I hate to say it, but I wasted a lot of my time this year watching really bad television.
Whenever I finish a season, I email the name to myself, and this year, with that requirement, I watched 22 individual shows.
Many were forgettable and a few others were good shows I'd already viewed, simply continuing the series.
I watched only a few shows that were both new to me and left a positive mark. Most made me yawn.
I watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith and didn't really care for it. I watched Shogun and didn't really care for it. I watched Cross and didn't really care for it. I watched The Boys and enjoyed the first season but then got tired of it. Call me picky, call me bored.
With that said, there were a handful of new shows I thoroughly enjoyed this year. Bosch (and Bosch: Legacy) and Reacher, in particular, which I unabashedly loved. All three seasons of The Leftovers blew my mind and exceeded expectations. Scavengers Reign might be the most beautifully animated show I've ever seen. The Gentleman was a playfully unhinged delight. Fantasmas was a sensory overload fever dream. Condor and Sugar both offered up great first season; two shows that don't get enough love. And, lastly, Troppo was...tolerable.
Below is my full list of highlights. I’m making a note to watch less television in 2025, but it might also be the year I finally watch Breaking Bad. We’ll see.
Scavengers Reign
[2023]
Like I said, perhaps the most beautifully animated show I’ve ever seen. It’s a damn shame this show wasn’t picked up for a second season. Despite the bad news, it does stand on its own as a flawlessly executed singular season.
The Leftovers
[2014-2017]
All three seasons of The Leftovers blew my mind and exceeded expectations. It had been on my list for quite some time and ended up being one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. It kept me on my toes, forever a step ahead, and I found myself pleasantly surprised every step of the way.
Fallout
[2024-]
Film and television adapted from video games are often a roll of the dice. Shout-out Doom (2005) starring The Rock. Thankfully, despite having never played the game and having zero context, I thoroughly enjoyed Fallout. It was like a post-apocalyptic Pleasantville. Bloody, funny, and a blast every step of the way. It’s not very common that I say this, but: I’m looking forward to season two.
bosch / Bosch: Legacy
[2014-2021 / 2022-2025]
The only show I dedicated serious time to this year. I watched all seven seasons of Bosch as well as the two seasons of Bosch: Legacy. The third and final season of Bosch: Legacy is airing in early 2025 and I will be ready. I’ve never really watched a police procedural, and I can’t see myself doing it again anytime soon, but something about Bosch was really enjoyable. Entertaining, easy to follow, and there’s something comforting about following a hero who you know will win. For this same reason, I loved watching Jack Ryan and love watching Reacher.
Condor
[2018-2020]
My wife and I are always looking for a new espionage television series. The Americans was great, Homeland was strong, and now we’re giving Condor a shot. The first season was good (until the questionable final 15 minutes of the finale) and we' haven’t seen the second (and final) season yet, but that’s on the docket for early 2025. Great action and great pacing.
Fantasmas
[2024-]
A sensory overload fever dream. Every ten minutes felt like its own surrealist short story. It meanders, it spirals, and never does it lose its originality. Consider this a barrage of densely layered fables and vignettes. Hallucinatory as hell, funny as hell, weird as hell, entertaining as hell. One of my highlights of 2024 was seeing Julio Torres live in Chicago. I still need to see his film Problemista. Long live Los Espookys.
Reacher
[2022-]
Hell. Yes. Jack Reacher is a badass who can’t be stopped. A stranger comes to town and thus begins the hero’s journey. Bad to the bone and fun as well. Just by looking at the poster above, you should know exactly what you’re getting into. Season three is out in early 2025 and I can’t wait. This is one of only a few shows that my dad and I both enjoy.
Troppo
[2022-]
This Australian crime drama offered a solid first season but I’m not sure if I’ll be watching the second season. A little slow and not as much action as I’d have liked, but I enjoyed the twists and turns and curiosity seeds sprinkled throughout.
Full Circle
[2023]
This was one of the first shows I watched in 2024. A standalone six episode mini-series, I remember watching it, enjoying it, but I don’t remember much about it. A kidnapping gone wrong? That I remember. But what else? Call it a fuzzy memory, call it a forgettable show, who is to say, but I do remember liking it, so there’s that.
The Gentlemen
[2024-]
I’ve been going through a Guy Ritchie phase. In the last year, I’ve watched Wrath of Man, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, and I’m watching The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare as I type this. His TV show The Gentlemen (a spin-off of Ritchie’s 2019 film) is bloody fun. It’s quirky, manic, unhinged, all of the descriptors we’ve come to expect from a Guy Ritchie production. Every episode felt like its own focused mission. I found myself rolling my eyes a few times, but was in love by the time the first season was over. Perfect for a bowl of popcorn and a pint.
Griselda
[2024]
The whole time I was watching this, I was wishing it was Narcos (2015-2017) or Narcos: Mexico (2018-2021), but since both of those shows are over (RIP), this was a solid alternative. An easy to watch six episode mini-series.
Sugar
[2024-]
I promise you, if you watch this eight episode season, you won’t be able to guess the twist or figure out where it’s going. I loved the originality of this one. How it takes place in the modern day yet showcases its love of vintage film and noir undertones. It feels lost in time. And again, the fact that it went where it went, the fact that it took that leap, I applaud it more than most shows on this list.
Killing Eve
[2018-2022]
The first season was very strong, but I didn’t even finish the second season. I thought about not including it on this list for that reason, but because I found the first season to be so enjoyable, it felt wrong to not include it. If you watch, do yourself a favor and stop after the first eight episodes.
The Righteous Gemstones
[2019-]
This show gets more and more ridiculous with each season and I love it. Any show that can properly blend humor with violence is likely to win me over, and while I think the second season of The Righteous Gemstones is my favorite of this series, the third season is nearly just as strong.
Hacks
[2021-]
I was listening to the podcast Scriptnotes where they were talking about the importance of season three. They said the first season, you have all the time in the world to write and develop. The second season, you have a pretty good idea of where the show is going. The third season, however, can be tricky, because you become influenced by the audience and fall victim to being a caricature of yourself or going in a direction that displeases your loyal followers. All that said, the third season of Hacks might be the best of the series. It’s one of only two laugh-out-loud comedies I really enjoyed this year and I can’t recommend it enough.
If you made it this far and need some more television recommendations, be sure to check out some of my favorite shows from the last couple of years.
