X-Men ‘97 Season One (Disney+)
Read my full review here
I was skeptical of the animated X-Men revival. Like many others, I have been burned out on superhero shows and films for a while now. However, this was the one Marvel thing in 2024 that I actually enjoyed. It was probably aided by reading Chris Claremont’s 16-year run on Uncanny X-Men this year, where so many stories on X-Men animated old & new drew from. Stylistically the ‘97 revival felt like the 1990s version, but with slightly more sophisticated storytelling and some major upgrades regarding the animation. There were a few duds; the Jubilee/Mojo episode was meh. The season overall was fantastic. I was very happy to see characters like Nightcrawler added to the regular roster; it always felt odd that he wasn’t included as a regular. We get a big cliffhanger that suggests some twists for a second season. Hoping they can keep the quality levels just as high going forward.
Northern Exposure Seasons Three & Four (CBS/Amazon Prime)
Read my full reviews here & here
I knew of Northern Exposure when I was a kid, but it wasn’t a show I gravitated towards. It was part of a crop of quirky, new shows that changed the television landscape in the 1990s. As an adult, I have appreciated this show much more. We’re watching the final season at the time of this writing, which is dreadful and makes us pine for the days we were watching seasons three & four. What made these seasons so spectacular was the writing. The actors are definitely good, but the writers have a strong handle on the voices of each character.
While the show’s initial conceit was as a “fish out of water” show centered around Joel Fleishman, a New Yorker forced to work as a doctor in rural Cicely, Alaska, by the time we get to season three, the show is a full-on ensemble affair. Episodes like “The Three Amigos” show how cinematic the show can be while spotlighting Maurice and Holling. “Cicely” provides a flashback to the origins of the town’s name in one of the best episodes in the series. If Northern Exposure has been a show on your radar, I recommend checking it out in 2025.
Shogun (Hulu/FX)
Read my full review here
Shogun was one of the most cinematic shows I saw in 2024, like a multi-hour film based on the production quality and acting. Blackthorne, an Englishman, washes up on the shores of Japan in 1600 AD. He goes on an odyssey of culture shock, embroiled in the tensions between Lord Toranaga and the interim council leading the nation. Among the many people he meets, Blackthorne becomes closest with Lady Mariko, Toranga’s translator.
Intended to be a miniseries, it sounds like Shogun’s success will see a second season go beyond the novel that served as source material. This was a year I opened up more to Japanese media and, by being selective, found some really great stuff—more on that later in this list and on my film lists next week.
The Venture Brothers Seasons Six & Seven (Adult Swim/Max)
Read my full review here and here
It really sucked to see Venture Brothers end when it was hitting on all cylinders. These last two seasons saw a significant shake-up in the series, with the team transplanted to New York City, where Rusty took over Venture Industries. The boys are finally allowed to grow up, which means new types of stories – like Dean’s misadventures in college and Hank’s first serious girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of a villain.
Even Monarch and Twenty-One get a great series of subplots with them renovating the former’s childhood home only to discover Monarch’s papa was a prominent figure in the costumed super world. Mrs. Dr. The Monarch gets to serve as part of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, which stresses her out nearly every episode. The Venture Brothers is a show that changed significantly over time and always for the better. The creators have said that, with adequate funding, they would make more. I just can’t understand why Adult Swim would cancel them.
The Bear Season Three (Hulu/FX)
Read my full review here
Season three is when so many shows see once loyal fans decide they hate it. I experienced this when Lost Season Three aired and again with Mad Men Season Three. I’m sure there are more examples. The Bear has rightfully been criticized for being nominated in the comedy categories of award shows. It is definitely not just a comedy, but that’s more a problem of the awards organizations. Some said season three lacked plot progression, and they are right. This was a season about reflection, letting characters have room to breathe and giving us more insight into their personal lives. The moment in the finale between Carmen and his abusive mentor felt like a perfect pin in the season, giving our protagonist a realization he needed to make. I’m still fully on board and cannot wait to see what happens to Carmen, his crew, and the restaurant in season four.
Ren Faire (HBO/Max)
Read my full review here
Last year, I put Paul T. Goldman on my favorite television list, and Ren Faire is this year’s strange mix of documentary and drama. Directed by Lance Oppenheim, the filmmaker behind the brilliant Some Kind of Paradise about the Villages in Florida. Here, we follow the employees and owners of the Texas Renaissance Faire, a permanent, themed attraction. The obscenely wealthy and deeply unstable George Coulam owns the place and likes to fashion himself as a kind of king who can make surprise inspections and bark orders. He has several employees jockeying for better positions as Coulam contemplates a sale, something that has come up often over the years. It doesn’t sound like an exceptionally exciting setting, but the drama and politics behind the scenes get intense. A wonderful meditation on the United States and the many tiny dictators that capitalism has allowed to come to power.
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Netflix)
Read my full review of The End of Evangelion here
It was Wes Anderson who convinced me to watch this show. He was doing a French variation on the Criterion Closet and mentioned in passing that his child got him to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion. In Anderson’s opinion, he felt that there would be future religions based on the series. So, I dug into this anime and loved what I got.
Shinji is a teenage boy reunited with his estranged father. Dad oversees NERV, a government program to develop defense systems against alien invaders nicknamed “angels.” The solution is Evas, giant biomechanical mechas, which must sync up with their pilot’s brain activity, bonding the two together. But the show is so much more than this and slowly reveals its complex, existential take on some common anime tropes. The finale is one of the most stunning last episodes ever. It is also very controversial, which led to a feature film that provides a parallel yet alternate ending. This was good enough to have me ready to watch another anime. Look for my review of Cowboy Bebop sometime in early 2025.
My Brilliant Friend Season Four (HBO/Max)
Read my full review here
I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this fourth & final season. The cast was being replaced by older actors, a necessity for the time periods this would be covering. It took an episode or two for me to adjust, but by the end, I was in tears, saying goodbye to Lenu and Lila for the last time. Lenu is having a torrid affair with Nino, leaving her marriage in ruins and her relationship with her daughters on tenuous ground. She decides to move back to Naples, and the old neighborhood might bring back something she feels is missing. It reconnects her with Lila, who runs a lucrative computer business. There is still so much tragedy to come in these women’s lives.
What I realized is that we are being told the story of those two old people who had a falling out, but instead of seeing them in the present, we understand the paths they took since childhood. This makes the final moments between the characters resonate with so much emotion, and the new actors do an excellent job of closing out this beautiful story about female friendship in an era of tremendous cultural and economic change.
Ripley (Netflix)
Read my full review here
I’d seen the 1999 film, but this was the first time I became completely caught up in the story of Tom Ripley. Andrew Scott plays the titular character as he is hired to snoop on a wealthy acquaintance who has taken up residence in Italy. This couldn’t come at a better time, as Ripley’s primary way of earning income (fraud and theft) has dried up. In Italy, he discovers a taste for the finer things in life and a belief that he deserves them even if he has to kill for it. Scott’s performance as Ripley is the lynchpin for the whole series. He doesn’t play him as a baby-faced charmer like Damon in the 1999 version. Scott’s Ripley is more world-weary; he looks tired almost all the time. When he’s forced to kill someone who threatens to spoil his plans, Ripley almost looks annoyed that he has to deal with this shit.
I also appreciate how he’s not precisely competent at covering his tracks but still clever enough to keep the police on their toes. This was one of those TV shows I had moderate expectations for, and it completely blew me away. Steve Zaillian, the writer behind films like Schindler’s List, The Gangs of New York, and The Irishman, writes and directs. I must check out his other miniseries, The Night Of, in 2025.
The Curse (Showtime)
Read my full review here
I will never pass up something Nathan Fielder is involved with. Two years ago, Fielder’s docu-drama, The Rehearsal, captivated me because it played with the expectations of the show’s participants and the audience. The Curse is a scripted series directed by the Zellner Brothers (Sasquatch Sunset), where Fielder plays one half of a husband-wife couple attempting to get their own TLC-style house flipping show. The other half is Emma Stone, whose parents’ reputation as slumlords follows her into this new venture. Helping direct and edit the pilot is Benny Safdie, an old “friend” of Fielder’s whose insecurities lead him to bully the man paying him.
Fielder’s character is cursed by a little girl during an awkward exchange and believes his life is coming unraveled in the aftermath. I can’t imagine anyone predicted how this show would end, but it’s somehow perfect. Almost a year later, I’m still thinking about this one, I still think about it and pick up on little details I missed the first time. If any show on this list deserves a rewatch, it’s The Curse. Here’s hoping for more collaborations from all these people.
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