From limited series such as “Baby Reindeer” and “Ripley” to the final season of “Somebody Somewhere,” the best queer-inclusive television moments of 2024 were the ones that got viewers talking. Below is a list of 10 stand-out, small-screen titles (in alphabetical order) that sparked conversations in front of TV sets and online this year.
‘Baby Reindeer’
Richard Gadd’s “Baby Reindeer,” an autobiographical miniseries inspired by Gadd’s alleged experiences with a female stalker and sexual assault, became a source of public fascination after premiering this spring. The confronting Netflix series — which stars Gadd as a fictionalized version of himself, Jessica Gunning as his stalker, and Nava Mau as his love interest — received rave reviews upon its release, but it also sparked a wave of speculation about the identity of Gadd’s male abuser and a defamation suit. Luckily, the controversy, which has been mostly put to bed since the series’ six Emmy wins and numerous other nominations, never overshadowed the acclaim, ensuring “Baby Reindeer” will be remembered as one of the year’s best TV titles.
‘Fantasmas’ (season one)
Plucked from the one-of-a-kind mind of Julio Torres, “Fantasmas” was the most brilliantly mind-boggling show of 2024. Featuring a string of amusing vignettes set in a semi-dystopian world and starring a who’s who of queer actors and creatives who circulate in Torres’ orbit — from visual artist Martine Gutierrez to pop culture icons such as Kim Petras, Bowen Yang and Julia Fox — the surreal HBO series took a while to catch on. But as is customary for a Torres production, it eventually became a favorite among critics who are now singing its praises in the year’s “best of” lists, hoping to generate a similar enthusiasm among audiences.
‘Hacks’ (season 3)
Rarely do shows pick up steam as the seasons go on, but “Hacks” seems determined to buck that trend, delivering its best season yet in 2024. The key to the Max series’ success has been evolving the dynamic between its protagonists — a legendary Las Vegas comedian played by Jean Smart and her twentysomething writing partner played by Hannah Einbinder — while handing its peripheral characters substantial, but often laughable, storylines. In the acclaimed third season, which won this year’s Emmy for outstanding comedy series, the two comedians find themselves on fairly equal footing, resulting in an abundance of verbal sparring and backhanded high jinks that will be hard to top when the show returns for season four.
‘Interview With the Vampire’ (season 2)
After its debut season featured dewy mid-air sex and an erotic, sky-high lovers’ quarrel, the second chapter of AMC’s “Interview With the Vampire,” starring Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid as Louis and Lestat, faced lofty expectations. But thanks to a healthy infusion of humor — and the sultry love triangle among Louis, Lestat and Assad Zaman’s Arman, who runs the campy Théâtre des Vampires — the show, based on the novels of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series, delivered. This time around, even critics were convinced, joining in with libidinous fans to praise the blood-sucking second season, which was recently nominated for two Critics Choice Awards after being largely snubbed by voting bodies last year.
‘Ripley’
Andrew Scott, who is still known to many as the hot priest in “Flea Bag,” isn’t a stranger to receiving praise for his small-screen supporting roles. But his popularity skyrocketed this year following a string of acclaimed leading parts for the screen and stage, including his turn as the titular psychopath in Netflix’s Emmy-winning series “Ripley.” Inspired by Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels, the brooding black-and-white drama features an updated, even sympathetic, take on the queer-coded killer that has earned Scott a number of best actor nominations and, as a result, gifted his fervent fans another awards season full of charming red-carpet moments.
‘Somebody Somewhere’ (season 3)
After a brilliant three-season run, the beloved HBO series starring Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller and a talented ensemble of comedic actors sadly took its final bow this month. Set in Manhattan, Kansas, “Somebody Somewhere” evolved over the seasons to tackle subjects ranging from grief and loneliness to queerness, religion and later-in-life love — earning a Peabody award and droves of fans along the way. Now, as it comes to a close, critics and viewers are penning tributes to the slice-of-life show, which always led with humanity and heart, and giving it one last moment in the spotlight.
‘The Boyfriend’ (season 1)
While Japanese reality shows like “Terrace House” have slowly been gaining popularity in the United States the last few years, the excitement around this summer’s “The Boyfriend” felt novel. The Netflix production follows nine men as they spend a month living together, running a coffee truck and exploring love in a scenic coastal town. Absent the dramatics viewers have come to expect from American dating shows, the optimistically titled series, which was recently renewed for a second season, provides a window into a more mannered style of dating that feels both authentic and groundbreaking.
‘True Detective: Night Country’
When “True Detective” returned after a yearslong hiatus at the start of 2024, it’s new woman-led approach under the helm of Issa López proved to be more of a conversation-starter than expected — largely thanks to the antics of the series’ original creator, Nic Pizzolatto. But the long-running anthology crime series, which has always had a social justice bent, is no stranger to criticism, winning and losing fans each time it rotates in a new duo of stars. In season four, Jodie Foster and boxer-turned-actor Kali Reis take up the mantle, playing two Alaskan police officers who join forces to solve a string of cold cases inspired by the ongoing epidemic of unanswered violence targeting Indigenous women.
‘Under the Bridge’
“Under the Bridge” seemed to come out of nowhere when it premiered on Hulu in April. But once it arrived, the crime drama set in British Columbia whipped Sapphics into a fervor, thanks to the electric chemistry between stars Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough. But the miniseries, which features Gladstone and Keough as childhood crushes reunited by the mysterious death of a teenage girl, has more than heavy petting going for it. Between making eyes at each other, the characters grapple with the consequences of living in a society that places a low value on young girls and children who have no place to go.
‘We’re Here’ (season 3)
For its third and final season, the creators of “We’re Here” breathed new life into the series with a brand-new cast of drag queens and a new format designed to make its subjects go deeper. Diverging from the popular makeover show model of switching up subjects each episode, season three of the heartwarming series splits its time between two hotbeds of drag bans, Tennessee and Oklahoma, where the new queens take on neo-Nazis, church elders and one particularly patronizing dad. Although the show won’t be around to start conversations and champion the LGBTQ residents of a new locale next year, the lives it touched — and the looks it turned — already made a lasting statement.
