I watched 50 full seasons of TV shows this year. I do not consider this an accomplishment, but at least these days, with streaming apps, when I watch something, I watch it on purpose, I don’t just sit in front of the TV because it’s on. As you might imagine, most of the shows I watched were SFF-adjacent, but not all of them. But anyway, these are my favorite shows I watched this year. Please note these are things I watched this year, not necessarily things that came out this year. I do not consider staying absolutely up to date with things a priority and there are some things I started and haven’t finished yet, which might go on next year’s list.
10. The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 (Amazon Prime)
I love this show for giving us a D&D type of adventure (Though it is not specifically D&D). I love the characters and the word building and relationships. This season had a lot of great moments and relationship payoffs, as well as a really good set of villains. It also brought us to the end of the first arc, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
9. X-Men ’97 Season 1 (Disney+)
When I first heard about this, I wasn’t entirely sold on the necessity of a reboot of the 90’s X-Men series. I’d enjoyed that series, but it also felt like its story had been told. But this reboot adapted some banger X-Men storylines and gave us great character moments that did not rely on nostalgia to be effective. It also leaned into the moral complexity that has been baked into the X-Men from the beginning. This has been one of my favorite X-Men projects of all time, even though it has never included one of my favorite characters, Kitty Pryde. This season ended in an amazing place and on an effective cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to see what happens next. I do know about the drama with the creator, who has been replaced, and I am a little nervous that a new team won’t capture the same magic, but we’ll see.
8. Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 (Netflix)
The Castlevania saga jumps ahead a few generations to the French Revolution, and gives us a gorgeous, complex situation that leans into the horror of the situation and gives us a set of amazing, relatable characters of all different power levels The core cast was amazing, even though the main villain didn’t necessarily work for me all the time. I forgave it for that, however, because there were some truly jaw-dropping moments to this season. This first one wrapped up really well and can’t wait to see what happens next.
7. Star Trek Lower Decks Season 5 (Paramount+)
This goofy, oddball, animated trek entry is a love letter to all eras of Star Trek, but especially the 90s. This final season brought a great deal of character growth, as well as a fun over-arching plotline that gave us (kinda) some long-awaited trek pairings and situations. Garashir forever! But seriously, the writing was sharp all season, and it delivered some great stories that would have been epic on any incarnation of Star Trek. I am sad to see this series end, though where they left each of the characters was perfect.
6. 3 Body Problem Season 1 (Netflix)
This was a very intriguing alien invasion/conspiracy show that took a character-based approach. As an adaptation of the original book, it made some massive changes to characters, rearranging them beyond all recognition, but this really worked for me, as the novel had some failings in that area. The casting was perfect, and the story built up a great head of steam over the course of the season. It’s been renewed for two more seasons, so hopefully they can keep up the quality work.
5. Slow Horses Season 1 (AppleTV+)
I loved this take on British spy dramas. Set among a set of secret agents that have been assigned to ‘Slough House,’ because they’ve all screwed up in some way, they end up saving the day because everyone underestimates them. The first season has a compelling plot, as well as some deliciously morally grey characters. I really enjoyed it and will be watching the other three seasons soon.
4. Midnight Mass (Netflix)
I am not really a big horror person, but this slow burn serious was amazing. Combining vampirism (without ever using the term) with religious indoctrination, it delivered some horrifying and heartbreaking moments. I loved this set of characters and was very affected by what happened to them. It is not a happy ending, but a fitting one that fits its theme, and it has a lot to say about desperation and the need for redemption.
3. We Are Ladyparts Season 2 (Peacock)
The continuing adventures of a punk band made up of young Muslim women. This said, authentically, more about commercialization and feminism than anything else I’ve ever seen. This season, they have a bit more success, but it comes at a steep price, and the bandmates must decide who they really are and what they are willing to give up. Theres a core theme of standing up for yourself, which plays out through the various plotlines. It’s hysterically funny as well and the music absolutely slaps. This is probably the last season, which is sad, but if so, it went out on a high note.
2. Dead Boy Detectives Season 1 (Netflix)
If any cancellation broke my heart this year, it was this one. This was a fun horror-themes adventure show about two teenage boys who are trying to evade death and spend their time solving mysteries for their fellow dead people. It’s charming, unsettling, and very queer, and the first season had ended with a fascinating new status quo being set up. It does, however, come to a stopping place, so there really aren’t too many dangling threads, but I wish whatever shenanigans were going on with the DCU and Neil Gaiman hadn’t torpedoed this show, because it deserved to run for ten years and be the subject of an eventual theme park. I’m not bitter, you’re bitter.
1. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 (AppleTV+)
I did not expect to love this show as much as I did, and I’m surprised to be giving it my top slot. It deserves it, though. Taking the recent monsterverse and telling a complicated, twisty family drama story, it never lost sight of the fact that it was also about BIG GIANT MONSTERS! The human characters were relatable, and in over their heads, and not idiots. Each of them had a really interesting back story that impinged upon the present in complex ways. The stunt casting of Wyatt Russel and his Father Kurt Russel playing the same character in different eras really worked for me. It had the single best character moment I saw on television this year. And it gets bonus points for being queer. It had a compelling ending to the season that set up a new and interesting situation, so I can’t wait until it comes back. Highly recommended.