Prestige miniseries and streaming franchise “content” ruled the roost, but traditional network TV surprisingly hung on to life this year – even if the format of a full 22 episodes in a season is mostly of the past. The networks achieved it by melding the tried-and-true procedural format with underrepresented types of characters, as mental health and conditions move into the mainstream. Here are my top 10 TV shows of 2024:
10. “High Potential” (Season 1, ABC)
I can understand some TV actors’ concerns about typecasting. Kaitlin Olson, along with her castmates, mastered idiotic comedy on “Always Sunny,” but here she gets to play a (mostly) mature role. She’s equally good at it. Morgan is easy to like despite her unusual condition wherein she’s the most observant woman in the room, but is so flighty in terms of traditional book learning that she has struggled to hold a job and raise her three kids. So impressive in a random contribution to the pilot-episode mystery, Morgan is hired as a police consultant. The writing crew partially comes over from “iZombie,” providing similar intraoffice wit and compelling cases. (First episode review.)
9. “Game 7” (documentary miniseries, Amazon Prime)
Each of five hourlong episodes chronicles an important deciding clash in the annals of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Players and coaches from the winning and losing sides give fresh, candid, amusing interviews, as do the journalists who covered the games. The crafters of these documentaries give us the wider context for the game’s importance, ranging from the nuanced (Dirk Nowitzki ushered in the era of the European superstar) to the rivetingly obvious (the Cubs’ quest to end The Curse). An especially great find is fresh footage from a documentary team on the scene with the 1980s Edmonton Oilers dynasty.
8. “Rescue: Hi-Surf” (Season 1, Fox)
Exec producer John Wells knows how to do relationship-driven procedurals that believably show a slice of life we wouldn’t otherwise be privy to, like the hospital corridors of “ER” or the halls of power on “The West Wing.” Now he takes us to a more appealing location: the beaches of Oahu. I’ve gained an appreciation for, yes, the natural beauty of the setting, but also for the skills of the lifeguards, equally at home at the tower or on jet-skis. Better late than never, Arielle Kebbel lands a lead role; Em is a mid-career lifeguard amid a crew that includes veterans and rookies. Especially standing out, though, is Robbie Magasiva as the soon-to-retire captain. Sonny’s work is beyond reproach, but psychological troubles and island politics provide new challenges. (First episode review.)
7. “True Detective” (Season 4, Max)
Since this is an anthology series, you don’t have to watch the first three seasons – although you should watch the legendary Season 1 because it’s great. We see thematic parallels to Season 1’s backwoods bayou in Season 4’s “Night Country” via dismissed, disgruntled and depressed North Slope tribespeople as a mass-murder-mystery (of a group of white factory workers, and of a native before that) is probed by small-town detectives. Continuing the trend of great actors fronting short-form TV series, Jodie Foster steps in for six episodes and brings imperfect human warmth to Alaska conditions so frigid you’ll want a crackling fire or at least a comfy afghan on hand. (First episode review.)
6. “Presumed Innocent” (miniseries, Apple TV Plus)
These nine episodes expand and rework the Harrison Ford movie with a central conceit that’s palpable throughout: Jake Gyllenhaal’s disgraced lawyer Rusty behaves like he definitely did not commit the murder, yet a lot of evidence suggests he did. There are other suspects, probed by the defense team, and by us as viewers venturing into TV dramatics. Office politics, city politics and a great supporting cast spice things up. One of my favorite genres is mystery shows where I can share theories with friends as we watch in tandem, and with “Only Murders in the Building” having a down year, “Presumed Innocent” was 2024’s standout of this type. (Full review.)
5. “3 Body Problem” (Season 1, Netflix)
This is the wackadoo sci-fi show of the year, chronicling several decades of a gradual alien incursion to Earth, and touching on cultures ranging from historical Communist China to modern Big Government America. Based on a trilogy of Chinese novels, the time-hopping story goes to strange places – a huge tanker is sliced into strips by (literally) cutting-edge mesh, and a man communicates by radio with an alien he calls “my lord.” But it keeps things grounded by sticking with a core group of friends, including a terminally ill young man who proposes a shocking method for meeting the aliens on their turf. (Full review.)
4. “Cobra Kai” (Season 6, Netflix)
“Karate Kid’s” next-gen series builds toward its conclusion with the first two-thirds of the final season. The last five episodes will air in 2025, when we’ll also get a new “Karate Kid” movie. Daniel’s (Ralph Macchio) probe into Mr. Miyagi’s secrets will likely dovetail into “Karate Kid: Legends,” but the big hook on “Cobra Kai” is the teens’ career-defining trip to the world finals in Barcelona. The writers treat the kids like dolls; but more crucially, the choreographers treat them like action figures. Playing on the various individual and team rivalries, the unscheduled brawl-for-all is everything we could want in a cliffhanger. (Full reviews: Part 1, Part 2)
3. “The Irrational” (Seasons 1-2, NBC)
Ah, the pleasures of a smart procedural. Jesse L. Martin plays a likeable college professor/FBI consultant who specializes in spotting and understanding irrational (but actually quite predictable) human behavior. Sure, contrivances are needed to get Martin’s Alec on the scene of a crime or tense situation every week, but hey, New York City is a pretty irrational place. Though old-fashioned and mainstream in some ways, this warm-hearted series explores timely issues, including the individual cost of whistleblowing, as chronicled via grad student Phoebe (Molly Kunz), giving representation to people with chronic anxiety.
2. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Season 12, Max)
Enjoying a measure of freedom thanks to his “Seinfeld” riches, Larry David innovated again with his second major series. By putting out a season only when he had great material ready – “Curb’s” 12 seasons cover a quarter-century – he pioneered a now-common scheduling format. The series finale is better than the lambasted “Seinfeld” finale, as David and guest star Jerry Seinfeld intended, but still, finales are not their strength. A running plot of Larry giving water to an in-line voter, thus violating Georgia law, provides the framework. But weekly premises are the show’s joys, ranging from a racist lawn gnome to the fate of a restaurant tank’s decorative fish to the mysterious identity of a “disgruntled” club member.
1. “Evil” (Season 4, Paramount Plus)
I loved this series for 50 episodes and I can tell producers Michelle and Robert King and their cast loved making it. Although it’s not wrongly titled, as Michael Emerson’s slimy human villain with Devilish connections harasses our heroes, “Evil” is ultimately a warm story of friendship among an atheist (Aasif Mandvi’s Ben), a Catholic (Mike Colter’s David) and someone in-between (Katja Herbers’ Kristen). It’s laced with common life challenges (Kristen raises four teen girls) and has a homey sense of place (whether it’s Kristen’s half of a duplex, David’s modest room or Ben’s bohemian loft). But the Kings push the stories to the weirdest and wackiest SF/supernatural realms since “The X-Files.” I’ll miss the hell out of “Evil.” (Full review.)