Jim Lombardo’s 2024 TV Review

(A note from David Lombardo: In order to satisfy the demands of the public (you know who you are), my dad – with some heavy lifting by my mom – has assembled his television diary for the last year. And a reminder that I have my own list from 2024.)

After the success of my 2023 TV Review and by popular demand, here is my 2024 TV Review.

Not as much Scandinavian Noir this year; more British crime dramas. These are not just shows that came out in 2024, but rather shows I watched in 2024. Working only three days a week allowed for more TV binging and book reading. (A  Review of Books Read in 2024 available by request.)

Once again, I want to thank my assistant for her help in typing up the list. A checkmark (✓) means the show was among my 14 top picks. An asterisk (*) means the show is recommended. No mark means I watched it but don’t particularly recommend it. The list concludes with shows to watch in 2025.

✓ 14 Top Picks:

✓Blue Lights (BritBox). Season 1, 2023. Rookie cops in Belfast. Excellent.

✓Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO). Season 11. The final season. When it’s good, it is outstanding.

✓Day of the Jackal (Peacock). Season 1. A remake of the movie and book, but nothing like them. Riveting Eddie Redmayne stars as the jackal.

✓Hacks (HBO). Season 3. The great Jean Smart as a comedian. Hannah Einbinder is starting to grow on me as her writer.

✓Homicide: Life on the Street (Peacock). Seasons 1-4, 1993-1996. Not sure how I missed this when it was new. It is much better than any Law and Order, NCIS etc. Stars Andre Braugher, Ned Beatty, Richard Belzer, Melissa Leo and Yaphet Kotto.

✓Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office (PBS). British. Based on true story. British postal workers wrongfully prosecuted for theft caused by a computer error. Toby Jones stars as Mr. Bates, who fought for years to clear their names.

✓Peaky Blinders (Netflix). Seasons 1-4. Late to the party! Stars the great Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, head of the Peaky Blinders crime family. Two more seasons to go.

✓Shogun (Hulu) Japanese, Season 1. Best show of the year based on James Clavell novel and 1980 mini-series. Takes place in 1600 Japan. Excellent Anna Sawai serves as translator.

✓Slow Horses (Apple TV). British. Season 4. Misfit MI5 agents at Slough House, based on Mick Herron books. The great Gary Oldman as their leader; Kristin Scott Thomas also stars.

✓The Agency (Paramount). Season 1. Based on the French show The Bureau — one of the best TV shows ever – this is American CIA in London. Stars Michael Fassbender, who returns after six years as a “legend”. With Richard Gere and Jeffrey Wright.

✓The Bear (Hulu). Seasons 1 and 2. Got a late start. Not sure why it is a comedy. Waiting for Barb (very busy) to see Season 3.

✓The Responder (Britbox). Season 2. Martin Freeman stars as a cop with lots of troubles, both on the job and in his personal life. Adelayo Adedayo is excellent as a probationary officer.

✓The Tower (BritBox) British. Seasons 1, 2 and 3. Stars Gemma Whelan as police detective. Starts with the death of a police officer and a young girl who falls off a tower. For fans of Line of Duty.

✓Tokyo Vice (HBO). Seasons 1 and 2, 2022-2024. Based on a true story. Ansel Elgort stars as a young reporter from the U.S. at a Tokyo newspaper. Ken Watanabe is a detective.

Also Watched (* = Recommended):

*Men of a Certain Age (Max). 2009-2011, Season 1. Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher and their mid-life crises. How did I not watch this sooner?!

*Luna and Sophie (PBS). German. Seasons 3 and 4. Two fun-loving female German detectives. Season 4 not as good as 3, as Sophie left the show.

*Astrid (PBS). French. 2021, Season 2. French detective and her assistant who has autism solve odd murders as their friendship blossoms. A favorite of my assistant, Barb.

*Anika (PBS) 2023, Season 2. Nicola Walker stars breaks the fourth wall while solving crimes and balancing single motherhood. Who knew they have a Scottish Marine Homicide Unit?

*Criminal Record (Apple TV). Season 1. Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo star as two British detectives, one a seasoned vet and the other new, who clash over an old murder case. Is Peter Capaldi a bent detective? Very good show.

*Julia (HBO). Season 2. Sarah Lancashire is excellent as Julia Child. Shows the troubles of  getting into the TV business in the 1960s. Great casting, including Saratoga Springs native David Hyde Pierce as her husband.

*Monsieur Spade (AMC). Twenty years after Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade is in France. Clive Owen stars.

True Detective Season 4. Jodie Foster is a detective in Alaska. Has issues. Jodie is very good, but can’t recommend.

*Lioness Special Ops (Paramount). Seasons 1 and 2. Zoe Saldana leads a Lioness Group. Her bosses are CIA’s Nicole Kidman and Secretary of State Morgan Freeman. What’s not to like? My only watch in the Taylor Sheridan universe.

*For All Mankind (Apple TV). Season 4. Not as good as previous seasons. Who knew we would be on Mars in 2003!

*One of Us/Retribution (BritBox). British. Season 1, 2017. Murder in Scotland pulls two families apart.

*Masters of the Air (Apple). Band of Brothers in airplanes, but not as good. Great visuals. Austin Butler and Callum Turner.

Vigil (Peacock). Season 2. British stars Suranne Jones as Scottish police detective investigates death at army base. Disappointing compared to Season 1.

*Justified City Primeval (Hulu FX) Season 1, 2023. The original Justified was one of the best ever. This is just good. Timothy Olyphant recreates his best role.

Murder in Provence (BritBox) (British show set in France.) Roger Allem and Provence. Sounds promising, but very disappointing.

*Manhunt Season 1. (Apple TV.) Manhunt of John Wilkes Booth told from the viewpoint of Edwin Statton.

*Joe Pickett Seasons 1 and 2. (2021-2023) Michael Dorman stars as a Wyoming game warden based on C.J. Box novels.

*The Long Shadow (AMC) Season 1. Search for the Yorkshire Ripper.

*The Tourist (Netflix) Season 2. Australia/Ireland. Black comedy stars Jamie Dornan as man with amnesia who moved from Australia back to Ireland. Season 2 not as good as Season 1.

Sugar (Apple). Stars Colin Farrell. Starts out as Chinatown, ends up as Close Encounters. Disappointing.

*Guilt (PBS). 2023, Season 3. Two goofball brothers in trouble. Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives star.

*After the Flood (Britbox). 2024. Sophie Rundle (from Peaky Blinders) must investigate the death of unknown man in a flash flood.

DI Ray (PBS). Season 2. British Parminder Nagra stars as a femaled detective who faces prejudice.

Cobra (PBS). Seasons 2 and 3. British political thriller. Cobra is the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. Who knew? Not sure why I kept watching.

*Wolf Hall (PBS). Season 1, 2015. British. Based on Hilary Mantel’S novels, with Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damien Lewis as Henry VIII.

*The Thaw (HBO/MAX). Polish. Season 2. Who knew HBO had Polish TV shows? Female detective with issues. Season 2 is better than 1. Investigates human trafficking.

Granite Harbour (BritBox). Season 2. Fish out of water. Jamaican officer becomes detective in Scotland.

*The Old Man (Fx/Hulu). Season 2. Not sure why they did second season (money?), but Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow running around Afghanistan is worth a watch.

*Ridley (PBS). British. Season 2. Adrian Dunbar of Line of Duty comes out of retirement to be a police consultant.

Van der Valk  (PBS). British. Season 4. Not sure why I watched this Dutch detective show except to see Amsterdam.

*Wisting (AMC). Norway. Seasons 4 and 5. Saw a lot less Scandinavian noir in 2024. This is the best of the lot.

*The Diplomat (Netflix). Seasons 1 and 2. Keri Russel stars as out-of-place ambassador to England with Rufus Sewell as her scheming husband.

Nemesis (Hulu). Season 1. Dutch female detective investigates financial crimes. Dutch TV!

*Moonflower Murders (PBS). British. Based on Anthony Horowitz novel. Stars Barb’s favorite, Lesley Manville.

*La Maison (Apple TV). French. Like Succession (except not as good) set in Paris! Fashion! With Lambert Wilson.

Archie (BritBox). Love Cary Grant, but not this show.

Bodies (Netflix). British. Sci-Fi murder mystery. Dead body in four time periods.

Stay Close (Netflix) British. Harlan Coben book turned into British mystery. Cush Jumbo, James Nesbit and Richard Armitage. Not as good as other Coben shows.

*Doppleganger The Double (Max). Polish. Two men living on opposite sites of the Iron Curtain. A movie shown in the U.S. as a TV show.

Shows started in 2024 but not yet finished, so unrated:

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu). Season 4. Great cast starring Steve Martin and Martin Short.

Lady in the Lake (Apple TV). Very good book, but show is not as compelling.

Bad Monkey (Apple TV). Based on Carl Hiaasen novel that I love and has Vince Vaughn, but not sure I will finish.

The Law According to Lidia Poet (Netflix). Italian. Season 1. Recommended by our guide in Italy, based on first woman lawyer in Italy in 1880s.

Show to Watch in 2025:

Blue Lights, Season 2
Finish Peaky Blinders
Finish Homicide: Life on the Street
Ripley
Say Nothing
Sherwood season 2
The Bear season 3
Black Doves