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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Ty Watches "The Penguin"

I finished "The Penguin" a few days ago and I have some thoughts. I will not spoil anything in this piece because I think people should watch this show. I also want to say, the time for spoilers should be well past by this point, but I want to respect the wishes of people that may not watch stuff in real time, or their version of binging is like mine, where I watch a few episodes a day over a week. There, got that out of the way.

"The Penguin" caught my interest from the moment I saw him in "The Batman". He was barely onscreen, but I was intrigued. I also liked the costume and makeup that Colin Farrell wore and I wanted to see more of him in this world. They announced the show and I was stoked. Then I forgot about it until RD mentioned it to me. I started watching right away because RD usually recommends good stuff to me. I was in from the jump. I liked how dark and grimy the show was on my tv. This may have had names of people from comic books and superhero movies, but this show is not in that genre. This show is something totally different. This is a hard crime drama. It reminded me of "Goodfellas". It has all the tropes, in a good way, of classic crime stories, some of the characters just happened to be called The Penguin or Selina Kyle. I will say though, when The Penguin is called that, he is very angry and hates that name. It is bad for him. He doesn't like it at all.

The events of the show take place right after the ending of "The Batman". The story immediately picks up, but this is about the crime families within Gotham and the introduction of a new drug called bliss. From there on out we meet some new villains and new people that I've never heard of before. Colin Farrell is Oz. He is amazing in this role. He takes it on headfirst and he absolutely nails it. Cristin Milioti plays Sofia, who is totally new to me. She is fantastic. I found myself openly rooting for her even though she is as villainous as the worst people in Gotham. Milioti needs to get proper recognition for this part. And Rhenzy Feliz plays Vic. He is a down on his luck kid who Oz catches trying to steal his rims from his car. Oz spares him and takes him along on his journey to becoming the top drug guy in Gotham. Feliz is pretty great as well, acting up to the level of Farrell when they're on screen together. There are more people involved, but these are the three main actors and each one is better than the next.

I really enjoyed watching this show as it unfolded. There are a few episodes in the middle that lag for just a bit, but they're worth it in the long run. This show needs these episodes to build up the world the creators have created. I also want to say, and this is no spoiler, this is one of the saddest, most depressing endings to a tv show that I've ever seen. I sat on my couch after the finale and let it sink in and that was the biggest feeling I came away with in the end. It is so sad and probably the only way they could've ended this season. I don't know if they're going to make any more episodes. I hope they do, but it wouldn't be the worst thing if they didn't make anymore and just let this one epic season stand on its own.

I highly recommend watching this show. Don't go into it expecting a typical comic book thing because you will be disappointed. But, if you go into it expecting a hard crime drama, it will be one of the best things you'll see on tv all year. 

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.

Ty Watches "The Penguin"

Last week RD texted and asked if I had seen "The Penguin" yet. I told him I had not, but I wanted to. He said the first episode was pretty epic, and I trust his opinion on things like this, so I decided that I was going to watch it that day.

I'm glad RD told me about this because this show is pretty damn great. I saw "The Batman", where this version of The Penguin was first featured, but he was barely in the movie. And that is a long, long movie. So, when it was announced that they were going to do a series featuring this version of The Penguin, I was interested. I feel that, when given the proper material, Colin Farrell can do some great work. That is happening here for sure. Farrell is excellent in this show. He is also unrecognizable. The makeup people are doing a bang up job. Farrell has been transformed into what I have always envisioned this villain to like. He has messed up teeth, with some gold teeth peppered in there. His limp is due to a foot injury and him having to wear a brace. He over dresses. He tries too hard on his look. They nailed it. Farrell also makes this version sound like a true New York crime boss. He has the accent down to a T. He sounds and acts like a true New Yorker, or at least tv and movie versions of New Yorkers.

Farrell is not alone here on the show. Cristin Milioti is playing a new villain, at least to me, Sofia Falcone/Gigante. She is tough. She takes no prisoners. The episode when we see her backstory, how she got to where she is in today's version of the show, her performance should be studied in acting classes. This is a masterclass. I'd be shocked if she doesn't get award consideration for this performance alone. But, she continues to shine with each passing episode. She terrifies me. But I also cannot look away from what her character is doing on the show. I'm also enjoying Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar. His role could have been cliched. He could have been a typical kid that, due to dumb luck, found himself working for The Penguin. But he adds layers to his portrayal. He has past issues that haunt him. He has personal stuff that he hasn't fully dealt with in his life. He ended up working for Oz by pure happenstance. but what they have done so far with him has been pretty damn great. These three really bring this whole show to life.

And, if you are reading this thinking it's just another superhero show, think again. I thought that for a second, but after watching the first episode, that's not the case. I'm almost caught up on the show, and to this point, this is a crime show that happens to have characters that share names with comic book people. This is as hardcore as "The Godfather" or "Goodfellas". This is akin to gangster movies that my mom watches and that I have come around on big time since I was a kid. I never think about this as a DC show or a superhero/super villain show. The only time that comes to mind is when they flash the DC logo after each episode. This is not that. This is a hard crime drama that also happens to be incredibly violent.

"The Penguin" is a very good show that has gotten better, for me, with each passing episode. I highly recommend checking it out. It's good stuff. 

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.

Follow Ty on instagram.

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