It’s best-of-list season, and this year we are introducing a new inaugural list: The Cascadia Critics Five Best Television Series of the Year. We asked our 18 members to rank their favourite shows and ended up with a list of more than 25 shows, many of which received multiple votes.
The long list includes excellent titles such as Abbott Elementary, House of the Dragon, Man on the Inside, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Shōgun, Slow Horses, and many, many more. In the end, though, here are our top five series of 2024, with a short write-up for each from one of our members who ranked it highly.
Be sure to also read our top ten films of 2024 and the nominees for our annual Best Cascadian Film Award (the winner of which will be announced soon!).
Without further ado, but with a huge thanks to each of our voting members and contributors to this list, here are Cascadia Critics Five Best Television Series of 2024.
5. Mr & Mrs Smith, Season 1
None of it should have worked: a peak Pitt/Jolie-era action film, updated as an episodic series, with a creative team that fell apart so completely that the writer/co-star had to be replaced at the last minute. What a delight, then, that Mr & Mrs Smith proved to be the highlight of the summer. Along with some clever updates to the formula, like switching the film’s maternal secrets for a couple meeting as new spies, it struck gold with sharp scripts, gorgeous cinematography, and enough electricity between co-leads Glover and Erskine to power a small city. In their cover as newlyweds, the episodes take them through every stage of married life, from the early sexual excesses, to dealing with a petulant child, and finally counselling. As their relationship builds and breaks amid bullets and bombs, we get to see the growing connection between two broken people, healing each other’s wounds.
- Simon Best
4. Curb your Enthusiasm, Season 12
In what appears to be the final final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David and co-writer Jeff Schaffer use the familiar abrasive stylings of grating social interaction to poke and prod at Larry’s poorly masked sentimentality. This season continues the familiar and absurd tête-à-tête’s with Leon (JB Smoove) and Jeff (Garlin), the pitch-perfect yelling matches with Susie (Essman), and the brief and fleeting idyllic conversations with Cheryl (Hines). These interactions and the show broadly remind us of the simultaneous permanence of self and impermanence of life. Vince Vaughn’s Freddy Funkhauser–a sort of spiritual successor for the late Bob Einstein’s Marty Funkhouser–brings a liveliness to the show and Larry that feels more like a show in its beginning than one at its end, a fitting way to end a show that thrived on juxtaposition.
- Taylor Baker
3. Fallout, Season 1
There is so much to admire about Fallout as a television series, as it is not only pure entertainment that is going to delight both fans of the video games and newcomers to the franchise, but it’s another great science fiction television show for viewers to devour. While the world building through the incredible set design and visual effects will no doubt draw viewers into the post apocalyptic future depicted in this show, it is the mysterious storyline that builds towards a thrilling season finale that sets up an explosive second season that will leave audiences craving more. Carried by two compelling and captivating lead performances from Ella Purnell and Walton Gogins, Fallout is a spectacle filled, often hilarious, wacky and totally addictive adventure through a dangerous, post apocalyptic world that is the perfect example of highly entertaining big budget television.
- Darren Zakus
2. Shrinking, Season 2
Shrinking set itself apart in its first season as a series with tremendous warmth and heart, carried by emotionally true writing and several excellent performances. In its second season, it continues and builds on this foundation, meeting and exceeding all expectations of where a show like this might go. The dynamics between this chosen family are entirely relatable, even when they’re zany and over the top. Every character is well drawn and believable, and when this season’s emotional heavy lifting begins (in the latter half especially), it works beautifully. The entire cast is excellent, but it’s Harrison Ford who will reduce you to tears this year, giving a new career-best performance as a man facing down a debilitating disease and recognizing he needs to make the most of the time he has. Shrinking will make you laugh and cry in equal measure, models positive support, and reassure you that people can change for the better.
- Matthew Simpson
1. The Penguin
It’s rare that a television show so fully commits to its own dark themes with as much ferocity as The Penguin exhibited this year. With the pre-ordained pressures sustained from the heights of The Batman, The Penguin seamlessly brought uncompromised world-building and storytelling to the small screen. To explore so violently the pains of family trauma, the deception of greed disguised as loyalty, and the isolating repercussions of the streets of Gotham is a journey that results in iconic success across the span of the eight episodes the show accumulates. Featuring a triumvirate of dedicated performances that surely deserve award recognition, The Penguin sets a new standard for what a comic book television show can, and should, be.
- Ethan Simmie