MovieManifesto

Moving right along, our rankings of every TV show of 2024 continue below. If you’d like to check out prior episodes, you can access them at the following links:

#s 88-76
#s 75-61
#s 60-51
#s 50-41

40. Somebody Somewhere (HBO, Season 3; last year: 37 of 94). We generally apply the “Who asked for this?” rhetoric to sequels of works that already reached an obvious conclusion, like Bad Sisters or Big Little Lies. Somebody Somewhere is hardly so finite—its characters don’t solve crimes or get investigated, they just exist—so it seems churlish to complain that we received more episodes of it. That said, something about this (presumably) final season feels vaguely unnecessary, given how tenderly Season 2 wrapped things up; in particular, the decision to give Bridget Everett’s loner a love interest feels like a concession to the Valentine’s Day industrial complex. Still, this remains a beautifully observed show, with terrific interpersonal dynamics and an intuitive grasp of encroaching middle age, which is rarely depicted on TV at all, much less with such sensitivity and insight. Now it’s time to leave these flawed, wonderful people in peace. Read More

As the headline suggests, we’re continuing to rank every TV show of 2024. For previous installments, check out the following links:

#s 88-76
#s 75-61
#s 60-51

50. Creatures Commandos (Max, Season 1). I’m not a superhero fanboy, but I’m weirdly in the tank for James Gunn, having thoroughly enjoyed all three of his Guardians of the Galaxy movies, along with Peacemaker and his Suicide Squad reboot. Still, we’re getting dangerously close to oversaturation (need some Gunn control amirite), and on the surface, Creature Commandos—an animated series that follows a handful of lesser-known DC villains as they team up and save the world or whatever—feels a bit like grist for the content mill. But while the cartoonish mayhem can be perfunctory, there’s a surprising depth of character here; Gunn is a gifted writer who’s able to briskly humanize his freakish antiheroes, as well as provide them with a stream of quips. He also understands television, which is why each episode centers on a specific member of the titular tribe; I know critics are supposed to groan about backstory, but the concise flashbacks here are more affecting than the story proper. Creature Commandos may just be intellectual property, but that doesn’t mean it lacks intelligence. Read More

Our countdown of every TV show of 2024 rolls on. If you missed prior installments, check out the following links:

#s 88-76
#s 75-61

60. Echo (Disney, Season 1). There’s something unsavory about the Marvel machine cautiously extending its brand into marginalized areas; you can practically hear Disney execs proclaiming, “See, look how progressive we are! Now leave us alone and let us count our money.” But questionable motivations aside, Echo—which centers on a deaf Native American assassin (Alaqua Cox), previously introduced in Hawkeye—mostly works on its own terms. Despite being filmed in the usual Atlanta backlots, it carries a real sense of place, and more importantly, its action scenes have real snap and dynamism (unusual for the choreography-indifferent MCU). And while integrating its universe with Daredevil smacks of fan service (were Marvel bros really clamoring to see Vincent D’Onofrio again?), Echo otherwise feels sharp and self-contained, telling its own story rather than serving as a mere bridge between past and future productions. It’s nothing special, which is part of what makes it watchable. Read More

We’re counting down every TV show we watched in 2024—all 88 of them. If you missed the first episode (get it?), you can find it here.

75. Those About to Die (Peacock, Season 1). Ancient Rome must have been wild—the spectacle, the violence, the corruption, the orgies, the togas. All of those constitute strong ingredients for a juicy melodrama, but Those About to Die lacks the finesse or intelligence to brew them into an appealing stew. It’s all surface-level; sure, there’s plenty of nudity and blood (not to mention some ghastly computer-aided chariot races), but there’s no human depth underlying all of the boning and backstabbing. Gladiator II may not have been a good movie, but at least its evocation of the Colosseum inspired some awe. The Rome of this show feels more like a chintzy tourist trap. Read More

To paraphrase Dante from Clerks: eighty-seven?? That figure represents the number of TV series I watched in full in 2024, and I suspect you’ll find it appalling regardless of your viewing habits. If you’re a normal person with a family and a social life and a passing interest in sunlight, you’ll surely deem it disturbingly high (especially when paired with the 237 movies I watched during the same calendar year). But if you’re a true media-consumption addict, your disgust might take on a more contemptuous tone: Eighty-seven, that’s it? What’s the matter, Beck, you trying to get actual sleep these days?

It’s true that, in pure quantitative terms, this is my lowest tally since 2015. As for quality, I can promise you that of the 90-odd TV shows, I can strongly recommend at least 12 of them. Read More