The 24 Best TV Episodes of 2024
Some say the era of “Peak TV” is in the rearview, but you wouldn’t know it to look at the absolute swell of quality programming options that were available on all corners of the marketplace this year. On broadcast, cable, and streaming, there was a true bounty of new and returning gems from across the genres.
In addition to celebrating the best shows and TV performances of the year, TV Insider is also putting forth a list of those episodes that our staffers found to be the very most excellent in a year full of small-screen excellence. Below, find the 24 best episodes of 2024 (in alphabetical order of show title).
"Confessions," 9-1-1 (Season 8 Episode 6)
A lot happens in this episode, yet it doesn’t feel overcrowded. There’s finally an explanation for Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) mustache via an enlightening conversation with a priest (yes, Gavin Stenhouse returned, after previously helping Peter Krause‘s Bobby). Buck (Oliver Stark) and Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) reach a breaking point in their relationship with the wildest tie back to Abby (Connie Britton), who turns out to be the latter’s ex, too. Chimney (Kenneth Choi) gets the call he needs (a callback to “Eddie Begins,” too, with a young boy trapped in a pipe) as he and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) discuss having another kid — though unbeknownst to him, one’s already on the way (these two deserve all the joy they can get, after all the trauma they’ve been through). And it’s all capped off with Eddie’s recreation of the Risky Business dance. It takes skill to weave that all together into one episode without one storyline suffering, and this one pulls that off. — Meredith Jacobs
"Party," Abbott Elementary (Season 3 Episode 14)
Abbott Elementary‘s Season 3 finale delivered on one of the show’s longest-running storylines as Janine (Quinta Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) finally gave into their mutual feelings with a serious second kiss that would solidify their romance on the show. As gratifying as it was for fans to see their dynamic move in a positive direction after various setbacks, the moments leading up to their big kiss were equally as great and arguably hilarious as Janine attempted to host an end-of-school-year party at her tiny apartment, designating different areas for the various friends in her life. The writing in this episode was firing on all cylinders, bringing the kind of controlled chaos that Abbott does so well to the spotlight. — Meaghan Darwish
"Death's Hand in Mine," Agatha All Along (Season 1 Episode 7)
This episode took Agatha All Along from good to great when answering select season-long mysteries through Patti LuPone’s Lilia (that she was dressed as Glinda and Kathryn Hahn as the Wicked Witch of the West in this trial on The Witches’ Road was an added bonus to this TV homage to onscreen witches). “Death’s Hand in Mine” reveals that Lilia doesn’t experience time linearly — it’s no wonder she’s constantly screaming in fear over things others can’t see. The centuries-old witch is shown as an adult and a teen, but every version of herself is plagued by this gift of foresight. The episode has a hypnotic, chaotic rhythm that forces you to buckle in and pay attention along the bumpy ride, culminating in a heroic but deadly moment for Lilia, the last remaining witch in this coven who isn’t privy to the truth that Agatha (Hahn) and Rio (Aubrey Plaza) have always known (truths that are revealed in the enthralling two-part finale). The reveal of Rio’s true identity through Lilia’s final tarot reading was effective and thrilling, even if you’re left thinking “of course that’s who she is.” LuPone is in great form here, but when is she not? — Kelli Boyle
"Napkins," The Bear (Season 3 Episode 6)
Each season, The Bear has a standout episode, whether it was Season 1’s “Review” or Season 2’s Christmas installment, “Fishes,” there’s always something delicious cooking onscreen, and Season 3 certainly delivered one of its tastiest entries with this episode, “Napkins” (edging out the season’s other standout, “Ice Chips”). The flashback episode follows sous chef Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) who is in need of a job after her position was eliminated. Desperate to find a gig, she hits the streets with her resume but finds it difficult to make a good connection for a position. Thinking her luck has run out, Tina stops at the Beef while waiting for the next bus and when she’s given a free sandwich after ordering just a coffee, she breaks down crying. Seeing her distress, Mikey (Jon Bernthal) tries to comfort her and they get to talking. Their candid conversation is so real and one of the aspects that makes The Bear the fan-favorite it has been since debuting in 2022. Ultimately, the episode serves to reveal how Tina became a fixture within the Berzatto family’s restaurant kitchens, reminding us again why we love her so dearly. — Meaghan Darwish
"Old Friends," Bridgerton (Season 3 Episode 4)
Bridgerton‘s third season was a pop culture moment in 2024, and it would only make sense that one of its installments would make this roundup. But while the Shondaland hit delivered plenty of iconic moments in its latest Regency romance, none were as great as Part 1’s fourth installment, “Old Friends.” After vowing to help find his “friend” Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) a husband, Colin (Luke Newton) has finally realized by this episode that he wants to take on that role. But before Colin does anything about his feelings, Penelope is courted by Lord Debling (Sam Phillips) and even finds herself on the verge of an engagement. It isn’t until Bridgerton family matriarch Violet (Ruth Gemmell) makes her son see sense that Colin finally puts aside the friend label and tries changing his status with Penelope. Interrupting her dance with Lord Debling at the latest ball, Colin tries talking her out of an engagement with the other man. When Lord Debling rescinds his unofficial proposal, Penelope believes she’s doomed to a life of spinsterhood until Colin chases after her carriage and confesses his feelings in, arguably one of the show’s best, love declaration scenes. What follows is the infamous “carriage scene,” which certainly sparked a lot of buzz on TV this year. — Meaghan Darwish
"Earthquakes," John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA (Season 1 Episode 5)
Each episode of John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA focused on a Los Angeles-centric topic. “Earthquakes” was the talk show at its best. Host Mulaney and sidekick Richard Kind are joined by Bill Hader, David Letterman, Pete Davidson, seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones, and episode standout Luenell. The episode if full of great gags and genuinely interesting information, but the best part is watching the entire couch be completely charmed by Luenell. Hader and Davidson barely speak during the hour, present only to be as delighted by Luenell as the audience. Watch and join them! — Leah Williams
"Waterfall," Colin From Accounts (Season 2 Episode 5)
Miscommunication is a key ingredient when it comes to a lot of comedy, but this episode of Colin From Accounts examines it from a different perspective. After working a back-to-back shift at the hospital, Ashley (Harriet Dyer) is almost dead on her feet and eager to get home to Gordon (Patrick Brammall) who has cooked up an incredible meal. Vowing to be in the door within the next 20 minutes as she departs the hospital, the episode flashes to Gordon sitting at the made table with cold food hours later. But what happened to Ashley?! She fell asleep on public transit and as a result, had her phone and purse stolen. Waking up far outside of the city where she resides, Ashley’s forced to try and make her way back without money or a phone. Meanwhile, the episode also tracks Gordon’s journey to find her. It’s a true tale of hilarious misadventure for all involved, but it also serves as an example of what lengths new couple Gordon and Ashley will go to find one another. — Meaghan Darwish
"No Lessons Learned," Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 12 Episode 10)
With the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm leading up to Larry (Larry David) on trial in Atlanta, everyone was wondering: Would it mirror the much-maligned Seinfeld finale? Would history repeat itself? The answer: kind of. We did get to see people Larry had wronged return and say their piece, and Larry did end up in jail. But in the end, Jerry Seinfeld came to visit and told him that due to a juror’s misconduct, he was free to go. “This is how we should have ended the finale,” Larry and Jerry agree. Larry and the rest of the gang (Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove, Jeff Garlin, Ted Danson, Cheryl Hines, and the late Richard Lewis) end the episode screaming at each other as they prepare to fly back to Los Angeles. The callback to Seinfeld is excellent executed, and ending with the show’s core family bickering is oddly sweet. It’s a wonderful, meta, and, of course, pretty pretty pretty good ending. — Leah Williams
"Wellness Week," Doctor Odyssey (Season 1 Episode 4)
Doctor Odyssey is campy and delightful appointment viewing most weeks, but they outdid themselves with “Wellness Week.” Comedians Margaret Cho, Kate Berlant, and Amy Sedaris all guest as wellness gurus (and frenemies). It’s an incredibly funny episode. Doctor Odyssey, though ostensibly a drama, is often hilarious. Wellness Week is its funniest episode so far. Our stars Sean Teale, Joshua Jackson, Phillipa Soo, and Don Johnson are excellent foils as always to our wacky guests. Any episode of television that includes Cho earnestly saying a smoothie “erased [her] son’s dyslexia” belongs on a list of the best of TV in 2024. This is also the episode that introduces “Boys, Butches, and Bis” strip poker night among the ship staff (the twist? The Butch crew member is a climate change denier). Never a dull moment aboard the Odyssey! — Leah Williams
"Boom," Doctor Who (Season 1 Episode 3)
Steven Moffat has written some of the best episodes of Doctor Who, so it should be no surprise that he hit it out of the park again with his first with Ncuti Gatwa as the Time Lord. After the Doctor and Ruby (Millie Gibson) landed on a planet in the middle of a war, the former accidentally stepped on a landmine — and what ensued was the best writing, performances (Gatwa’s best of the season), and story of the season. While it was early on in the Doctor and Ruby’s travels, the episode allowed for them to bond and that to shine, continued the ongoing mysteries of the companion and Susan Twist’s characters, featured nods to Moffat’s time as showrunner (including the Eleventh Doctor’s fondness for fish fingers and custard, Anglican Marines, and Villengard), and introduced Varada Sethu ahead of her joining the show as a new companion (here, in a different character). In other words, it was exactly what you want from a Doctor Who episode. — Meredith Jacobs
"Bisquik," Fargo (Season 5 Episode 10)
The fifth season of FX’s decorated anthology drama was a refreshingly strange return to form, and the finale only cemented its success. The kicker episode begins with a culmination of hot pursuits, as Dot (Juno Temple) once again evades her abusive and fundamentalist husband Roy (Jon Hamm) and finally puts a much-deserved bullet in his belly. That’s just the first blow for the villainous cowboy, as his long-suffering son Gator (Joe Keery) then turns him in, and Dot’s suddenly supportive mother-in-law arranges for him to be tortured in prison just for fun.
The real power of the episode, however, exists in the final confrontation between Dot and the self-proclaimed 500-year-old “sin-eater” Ole Munch (Sam Spruell), who comes to take his pound of flesh from Dot for injuring him during his kidnapping attempt but is somehow sated by a homemade biscuit. It’s exactly as bizarre and jarring as this finish to that delightful head-scratcher of a season had to be. — Amanda Bell
"No Future, No Consequences," Fire Country (Season 2 Episode 9)
For most shows, having its lead character get out of the inmate fire camp Three Rock early because of his actions during a rescue — saving his own father! — would be a season-ending cliffhanger. But not Fire Country. Instead, in the penultimate episode of Season 2, Bode (Max Thieriot) and his family get that good news. The episode also featured a massive campaign fire that saw Manny (Kevin Alejandro) take a major risk (before he learned of the warrant out for his arrest and he went MIA!), Vince’s (Billy Burke) heart condition come to light, and Bode and the engaged Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) share a kiss. It perfectly set the stage for the finale to explore what all of that meant and live in the fallout and highlight how this show does the big action scenes and the character-driven moments equally as well. — Meredith Jacobs
"Holes Are Bad," Ghosts (Season 3 Episode 8)
While Ghosts never passes up a laugh, there is something special about the show’s more poignant entries like Season 3’s “Holes Are Bad.” After waiting to learn what happened to Hippie spirit Flower (Sheila Carrasco), it’s revealed that she fell down a well on Woodstone’s property, but without any proper surface to pull herself out of it, she’s been stuck. The discovery of Flower is made while “livings” Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) are away from the B&B, leaving the spirits to figure out an exit strategy, especially when the well is about to be filled up with concrete. That’s where Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) steps in, revealing that she has the means to free Flower with the telephone cord that has been hidden under her collar. As the episode reveals in the flashback storyline, Hetty killed herself with the cord when authorities closed in on her family. Choosing to take that path in order to possibly protect her son, Hetty expresses regret for her past actions and ultimate cause of death but puts aside any residing shame to rescue Flower. It was a deeply emotional revelation and one that allowed Hetty to grow as a character in viewers’ eyes. And so, while there was excitement around Flower’s return after a long absence, there was also a new perspective for the Gilded Age era spirit in one of the show’s best installments this year. — Meaghan Darwish
"Bulletproof," Hacks (Season 3 Episode 9)
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) finally saw her late-night dreams come true in Hacks’ excellent third season, and the second she got to the mountaintop, she pulled the ladder right up from underneath her to prevent co-writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) from joining her in the glory. Deborah willingly relegated Ava to the writing staff of her new late-night show instead of giving her the head writer job as promised. This was done out of fear of displeasing the network (“this show has to be bulletproof”), which is a valid enough fear given her crushed dreams decades before. But the comedian couldn’t believe that the network didn’t care who she hired for the writers’ room; she had complete creative freedom thanks to her wildly successful career second act. Deborah was so terrified that someone else would ruin the opportunity of a lifetime, she failed to consider she could ever ruin it for herself. Taking a page from Deborah’s book, Ava used Deborah’s one-night stand with the head of the network (Tony Goldwyn) as blackmail to get the job she shouldn’t have had to fight to receive. While these two share a deep connection, they’re now squaring off as enemies heading into Season 4 thanks to the exhilarating closing scene of this finale. Much like Deborah and Ava, Hacks is only getting better and bolder with age. — Kelli Boyle
"Infinite Largesse," Industry (Season 3 Episode 8)
Let a show grow and you’ll get a gem like Industry Season 3. The financial drama took bold swings in its third installment both with its characters and the show’s structure, using Harper’s (Myha’la) firing in Season 2 as the launch pad for its new landscape of work dynamics. Harper was secretly bent on revenge against Pierpoint & Co., specifically boss/former mentor Eric (Ken Leung) all season, and once she overheard top-secret information about the bank by chance, she used that intel to take down the financial institution. Eric used Pierpoint’s sinking ship to his advantage, betraying his longtime friend in the process, which was decidedly awful but delicious TV. And Marisa Abela was like a burning arrow hurtling through the narrative as Yasmin tried to wrest control of her life back from her disgraced (and dead) famous father. All of this culminated in a fiery finale that made the season a complete home run from start to finish. “Infinite Largesse” brought Yas and Rob (Harry Lawtey) together at last in one romantic tryst, followed by the sudden crash of their hopes for the future through Yas’ engagement to the Elon Musk-inspired Henry (Kit Harington). The twist is good enough to make your stomach drop, but it was far from the episode’s last jaw-dropping reveal. This finale would have worked as the series’ end, but thankfully there will be more. — Kelli Boyle
"I Could Not Prevent It," Interview With the Vampire (Season 2 Episode 7)
Just two seasons in, Interview With the Vampire already has four contenders for the best TV episodes of all time, if not more. But “I Could Not Prevent It” is arguably the most important one it will ever produce. It contains every point this show is trying to make and the premise of not only the titular interview but Anne Rice’s novel in general: the death of a daughter. Each detail of this episode is intellectually layered, allowing new discoveries in Paris and Dubai with every watch. The racism of the Théâtres des Vampires and more seeds of Armand’s (Assad Zaman) unreliable narration are at work during the trial, and the main themes of contrition and fickle memory dominate as the season’s heart and soul, Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles), are unwillingly reunited with a repentant Lestat (Sam Reid) in the worst circumstances imaginable. Anchoring it all is Hayles’ powerhouse performance, whose ferocious Claudia sings the song her executioners wrote while she and lover Madeleine (Roxane Duran) are burned alive in the afternoon sun.
The episode also revisits two key scenes from Season 1 — Claudia’s vampiric birth in Episode 4 and the awful violence between Louis and Lestat in Episode 5 — and retcons them without betraying the truth of the physical abuse Louis suffered at Lestat’s hand. This was always going to be a tightrope act. Even attempting a story like this is incredibly bold; pulling it off with such artistic aplomb is the most impressive TV writing in recent memory (and to think they still had another shoe to drop in the finale). “I Could Not Prevent It” was the elephant in the room in every episode before it, and it will continue to define every episode after. It needed to deliver in spades, and it exceeded all expectations. — Kelli Boyle
"Blue Bayou," NCIS: Origins (Season 1 Episode 10)
NCIS fans have known for nearly 20 years that Gibbs (then Mark Harmon, now in the prequel Austin Stowell) killed Pedro Hernandez, the man who murdered his wife and daughter. The episode before this one recreated the moment we’d only seen in a flash on the mothership. This one, the fall finale, delved into how Gibbs was doing after that (as you’d expect, not well) and revealed what led to him joining Franks’ (Kyle Schmid) team. It highlighted an important relationship from his past that hadn’t been revealed before (with his landlord, London Garcia’s Ruth), showed the early days of his woodworking (in this case, shelves for the office), and featured a performance from Stowell that demonstrated just why he was the right person to play the younger version of a character who had been seen onscreen for 19 years previously. — Meredith Jacobs
"Cent'Anni," The Penguin (Season 1 Episode 4)
Cristin Milioti‘s Sofia Falcone (later Gigante) takes center stage in this installment of HBO‘s The Batman spinoff, bringing viewers back to her days at Arkham. Serving as an origin story for her “Hangman” reputation, we discover that Sofia’s been set up by her father and fellow family members to take the fall as a serial killer after she began speaking to a reporter who tried uncovering the truth behind these deaths. Sofia’s predicament was sparked when Oz (Colin Farrell) snitched on her to Carmine (Mark Strong). Despite her brother Alberto’s (Michael Zegen) efforts to get her out, Sofia spent years in Arkham for crimes she never committed, but she gets her revenge when the episode shifts back to the present as she attends a family gathering and delivers a speech before ultimately killing the majority of them in their sleep through carbon monoxide poisoning. Despite her evil deeds, you can’t help but root for Sofia in this episode that sticks with you long after the credits roll. — Meaghan Darwish
"The Witness," Presumed Innocent (Season 1 Episode 7)
The penultimate episode of the season in Apple TV+’s heady legal drama brings Rusty’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) relentless penchant for self-sabotage into full view as he decides to represent himself in court after his attorney has a heart attack in the middle of trial. It’s a terrible decision, and everyone knows it, including himself. And that proves out when he winds up wriggling his way onto the witness stand instead of getting an easy mistrial.
By the end of the episode, whatever goodwill Rusty might’ve earned with the jury for jumping to save his lawyer is completely out the window; by his own devices, he’s made to look ruthless for his interrogation of the victim’s son, violent for his former attack on a colleague connected with the case, and just obsessed enough to be capable of this crime based on the evidence that comes to light. In the space of this hour, the show allows its lead character to completely paint himself into a corner, leaving audiences to wonder how he’ll get out of this … and whether he even should. It’s a very effective build-up to the finale and proves that no matter the verdict, this character will carry the shame of guilt for the rest of his life. — Amanda Bell
"Ariana Grande," Saturday Night Live (Season 50 Episode 3)
“At the Marriottttttt, Googling Domingo!” If you didn’t think Ariana Grande was going to bring the funny in Wicked, this episode of Saturday Night Live proved she would. Serving this time just as host (her musical guest was the iconic Stevie Nicks in her first SNL appearance in decades; she sang a new song and then “Edge of Seventeen” as a treat), Grande delivered impressions of Jennifer Coolidge and Céline Dion that outdid those of the cast. The “Bridesmaid Speech,” “Charades With Mom,” and “Castrati” sketches are instant classics, but truly there’s no bad sketch or short in this entire episode. It’s rare that an SNL host is so good that you could easily see them being a star cast member of the variety series in another life. Grande’s close friendship with Wicked costar Bowen Yang helped make this standout episode even better. — Kelli Boyle
"Do No Harm," Say Nothing (Season 1 Episode 6)
“Do No Harm” is a relentless episode of television. Those of us who read the book upon which Say Nothing is based had been dreading this moment in the Price sisters’ (Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupe) story: their 208-day hunger strike in prison. Episode 6 of the Hulu series halts the show tonally. To this point, it’s been action-packed and electrifying. In “Do No Harm,” the audience watches the strong-willed girls slowly get sicker and sicker (though no less strong-willed). Shortly after their mother visits them in prison, the Price sisters’ force feeding begins. It is difficult to watch, but well done. The quick cuts and nausea-inducing steps in the process convey just how long this went on, and just how awful it was for Dolours and Marian to endure, and just how used to is they became (the sisters’ relationship to food was never the same).
Dolours’ relationship with a kind doctor is also handled sensitively — they both have legitimate reasons for doing what they’re doing, and they do respect each other. Though the doctor (played by Abhin Galeya) is a slight invention for TV, his presence is effective, and a welcome relief to the cruelty of the rest of the experience in prison. It’s a draining, upsetting episode of TV. The performances are incredible, as is the directing. — Leah Williams
"Crimson Sky," Shōgun (Season 1 Episode 9)
Anna Sawai’s remarkable performance as Mariko on Shōgun culminates with this episode. Mariko’s family is dead when Shōgun begins, and throughout the series leading up to this moment, Mariko has wanted to join her family in death, but her Christian faith, her husband, and Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) have made killing herself with honor difficult. In “Crimson Sky,” Mariko succeeds.
Mariko travels to Osaka to retrieve Toranaga’s wives and children, who are being kept there against their will by Ishido (Takehiro Hira). Mariko displays extraordinary strength and icy power throughout the episode, never yielding to Ishido and remaining fiercely committed to Toranaga. Ishido had long-claimed that anyone could leave Osaka at any time, but Mariko exposes the truth. After much bureaucratic back-and-forth, it seems as though they will be allowed to leave, when Ishido sends armed guards to kill Mariko. Mariko, having accomplished her goals and Ishido’s villainy, allows herself to be killed by a cannon blast. In her last words, she refers to herself by her maiden name, finally joining her family as she has longed for for years. It’s a gut-wrenching moment, performed beautifully by Sawai. — Leah Williams
"Part 6," True Detective (Season 4 Episode 6)
The finale installment of True Detective: Night Country stays with you long after the credits roll and with good reason as detectives Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Navarro (Kali Reis) finally uncover the truth behind what happened to the frozen Tsalal Research Station scientists and its relation to Annie K’s (Nivi Pedersen) death. Finding themselves trapped at the station amid a blizzard, Navarro and Danvers are also forced to face demons from their past in a cathartic hour of television that is sure to bring a tear or two to the surface. It’s a satisfying conclusion to the story weaved over the course of six episodes, and its messages about the importance of shining a light on marginalized Indigenous populations make it one of the year’s best. — Meaghan Darwish
"The Finale," What We Do in the Shadows (Season 6 Episode 11)
It’s never easy saying goodbye, but What We Do in the Shadows managed to do it with plenty of grace and comedy as viewers bid Staten Island’s vampire roommates and their human pal Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) farewell. The episode sees the documentary crew that’s been following the oddball group wrap up their production, leaving Guillermo a little unmoored and emotional and the vampires reassuring him there’s always another chance for a documentary crew to follow them in the future. But Guillermo is more determined to get the vampires a good ending, leading to hypnosis moments from Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), musical performances from Laszlo (Matt Berry), words of wisdom from Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), and a poignant moment with former “master” Nandor (Kayvan Novak). While the installment leaves a door open for a potential to revisit these characters down the line, it reassures that they’ll always be up to the same shenanigans whether we’re there to see it or not, and isn’t that a comfort? — Meaghan Darwish
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