The 25 best TV shows of 2024

2024 was a weird year for TV. Which is not to say out there or underwhelming. It was more…all over the place. But although the medium’s output over the past 12 months may not have been as consistently strong as those of recent years, one through line was that it always felt like there was something thrilling to watch. And you never quite knew where those bursts of excitement were going to come from: a sweeping historical epic, a left-field experiment from Julio Torres, an animated reboot that somehow felt both nostalgic and fresh, and even a long-running sitcom about bickering vampires. Here are the best shows of 2024—as voted on by A.V. Club staffers and regular contributors (check out their ballots and voting parameters)—that make the case that TV’s thrill isn’t gone just yet. 

25. Mr. & Mrs. Smith 

In a TV year that was inundated with existing IP—from HBO’s big-budget, Sunday-night film-franchise spin-offs The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy to dramatic gems that are on this very list like Shōgun, Ripley, and Interview With The Vampire—Mr. & Mrs. Smith may be the most expectation-defying one of the lot. A mission-per-episode action-comedy that’s based on a Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie vehicle from two decades ago, Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover’s series has, indeed, plenty of banter in high-stakes situations, explosions, globe-trotting chases, chemistry, and kills. Yet this telling of “married” undercover operatives (played by Glover and Maya Erskine, who shows some real dramatic chops here) comes off as far more insightful about, and true to the nature of, relationships than it probably has any right to. The eclectic soundtrack (in which disparate tracks by Suicide, Mulatu Astatke, and The Whatnauts all feel weirdly of a piece) that matches the pair’s tastefully decorated apartment doesn’t hurt, either (nor, looking ahead, does the the news that Anora’s Mark Eydelshteyn has been cast as Mr. Smith in season two.) [Tim Lowery]

24. A Man On The Inside 

It’d be inapt to say that this sweet, low-key comedy succeeds wholly because of its star Ted Danson, given that it was created by The Good Place mastermind Michael Schur and has a cast that includes such talented actors as Sally Struthers, Stephanie Beatriz, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. But it’s also hard to imagine another actor in the leading role as Charles, a lonely ex-professor and widower who’s hired by a private detective to go undercover at a retirement home and find a jewel thief. Drawing on the cheeriness and curiosity of some of his past characters (like the afterlife concierge in The Good Place and the free-spirited magnate in Bored To Death), Danson brings a genteel humanity to Charles, who finds while stealthily investigating these retirees that he has more in common with them than he expected. Schur, adapting the Oscar-nominated documentary The Mole Agent, explores our ever-shifting contemporary mores and the enduring importance of social connection just as he has before in Parks And Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But while this series isn’t as laugh-out-loud funny as his earlier work, Schur compensates with a strong story, using the mystery plot as a way to give his amiable, aimless old hero the sense of purpose everyone needs at every stage of life. [Noel Murray]

23. Batman: Caped Crusader 

Prime Video’s Batman: Caped Crusader takes DC’s Dark Knight Detective down tenebrous alleyways Saturday morning TV never could, that grim Gotham road where corruption, crime, and cruelty fester. What a city this bad needs, showrunner Bruce Timm suggests, is an avenger mean enough to meeken it. That’s what he and executive producers Matt Reeves, J.J. Abrams, and James Tucker have brought to streaming: an angry, untested Batman who grips his pulp origins like brass knuckles. And Timm has built a proper cathedral around his Caped Crusader, too, with intriguing genre elements like gangster pictures, Universal horror films, and Golden Age movie serials fusing into a minor rough-and-tumble epic of weird proportions. Hamish Linklater brings an aloof peculiarity to Bruce Wayne and his cracked alter ego, which often humorously contrasts Caped Crusader’s supporting players, including police commissioner James Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart), his daughter Babs (Krystal Joy Brown, reimagined here as a criminal defense attorney), Alfred Pennyworth (Jason Watkins), and mayoral hopeful Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader). While Caped Crusader’s noirish influences permeate the series like a thick fog, it’s still fun, with a cadre of colorful supervillains (voiced by the likes of Minnie Driver, Tom Kenny, and Christina Ricci) descending on Gotham with sicko abandon. Inevitable comparisons to the foundational Batman: The Animated Series aside, Timm’s big return to episodic animation packs a punch. [Jarrod Jones]

22. The Bear 

As has been expressed about a million times by now, season three of The Bear (a show that earned the No. 1 and 2 spots on this very list over the past two years, being only bested by Succession) could be as messy as Carm’s communication skills in its titular restaurant’s kitchen. It could also be enthralling, with arguably the best episode of television this year (the Tina-focused, timely “Napkins”), an emotional wallop of a mother-daughter reunion (“Ice Chips”), and, generally, a stylistic and storytelling confidence and swagger that could be thrilling to behold. Was the last-second cliffhanger ending frustrating? Should viewers have gotten to know a little more about Claire outside the Fak-and-Berzatto-family bubble and those dreamy flashbacks? Yes and yes (chef). (On the latter, showing her out with her friends after Carm’s season-two meltdown would have filled in a lot of gaps.) But it’s also still impressively ambitious and unlike anything else on TV—and it’s hard not to be excited about the big swings Christopher Storer & co. have in the works for next summer. [Tim Lowery]

21. The Acolyte

For a franchise that’s nearing the 50-year mark, the Star Wars universe continues to grow unabated. And while much of the small-screen tales being told in that galaxy far, far away are content with retreading known quantities and fan favorite characters (like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka), The Acolyte arrived as if to remind new and longtime fans alike what was so entrancing about George Lucas’ Jedi world in the first place. Centered on a pair of twins (played by Amandla Stenberg) whose past and paths hide secrets some high-ranking Jedis would rather have kept buried, Leslye Headland’s riff on the franchise’s thorniest themes was a noir that slowly devolved into a suspenseful horror drama. Add in the whispers of what would eventually become the Sith order (which rested on the beautifully sculpted shoulders of Manny Jacinto, playing the sexiest Star Wars villain yet) as well as a coven of witches that further expanded what the Force can come to stand for within this decades’ old set of stories, and you had a thrilling entry in the Star Wars pantheon, one that wasn’t interested in repackaging well-worn tales nor offering neat, fan-service tidbits. Cancelled after its first season (and thus leaving us hooked on that cliffhanger of a finale), The Acolyte was IP-storytelling at its most inventive. [Manuel Betancourt] 

20. We Are Lady Parts 

We Are Lady Parts’ existence feels a little bit like a miracle. It’s not every day that a talented female Muslim creator gets to make an unabashedly honest, complex, timely, semi-autobiographical TV show and have it be so infectiously funny. After a long three-year wait, the return of Nida Manzoor’s musical comedy was like a warm hug. It arrived at the exact right moment because the world could use its lighthearted yet illuminating approach, one that unpacks the lives of five diverse Muslim women in a punk rock band trying to find their place. Over these six new episodes, Manzoor and her team honor their community with heart and eclectic original songs like “Glass Ceiling Feeling” and “Malala Made Me Do It.” Season two thoughtfully tackled the culture-versus-corporate battle that Lady Parts’ members face. How can they survive and leave a legacy? In the end, much like WALP itself, the leading ladies emerge as iconoclasts. [Saloni Gajjar]

19. Dan Da Dan

Few shows can deliver the kind of everything-goes, balls-to-the-wall absurdity of Dan Da Dan and also make it a rather moving series about human connections. This genre-bending anime about two dorks who try to prove each other’s beliefs in the occult and aliens wrong (before being thrown into a world of awakened powers, genitals-obsessed aliens, and ghosts that steal family jewels) has a little bit of everything. There’s horror, there are kaiju references, there are boxing aliens who are fans of ABBA, and there’s irreverent and raunchy humor that should appeal to Adult Swim fans. But there are also heart-breaking, emotional moments and even a lovely and super-awkward romance. Studio Science Saru gives its adaptation of Dan Da Dan a loose animation style and love for bold colors, which in turn gives the show a vibrant look that highlights the absurdity and bizarreness of the scripts. And it can tweak what’s otherwise a small and inconspicuous scene from the manga into a thrilling, colorful, and hilarious sequence—like when a character runs while escaping from a big ghost that’s soundtracked to a dance remix of “March Of The Swiss Soldiers.” The result is a bananas show that often feels like a fever dream and delivers some of the most fun half-hours of TV this year. [Rafael Motamayor]

18. Girls5eva

One of the funniest sitcoms of the 2020s never built much buzz when it was on Peacock, so its move to Netflix earlier this year seemed like just the thing to turn a critics’ darling into a bona-fide hit. After all, the show’s core elements have always been strong: four beloved comic actors and/or musical theater vets (Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Phillips, and Paula Pell), playing the middle-aged members of a once-popular girl group, delivering the rapid-fire dialogue of the series’ creator (and former Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt writer) Meredith Scardino, and occasionally singing wickedly satirical, ear-worm songs. Alas, the third season of Girls5eva still struggled to find an audience, though not because of any decline in quality. If anything, the show’s latest (and possibly last) season reaches for a little more emotional depth amid all the showbiz spoofing. As the ladies take their act on tour—playing for small, indifferent audiences—they begin to question exactly what they get out of music, performing, and being together. Their perseverance is weirdly inspiring, as they keep trying to connect with audiences and each other even while enduring Bible Belt towns ruled by misogynist politicians and business hotels populated by divorced dads. [Noel Murray] 

17. Slow Horses 

There is nothing more satisfying than a consistently captivating spy drama that knows how to keep the audience on tenterhooks and stay focused on plot, not unnecessary genre flair. Slow Horses is all of this and more. Even in its fourth season, adapted specifically from Mick Herron’s Spook Street, the Apple TV+ drama hasn’t lost its edge. The stakes are personal in its newest mystery that unfolds layers of an established protagonist (Jack Lowden’s River Cartwright), brings in the terrific Hugo Weaving as a villain, and uses this world-building to deepen the bond between the Slough House employees. Underneath its well-oiled, espionage machine lies an affecting workplace dramedy full of trademark British wit, deadpan deliveries from Gary Oldman, and evolving character dynamics that feel grounded in reality. Despite its cliffhangers, action sequences, and subterfuge—exciting as they may be—Slow Horses remains rewarding because it’s the anti-James Bond spy drama.[Saloni Gajjar]  

16. True Detective: Night Country  

As its title implies, the fourth season of True Detective lives in the dark. Northern Alaska in the depths of winter, when the sun never rises or sets, is a fittingly liminal space for the story of two world-weary cops solving a baffling murder that may or may not have been committed by a vengeful Inuit goddess. With Night Country, HBO passed the reins to Issa López, a visionary writer-director-showrunner. And though the victims of the central case are white men, this season is a female-centric tale that also foregrounds the local Iñupiat population. This time around, our grizzled detectives are Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster), the chief of police in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska, and Iñupiat-Dominican state trooper Evangeline Navarro ( Kali Reis). The actors brilliantly portray the simmering resentment between two people who are more alike than they’d care to admit. Lopez crafts a compelling, well-paced mystery rife with vivid imagery that recalls the body horror of John Carpenter’s The Thing. One of Night Country’s most haunting centerpieces is the Renaissance tableau of dead researchers thawing out at a local ice rink, their faces frozen in their final moments of terror. Combine that with memorable supporting turns from seasoned actors (Fiona Shaw, John Hawkes) and talented newcomers (Isabella Star LaBlanc, Finn Bennett), and you’ve got a season of television that will linger in your subconscious long after the credits roll. [Jenna Scherer]

 15. Arcane 

If you’ve only heard of Christian Linke and Alex Yee’s League Of Legends spin-off, odds are that the one thing you know about it is that it’s the most expensive animated series of all time. But even a five-minute watch will convince you that it was worth every penny Netflix threw at it (not that you’ll actually want to stop after five minutes). Set in a steampunk city riven by a stark class divide, Arcane is a sprawling, immersive epic marked by sharply drawn characters, intricate storytelling, and animation so gorgeous it’ll make you swoon. In the second—and sadly, final—season, Undercity underdog Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) is torn between her devotion to her estranged, unhinged sister, Jinx (Ella Purnell), and her growing feelings for privileged Topsider cop Caitlyn (Katie Leung). Meanwhile, business partners Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) and Viktor (Harry Lloyd) butt heads over the best way to harness the magic-infused tech they introduced to the world. Arcane could easily have skated by on the strength of its stunning visuals alone, which encompass everything from stylish, kickass fight scenes to a somber sequence hand-drawn in charcoal. But the writing is equally impressive, and every interpersonal story comes with earth-shattering consequences for the whole city. Season two’s deep dive into the moral corrosion that comes with absolute power is positively Shakespearean—and, sadly, all too timely. [Jenna Scherer]

14. Agatha All Along

Though Marvel launched its grand Disney+ TV show experiment with a genuine cultural phenomenon in WandaVision, it’s struggled to recapture that same zeitgeisty magic. So leave it to a literal witch to pull off the impossible. Three years after the events of WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn returns as Agatha Harkness, the villainous nosey neighbor and unapologetic dog killer (R.I.P. Sparky). But equally important is the return of showrunner Jac Schaeffer, who seems to understand the medium in a way few of Marvel’s Disney+ creatives do. In Schaeffer’s hands, Agatha All Along becomes a winding, campy, unexpectedly musical, and delightfully queer romp down the “Witches’ Road,” a mystical realm where nothing is quite what it seems. That premise allows the series to switch up its tone each week, showcasing fantastic supporting turns from Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Debra Jo Rupp, Ali Ahn, and Patti LuPone, all while offering new riffs on the episodic experimentation that made WandaVision so special. That includes perhaps the single greatest genre TV episode of the year, the LuPone-led non-linear epic, “Death’s Hand In Mine.” Coupled with some incredibly catchy musical numbers, a largely female cast, lovingly detailed pop-culture homages, and multiple openly gay characters, Agatha All Along felt like a cultural moment this fall. And it’s nice to see that Marvel is still capable of pulling that off on the small screen. [Caroline Siede] 

 13. Somebody Somewhere

Though it never elicited the same fanfare as some of its counterparts, Somebody Somewhere was always the exemplar of the empathetic TV comedy: not simply “nice,” but kind, not so much committed to seeing the good in people as giving them a chance to do better (and with the understanding that you might still be let down). And, just as important, it never forgot to be funny. Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen’s soulful dramedy moved to the rhythms of real life, finding joy and tension in small moments and demonstrating just how incremental progress can be. Like Pamela Adlon’s Better Things, this HBO series expanded the coming-of-age story to include the triumphs and disappointments of middle age. It’s been described as a balm, as just the kind of show that’s needed in “times like these,” but that almost sells it short. The truth is, TV will always need shows like Somebody Somewhere—trenchant, intimate comedies with well-drawn characters, distinct senses of place, and lovely musical moments led by the effervescent Bridget Everett. [Danette Chavez] 

12. English Teacher

The comedic stylings of Brian Jordan Alvarez have practically begged for a small-screen adaptation since his series The Gay And Wondrous Life Of Caleb Gallo appeared on YouTube nearly a decade ago. Thank god, then, that 2024 (and FX) brought us English Teacher—and that Alvarez brought long-time collaborator Stephanie Koenig with him. Focused on Alvarez’s Evan Marquez, a gay high-school English teacher in Austin, the series crackles with quick wit and one-liners, the kind that may have you shouting “zinger!” at the screens as the characters interact. There have been plenty of sitcoms about high school, but English Teacher arrived this year with such a fully formed POV that it managed to escape comparisons by its second episode. The series regularly addresses social controversies head-on, but the tact it takes with its issue-of-the-week format feels a lot more 30 Rock than, say, Glee. Fourth episode “School Safety” may epitomize this best, as Evan tries to get the school’s gun club shut down, ultimately flooding it with more guns in the process. [Drew Gillis]

11. Hacks 

On TV, there’s never been anything quite like the salty-sweet chemistry between Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels. Are they professional partners? Bitter rivals? Best friends? Surrogate mother and daughter? A will-they/won’t-they, May-December romance? Hacks creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky struck comedy pay dirt when they brought together Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder to play a pair of prickly, talented women who, despite their many differences, share a common soul. Their indefinable relationship gets even murkier in season three, as Deborah convinces her spurned protégé to help her secure the host’s chair on a major late-night talk show. Any scene between these two is electric, whether they’re hopelessly lost in the wilds of Pennsylvania or getting wasted together at a frat party. And unlike Deborah, Hacks is generous. Previously, talent manager Jimmy LuSaque Jr. (Downs) and his assistant, Kalya (Megan Stalter), were mostly there for pure laughs. But this time, these two bumblers became complicated characters in their own right. It’s always a delight to watch Stalter performing her very particular brand of absurdist humor, but her portrayal of Kayla’s genuine hurt proves she’s got dramatic chops to boot. That dynamic reinforces the thesis of this tender, biting comedy: You always hurt the ones you love, and you always love the ones you hurt. [Jenna Scherer]

10. Abbott Elementary 

That fuzzy feeling when you know a show is about to become a legacy comfort watch in the vein of New Girl, Community, and Parks And Recreation? That was the experience of keeping up with Abbott Elementary in 2024 as its entire third season and part of its fourth aired. The riotous one-liners got funnier and the performances more sublime, especially from scene-stealer Janelle James. The show remained devoted to believable character development instead of rushing through the motions. Just look at how the seemingly unlikable Principal Ava has become a surprising emotional glue or how Quinta Brunson and her writers approach Janine and Gregory’s slow-burn romance, sexy first kiss, and ongoing relationship. Season four’s running arc about gentrification in West Philly also kept the show refreshingly relevant. Abbott Elementary has fine-tuned its humor, making it the perfect 20-minute escape. [Saloni Gajjar]

9. Fantasmas

As a writer, director, producer, and performer, Julio Torres has become a favorite of comedy nerds and telephiles alike, beloved for his viral Saturday Night Live sketches (particularly “Papyrus” and “Wells For Boys”) and his cult-favorite HBO series Los Espookys. He’s never though had a vehicle as perfectly suited to his sensibility as Fantasmas, a surreal showcase that combines autobiography, digressive comic vignettes, and the kind of Brechtian theatrical devices that the likes of David Lynch, Lars von Trier, and Pee Wee Herman have used. The first season’s six episodes tell sort of a story, about an overwhelmed New York performance artist named Julio who needs to get a government-approved “proof of existence” in order to do anything in his creative or personal lives. But the series is more about its vibe and look. It takes place in a blatantly artificial, handmade version of modern urban life, populated by puppets, robots, and claymation creatures, as well such guest stars as Steve Buscemi, Natasha Lyonne, Dylan O’Brien, Amy Sedaris, Rosie Perez and Emma Stone. (This is the kind of show that features a credit for Tilda Swinton as “the voice of water.”) And like Torres’ 2024 movie Problemista, Fantasmas is also personal and allegorical, translating the experiences of an offbeat immigrant into wildly imaginative and amusing absurdity. [Noel Murray]

 8. What We Do In The Shadows

How do you tell a story after the entire central conflict of your whole TV show has been addressed, hashed out, and resolved? If you’re What We Do In The Shadows, you just keep doing what you’ve done best for your last five seasons: Make one of the funniest comedies on TV, while pushing ever deeper into the absurdities of vampire life. The final season of Shadows might have no longer had the “Will Guillermo ever become a vampire?” plot-line to fall back on for drama, but it barely mattered when one of the best comedy casts on TV is still firing on all cylinders like this, as the Staten Island vampires invaded the corporate world, the frontiers of medical science, and, in one memorable outing, New Hampshire. Guest stars old and new (including Tim Heidecker, Andy Assaf, Doug Jones, and Anthony Atamaniuk) kept this season the undead kind of lively, but it’s the central cast—and especially Natasia Demetriou, whose Nadja cemented her spot as comedy MVP with a running story about “blending in” to the world of high finance—who’ve made the series’ sixth season just as unmissable as its first. [William Hughes]  

 7. Baby Reindeer   

It’s fair to call Baby Reindeer a high-wire act. The seven-episode Netflix miniseries is simultaneously a darkly funny comedy about stalking, a deeply harrowing exploration of abuse, a moving depiction of contemporary urban loneliness, and a boldly honest bit of self-critique from writer-star Richard Gadd. It’s also (at least mostly) based on actual events from Gadd’s life. No wonder it won six of its 11 Emmy nominations, including this year’s Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series prize. On paper, Baby Reindeer tells the story of a bartender and aspiring comedian who finds himself being stalked by an odd woman with a checkered past (a stellar Jessica Gunning). But what makes the series special is less what it’s about than how it chooses to tell its story in a way that’s equal parts horrifying, empathetic, funny, uncomfortable, and hopeful (and sometimes all at once). Time and again, Gadd lures viewers into thinking they’re watching one type of tale only to pull the rug and swerve in a different direction instead. Yet his strong authorial voice and some fantastically moody direction from Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch ensure the show always feels cohesive, even in its wild tonal shifts. It’s a mix that calls to mind Michaela Coel’s 2020 HBO series I May Destroy You, another British dark comedy about the aftermath of abuse. And both series are a testament to the power of letting strong writers take bold personal swings in the limited series format. [Caroline Siede]  

 6. Industry 

For eight glorious weeks this year, those classic HBO Sunday-night vibes felt alive and well as  Industry unloaded its most ambitious and strongest season yet. On the surface, the British series from Mickey Down and Konrad Kay is about the goings-on at an investment bank in London, with all of the insidery financial jargon, market volatility, backstabbing power moves, and profanity-laden testosterone that come with it. (This batch of episodes largely focuses on a going-public green-energy company that’s headed by a kinky, rich-kid CEO played by Kit Harington, who’s quite charming, funny, and decidedly out of Game Of Thrones mode here.) But the drama is mostly fueled by a lot of the stuff that makes us all human, tackling identity, trauma, sex, class issues, death, and work-life balance in a way that’s envelope pushing, surprising, and addicting. It’s the kind of show where a nutty Uncut Gems-esque detour can not only induce anxiety but also drop a killer, thoughtful line like “It’s easier to raise strong boys than to fix broken men,” or a boardroom decision by a rising boss (Ken Leung, Industry’s MVP) can break your heart. [Tim Lowery]

5. Evil 

In a relatively bad year for horror on TV, Evil’s cancellation felt like a gut punch. But Paramount’s poor decision doesn’t detract from a terrifying, uproariously funny, and, frankly speaking, berserk swan song. Season four’s 14-episode run was like nothing else on the small screen, complete with the Antichrist’s baptism, a loony-tunes Vatican conspiracy, and a manic nun (Andrea Martin) running around her church killing demons only she can see. Somehow, it all made complete sense. Robert and Michelle King’s drama took several risks with its religious and supernatural storylines but remained completely confident in its audaciousness. And that was despite the show’s typical case-of-the-week format, which saw Kristen (Katja Herbers), Ben (Aasif Mandvi), and David (Mike Colter) solve seemingly haunting mysteries. The series’ strength is the trio’s bond, with the final season tripling down on how fucked up they are. How can they not be if they’re dealing with a wily, Satan-worshipping antagonist like Leland, played exquisitely by Michael Emerson? Evil works as well as it does because the entire cast is committed to every ludicrous bit, including Christine Lahti. By the end, Evil became a fascinating study about sin and virtue, told through a surreal yet grounded lens. And it will be greatly missed. [Saloni Gajjar]

4. Ripley 

When was the last time a TV show looked this strikingly and consistently great? Breaking Bad? The black-and-white cinematography by Robert Elswit, the longtime Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator who put his stamp on Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and Boogie Nights, is so impressive in this Netflix miniseries that it should overshadow the well-known story creator-writer-director Steven Zaillian is retelling. As Matt Schimkowitz eloquently put it in his review of the show, the “photography [is] so achingly crisp that lines on each actor’s face are as craterous as the cracks along the walls of Atrani’s decaying architecture.” But Ripley’s biggest sleight of hand is that its patient, often dialogue-free cat-and-mouse storytelling and performances match the show’s visual splendor, as our titular con man (Andrew Scott, doing career-defining work) ingratiates himself to two rich expat “artists” (played by Johnny Flynn and a great Dakota Fanning), outwits a sleek inspector (Maurizio Lombardi), makes his way around Italy, and kills people in his quest for the good life. [Tim Lowery]

3. X-Men ’97

In no universe should X-Men ’97 have been anything more than a hollow nostalgia exercise, a sop to adult-child fans of the Fox Saturday morning cartoon series to which it serves as an unlikely sequel. But instead of just running the (still kickass) theme song and calling it a day, showrunner Beau DeMayo and his team tapped into their love of Marvel’s mutant heroes and created one of the best X-Men adaptations of all time. The surface beats of the old show are all there: the sometimes stiff animation, the soap-opera melodrama, the slightly hokey voice performances (often from returning cast members). But beneath those easy signifiers lurked an emotionally resonant exploration of the twisty, complicated mutant metaphor that encompassed grief, joy, rage, and more. It was a series unafraid to get goofy or horrifying as needs required—including in the show’s standout episode, “Remember It.” That installment, which turns, in a moment, from frivolity and relationship drama to apocalyptic hellfire, is the clearest expression of what makes X-Men ’97 fascinating: It reckons with what it means when heroes face down the machinery of a world that hates them and refuse to just quietly lay down and die. [William Hughes] 

 2. Interview With The Vampire

Season two of Rolin Jones’ Anne Rice adaptation was a feast for all of the senses: visually arresting, emotionally gripping, gloriously gory, and sexy as hell. The sophomore slump was nowhere in sight as Interview With The Vampire journeyed to postwar Paris, where a hedonistic playground quickly turned into a tribunal for sulky bloodsucker Louis (Jacob Anderson) and his daughter-sister Claudia (Delainey Hayles), and San Francisco via riveting flashbacks. While remaining mostly faithful to the source material, season two still delivered some inspired twists, proving that it pays to take risks when adapting a classic novel. That’s actually been Jones’ ethos from the beginning, starting with reimagining Louis as a closeted Black man in the Jim Crow South, which has added intoxicating new layers to its exploration of the contradictions of immortality. Season two was an often harrowing ride, spurred by great performances from Anderson, Hayles, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Ben Daniels, and Assad Zaman, who came to the fore as Armand. But it was equally marked by a sense of playfulness—a powerful reminder that prestige dramas, especially gothic-horror ones, don’t have to be dour. [Danette Chavez]

 1. Shōgun 

FX’s Shōgun began its reign in early 2024 and it remained undefeated among hundreds of other series that aired as the year progressed thanks to its emotional heft, cinematic scale, impactful performances, and smooth stunts. Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks’ series has set a new standard for how to adapt an acclaimed period book, staying true to its source material while charting a fresh path. Shōgun was years in the making, with star and EP Hiroyuki Sanada working with the co-creators to bring the best, most authentic version of James Clavell’s tome to life. And the wait was worth it. Every episode of Shōgun feels like it’s crafted with care, from the sword fighting, costumes, and intricate sets to the way Anna Sawai’s Lady Toda Mariko walks and develops a subtle romance with John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) or Tadanobu Asano charms as the crafty Kashigi Yabushige. Set in a pivotal time of feudal Japan, Shōgun notably doesn’t cater to a white gaze, instead immersing viewers in the lives of its key Japanese players. What’s more, the women stole the show out from under Lord Toranaga’s (Sanada) and his enemies. And crucially, even though it takes place hundreds of years ago, Shōgun’s tale of endurance amid political and religious strife makes it oddly relevant right now. It’s really no wonder it connected with the masses, bagged several awards, and is getting a second season. [Saloni Gajjar]