My Favourite Watches of 2024

Happy New Year all! First post of 2025 is reflecting on all that was consumed in 2024. Some of my favourite watches of the year tend to be amongst those seen during the two weeks around Christmas and New Years, and this year was no exception.

In 2024, I went to the cinema 49 times (including a day where I watched 3 movies back to back - a personal goal!), watched a total of 118 movies and 74 tv shows, with multiple long binges such as 'Lost', 'Hart of Dixie' and rewatching 'Sex and the City'. Subsequently, I've titled this list my favourite first watches of the year to accommodate the non-2024 shows I loved, particularly the K dramas (23 of the 74 shows watched were Korean). Netflix was the reigning streaming platform, proving why I would never consider cancelling, but there's decent representation from Disney+ and AppleTV.

In terms of movie releases, there were lots of fun surprises ('Blink Twice' and 'The Substance') as well as highly anticipated movies that lived up to my expectations, ('Dune: Part Two' and 'A Quiet Place: Day One'). It was the year of Zendaya and Lupita Nyong'o who both have two movies on my top 10 list and much to my utter delight will be co-starring in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey... in 2026 so we'll come back to that. Stay tuned for the movies I'm excited for in 2025.

Until then, let's dive in!

Top Ten TV Shows

1. Nobody Wants This (2024) - a show so good, it launched this blog! I've written enough on this so read the post for my detailed thoughts. Watch on: Netflix

2. It's Okay to Not be Okay (2020) - my favourite K drama of the year; it was the yardstick I compared all the others to and nothing could surpass it for me. Its exploration of grief, love, mental illness, family and friendship is unparalleled across both Korean and Western shows. I haven't cried as much as I cried while watching this at anything before or since. Watch on: Netflix

3. The Flower of Evil (2020) - something was in the air in 2020 because the K dramas released that year simply ATE. This is the darker twin of 'It's Okay to Not be Okay' which also has a lead character with antisocial personality tendencies. A thriller that depicts the story of a man living with a dark secret that is threatened by a new case his detective wife is working on, resembling serial killings from 15 years ago. It's incredibly tense, heartbreaking and challenges its audience to have empathy for an anti-hero who is deeply complex. Watch on: Netflix

4. Shogun (2024) - this was a technically flawless show, which deserves its many accolades and is only this far down my list because I had a more emotional response to my top 3. It has been compared to 'Game of Thrones', rightfully so, but if you're looking for the action-driven storylines of its later seasons you'll be sorely disappointed. 'Shogun' harkens back to the earlier seasons of 'Thrones' which were slower, more focused on political intrigue and scheming. The most tense scene of the show is basically a poetry competition?? Must be seen to be believed. We also owe a lot to the K-drama boom for a series predominantly in Japanese having such mainstream success! Watch on: Disney+

5. Shrinking S2 (2024) - the first season was one of my favourite shows when it premiered last year (thank you AppleTV for bringing back yearly TV except for Severance cough cough). A comedy that perfectly balances its lighter and heavier moments, with exceptionally loveable characters and a revolutionary performance from Harrison Ford. HUGE Recommend. Watch on: AppleTV (I believe this show alone is worth the subscription but also 'SLOW HORSES')

6. One Day (2024) - I had high expectations, they were met. As heartbreaking as predicted, as romantic as required and as witty as desired. Watch on: you guessed it, NETFLIX!

7. The Diplomat S2 (2024) - a product from a student of Shondaland so naturally I ate this right up and quite quickly too. Any plot where Keri Russell has to unravel a government conspiracy is a win in my book. Her character's complicated relationship with her husband, played by Rufus Sewell (the guy who breaks Kate Winslet's heart in 'The Holiday' and is therefore very good at playing an annoyingly charming asshole), was a particular joy to watch and it ended on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger. TV at its finest. Watch on: Netflix

8. Love Island USA (2024) - WHAT. A. SEASON. OF. TELEVISION. Every character, every storyline, the Casa Amor recoupling?? Chefs kiss. The show of the summer! Watch on: ITV maybe?

9. Gyeongseong Creature S1-2 (2023-present) - one of the few K-dramas I watched that was not a limited series. A pretty effective horror, with its first season set in Spring 1945 in Gyeongseong during Japanese rule over Korea. Two young adults have to confront a strange creature developed in an underground laboratory within their city. Major Stranger Things vibes. Watch on: Netflix (maybe they should sponsor me?)

10. Black Doves - when I heard Keira Knightley was doing a present-day show where she plays a spy, I simply had to tune in. Add Ben Whishaw, have it take place at Christmas in London and you've got yourself the perfect December watch. Long may it continue! Watch on: Netflix

    
    

Honorable TV mentions

• Nevertheless (2021) - focused on a group of young adults attending an arts school in Seoul, the show delves into the messiness of relationships, love and lust, and the challenges of vulnerability. It resembles YA shows of the 90s and 2000s, such as 'Dawson's Creek' and '90210', with an exploration of the internal lives of young people akin to 'Euphoria', without the heavy and graphic subject matter. Watch on: Netflix

• Slow Horses S4 (2024) - could speak on this forever but I've said enough and 2025 is the year of being concise! Watch on: AppleTV

• My Lady Jane (2024) - this show was insane but I had SO MUCH FUN. A fantasy historical retelling of the story of Lady Jane Grey with all the best romance tropes (enemies to lovers, an arranged marriage etc). Sadly cancelled because Prime can't do marketing??? Watch on: Prime :(

• Bridgerton S3 (2024) - this season wasn't everyone's favourite but I was quite taken by its focus on the society's 'outcasts' (using that term loosely). Daphne and Kate - our season 1 and 2 heroines respectfully - despite their challenges, were leads who held the room and could bare being the centre of attention. Simon and Anthony were the classic, renegade hero. Colin and Pen, contrastingly, were shy, a little lame, and constantly striving to appease others. I appreciated Colin's conviction in his love for Penelope, although belatedly realised, and their conflict being external rather than the self-imposed ones of the previous couples was refreshing and welcome. It also did a good job of setting up storylines for future seasons. Watch on: Netflix

Top ten 2024 movies

1. Challengers - saw this in the cinema thrice, had a spiritual experience each time. What a year to be a Zendaya STAN. Incredible performances, an amazing soundtrack that I listen to constantly and a very clear visual style as is typical of Luca Guadagnino.

2. Anora - a movie that traverses tone so effortlessly. I haven't rooted for a character as much as I did for our titular Anora, whose every emotion I felt so keenly. I'm a novice when it comes to Sean Baker but this has inspired me to check out more of his work!

3. Dune: Part Two - delivered everything it needed to and more. I also got to listen to Denis Villeneuve speak about the process of making it and his humility and reverence for the material is so evident in the final product. A sci-fi miracle.

4. The Substance - really got under my skin (pun intended). Probably one to give a miss if you're easily grossed out. If you can bear it, however, you're in for a pretty unflinching look at society's fear of ageing. Highly effective.

5. The Wild Robot - a very moving tale and beautiful animation. Adored it quite a lot.

6. Hit Man - the summer of Glen Powell totally delivered but I chose this over 'Twisters' because I love a romcom in disguise. An original plot that's well executed with amazing chemistry between Glen Powell and Adria Arjona and some moral and philosophical quandaries contributed to a delightful and engaging 90 minutes. Plus, 90 MINUTES!

7. Blink Twice - perhaps not the most subtle, but a tremendously fun and pulpy thriller. RIP Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravtiz's couple press tour that almost rivalled Tom Holland and Zendaya's for 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'.

8. Inside Out 2 - the first one set such a high bar which this one narrowly misses but manages to still capture its essence. Anxiety was an incredibly compelling antagonist (such as in life).

9. The Outrun - recently listened to an episode of The Ringer's 'We're Obsessed' Podcast where its host described Saoirse Ronan as our generation's Meryl Streep and haven't stopped thinking about it since. She carries this movie with such grace and deep feeling. Perfect for anyone that is experiencing the process of healing or supporting someone through it.

10. A Quiet Place: Day One - a prequel that justified its existence in an age where so few manage it deserves all the flowers. I really did want to know what happened on the first day the mysterious aliens landed in the Quiet Place universe and the focus on a character who is terminally ill gives the traditional survivalist plot a whole new layer.