THE BEST TELEVISION OF THE YEAR

IT WAS SURPRISING how much 2024 felt like an uneventful wake for the Peak TV era. There was still great television, but there was much more mid or meh television and far fewer moments when a critical mass of viewers seemed equally excited about the same series.

- JEN CHANEY, KATHRYN VANARENDONK AND ROXANA HADADI

JEN CHANEY'S TOP TEN

Every TV professional I've spoken to in recent months has expressed confusion about what kinds of shows networks and streamers care about in this post-strike, post-peak landscape. That's why I built this list with an eye toward the projects I fear may be deprioritized in the coming months: things that are weird, idiosyncratic, and, like my top pick of 2024, Somebody Somewhere, focused on the nuances of relationships between regular people rather than superheroes or protagonists plucked from existing IP. This year may have confirmed that we're past Peak in terms of the amount of television, but the works listed here argue strongly that the promise of reaching new creative heights still exists.

1. Somebody Somewhere, season three

Watching a half-hour episode of this hilarious and heartfelt-but-not-sappy comedy makes you feel better about humanity, at least for a little bit.

2. Ripley

Shot in stunning black-and-white by director, writer, and creator Steven Zaillian, alongside cinematographer Robert Elswit, Ripley's eight episodes take their exquisite time.

3. Evil, season four

The series ended with episodes that were moving, freaky (where else can you watch Andrea Martin play a nun who kicks the shit out of demons?), and enormously satisfying.

4. John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.

For one week in May, Mulaney hosted a delightfully odd, somewhat unpolished live Netflix talk show.

5. Girls5eva, season three

Thankfully, this revamped, middle-aged former girl band was not done with us, giving fans six more episodes of rapid-fire absurdity that had me guffawing.

6. Shogun

This was television, made with extreme discipline.

7. Extraordinary, season two