The highs and lows of TV in 2024

Ash Walker • 19 Dec 2024 Features

Looking back at the year on the small screen.

2024 has been a year full of ups and downs - especially on TV. With the new year finally within sight, we’re taking a look back at the past twelve months and picking our favourite - and not-so-favourite - televisual experiences.

High - Shōgun

Credit: Shōgun - Official Trailer (FX Networks, YouTube)

Full of Game of Thrones-style political machinations and set against the stunning backdrop of 16th Century Japan, this knotty, intelligent historical drama captured the attention of many when it released on Disney+ this summer.

Based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, Shōgun tells the intersecting stories of John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor shipwrecked in feudal Japan, Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a clever, powerful daimyo, and Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai), a highborn woman with a dishonourable family history.

The first season received widespread acclaim, and even went on to win a whopping 18 Emmys - setting a new record for the most awarded single season in history. Impressive stuff.

Stream Shōgun now on Disney+.

Low - House of the Dragon

Credit: House of the Dragon Season 2 | Official Trailer | Max (Max, YouTube)

Look, we’re not mad. We’re just disappointed.

After a time-hopping first season that was all setup, fans expected big things from the Game of Thrones prequel’s latest batch of episodes. And it started strong, too.

A solid run of episodes and some shocking moments - a certain infant decapitation, for instance - led to a fantastic airborne dragon battle in episode 4. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.

Season 2 ended with a whimper, delivering a rushed, lacklustre finale that left many feeling like the show was going nowhere - an opinion apparently shared by series creator George RR Martin, who was pretty vocally unhappy with the season’s direction.

Still, it wasn’t a total write-off; there’s still time to right the ship. Plenty of time, in fact, as Season 3 isn’t scheduled to be released until 2026 at the very earliest.

Stream House of the Dragon now on Sky.

High - Baby Reindeer

Credit: Baby Reindeer | Official Trailer | Netflix (Netflix, YouTube)

One of the year’s most talked-about shows - and with good reason - Baby Reindeer delivered a dark, twisty spin on the classic stalker thriller.

It’s an utterly bonkers story, following a struggling stand-up comedian and the lonely woman who becomes obsessed with him. But the craziest thing of all is that it’s based on series creator Richard Gadd’s own real-life experiences.

Blending the gripping, can’t-believe-this-actually-happened nature of a true crime documentary with a brilliantly written drama series, the show is as hypnotic as a car crash, managing to be hilarious, terrifying and sickening in equal measure.

Truly must-watch TV.

Stream Baby Reindeer now on Netflix.

Low - I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Credit: I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Returns Sunday 17th November on ITV1 & ITVX (ITV, YouTube)

Reality TV hit something of a low ebb this year - see also ITV’s latest dismal season of Big Brother - but somehow 2024’s edition of the long-running jungle survival series seems like one of the biggest offenders.

The lineup was pretty lacklustre; when, arguably, the most well-known person in the camp is only famous for being the wife of someone even more famous, you know there’s something wrong. And with no major dramas to speak of, the show itself was just… kinda boring.

No one has ever accused Reality TV of being intellectually stimulating, but it should at least be fun, right?

Stream I’m a Celebrity… now on ITVX.

High - Fallout

Credit: Fallout - Official Trailer | Prime Video (Prime Video, YouTube)

Last year we had The Last Of Us, HBO’s acclaimed adaptation of the equally-acclaimed video game, and this year we got Fallout - another absolute banger of a video game show.

Two actually good game adaptations in a row? Surely that’s a sign of the apocalypse or something…

Speaking of the end of the world, Prime Video’s Fallout series took us to an alternate, retrofuturistic world, where a nuclear holocaust had forced populations underground - and mutated those survivors left on the surface.

Following a motley assortment of characters, including Ella Purnell’s Vault-dweller Lucy MacLean, Aaron Moten’s armoured tech-knight Maximus, and Walton Goggins’ skull-faced Ghoul, the show took viewers on a wild journey through irradiated landscapes, dodging cannibals, murderous robots and gigantic swamp monsters.

It’s poppy, colourful and extremely violent - but most of all it’s just a lot of fun.

Stream Fallout now on Prime Video.

Low - The Acolyte

Credit: The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+ (Star Wars, YouTube)

While it does have its fans, Disney’s latest attempt at a Star Wars series fell pretty flat with the majority of audiences.

Hopes were pretty high for this one. The first show set in the newly-created High Republic era, when Jedi were plentiful and the galaxy far, far away was ripe for exploration, this could have been a jumping-off point for years of stories to come.

Unfortunately, tepid reviews and fan outcry, including the usual nonsense from some corners of the internet (“eww, girls in my Star Wars”), translated into low viewer numbers, and what should have been the start of an exciting new era just ended up fizzling away, before being unceremoniously cancelled by Disney.

A real shame.

Stream The Acolyte now on Disney+.

High - The Penguin

Credit: The Penguin | Official Trailer | Max (Max, YouTube)

In a year where superhero movies and TV shows were, for the most part, pretty bad, HBO’s The Penguin stands out like the Bat-Signal against a stormy night sky.

The show focuses on Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell in some astonishing makeup), the chubby, clubfooted gangster first seen in Matt Reeves’ excellent The Batman, and his efforts to rise through the ranks of Gotham’s underworld following the events of that film.

What could have been a slight, unnecessary side-story - Batman himself isn’t even in it - became gripping, must-watch TV as Oz grappled with the magnetic, terrifying Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), and gave in to his darker impulses along the way.

Nothing short of brilliant TV.

Stream The Penguin now on Sky.