• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, December 31, 2024

This year’s thumbs-up and thumbs-down TV Blog reviews ran the gamut, just like the vast jumble of content on TV itself -- crime dramas, offbeat comedies and wacky reality shows.

What show was the best of the best here? There were a number of candidates, but ultimately it was “Interior Chinatown” on Hulu starring Jimmy O. Yang (pictured above).

This was a show about a young Asian American working as a waiter in a Chinatown restaurant who witnesses a crime and then finds himself straddling the border between the real world and the crime-procedural TV dramas he loves.

It was an unusual concept that worked for me. Based on that originality and its overall quality, it tops the list of the best-reviewed shows of 2024. 

Indeed, the category of scripted, hard-boiled crime dramas accounted for a number of positive reviews this year.

I liked, and still recommend, “Griselda” on Netflix starring Sofia Vergara as a crime queenpin, “True Detective: Night Country” on HBO starring Jodie Foster as a cop in Alaska’s Arctic Circle region, and “Monsieur Spade” on AMC starring Clive Owen as a 1960s version of Sam Spade.

Also on AMC, the TV Blog praised “Parish,” starring Giancarlo Esposito as a former underworld crime figure in New Orleans.

Also coming in for high praise was “The Sticky” on Amazon Prime starring Margo Martindale as a maple syrup producer who turns to crime when a maple syrup conglomerate tries to drive her out of business.

In other categories, the TV Blog liked the spy thriller “The Veil” on Hulu starring Elisabeth Moss; “Say Nothing,” the drama about the Irish Republican Army that was also on Hulu; and “Ripley” on Netflix. 

Other great dramas included “We Were the Lucky Ones” about a Jewish family on the eve of World War II who manage to escape the Nazis -- also on Hulu; and the post-apocalyptic dramas “Fallout” on Amazon Prime and “Earth Abides” on MGM+.

Last, but definitely not least was “Shogun” on FX. This show about the clash of Japanese warlords with Europeans (and each other) in the year 1600 was “a thrill from beginning to end in every category,” wrote the TV Blog last February.

Disappointing dramas in 2024 included “The Day of the Jackal” on Peacock, “A Man in Full” on Netflix, “Domino Day: Lone Witch” on Sundance Now,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” on Amazon Prime, “Dune: Sanctuary” on HBO, and the drama of ancient Rome on Peacock “Those About to Die,” which may have received the year’s worst drama review.

Network dramas that I liked included “Matlock” and “NCIS: Origins” on CBS, “Joan” on The CW, “High Potential” on ABC, and “Murder in a Small Town” on Fox.

By contrast, two network dramas received emphatic thumbs-down: “Brilliant Minds” on NBC and “HI-Surf” on Fox. 

Comedies that were a pleasure to sample and review in 2024 included the animated shows “In the Know” on Peacock that spoofed NPR, and “Universal Basic Guys” on Fox.

Among the live-action comedies that made their debuts in 2024, the TV Blog gave favorable reviews to “Ted,” emanating from the Seth MacFarland “Ted” movies; and “Mr. Throwback,” starring NBA star Steph Curry. Both are on Peacock.

One of the worst comedies of the year was “The Decameron” on Netflix, which was about the Black Death. 

Also getting thumbs-down reviews were the “Young Sheldon” spinoff “Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage” on CBS, and the Reba McIntire comedy on NBC, “Happy’s Place.”

Generally speaking, unscripted shows introduced in 2024 on basic cable illustrated the creative malaise that grips basic cable.

These included the savage (and gross) “Predator v. Prey” on BBC America (and AMC+); the atrocious reality-competition show “The Anonymous” on USA Network; and the unwatchable “Take My Tumor” on TLC.

Elsewhere, Dolly Parton put on a two-hour dog pageant on CBS, “Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala”; and Conan O’Brien renewed his world travels with “Conan O’Brien Must Go” on Max; and Ted Turner was profiled in the docuseries “Call Me Ted,” also on Max.

Demonstrating that there is no rest for the weary TV blogger, the first new show of 2025 premieres on January 2 -- the Denis Leary service comedy on Fox called “Going Dutch.” Look for a review on Thursday.

Happy New Year, everybody!