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Top 8 Shows of 2024

As the New Year arrives, it is natural to take a pause and reflect. On past failings, present successes and future resolutions. On a more prosaic note, it also a time to establish a retrospective on our entertainment options, what shows were successful and acclaimed; and which were unceremoniously thrown into the dustbins of history.

In 2024, many shows arrived with grand anticipation and viewer discourse. The dragons returned in HBO’s acclaimed prequel, House of Dragons, based on George R.R. Martin’s comprehensive history of the Targaryen dynasty, Fire and Blood. Amazon’s The Boys returned on the heels of scintillating sister show Gen V, further satirizing the superhero genre, offering an unoriginal dialectic on the discourse in contemporary society, and further squaring a long-awaited showdown between Billy Butcher and Homelander. Disney Plus attempted to once again launch a series to encourage historically unappeased Star Wars fans by releasing The Acolyte, an interesting show that only catalyzed more bitterness among online trolls.

Still, 2024 had numerous shows that sparked much acclaim. In this article, we’ll identify the top 8 television shows of 2024, ones that offered a general sense of consensus and applause. These shows are based on my own subjective appraisal and are only given as general recommendations.


Hacks (Max)

Hacks - Top 8 Shows of 2024
Photo courtesy of YouTube, Hacks Season 3 Trailer

Starring: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs, Kailtin Olson

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Summation: Hacks is in its third season and it continues to be objectively funny, deeply human, and increasingly interesting. The show revolves around Ava Daniels, a writer blacklisted by Hollywood due to an unfavorable Tweet, and Deborah Vance, an older and often explicit comedian who relies on old comedic material to sustain her career. It remains an interesting show because it delves empathetically into the divide between generations, the clash between youthful naivety and matured wisdom, all the while continuing to make the audience laugh.

Shogun (Hulu) Top 8 Shows of 2024

Photo courtesy of YouTube, Shōgun – Official Trailer

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Starring: Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada

Summation: A dramatization of the ascendance of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan, based on a novel by author James Clavell, Shogun tells the story of how a fractured Japan, riven by rivalling daimyo’s, united under what was effectively a unitary military regime. In reality, the figure of Ieyasu Tokugawa leveraged his connections and influence to unite Japan among competing military fiefdoms. In the show, he is fictionalized as the character of Yoshii Toranaga, played in a splendid performance by Hiroyuki Sanada, as he embraces, rather than condemns; the inevitable arrival of Western influence in the form John Blackthorne, played Cosmo Jarvis.

Nobody Want This

Nobody Wants This - Top 8 Shows of 2024
Photo courtesy of YouTube, Nobody Wants This | Official Trailer

Starring: Adam Brody, Kristen Bell

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Romantic comedies have become less compelling in the 2020’s. Perhaps we’ve all become too embroiled in online spaces to genuinely engage in in-person encounters. Nonetheless, Nobody Wants This is another interesting comedy, exploring the friction that cross-cultural encounters can engender. It tells the story of a conservative rabbi, played by Adam Brody, and a sex podcaster, played by Kristen Bell. The two pursue an unorthodox relationship, separated by seemingly contrasting values, yet manage to persevere despite inevitable turmoil.

Shrinking Top 8 Shows of 2024

Photo courtesy of YouTube, Shrinking — Season 2 Official Trailer 

Starring: Jason Segal, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Lukita Maxwell

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Summation: Starring a prominent ensemble cast, Shrinking tells the story of a therapist, Jimmy, coping with the inexplicable loss of his wife at the hands of an intoxicated driver. Featuring a wonderfully cantankerous showing of Harrison Ford as Dr. Paul Rhoades, Jimmy’s supervisor and boss, Shrinking dives deeply into the paramount importance of including others in one’s own efforts to preserve mental health.

Dune: Prophecy (Max) – Fantasy, Drama

Dune: Prophecy - Top 8 Shows of 2024
Photo courtesy of YouTube, Dune: Prophecy | Official Series Trailer

Starring: Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel,

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Summation: Set 10,000 years before the events of its successor, Dune, Dune: Prophecy explore the origins of the Bene Gesserit, a cult of female soothsayers who control The Imperium in the Dune Universe. After the Battle of Corrin, where the malignance of artificial intelligence was deterred, the Bene Gesserit were formed to ensure competent rule throughout the galaxy. A reckoning arrives, however, in the form of Desmond Hart, a man with mystical powers who challenges the influence of the Bene Gesserit. If one is interested in the universe created by Frank Herbert, it’s a worthwhile watch.

Rings of Power (Amazon) Top 8 Shows of 2024

Photo courtesy of YouTube, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Starring: Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Charlie Vickers

Summation: A prequel to The Lord of the Rings, Rings of Power conveys the tale of Sauron’s usurpation of Elvish metallurgy to create the rings of power that will eventually hold concordance and loyalty to his own “One Ring” and own personal will. Though the series has yet to reach its full gestation, it nonetheless plunges the viewer back into the fantastical world of Middle Earth, replete with beautiful effects and settings, florid dialogue, and similar messaging.


Baby Reindeer (Netflix)

Baby Reindeer - Top 8 Shows of 2024
Photo courtesy of YouTube, Baby Reindeer | Official Trailer

Starring: Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning

Genre: Horror, Drama, Comedy

Summation: A beleaguered comedian and writer is crestfallen at the trajectory of his life, mired in anxiety and depressive thoughts, when he comes along a lonely women at a bar who he unwittingly befriends. She becomes obsessed with him, stalking Donny, the protagonist played by Richard Gadd, all throughout London, sending incessant texts and e-mails, and correspondingly making his life multiple times more complicated.

Based on a “allegedly” true story, the show narrates a story of two traumatized individuals who ironically compound their own trauma in this violently dark comedy.


House of the Dragon (Max)Top 8 Shows of 2024

Photo courtesy of YouTube, House of the Dragon Season 2

Starring: Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Summation: The House of the Dragon serves as a forerunner to HBO’s worldwide success Game of Thrones. The Targaryen dynasty, in House of Dragons, is at the peak of its power. King Viserys, who perishes at the end of Season 1, has left Westeros in a state of unrest. His declared successor, Rhaenyra, is a woman, whose own progeny are suspected of being of bastardized birth. The other claimant to the throne, Aegon II, is a bellicose neophyte with little of the requisite sagacity to rule.

The result is The Dance of Dragons, as the competing claimants to the Iron Throne unleash their dragons, the equivalents of nuclear bombs in a medieval society, upon one another. It makes for stupendous television.