JEN CHANEY'S TOP TEN
Every TV professional I've spoken to in recent months has expressed confusion about what kinds of shows networks and streamers care about in this post-strike, post-peak landscape. That's why I built this list with an eye toward the projects I fear may be deprioritized in the coming months: things that are weird, idiosyncratic, and, like my top pick of 2024, Somebody Somewhere, focused on the nuances of relationships between regular people rather than superheroes or protagonists plucked from existing IP. This year may have confirmed that we're past Peak in terms of the amount of television, but the works listed here argue strongly that the promise of reaching new creative heights still exists.
1. Somebody Somewhere, season three
Watching a half-hour episode of this hilarious and heartfelt-but-not-sappy comedy makes you feel better about humanity, at least for a little bit.
2. Ripley
Shot in stunning black-and-white by director, writer, and creator Steven Zaillian, alongside cinematographer Robert Elswit, Ripley's eight episodes take their exquisite time.
3. Evil, season four
The series ended with episodes that were moving, freaky (where else can you watch Andrea Martin play a nun who kicks the shit out of demons?), and enormously satisfying.
4. John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.
For one week in May, Mulaney hosted a delightfully odd, somewhat unpolished live Netflix talk show.
5. Girls5eva, season three
Thankfully, this revamped, middle-aged former girl band was not done with us, giving fans six more episodes of rapid-fire absurdity that had me guffawing.
6. Shogun
This was television, made with extreme discipline.
7. Extraordinary, season two
This story is from the December 16-29, 2024 edition of New York magazine.
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This story is from the December 16-29, 2024 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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THE BEST ART SHOWS OF THE YEAR
IN NOVEMBER, Sotheby's made history when it sold for a million bucks a painting made by artificial intelligence. Ai-Da, \"the first humanoid robot artist to have an artwork auctioned by a major auction house,\" created a portrait of Alan Turing that resembles nothing more than a bad Francis Bacon rip-off. Still, the auction house described the sale as \"a new frontier in the global art market.\"
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A STRANGE THING happened with podcasts in 2024: The industry was repeatedly thrust into the spotlight owing to a preponderance of head-turning events and a presidential-election cycle that radically foregrounded the medium's consequential nature. To reflect this, we've carved out a list of ten big moments from the year as refracted through podcasting.
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THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
2024 WAS one big stress test that presented artists with a choice: Face uncomfortable realities or serve distractions to the audience. Pop music turned inward while hip-hop weathered court cases and incalculable losses. Country struggled to reconcile conservative interests with a much wider base of artists. But the year's best music offered a reprieve.
THE BEST COMEDY SPECIALS OF THE YEAR
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THE BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR
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