#2024 in TV

[agentnico]

Sugar - season 1 (2024) review

“Sugar (do do do do do do), oh honey honey (do do do do do do)…..” mind you this song isn’t played in the show but I’m glad I was reminded of this banger.

Plot: Private detective John Sugar investigates the disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he unearths Siegel family secrets, old and new.

Nicolas Cage recently got confirmed to be cast in Prime’s live-action Spider-Man spin-off series Noir where he’ll be playing the web-swinging PI, and as much as I’m excited to see Cage brood in black-and-white, there’s currently a perfectly enjoyable noir detective series on Apple TV+ that I haven’t heard anyone talk about. Especially due to its flabbergasting mid-season plot twist that is so laughably out-of-left-field that I’m not sure it’s a good or bad thing. But let’s discuss…

Taking inspiration from the likes of LA Confidential and Chinatown, this neo noir show plays as a greatest hits album of all the tropes of the genre. The first two episodes especially are super enjoyable, through Farrell’s narration, to the slow piano music to the use of black-and-white and crisp cinematography, the entire thing just felt like a vibe. A super cool vibe. Naturally Colin Farrell is a perfect casting choice to play the charming private investigator. He’s got that likeable face you feel you can trust, but enough going on in his expression to give him that element of mystery. Also Farrell looks great in a suit. One has to respect a man that can wear a suit well. Ask Barney Stinson. So the first two episodes are truly awesome. The script wasn’t anything groundbreaking, with Farrell’s inner monologues featuring lines you’d easily find in other neo-noir movies/shows, but just as a collective package this thing felt ace in its first two episodes. There’s also this glossy pastiche of old-school movies that are referenced throughout, reflecting John Sugar’s passion for film and the Hollywood setting. However after that the show slows down, with the central mystery of the missing girl stretched out with pointless baggage around it to fulfill the series episode count. Honestly, this would have worked better as a film rather than a series.

Now in regards to the aforementioned plot twist. I haven’t been so snortingly contemptuous of a reveal since that 2019 fishing thriller Serenity starring Matthew McConaughey that pulls of a ‘bait and switch’ times two with its ending that is so ludicrously random and out of nowhere that I recall truly gasping at the cinema. It’s a terrible twist, but also for a movie that otherwise was utterly boring and bad, that narrative shock at least gave me somewhat of a thrill. So with Sugar at the end of episode 6 a certain reveal happens, that in a way completely changes the entire series. Though one could argue there were a couple of clues in earlier episodes that could have somewhat suggested this twist, in reality I do believe this reveal was a bit of a cheat. It’s an unearned way to grab attention and get a “WHAAAA???” reaction out of the audience, and I thought it came off as a cheap shot. Granted though it gave the meandering show a little boost of energy to the end of the season, but felt so out of place. If the reveal happened earlier, then the show would have had more time to play up to its weird premise.

Sugar is very much a series that is carried by its lead performance (and an adorable doggo), and though the beginning of the season was a strong start, it lost its narrative direction shortly after until that baffling twist that again, I can’t decide if it’s good or bad, but I’m leaning more towards the latter. A good twist needs to have the correct appropriate set-up. The twist in Sugar was more like the showrunners going “psyche - gotcha!”

Overall score: 5/10

[grigori77]

2024 in TV - My Top 10 Shows

10. TWILIGHT OF THE GODS (Netflix)

Yeah, I know, first entry here’s probably gonna be a controversial choice – how could I pick THIS over so many far more worthy properties? Honestly, I just REALLY LIKED THIS, and this is my FAVOURITES for 2024, it ain’t a purely CRITICAL list, and I’m a person who LIKES a bit of trash occasionally, which this DEFINITELY is. But it’s REALLY GORGEOUS trash, and it’s FUN, so live with it. Seriously, even before Rebel Moon Zack Snyder was already considered one of the most shamelessly adolescent and pure sound-and-fury filmmakers out there, but given the sort of material he usually makes animation is actually the PERFECT art form for him – this is a medium in which it often PAYS to exaggerate things, to deliver glossy overblown action and stripped back archetypal storytelling and character development. Snyder’s THIRD collaboration with Netflix, therefore, is the perfect encapsulation of his entire aesthetic, but also deserves to be considered amongst his VERY BEST WORK, almost as good as early highlights like Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen. Besides, a full-blooded, ultraviolent and just plain SEXY reimagination of classic Norse mythology is the perfect project for him to work on, and he delivers in fine style here, aided in no small part by co-creators Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Ark, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas) and Eric Carrasco (Supergirl, Foundation), along with an extremely game vocal cast which includes Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049, See), Stuart Marten (Rebel Moon, Miss Scarlett & the Duke), Rahul Kohli (iZombie and most of Mike Flanagan’s TV series’), Jamie Clayton (Sense8, Hellraiser) and heavyweights like Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones) and the mighty Peter Stormare, who bring the fascinating collection of jaded, indifferent gods and vengeful, rebellious vikings to vital life. Coupled with beautifully offbeat, highly stylised 2D animation (which carries strong hints of Cartoon Saloon throughout) and an intense and oppressive score from Hans Zimmer, this is a dark and seductive feast for the senses.

9. THE GENTLEMEN (Netflix)

Back in early 2020, Guy Ritchie was rightly lauded for his long-awaited return to London gangland-based cinema (a film which many considered to be a real return to form, even though I never thought he’d actually fallen off, and I know I wasn’t alone), and we were all enthusiastically onboard for a sequel, especially after this film’s much deserved critical AND commercial success. Then the Pandemic hit, and (for that and other, more unfathomable reasons) his career seemed to take something of a shocking (and entirely undeserved) nosedive … so the arrival of this spinoff series from Netflix in the New Year came as a much needed and very welcome surprise, and the final product definitely lived up to expectations without reservations. Theo James (the Divergent films) is our enjoyably complex “hero”, Eddie Horniman, a former soldier and the new Duke of Halstead who returns from a UN Peacekeeping mission to take over his late father’s estate only to find himself in a very tricky spot indeed when he discovers his inheritance comes with some very problematic strings attached because his father was keeping everything afloat by renting out his land as an expansive and lucrative cannabis factory for a particularly ruthless London drug firm headed by incarcerated kingpin Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone) and his Machiavellian daughter Susie (The Maze Runner and Skins’ Kaya Scodelario). Eddie’s attempts to find a way to wriggle out of this increasingly smothering obligation make for some enjoyably offbeat shenanigans, Ritchie’s eclectic sense of humour and deftly skilful balance of anarchic fun and casual violence making for a rewardingly edgy thrill ride. The cast is, as has become par for the course with this particular filmmaker, also uniformly on top form, with the ever-reliable James and Scodelario joined by the likes of Joely Richardson, Giancarlo Esposito, Freddie Fox and the welcome return of one of Ritchie’s original good luck charms, Vinnie Jones, although the show is consistently stolen by Daniel Ings (Lovesick, The Crown) as Eddie’s black sheep elder brother Freddie, who got passed over in the line of succession for being a truly spectacular fuck-up. In the end, not only does this pay great respect to the original film it (sort of) follows, but it’s another perfect example of what Ritchie does best, and I’m very much looking forward to the already greenlit second season.

8. STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS (season 5, Paramount+)

I was a bit late to the party for this, having only actually gotten round to checking out Solar Opposites creator and Rick & Morty writerMike McMahan’s animated comedy series early this year, but I fell in love with it FAST, and it’s now become one of my very favourite shows in the ENTIREStar Trekroster (putting it into DIRECT competition with Strange New Worlds, in fact). This was always a show that’s been made with clear love and respect for the source material, which is, of course, how all the best lampoons work, and the final season maintains that high quality to bring the whole saga to a fittingly grand close. Jack Quaid’s OTHER best creation (alongside The Boys’ Hughie), neurotic super-nerd Brad Boimler, and Space Force’s Tawny Newsome’s unrepentant rebel Becket Mariner remain the core focus of the main cast, but my heart will always belong first and foremost to the endlessly effervescent bright spark that is Orion junior science officer D’Vana Tendi, still voiced with endearing charm by Master of None’s Noël Wells, and it’s nice to see her friend (and occasional foil), Gabrielle Ruiz’ new Vulcan officer T’Lyn, finally get promoted from guest star to main cast, too. Once again, this is filled to bursting with goofy, anarchic and perfectly pitched comedic twists on classic tropes, conventions and lore from across the entire gamut of the various series AND movies, once again throwing more brilliant cameos from old favourites into the mix (right down to a truly inspired Brent Spiner appearance), but there’s no denying that this is also one of the most consistently well-written and thoroughly INSPIRED shows in the entire canon, often putting far more high profile and expensive series to shame with the embarrassing WEALTH of creative talent displayed by everyone involved. It genuinely feels like the end of an era, and given that I’ve only just discovered this it feels like it’s over WAY too soon ...

7. 3 BODY PROBLEM (Netflix)

All right, first off I have NOT read the original novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin, so I have NO frame of reference regarding how faithful adaptation this actually IS, so I can only go off my own personal gut reaction to the quality of the material itself … but I REALLY LIKED THIS a whole lot. Then again, there’s a genuinely fascinating premise at its core – a group of bright young academics find themselves at the centre of a disturbing and potentially cataclysmic intergalactic conspiracy after a strange immersive video game revolving around a fiendishly difficult astronomical physics problem turns out to pertain to a VERY REAL approaching alien invasion … Game of Thrones’ co-”creators” David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are clearly looking to achieve career-based some retribution after said series’ frustrating final season, and for now it looks like they’re succeeding, teaming up with co-showrunner Alexander Woo (best known for his work on True Blood and The Terror) to craft a rewardingly labyrinthine slowburn suspense thriller bursting with intriguing ideas and well-rounded, exquisitely crafted characters. Of course, it helps that they’ve assembled a truly exceptional cast to make things so much easier, with Jovan Adepo (Fences, Overlord), Eiza Gonzalez, breakout star Jess Hong and, in particular, Alex Sharp (The Trial of the Chicago 7, How To Talk To Girls At Parties) all standing out alongside GOT alumni John Bradley and Liam Cunningham and heavyweight veterans like Benedict Wong and Jonathan Pryce. This is definitely one of the most singularly inventive and challenging series that Netflix has put out in some time, a fascinatingly immersive intellectual thrill ride that poses some really intriguing BIG QUESTIONS but stubbornly refuses to provide any REAL answers until late in the game in the best tradition of well-executed “mystery box” television … meanwhile the Panama Canal sequence is destined to go down as one of the most spine-chilling and nightmarish set-pieces I have EVER seen on the small screen. That scene ALONE makes this worthy of a place one this list ...

6. DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON (AKA Dungeon Meshi) (Netflix)

My latest favourite anime series is a very strange beast, genuinely one of the weirdest shows I’ve EVER come across, but very much in that wonderfully committed way that only anime can really pull off. Essentially it’s a culinary show, where obsessive attention is paid to EVERY ASPECT of a recipe before we get some genuine food porn payoff shots of the finished cuisine before watching the characters indulge in the resulting taste sensations. But it’s also a perfect lampoon of classic high fantasy action adventure tropes, taking wickedly accurate potshots at the likes of Dungeons & Dragons and its ilk that can ONLY be performed by someone who actually knows and LOVES the material they’re poking fun at. Then again, this is an almost RELIGIOUSLY faithful adaptation of an immensely popular manga series from fiendishly talented writer/artist Ryoko Kui (Terrarium In Drawer) which is regarded as one of the most unique and inventive titles out there right now … this is nothing less than PERFECT, a frequently HILARIOUS delight as we follow a motley crew of misfit adventurers on a dungeon crawl as they try to rescue one of their number from a fate worse than death, all while being forced to cook and eat the bodies of the various monstrous creatures they encounter along with way due to scarce supplies. The characters are all wonderfully original creations, each with deeply fascinating backstories and enjoyably complex personalities, particular co-leads Laios Touden (Damien Haas in the English dub, best known for his work on Fire Emblem and Like a Dragon), a hyper-focused super-nerd human warrior with a deeply ingrained obsession with monsters, and Marcille Donato (live action One Piece’s Emily Rudd), a high-strung neurotic elf mage who’s pretty much the absolute DEFINITION of girl-fail, although it made me SO HAPPY when later episodes saw the long-awaited arrival of fan favourite (and mine) Izutsumi (Fire Emblem and Goddess of Victory’sLaura Stahl), the prickly, picky and endearingly abrasive cursed catgirl that so brilliantly defies and challenges so many of the medium’s established conventions regarding this particular character trope. The results are one of the most addictive and genuinely “moreish” anime series I’ve ever come across – just what you want from a show so intrinsically focused on FOOD ...

5. THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA (season 3, Amazon Prime)

Is it any wonder that, for the third year in a row, Amazon’s animated adaptation of Critical Role’s legendary (ahem) first Dungeons & Dragons campaign has made my list, and again scored SO HIGH? Really? Never mind that I’ve been a pretty rabid Critter myself ever since I first stumbled into the fandom during Campaign 2, this is a genuinely BRILLIANT piece of work in its own right, Matt Mercer and co continuing to pull off a pretty beautiful job of distilling hundreds of hours of in-depth live tabletop roleplay into another twelve 20-some minute episodes of compellingly dynamic television. So strap in for another exciting rollercoaster ride through the embattled high fantasy lands of Exandria as our much put-upon band of adventurers continue their seemingly hopeless battle to defeat the monstrous machinations of the evil dragon collective of the Chroma Conclave, taking in blossoming romance, crises in confidence, family drama and more than one major character death … once again this is a tour-de-force achievement for all involved, although the lion’s share of the praise once again MUST go to the hard-working animators at Titmouse for delivering everything they were asked for and SO MUCH MORE. This is about as good as fantasy television gets, effortlessly pulling off in less than 300 minutes what whole seasons of shows like The Wheel of Time and The Rings of Power are really starting to struggle with in a whole lot more time (not you, House of the Dragon, you’re doing just fine darling). The main story arc may be over for now, but the scene’s nonetheless been seamlessly set for the next (and most devastating) chapter of the saga moving into season 4 (if you know you know), and I for one cannot wait.

4. HAZBIN HOTEL (Amazon Prime)

God bless Vivienne Mededrano, she has one of the most exciting minds in television right now. Her anarchic, profane and wonderfully unique animated series Helluva Boss on YouTube has already been a balm to the soul (and the second, far more emotionally resonant season has proven to be a particular improvement on what was already SO GOOD), but her magnificent spinoff series for Amazon genuinely leaves it in the dust – this is solid 24 caret gold showrunning, she deserves all the awards she can get for this one. Taking the comedy musical concept of the already very impressive YouTube pilot and running with it, this spectacular refinement of a first season is a genuine MASTERPIECE, Medrano and co crafting an epic saga packed with expansive vision, powerful emotional resonance and a gleefully dark sense of humour. Erika Henningsen (the Mean Girls musical) is a blinding ray of sunshine as Lucifer’s effervescent daughter Charlie Morningstar, unshakeably chipper in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds in her mission to use her titular hotel to help cleanse the souls of her supposedly irredeemable patrons, while Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s own Rosa Diaz) provides loving support as her far more cynical girlfriend Vaggie, and the cast is rounded out by a spectacular collection of top drawer vocal talent that includes serious Broadway talent like Alex Brightman (the School of Rock and Beetlejuice musicals), Christian Borle (Spamalot and the Legally Blonde musical), Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl() and Krystina Alabado (American Idiot and Mean Girls) alongside the silky tones of the legendary Keith David, but the show is roundly stolen by breakout star Blake Roman as the sassy and acerbic spidery pornstar Angel Dust. The musical numbers are truly legendary, easily the equal of anything we’ve seen in any of the big shows, the comedy never fails to hit and the animation is genuinely beautiful even when it’s at its weirdest, but the thing that this show has above anything else is true HEART, hitting us right in the feels as much as the funny bone. I am genuinely IN LOVE with this series, and I’m waiting with bated breath along with the rest of the fandom for the already greenlit next THREE SEASONS ...

3. SHŌGUN (FX)

One of the first serious, grown-up TV series I ever remember getting into when I was a kid was the 1980 miniseries adaptation of James Clavell’s sprawling historical epic novel, which told the story of John Blackthorne, an English navigator in the early 17th Century who finds himself shipwrecked on the mysterious islands of Japan and becomes a pawn in the deadly battle of wills between squabbling political factions within the samurai nobility vying for control of the nation after the death of the emperor. I loved the old show so much that I read the book, loved it even more, and subsequently read it a bunch of times since, so I was REALLY EXCITED when I found out that FX were pulling out all the stops to give it a lavish new long-form treatment. And then, within the first ten minutes of the opening episode, I knew this was something TRULY SPECIAL … this is a VERY JAPANESE series, not just because of the setting and subject matter but also because, while the focus IS on a Western character, the vast majority of the cast is Japanese and ultimately very little of the dialogue is actually in English (subtitle haters beware, there’s A LOT of reading involved in truly enjoying this show). Then again, being a proper Japanophile I absolutely LOVED IT. Cosmo Jarvis (Lady Macbeth, Calm With Horses) does make for a suitably robust and eloquent leading man, giving Blackthorne just the right balance of fish-out-of-water exasperation and wily precociousness, but the true heart of this series lies with the double threat of Anna Sawai (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) as glacial Christian interpreter Lady Mariko and living legend Hiroyuki Sanada, who effortlessly steals every scene he’s in with mesmerising subtlety as the powerful and ambitious Lord Yoshii Toranaga, who realises this intriguing young sailor is a potentially powerful tool in his plan to ascend to the titular position as supreme political master of all Japan. This is one of the most sumptuous and masterful historical epics I have EVER SEEN made for television, co-creators Rachel Kondo and her husband Justin Marks having seemingly come out of nowhere to create one of the greatest long-form series I’ve seen not only this past year but quite possibly for this decade so far! The dialogue is incredibly rich and endlessly quotable, the narrative immersive and rewardingly twisted, and the production and costume design, seamless effects work and action sequences are never anything less than FLAWLESS. It’s gone on to perform a CLEAN SWEEP at various primetime awards and RIGHTLY SO, this is a genuine MASTERPIECE, and FX definitely saw sense in taking what was originally intended to be a standalone miniseries and expand it into at least two more seasons moving forward. I can’t wait.

2. FALLOUT (Amazon Prime)

Now I’ll admit, not being a gamer I’ve mostly gotten to know the Fallout games through osmosis (mainly on here), but I definitely saw the potential in adapting it for television. The fact that it was Westworld co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy doing it just convinced me that it was guaranteed to be GOOD … and by the gods was I ever RIGHT in that estimation. This really has turned out to be Ella Purnell’s year (as well as Sweetpea she’s also returned to a particular star-making series we’ll talk about more later), the promising young Brit actress landing another well-deserved breakout lead turn as Lucy MacLean, a naïve young Vault Dweller forced to undertake a dangerous quest in the irradiated wasteland of post World War III California in order to rescue her abducted father Hank (Kyle McLachlan). Lucy’s massive culture clash as a literally sheltered youth raised in a nuclear bunker having to survive in a world where EVERYTHING is out to kill her in the worst ways imaginable makes for a suitably compelling central driving force for the series, while Aaron Moten (Disjointed) provides a similarly involving tangential narrative focus as Maximus, a squire for the militant Brotherhood of Steel who essentially STUMBLES into becoming a mech-armoured Knight as his own accidental hero’s quest brings him into Lucy’s orbit … the TRUE core of this series, however, is Walton Goggins as the Ghoul, an unapologetically amoral bounty hunter whose own dark past holds the key to the far greater overarching mystery at the heart of the whole story (not to mention that he consistently steals EVERY SINGLE SCENE that he’s in). Amazon have pulled out ALL THE STOPS to make this the very best viewing experience it can be, and every single penny of its impressive budget is right there on the screen, the worldbuilding really is some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen while the set-pieces are just as robust and enjoyably NASTY as you’d expect from an adaptation of such a subversively FUN video game. It’s also got a pretty jet black sense of humour, Nolan and Joy clearly appreciating the opportunity to do something a whole lot more irreverent after spending years on a property as serious as Westworld, although this does still pluck at the heartstrings with due skill when needed and definitely poses some VERY deep and pretty disturbing questions about war and capitalism and how often the two are inextricably tangled together. The end result is definitely the best live-action series we got in 2024 (sorry, Shogun), and I look forward to the second season.

1. ARCANE (season 2, Netflix)

Seriously, are any of you even surprised? I ADORED the first season of this series, despite the fact that I’m no more familiar with League of Legends than I am with Fallout I really have resonated with the property and I just LOVED what Riot and Fortiche put together in those simply PERFECT nine episodes, so I was so excited to see what they were going to do with what was intended to be the closer to this first story within their larger creative universe. Thankfully they have (essentially) pulled it off with similar skill, dropping another nine episode season that EASILY lives up to the example set by its predecessor while offering a suitably satisfactory payoff, as well as breaking ground for whatever they plan on when they move forward with new stories in promised follow-up Runeterra-based series. Sure, it’s not QUITE as perfect, there are parts of the narrative that feel a little truncated in places in the rush to reach a suitable climax, but what flaws there are ultimately prove insubstantial enough that they really don’t detract at all from our enjoyment of the work as a whole. It’s certainly hugely enjoyable getting to see everybody get their own well deserved rewards (or comeuppance), while also seeing some of our most beloved old faces (and some similarly brilliant new ones too) meet heartbreaking but nonetheless poetically powerful ends that are definitely given their due chance to have a real impact. Much like the first season it’s best to just go in good and cold, so spoilers are definitely best avoided … suffice to say this is JUST as gorgeous as what came before, Fortiche again producing a truly cinematic work of art that leaves anything else we’ve seen in animation this year choking in their dust, while the exquisite complimentary mixture of visuals and a magnificently opulent soundtrack once again provides suitable sensory joy throughout. In the end this is just as well-written, well-designed, well-performed, well-directed and just downright WELL-EXECUTED as the debut that won all the awards and much-deserved critical acclaim back in 2021, and it’s been a genuine privilege getting to see it all unfold. I’m just hoping they don’t leave us waiting ANOTHER three interminably long years for whatever they give us next ...

Honourable mentions:

Sweet Tooth (season 3, Netflix), Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Crunchyroll), Sweetpea (Sky Atlantic), The Penguin (Max), Invincible (season 2, Amazon Prime), The Edge of Sleep (Amazon Prime), The Brothers Sun (Netflix), Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix), Helluva Boss (season 2, YouTube), What We Do In the Shadows (season 6, FX)

[junkfoodcinemas]

2024 + HORROR

[tariah23]

Oh brother

[animusrox]

Bart to the Future The Simpsons S11 E17 Air Date: March 19, 2000

[freshmoviequotes]

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

[elisefrost]

FALLOUT (2024) - Episode 7: The Radio

[the-irreverend]

This scene demonstrates why I love how Vault-Tec is written as an evil corporation. It's not the usual mustache-twirling, over-the-top villainy you see in other media. It's quiet, subtle, and very realistic, which only serves to make Vault-Tec that much more terrifying.

When Cooper finishes describing how Vault-Tec was responsible for the deaths of countless people, the executive here does two things: a) he makes their deaths about himself (ALL WHILE NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGING THEM!), and b) he makes it about "Product Management."

It really emphasizes the theme that corporations like Vault-Tec and the suits who run them at Vault-Tec only care about the company and its products and NOT the people who use them (or are being used by them).

[ariadnethedragon]

RIVALS (2024-)

[tinkerbitch69]

This is me rn. If you even care.

[loveipromiseimnotinsane]

"I'm a Ghoul fucker, I'd fuck Cooper Howard" of course you would. besides his nose he's weirdly normal looking. The real question is would you fuck Gob?

[mediademon]

I SAW THE TV GLOW (2024) DIR. JANE SCHOENBRUN

[men-in-4k]

KHOBE CLARKE as Scott Russell Cruel Intentions S1:E01

If you like the content, follow me on TWITTER as well <3

[animusrox]

Cillian Murphy sweeping + Bradley Cooper aging 10 years in 2 months during the awards season

[lovelylotusf1]

Look at that polite wet cat!!