2024 Year in Review: Best Television Shows

Welcome to day three of my best of 2024 lists. Today I come to you with my top five tv shows of 2024. TV is in a good spot where we sit right now. There’s tons of content. Too much of you ask me. But, a good amount of tv shows out there are critically acclaimed and fun to watch. A few shows I watch but didn’t make my list are, the final season of “What We Do in the Shadows” and season 4 of “Only Murders in the Building”. I adore both these shows, but for varying reasons, they didn’t make my list. Oh also don’t watch a ton of the super critical darling shows. I’ve never seen “Succession”. I have zero interest in “Industry”. Those shows aren’t for me. But, I do have a top five for 2024, and I’m very much in on all five of these shows.

Coming in at number 5 I have “KAOS”. I read all the reviews, I saw that critics kind of panned the show, but I was still intrigued. I am a fan of shows that take mythological people and put them in real life situations. Those shows speak to me. And “KAOS” excelled in this for me. Jeff Goldblum is magnetic as Zeus. I couldn’t get enough of him. But it was everyone around him really doing a good job. The writers of this show took on these Greek characters and really made an interesting eight episode arc for all of them. I don’t usually binge stuff, but I finished this show in three days. An episode would end and I wanted more. I’m bummed it got cancelled. They could’ve taken this concept in many other direction. Go seek out this show. It’s very well made.

At number 4 I have season 3 of “The Bear”. “The Bear” continues to be one of the best written and best acted shows on all of tv. It’s endlessly rewatchable. I really enjoyed the whole arc of this season. Seeing them open the restaurant and all the stress that comes from that was great. This season was funnier than the first two. John Cena showing up had me cracking up. Ayo Edibiri is continuing to shine and getting more work, which is much deserved. Jeremy Allen White is rightfully award nominated again. I could say the same with Ebon Moss Bacharach. But Abby Elliot truly shined this season. She did some amazing work. I know some people were down on this season, I was not. I will continue to watch and I’m sure it will continue to be great.

At number 3 I have “Fallout”. I knew nothing of this show when it was first on Amazon. It wasn’t until RD told me to check it out that it popped on my radar. I also didn’t know until a few episodes in that it was based on a video game. None of that mattered when I started to watch. This show is really good. It’s bleak and depressing, but in the correct ways. It’s not very uplifting, but when it is, it hits. Ella Purnell is exceptional as the lead. Walton Goggins plays The Ghoul, who is now one of my all time favorite characters. Kyle McLachlan and Johnny Pemberton excel. Everyone is wonderful. I also like the world that the show has used from the game. It feels like a likely outcome if this happened to the world. And the finale has me super hyped for season 2. I’m glad RD told me about this show because I don’t think I would have watched otherwise. This show is awesome.

At number 2 I have “The Penguin”. This is another one that RD asked about and I started watching after his take. I trust RD’s recommendations. “The Penguin” is brutal. There’s no respite. There may be minor moments here and there that take a small break, but this show is bleak. Collin Ferrell is Oz. He is unrecognizable. His accent is spot on. He walks like an actual penguin. I’m very impressed with his performance here. Cristin Milioti is even better. She is ruthless, but I’m on her side. I get why she’s doing what she’s doing. And she is absolutely dynamic here. This show is a masterclass from these two actors. And if you have any issues with superhero or MCU/DCU fatigue, this is not a show that’s superhero focused. This is a gritty crime drama. It’s a mafia story, and a well done mafia story. It’s disturbing and upsetting, but it’s also damn good.

Finally, at number 1 I have the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. I mean, what else would I pick? “Curb” may be the greatest comedy tv show ever, and they went out on top. Larry David heard all the criticism for the “Seinfeld” finale, and he redid it and redid it better. This season was leading up to a finale that was going to end up with David in jail, and it did, but he did so much more with it on the way there. The hair dye episode is a classic. The fame that Maria Sofia has gained was tremendous. The Aunty Ray stuff made me smile. The episode with the guy from “District 9” and “Chappie” should be studied by do day writers looking to make cringe comedy. Anytime David interacted with Ted Danson or Susie, it was as funny as ever. “Curb” is an achievement in comedy writing and I’m going to sorely miss it. But this final season was perfect and will go down as one of the best final tv seasons of all time. It’s a gem.

That’s it for 2024 tv. Come back tomorrow for my top five sports moments of the year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Now "KAOS" is the Cancel Victim of More Dumb Reality TV

Welp, another tv show that I enjoy bites the dust. It was announced yesterday, I didn't see until today, that Netflix cancelled "KAOS". They gave that show one season. They gave it eight measly episodes. And now it has been canned, and I don't know why.

This show had potential, this show had a great cast, this show was unique and different. I loved what I saw and was excited for where they could take it in season two. The whole cast was stellar, but the reason why I started watching was Jeff Goldblum. He was magnetic as Zeus. He was childish and violent. He was mean. He was vindictive. Goldblum played this role perfectly. If his portrayal of Zeus wasn't enough to keep this show on air, I have to assume it was a longshot at best to stick around after one shortened season.

I am sitting here today trying to figure out what went wrong, why Netflix made this decision. With "That 90's Show", while I was annoyed, some reasons made sense. The audience for that show are people my age. We watched "That 70's Show", so "That 90's Show" was nostalgic for us. The problem, my generation doesn't watch too many sitcoms. We are all about documentaries or crime shows now. Me, and a few of my friends, we're the exception. We watched the hell out of "That 90's Show" and wanted more. We didn't get our way, and Netflix moved on. It is a bummer, but I get it. "KAOS" is not a sitcom. There is no studio audience. There are no corny jokes. The cast is all in, and they know what they are doing with the material. It just doesn't make sense to me that they would give up on another quality show so quickly. The way the season went, started with a bang, no real lull and excellent ending that left the show open to many more seasons, it was strong all the way through. But I guess Netflix didn't see that. All the actors on the show were giving their all, and I found myself attached to every major character's story. When one story would shift into another one, I instantly found myself heavily involved in what was going on with that person. Be it a god, a political person, a mortal or a centaur, I wanted to know everything about that person. I watched the series in two sittings. I watched four episode blocks in two different days. I couldn't get enough of it. But Netflix just axed it.

I thought maybe Netflix would get rid of a bunch of shows, but it seems like the two biggest, and most notable new shows they let go of are "That 90's Show" and "KAOS". I wish I could say the same for a show like "Love is Blind" on Netflix, but nope, they have a new season and they even have versions in other countries now. It seems like they can continue to make more and more reality tv shows, but good material that is different and exciting, like "KAOS" is kicked to the curb.

This bums me out. I wish, and want streaming networks to give these cool shows more of a shot. Unfortunately it seems like that is not the case. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches "KAOS"

I recently started the Netflix show "KAOS". I kept seeing ads for it popping up on my social media and it interested me. I like when people take sci-fi/mythical stuff and put that with everyday things. I enjoy when writers take something that has been around forever and put it in the present day. Add on the cast, and this show seems to be made for me.

The first episode opened with the Dire Straits song, "Money for Nothing", and we see Zeus, played by Jeff Goldblum. He is an egomaniac. He is conducting storms above the clouds, all the while complaining about humans because they want water and air. He is whiny and wants everyone to tell him how great he is all the time. He is a child in a grown person's body. Hera, Zeus' wife and sister, is played by Janet McTeer. She is manipulative. She is constantly talking Zeus down. She wants him to be a better ruler. She is always telling him to calm down. She is also horrible to her stepson, Dionysus. Nabhaan Rizwan plays Dionysus, and he is my favorite character up to this point. He is funny, fun and wants his dad to recognize him. He wants to do something to help his personal legacy. But, he is still childlike and doesn't really have any common sense. He partners up with Orpheus, Killian Scott. These two are on a mission to get someone back that Orpheus loves. Oh, and Orpheus is the world's biggest rock star. His partner, Riddy, Aurora Perrineau, has some stuff she has to work out on her own. But she is on a mission that she may not be fully aware of just yet. In later episodes we meet Poseidon, Cliff Curtis, Hades, David Thewlis, Persephone, Rakie Ayola and Medusa, Debi Mazar. They're all pretty wonderful, especially Poseidon. We also get to know Ari, Leila Farzad, and Caeneus, Misia Butler. They are going to, at some point, team up with Riddy to try and get some stuff done.

What I think I have liked most about the show is how they portray the gods. They are stupid and crazy and egotistic. They act like kids. They think they can't get hurt or be overthrown. They are petulant little kids, with a tremendous amount of power. Goldblum is amazing in this show. I am such a big fan of his, and to see him take on a role like this, as a villain, is a sight to behold. And he is nailing it. Outside Dionysus, whenever Goldblum's Zeus is on screen, I am excited to see how horribly he is going to act next. I should mention, Stephen Dillane plays Prometheus the whole time. He is the narrator and Zeus' only "friend". I am very much enjoying Dillane in this role. I only know him as Stannis Baratheon from "Game of Thrones". That role was kind of bland and boring, for me, on that show. Here, in "KAOS", Dillane is magnetic and fun. He is the funniest person on the show. He also is the only god that seems to be a rational thinker. He does some bad stuff, but he is repenting and wants what is right.

I am so glad that I started this show the other day. I am fully in after three episodes. I'm really curious to see where it goes from here. There's only eight episodes in the first season, so I got five left and I cannot wait to see how they wrap it up. I highly recommend this show. It is pretty cool. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.