Christmas has been and gone, Santa Claus has put his feet up, and with Jolly Old Saint Nick out of action, it’s time for the other regular Nick intervention we always see at this time of year.
Yes, it’s my annual Top Ten TV Shows! Join me as I relive my late twenties reviewing TV online for one blog post only, talking about my favourite viewing experiences of the last twelve months!
Unbelievably, I’ve been doing this for over a decade now and you can re-experience all of them below if you want.
There’s probably some terrible opinions in those old blog posts, so not sure why I keep including the links. I just glanced at the oldest one and saw effusive praise of Dexter season seven, which I’m not sure I fully stand by.
But anyway – on to my latest, up to date and fully correct TV views. It’s been a good year for telly, so much so that the honourable mentions section is absolutely bursting with shows that you’d think would’ve been in the main chart, but the heart wants what it wants. As ever, this is my subjective opinion, so don’t feel obliged to agree. There are definitely occasions when I’ll be veering away from the consensus.
And yes, our old buddy Stats Corner returns, even though the widening gaps between seasons of most shows is making it increasingly hard to fill meaningfully.
Let’s go!
#10 – The Diplomat
The second season of The Diplomat, the Netflix political drama featuring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell, took what already worked in their first entertaining season and tightened it up, bringing in twisty, thriller-style tension and plotting, plus Allison Janney as the Vice President.
Yes, this show preys on my West Wing nostalgia, but also acknowledges the need for greater cynicism in our dark modern world of disinformational mayhem. Not to mention Russell and Sewell are just fantastic, absolutely selling a huge chunk of the show with raw chemistry and a winning ability to be charming, funny and (when needed) actually competent, at least briefly.
The famously cancellation-happy Netflix commissioned a third season of this series, so people must already be watching it, but I never hear a huge amount about The Diplomat in The Discourse, so there’s always room for more. Check it out.
Stats Corner: Arguably the first politics drama in the chart since Borgen appeared in 2012 and 2013.
#9 – The Traitors
Moving a little outside our usual genre areas, it’s The Traitors, the reality show on BBC One which absolutely swamped the TV chat online earlier this year.
This, of course, is the one featuring a group of strangers in a castle, trying to both win cash in higher-budget Crystal Maze challenges and guess who The Traitors in their midst are, before they are non-violently slaughtered in their sleep by said traitors, like the world’s highest budget game of wink-murder.
I’m not a huge reality show person, but this show makes it work by always remembering these people are players in a game, rather than getting too parasocial about them as human beings. Yes, it’s incredibly melodramatic, but in a fun, camp-goth way that (for the most part) stays on the right side of sadistic and manipulative.
It’s a fine line, but they’ve managed it so far, and made an fun, watchable, unpredictable series. Interested to finally watch The Traitors as it airs when the third series starts in a few days, as last time it had more or less finished by the time I joined in.
Stats Corner: There’s never previously been a reality show or game show on this list. First show to touch on non-fictional reality (kinda) since Last Week Tonight in 2015.
#8 – Slow Horses
Critical darling Slow Horses returns for a fourth season, bringing back Gary Oldman and his collection of useless spies. This time, the family secrets of one team member threaten to engulf the whole group, and it remains tense, funny and surprising.
If anything, Slow Horses is almost a victim of its own high quality – new season every year, reliably good in the same way. You start to take it for granted compared to some of these new upstart TV shows.
But let the records show that this remains an excellent espionage series, with a pleasing touch of The Thick Of It in its tone and dialogue, making it (much like The Diplomat earlier) a perfect fit for our grim times. I feel like you’ve already been told to watch Slow Horses a thousand times, but if you needed another prompt, here it is.
Stats Corner: The elusive series with a previous appearance – last year’s #5, so taking a slight drop here.
#7 – Scavengers Reign
Technically Scavengers Reign was released on HBO Max in the US in 2023, but the show wasn’t available in the UK until it was added to Netflix in 2024, so I’ve decided it qualifies for this chart. Please direct your complaints to my spam folder.
This is an animated series about a group of space travellers who crash land on a mysterious alien world and try to both survive and escape while living among baffling, beautiful, terrifying flora and fauna. The combination of the gorgeous art style and imaginative creatures and systems, not to mention the thoughtful, meditative tone, make this a memorable, evocative journey which absolutely stuck with me.
As I say, it’s been a competitive year, we’re reaching the point where almost any show I name would be a viable #1, and we’re only at #7. Scavengers Reign was fantastic, and although Netflix have confirmed there’ll be no more, there is a solid ending to this first season and I’d still wholly recommend the experience.
Stats Corner: One notable trend in the last few years is an increasing number of animated series on this list, and here it continues. Not the last one either.
#6 – Rivals
Following The Traitors, another one which isn’t quite the usual genre we see around here – Rivals, the Jilly Cooper bonkbuster adaptation on Disney+ about a group of posh British folk competing in ITV franchise warfare and competitive shagging. Then again, it’s got a former Doctor Who in it, so maybe it’s not that far afield for us.
Although I always enjoy David Tennant playing villains, the standout performance for me was Aidan Turner as Declan, the angriest man in town, a furious broadcaster who is not just a “heartthrob” because of his good looks, but also his dangerously high blood pressure. He’s just one among a lot of strong actors though – Nafessa Williams was great, Danny Dyer playing hilariously against type too, and love to see Victoria Smurfit from Ballykissangel popping up. All-star stuff.
I must admit I didn’t feel the central relationship as much as the show seemed to want, but there’s plenty of others to go around, and that didn’t get in the way of the infectious bawdy chaos. Some of the most rambunctious fun I had on TV all year, strongly recommend.
Stats Corner: I’d say the closest we’ve had to a romance show on this chart previously was Insecure in 2020.
#5 – X-Men ’97
Look, it’s my list and I’ll put loads of high-end premium telly behind a Marvel cartoon if I want to.
But genuinely, X-Men ’97 was eXcellent, easily the best comics and/or superhero adaptation of the year and probably the strongest take on this particular property outside the original comics. I came in expecting a fun yet knowing homage to the cartoon I watched as a kid, and came out in tears at times.
Yes, the ironic 90s send-up business is also there, especially towards the beginning, but especially around the halfway mark, this also engages harder than any other adaptation with the core prejudice metaphor at the heart of the X-Men. I gather the showrunner isn’t returning for later seasons, so who knows if they’ll hold up, but this was great nonetheless and has a pretty strong ending in itself.
If you come here for my thoughts on superhero shows, my opinion is that you should watch this.
Stats Corner: Only superhero show on the list this year, and the highest ranking superhero animation yet, beating both entries from Invincible. (Which was also good this year, but didn’t make the top ten. Maybe if they hadn’t insisted in splitting it in half.)
#4 – The Bear
A drop for The Bear after a couple of years of rave reviews from me, though I think I’ve left it higher than many critics.
Because yes, this acclaimed comedy-drama about a man running a restaurant while having a stress breakdown didn’t quite execute as flawlessly as in past years, and I’m sure Carmy himself would be his own most brutal critic about this. There’s dawdling pacing here, and the final episode of the season almost pointedly refused to resolve anything. And maybe it’s making some deeper point about life not having any easy endings, but it also felt unsatisfying.
Still, can’t argue with the great acting and thoughtful character studies, and there were inevitably two or three episodes that absolutely knocked me out. Even when The Bear isn’t quite running at full steam, it’s still up here in the top half.
Stats Corner: The Bear entered at #2 in 2022, climbing to the very top last year, before coming back down here to #4. Can he re-take the crown in 2025? I wouldn’t put it past him.
#3 – Shogun
One of this year’s big surprise hits, Shogun is a limited series adaptation of a novel by James Clavell, about a sixteenth century English sailor who finds himself thrust into the world of high-level Japanese politics after a shipwreck, complete with intrigue, action and class comedy,
Definitely a show which sounds like it might be quite dull and worthy but turns out to be an incredibly absorbing, touching and fun story, with a raft of great characters and some plot twists that absolutely knocked me on my arse. Enjoyed the hell out of this, as many other people did.
In fact, so many other people enjoyed it that they’ve now announced a second season of this one-off limited series. Who knows what that’ll be like, but this is well worth checking out.
Stats Corner: Last historical drama was Chernobyl in 2019, unless you count Derry Girls.
#2 – Baby Reindeer
Caught up with Baby Reindeer quite late on to try and stay on top of the big shows of 2024, and like everyone said, found it both harrowing and compelling. This is the story of a young comedian who finds himself stalked by a woman he meets in his day job at a pub, and soon finds her obsession infiltrating every corner of his life and forcing him to confront some of his own buried trauma. It’s a strange mixture of darkness and comedy (and also darkness in the world of comedy).
If I had to sum up the vibe here, it’s like an even bleaker Peep Show, where the laughter eventually stops and we dig further into the psyche of the damaged people who have such difficult, embarrassing and self-destructive lives. It’s both compelling and at times very hard to watch.
Writer and star Richard Gadd is a compelling presence here, giving it an honest reality so brutal that he might’ve even got himself into legal trouble. But the actual execution is skincrawlingly good. If you’re in the mood to feel unsettled and sad, this is the one.
Stats Corner: Not sure I’ve got one for this, guys. Most antler-based show since Yellowjackets in 2022?
#1 – For All Mankind
For All Mankind is a longrunning alternate history drama on Apple TV, depicting a world in which the Soviets won the space race in the sixties, and as a result, America throws itself into the technology game with gusto, determined to catch up and overtake them. And now, moving forward through time at the rate of one decade per season, we’ve reached the nineties and already space advances has changed the entire world.
This is definitely one of those times where I binged a whole series, all four seasons of For All Mankind around Spring/Summer 2024, and as a result, it’s kinda defined the year’s viewing for me. I went on a whole journey through time and space with these characters (well, the ones who didn’t die) and found myself loving the experience.
And happily the final few episodes of season 4 aired in 2024, so it’s eligible for this chart! And this latest run was good as well, after maybe a slight wobble in the third year.
So For All Mankind officially becomes the show of 2024, a sprawling, funny, dramatic story full of memorable characters. If you have Apple TV but haven’t yet got round to this, give it a shot.
Stats Corner: There’s not been much space-focused scifi in this list as it’s not necessarily a favourite genre. Andor in 2022, and Legends of Tomorrow in 2021 if that counts, but Star Trek’s never even made it on here.
Honourable Mentions
Yeah, don’t say I didn’t warn you – a very competitive year, and as a result, the honourable mentions are close to forming a whole shadow chart.
Unusually, despite having a decent run with Ncuti Gatwa, Doctor Who was ultimately pushed out of the chart by other shows which I felt outdid it on consistency. If they’d landed the series finale better, it’d probably have snuck into the bottom of the list. Enjoyed the Christmas special though.
The only other comics adaptation in serious contention for the Top Ten was The Penguin, but it ended up being one of the last items eliminated to get the list down. Good series, very strong mob story, but felt other series were more interesting or unique.
We Are Lady Parts also had a good year, as did consistent comedy performer Only Murders In The Building. Both What We Do In The Shadows and Star Trek: Lower Decks also came back to end strong with good final seasons.
Also enjoyed the Mr & Mrs Smith series featuring Donald Glover a lot more than I expected to. Thoughtful, human relationship dynamics alongside the shooty-bang-bang action.
And in non-eligible viewing projects, I rewatched the whole Peter Capaldi Doctor Who era and enjoyed it even more than I did the first time, especially his second and third series. Think it benefits from some distance from the ropey material at the end of the Matt Smith run,
