With the acting strike ending right before the beginning of the year, we all wondered what that would mean for the coming year of television. Also concerning were the ongoing conversations about the end of the golden era of TV and what it would mean for 2024. In the end, honestly I have no idea. My perception for TV (or film, music, video games, etc.) is if I have three or more great shows the year can feel fine to me. So, while the momentum for TV doesn’t feel as strong this year, there were still several shows that I feel passionate about, and here they are.
Honorable Mentions:
What We Do In The Shadows This has been a reliably funny and easy to watch comedy. Its finale was clever on how nothing has really changed for any of them and things will just keep going. I will miss seeing these characters and it just shows the impact they had over six seasons. (FX)
Shrinking The show hasn’t ended yet, and the finale to a show ends the tone of a season for me so I never feel comfortable with putting any show in a top ten without it. But so far Shrinking has continued its great mix of humor and sadness of its cast. I have particularly loved Michael Urie this year with his journey to being a parent and reaching out to the equally great Brett Goldstein playing the man who killed Jimmy’s wife. The show keeps the old pain, invites new ones in, and still laughs about it all without ever undermining the drama. It is rare to do this and even though the show isn’t finished, it deserves a shout out. (Apple +)
The Penguin It’s my fault for not starting to watch it sooner, but this has been a fascinating show to watch with great characters and intense sequences even though Penguin will survive. If it keeps up this pace next year I may be writing a piece about why it should win miniseries at the Emmys. (Max)
Dan Da Dan Momo, a popular girl, believes in ghosts; Okarun, a nerdy loner, believes in aliens. Momo dares him to visit a tunnel where a ghost, Turbo Granny, supposedly haunts, and Okarun dares Momo to go to an old hospital where aliens have been spotted. It turns out they are both right, and in the process they both gain supernatural abilities to fight these threats. This show is incredibly funny, and they take having a crush on each other and getting jealous as seriously as fighting aliens. My standout is the most popular girl Aira, who believes she is the chosen one, thinks Momo is a demon, and is also infatuated with Okarun because he selflessly saved her. She has deep issues about her mom, and is growing as a character and learning to care more about others, and also gets powers and fights. This show has such fun with this concept and characters, and keeps all these balls going, and makes it land each week. (Crunchyroll and Netflix)
10. English Teacher At first this show was my “I do not get why the critics love this show.” Then I started looking forward to it each week. Finally I was sad to find out that there were only eight episodes, and realized I really loved this show. Brian Jordan Alvarez took ideas I thought were done to death and kept finding new ways to surprise me with them. Be it coming out, or using hand guns on school grounds, I never could tell what the show would throw at me, and it either made me laugh out loud or smile at its cleverness. With an ensemble that immediately gels like life-long friends or at least long-time co-workers, we were able to jump in and let the humor keep coming. I will always praise any show that realizes which cast members have the best chemistry and go with it. My happiest discovery of the year. (FX)
9. Only Murders in the Building The show has been a consistent source of laughter for me, but this season it was the emotional moments that got me. Sazz and Charles’ relationship was fleshed out and expressed in effective conversations in Charles’ head as he deeply mourned her death and wondered if he was to blame. When Sazz confronts her own killer, saying that Charles would get them, and then at the end of the episode, a final conversation between Sazz and Charles in his head gives a greater sense of closure and deeper meaning to their friendship than ever before.
This sense of friendship and community was used among so many of the guest stars and of course the core trio, who feel more and more like a found family this season. There were worries about losing each other, with Mabel just on the other side of the building feeling a world away from them, or Oliver possibly moving away with Loretta to support her career. These three showed they cared while still making jokes and solving a murder. And I will say this as often as I can, Merly Streep beating up Melissa McCarthy will never not be funny! (Hulu)
8. Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian This show took its simple premise of attractive girl Alya saying complimentary and romantic statements about school slacker Masachika in her native Russian, not knowing he knows Russian from learning as a kid to talk to a Russian girl, and went into some deeper ideas about family and relationships while also being absolutely hilarious.
Very quickly Masachika as a slacker is thrown aside. We learn that he purposely is playing down his abilities due to a falling out with his very powerful and influential grandfather on his mother’s side. He isn’t the average boy getting the exceptional girl, he is exceptional and, because of his admiration for Alya’s dedication (and yes, his attraction to her), he wants to help her run for class president. He sees her strength and weakness and is able to really be a help while also being the teenage boy who also can’t resist letting her eat spicy food because she looks cute. He also has a maybe evil/secretly helping sister who is also running for class president. They obviously love each other but pretend that they are just old friends due to family drama. So, of course, Alya is jealous as well.
There is a touching scene where Alya and Masachika are shaking hands to cement their alliance, while he is thinking back to that Russian girl he learned Russian from. Then Alya states she knows he is thinking about another girl based on his face and wallops him! Funniest moment of that anime season. (Crunchyroll)
7. Fargo I said on last year’s list I couldn’t put Fargo in my top ten because it hadn’t ended yet. Well, it ended this year and for its finale alone it deserves its place here. As a show taking its cues from Coen Brothers themes and characters, the show knows how to really make it their own and in some cases improve on them.
Juno Temple and Jon Hamm are doing great work, challenging the way we have seen them over the years and selling it wonderfully. Juno Temple is a badass who can plan how to take out grown men, then be a happy wife and mother making dinner with the perfect (Fargo version) Minnesotan accent. We see that this came from a place of needing to survive and we sense the dark history there. Then there is Jon Hamm as a libertarian sheriff, seemingly so secure in his power and righteousness but, through that, we see someone who is a monster but also a weak man who can’t stand that one woman didn’t bow to him. He is compelling and horrifying to watch.
The show takes some impressive creative chances, like showing abuse via a puppet show, and it is done with a seriousness that sickens you to what has happened. Or taking Sam Spruell’s Munch character, who has been a killing machine of anger and pain through most of the show, and then his final face, subverting one of the darkest moments of No Country for Old Men, as well as being a perfect capstone to the entire journey and the themes of the season was magnificent. (FX)
6. 96th Academy Awards So many people like to say that the Academy Awards do not matter. I am not one of those people. I get incredibly emotionally invested in who I want to win the Oscars. Probably more so than is healthy but that is the way I am.
This year the Academy did something that has never happened since I started following the Oscars, and will probably never happen ever again. I agreed with their choices for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. As well as all the technical and craft awards that Oppenheimer and Poor Things won. That alone made watching the show one of the highlights of the year for me with how emotionally satisfying it was. But putting that aside, I laughed at so many of the bits from the presenters and host, something I usually think should be cut. From Spielberg’s wonderfully blank face to getting tasteful nudes from Kate McKinnon to Michael Keaton’s “bring it on” moment from old Batman villains to Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt putting the Barbie and Oppenheimer feud to a ridiculous end.
There were wonderful speeches about the state of the world and the medium of film that I loved hearing. A special moment for me was the shock and emotionalness from Emma Stone that I have enjoyed rewatching, especially since I was worried she wouldn’t win. Then Ryan Gosling steals the show with “I’m Just Ken,” a song and scene I didn’t like in the film, but at the Oscars the energy and creative work was so catchy and wonderful. It was a highlight of my TV and movie year! (ABC)
5. KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! I laughed so much I had to pause the show so as not to miss any new jokes. The characters have a wonderful bond with each other with as many insults, manipulations, selfishness, and possible sexual harassment that they undertake. Kazuma is as depraved as ever but he’s getting to take on some new roles of being the “big brother” to the young princess and enjoying being a lazy guest at the royal palace with everyone wanting him to leave, creating a lot of new material for jokes. Darkness gets to show more of herself than the over-the-top masochist wanting to fight (or be hurt) and being the grownup in the room, knowing royal etiquette as well as willing to make a great sacrifice for her friends. They are always a fun group of characters to watch, be it with them being horrible, or doing something incredibly heroic (usually at the same time). KonoSuba had its best season yet and I hope it doesn’t take years to get us back to season 4. (Crunchyroll).
4. Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! This “anti-romance” anime was equally delightful and heartbreaking. Three highschool girls–Anna, Lemon, and Chika–all have long-time crushes that they just miss out on turning into relationships. Kazuhiko, a self-declared background character, ends up, through random and at times funny circumstances, becoming friends with them all and tries to help them get over the heartache. The show gives a good deal of episodes to each girl, showing different reasons for their crushes and situations. That each has a separate pain. This pain is balanced with some great comedic moments of Anna’s eating, Lemon’s um.. hmmm…let’s call it accidents, and Chika’s insults. Plus we have some of the most inappropriate teachers in the school, including a nurse who encourages as much relationship drama and sex as she can in the students. (They are all freaked out by her.)
I have gotten in random online fights about if this show is a romance (it isn’t yet). While Kazuhiko is getting a “harem” of these losing heroines, he seems pretty much uninterested in dating any of them, and they seem mainly uninterested in him in that way. Potentially Kazuhiko could get interested in one or all of them (with Anna being his probable girlfriend in the end). But right now I think it is more a show of friendship and growing as a person after experiencing the worst thing that can possibly happen to you when you are in high school. Here is hoping a second season announcement comes soon. (Crunchyroll)
3. Slow Horses The existential dread this season was palpable. Slow Horses never keeps you guessing for long on what the mystery is; it is how that mystery impacts the characters where it finds its strength. Uncovering who Frank (Hugo Weaving) is, and his goals, and even when they are confirmed, the build up has been so great it is incredibly satisfying. Jack Lowden as River has never been better, having to get across what he is unearthing using little dialogue, letting us see the stress and realizations in his face.
We end with so many emotional moments for River dealing with revelations about his past, but even worse the sense of losing his father figure in David. Watching Jonathan Pryce, as the man in control and able to give comfort and advice to River, now losing his mind and full of doubt and pain was a great contrast to his persona before. After all this River is left in some uncharted territory, at least emotionally.
While River had the most happen to him, the rest of the cast is also dealing with the aftereffects of this season with many different losses. In some ways the group is closer as a result. But in between those emotional moments, there is the trademark Slow Horses humor, including seeing machiavellian Diana Tavener having to deal with having an idiot for a boss, River as competent and dedicated as he is still not always the superspy he wants to be, such as when he falls through roofs and can’t quite get a motor bike to work. Then there are Lamb’s still classic put-downs that are as sharp as ever. Basically another day at the office for this great series. (Apple +)
2. Oshi no Ko This anime continues to be one of the strongest drama shows on TV. Aqua continues his search for his mother’s killer within the entertainment industry while showing us the dark undertones of that same industry. This show has effortlessly revealed shady and predatory moments without ever making it feel like it is shoe-horned in. As Aqua is investigating, it has led him to be in a 3D play of a famous manga and see the ways adaptation between mediums can cause stress on all involved, and yet can also show a new way for art to be appreciated.
Also, his two love interests Kana and Akane, who are dealing with what acting means to them, gives greater context to their rivalry beyond liking the same boy, into challenging what they think acting should be in the industry and within themselves. Aqua’s own acting skills and how he motivates himself adds deeper darkness and sadness to his psychology. Yet now, while he is currently in a better place, we know that darker times are ahead for him. With us the viewers aware of things he doesn’t know, and that his sister Ruby, who has been able to find more joy in the world of entertainment and life itself, is exposed to dark truths. Where we go from here has me full of dread and excitement. (Hidive)
1. Hacks Jean Smart is officially more of a national treasure than she was a year ago. While she has always been great on this show, she keeps getting funnier and more complex as time passes. My retention of all character details can be spotty at best, and I had forgotten that Deborah had almost hosted a late night show. So when she is given the chance to guest host and you see Deborah’s joy and desire, it feels so palpable. You want it for her because of how much she wants it. She has an incredible uphill battle due to her age because this kind of gig is one that TV networks want to build off a host for several years.
She and Ava’s relationship also seems to be in a stronger place of more equality, with them being able to teach each other new skills. Ava gives details of how old jokes can still hurt while Deborah shows more knowledge and empathy for people in less glamorous jobs that awakens Ava to certain facts about her own life.
Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter are the best they have been together. I constantly worry that Megan Stalter is going to become the “annoying character,” but they have found a wonderful balance where they can be funny together and Kayla got some wonderful deeper moments that also lead to one of the funniest “proposals” ever. DJ even got a great moment to shine, standing on her own in her mother’s world and understanding it and her mother, while also getting to call her a c**t. Funny and cathartic.
Then we end with a final scene that, if you followed the breadcrumbs, you could tell that the possibility was there, but I didn’t catch it and, like many others, I gasped at what happened. The characters are in very different high stress circumstances for the next season and, with a deserving Comedy Emmy win this year, I couldn’t be happier.
