The Last Watch of 2024: The Films and Shows That Stole My Heart This Year

Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. Check out the last entry: Is Wicked Rushing Its Home Release?

It’s the last day of 2024 and, like most, I’m feeling all of the introspection that comes along with the closing of a chapter. There are, of course, countless reasons to be anxious about the next one but, for now, I’m choosing reflection. And, of course, putting off all of the food prep I need to do for tonight’s New Year’s Eve festivities.

Putting together my annual Top 10s — a practice most film and television critics do out of habit at this point — was difficult this year, particularly for television. Both sides of the industry have been in flux for some time, but television feels closer to a snapping point than ever. As storytellers get pushed farther and farther from the actual format, we’re seeing more and more “8-hour movies”. Readers of this column have long known my feelings on the misguided practice, but the issues facing television right now feel bigger than that. Still, I am choosing optimism. Which is, to be frank, quite out of character for me.

That optimism is due to a couple of things. Most prominently, the industry wasn’t going to rebound overnight after the strikes. I believe we will continue to see positive changes over the next few years, even if we all wish that things would happen faster. That being said, the bulk of my optimism is actually backed by data. Television will eventually snap back to being television again because, consistently, that is what viewers go back to.

Go take a look at the Nielsen charts, Samba TV, or any other ratings tracker, and you’ll see the same things over and over: Streaming originals see immediate pops, but it’s long-form legacy shows that continue to top the charts month after month. That isn’t because streaming shows are of a lesser on-screen quality — it’s because they’re being made differently. Viewers turn to television because they want to fall in love with characters. Eight episodes every 2-3 years? It just doesn’t cut it.

But I’m not really saying anything I haven’t said before. And, like always, all of those critiques and frustrations come with the caveat that there are still plenty of shows that I quite enjoy, even if streamers do need to get their houses in order when it comes to television production. With that in mind, here are my Top 10 shows of 2024.

10. The Acolyte

9. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

8. Fallout

7. Knuckles

6. Agatha All Along

5. The Legend of Vox Machina

4. Hazbin Hotel

3. Shrinking

2. Interview with the Vampire

1. Shogun

Some of those require no explanation. Shogun and Interview with the Vampire are unquestionably the most remarkable shows of the year, featuring incredible ensembles, stunning visuals, and impeccable stories. Knuckles made me belly laugh, as did Shrinking (though with a side of ugly crying). I’ve long been an advocate of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and will continue to be until they make a season that I don’t care for. Meanwhile, The Acolyte had its issues but was new, refreshing, and engaging enough that I simply didn’t care.

What all of these shows have in common is that despite the fact that they fall into modern-day television pitfalls — sans Shogun, which operated exactly as it should have as a limited series (before getting shifted to an ongoing one) — they all did something unique or had a spark about them that was enough to make them memorable. Additionally, there’s only one show that continued to resonate with me by the end of the year that didn’t drop weekly (Knuckles).

Film, as mentioned, is a different story. While the format is currently experiencing its own issues — the mid-budget theatrical film seems to be close to extinction, release windows are short or muddled, bloated budgets, etc. — it doesn’t seem to be as close to its proverbial crossroads as television from where I’m sitting.

What I will say, though, is that 2024 ended up being a year of surprises for me. First, my Top 10 films:

10. Oddity

9. Abigail

8. A Quiet Place: Day One

7. The First Omen

6. Rebel Ridge

5. The Wild Robot

4. Twisters

3. Kill

2. Wicked

1. Sing Sing

Let me be clear: no one was meaner about the idea of The First Omen than me. The second that film was announced I relentlessly bullied it, even as a frequent lover of prequels. In my mind, there was simply no way that an Omen prequel was going to be able to justify its existence. Then along comes writer/director Arkasha Stevenson with one of the most feminist films of the year, knocking my socks all the way off.

Similarly, I wasn’t sure that A Quiet Place: Day One was going to have it. I think Lupita Nyong’o can do no wrong as a performer, but I wasn’t sure if that Joseph Quinn fella had the juice or if he was just trendy casting due to his popularity after playing Eddie Munson on Stranger Things. Mea culpa, Mr. Quinn, you absolutely have the juice.

Abigail and Twisters earned their spots by being solid flicks that also made me laugh a lot, Rebel Ridge wowed me in every way, and Wicked, of course, blew me away. The performances, the direction, the choreography; everything about it was a joy.

It was Sing Sing that won out for top spot this year, though. I could write thousands of words about what is remarkable about this film, from the performances of the former inmates to Colman Domingo’s unshakable presence. But I want anyone who hasn’t seen it yet to go in as blind as I did, so I will leave you with this: Sing Sing leveled me. I cannot recommend enough that you allow it to do the same to you.

Before I go, I also need to sing the praises of Kill, an absolute triumph of an Indian film that was unfortunately buried at the U.S. box office after Lionsgate paid out the ass for distribution rights. Three days before the film’s release in July, the production company announced that they would be developing an English remake of the film, destroying any chances the movie had when it comes to casual viewers spooked by subtitles. But, as someone who thinks “American cinema could never” literally every time she watches an Indian film, let me assure you that nothing Lionsgate produces will be half as remarkable as Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s absolute banger of an action flick. And yes, Lionsgate produces the John Wick franchise. Currently, Kill is only available for rental or digital purchase online (or DVD/blu, which I highly recommend). It is worth your hard-earned cash.

And with that, my watch has ended. I’ll be back a few weeks into January but, in the meantime, thank you so much to everyone who continues to take the time to read this column. It challenges me in new ways about once a quarter (did you know that a weekly column is actually kinda hard to maintain?) and I find myself quite proud of it. I’m so grateful to everyone who takes the time to engage thoughtfully, and I hope you all have a safe New Year.