I usually write a companion piece for my Top Ten Movies list every year, discussing some of the major titles that didn't make the list. I want to do the same thing with my Top Ten list for television, but this is going to be trickier. Due to the nature of television, there's not really a critical consensus outside of a very few titles. Also, there's a far greater percentage of titles that I didn't watch and can't discuss like "The Curse," "A Small Light," "The Sympathizer," "Ahsoka," and "Fellow Travelers." I've already highlighted some of these omissions in a prior post.
Still, I think there's some value in looking back on the past television season, doing some direct comparing and contrasting, and talking about certain shows as part of specific categories. I considered breaking the shows down by streaming service or genre, but I think it makes the most sense to group them by where they are in the television life cycle. I will not be discussing any shows from my Top Ten post or the Honorable Mentions.
So, let's look at the shiny new series first, the ones just starting out that look like they're going to be around for a while. "Fallout" was a big success, which I liked fine - it's doing a lot of familiar things in a very straightforward way, and it's nice that Jonathan Nolan is putting aside the mystery boxes. However, it's too splattery and not cerebral enough for me to really latch on to. I much prefer my sci-fi in the vein of Netflix's "3 Body Problem," which had a bumpy first season, but I'm optimistic that it'll get better as it adapts more dramatic material in the seasons to come. I'm very glad it got a renewal. I'm a little mystified, however, by the renewal of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," which was supposed to be the "Godzilla" franchise's show that gave us more compelling human characters. And it really didn't.
"One Piece" is a miraculous anime adaptation that works in live action, largely thanks to a phenomenal cast. However, the first season has visible growing pains, and is very constrained by the limits of its source material. The long awaited "Hazbin Hotel," an ambitious A24 adult animated musical, is an indulgent mess. However, it's a very interesting indulgent mess, and I'm curious as to where it's going to go. "Sugar" was a beautiful magic trick that I don't know works so well a second time. Finally, Guy Richie's "The Gentlemen" is a lot of fun for two episodes, and the rest of the season sort of spun its wheels. This one's technically not slated to come back, but it was a substantial hit and I expect we'll see some sort of continuation eventually.
Next category is one-season wonders and limited series. "Masters of the Air" is a prestige WWII drama that shares lineage with "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific," but it feels much smaller than either of those earlier series. I don't know if it's that the rest of television has caught up, or if streaming on Apple TV+ just made the show feel like less of an event. Maybe "Masters of the Air" just came too late, and COVID impacted the quality for the worse. Even the participation of major stars like Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan couldn't pull this one out of a straight dive toward obscurity.
Other limited shows I like, but not enough to hand out kudos to, include "Lessons in Chemistry," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "A Gentleman in Moscow," and "Monsieur Spade." "The Brothers Sun" has some of the most entertaining fight scenes I've ever seen in a series, and I was looking forward to more, but its cancellation makes it a one-season wonder. Same with "Dead Boy Detectives," which is a very slight YA genre series, but the characters were great. The "Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show" also deserves a mention, which I admit I only watched for the secret Bo Burnham cameos. Carmichael lets the cameras get way too close and personal, and I have to admit that it's fascinating.
Returning shows that operate on more of an anthology format, include "True Detective: Night Country" and "Feud: Capote vs The Swans," which I have no complaints about. They gave me pretty much exactly what I expected, and never did anything superlative, which is fine. "Night Country" ending up in the middle of the culture war was pretty unpleasant though. The unexpected sequel series to "The Jinx," dubbed "The Jinx Part Two" isn't very satisfying. It came far too late, and six episodes was excessive. Also, I came away from "Good Omens 2" a little annoyed that it left me on a cliffhanger and waiting for a "Good Omens 3."
A few revivals like "Doctor Who" made waves. There are several "Who" episodes from the Russell T. Davies led creative team that I like, and Ncuti Gatwa is great, but not quite enough to call them all-timers. Probably the revival with the most buzz was "X-men '97," which gives every '90s kid the version of the show they always wanted, and makes it clear that the superhero audience is far from done with nostalgia. While I like "X-men '97," I'm not nearly as high on it as the Marvel crowd, and it doesn't tick any boxes for me beyond great animation and an admirable commitment to premium cheese. I don't need it to transcend Saturday morning cartoon status.
Returning shows that tend to function as more dependable ongoing series include a pretty good year of "For All Mankind," a significantly improved second season of "Foundation," and my favorite round of "Only Murders in the Building" so far, because the creators finally gave in to the inevitable and put the gang on Broadway. This year's batch of "Invincible" is one of the bigger disappointments of the year, though I suspect that a lot of this is due to production problems.
Finally, some goodbyes. I will not miss "The Witcher," which never seemed to sort out its writing problems and didn't even bother to give Henry Cavill a decent sendoff. I know the show is continuing, but I won't be watching. "The Crown" bowed out with more dignity, but it was too little too late. I think the series peaked with the Emma Corrin and Josh O'Connor season, and then spent way too much time on tabloid fodder. I like the last season fine, but it feels like an afterthought that just happened to coincide with the passing of QE2. "Our Flag Means Death" and "Extraordinary" have both been canceled after two seasons. They didn't have great sophomore years and reached natural stopping points, so I'm not too upset, but I think they still had plenty of life in them.
Then there's "Loki," the only Disney+ live action series I bothered watching after the disaster that was "Secret Invasion." The finale was perfect, and I'm glad the character got a satisfying ending, but I couldn't explain what was going on in any other episode.
And God forbid this is the end of "Bluey," but if it is, "The Sign" and "Surprise" were a perfectly lovely way to go out. Yes, I am a heartless monster because they didn't make me cry.
And I hope Pat Sajak enjoys his retirement.
Shows that almost made the list include the investigation and courtroom drama "Mr. Bates vs the Post Office," which aired on ITV in the UK and PBS in the US., a lively take on "The Artful Dodger" on Hulu, "The New Look" with Juliet Binoche playing a vicious Coco Chanel on Apple TV +, and the quirky little Netflix talk show experiment, "John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA," specifically the last episode with Flea.
And that's my 2023-2024 television season. Good grief, it's a lot.
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