having only recently discovered his superpowers, Mark has gotten caught up in a complicated world of super-heroes and super-villains. What’s special about Invincible (both the original comic-book series and this animated adaptation) is that it takes these classic sorts of stories and tells them through an adult prism — characters are allowed to grow and change (for instance, I’m happy this season moved Mark from high school to college), to be flawed and to make bad decisions, and there is a lot of ultra-violence when super-powered beings collide. I love this show, which is unique in so many ways; how many one-hour animated shows exist in the world?? The stories will blow your mind, as will the insanely stacked voice cast: Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sterling K. Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Zazie Beetz, Sandra Oh, Calista Flockhart, Seth Rogen, Jason Mantzoukas, Walton Goggins, Chris Diamantopoulos, Zachary Quinto, Jay Pharaoh, Mark Hamill, Kevin Michael Richardson, Ben Schwartz, Peter Cullen, Clancy Brown… and so many more! This show would be higher on this list if they’d released more than four measly episodes this year. Click here to read my full review. Click here to watch it now on Amazon Prime Video.
13. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew — What a great idea for a Star Wars TV show: a bunch of suburban kids who love Star Wars go on an adventure. I’m in! So far, I’m really digging the vibe of this show, which is The Goonies crossed with Star Wars. I really like the four main kids (Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, and Robert Timothy Smith), and Jude Law is terrific as the morally ambiguous pirate with whom the kids have been stuck. The show is exciting and has real stakes, but it’s also light and a fun adventure. I’m really happy that the show has introduced a number of new alien planets and creatures. The show looks great, and it’s made excellent use of many different practical creature effects… plus some terrific CGI. I’m also loving the overall pirate vibe of the show, with secret treasure and booby traps and lots and lots of pirates… and an awesome new droid (SM-33, voiced by Nick Frost!) who talks like a pirate! If you skipped this Star Wars show because you were afraid it’d be too kiddy, give it a chance. My full review will be coming soon. Click here to watch it now on Disney+.
12. Only Murders in the Building season 4 — I’m so impressed that not only does this show continue to release new seasons every year (a rarity in the world of streaming these days!!), but also that season four was just as fun, funny, and interesting as the previous three seasons have been. Season four presents us with another twisty, compelling mystery, and at the same time they’ve managed to find rich new stories for each of the three leads, brought back many fun supporting cast members from previous seasons (including but not limited to: Jane Lynch, Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Amy Ryan), and also brought in a great gaggle of new guest stars (Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria, Kumail Nanjiani, Rochard Kind, Molly Shannon, and more)! Here in season four, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) must try to solve the murder of Charles’ long-time stunt double Sazz (Jane Lynch), who was shot in the final moments of the season three finale. To do so, the three-some must explore the west side of the Arconia building, while also navigating the production of the Only Murders in the Building movie, and the actors — Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria — cast to play them. I loved this storyline of an Only Murders in the Building Movie, and Mr. Levy, Mr. Galifianakis, and Ms. Longoria were all super-fun additions to the mix. Click here to read my full review. Click here to watch it now on Hulu.
11. Batman: Caped Crusader — This gloriously entertaining new take on Batman was overseen by Bruce Timm (the mastermind behind the seminal Batman: The Animated Series) and James Tucker (who worked on Bruce Timm’s shows starting with Superman: The Animated Series and was a producer on the fantastic Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited shows), with involvement from producers J. J. Abrams & Matt Reeves as well as writers Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, two of the best comic book writers working today. The result is a fantastic new take on Batman, one thoroughly steeped in 1940’s noir, but with a modern touch. Caped Crusader is at once a classic, almost retro version of Batman, combined with a reinvention of many members of the supporting cast and rogues gallery. The show is comfortingly familiar and also innovative and new, all at the same time. It’s reminiscent of the look and style of Batman: The Animated Series, while also being something entirely original. In many ways, what Caped Crusader feels like is what Batman: The Animated Series might have been had Bruce Timm been left to his own devices, without the shackles of the rules and limitations applied to network “kids programming” back in the day. Caped Crusader is a more adult version of Batman; we see guns and alcohol and drugs; we see characters in a flirtatious lesbian relationship; we see a little more violence. But the show doesn’t go too crazy with those elements; they strike a perfect balance. I loved every one of the ten half-hour episodes we got in this first season. I loved the approach to the storytelling, with stand-alone episodes that were nevertheless connected by a gentle continuity that grew tighter as the season progressed. I loved how well the series developed its wonderfully rich supporting cast of heroes and antagonists over the course of this first season. I appreciated how much time and attention the show gave to the supporting characters: good cops like Gordon and Montoya; crooked cops like Bullock and Flass; Barbara Gordon (presented here as a defense attorney, a clever twist on the character and a great way to keep her organically involved with the stories), and many more. This is a fantastic Batman show, and I highly recommend it! Click here to read my full review. Click here to watch it now on Amazon Prime Video.
Thanks for reading! C’mon back tomorrow for part two of my list, numbers 10-5!
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