1. Ripley
Netflix; April
Filmed in Italy in chic monochrome, Steven Zaillian’s take on Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley was a restrained masterclass in prowling suspense. In the lead role, Andrew Scott coated the fabled literary antihero with a disquieting glaze of need and envy, delivering a Tom Ripley wreathed in shadows. Magnifico!
2. Mr Bates vs the Post Office
ITV1; January
Gwyneth Hughes’s powerful telling of the decades-old miscarriage of justice involving wrongly accused UK post office owner-operators caused a national stir. With Toby Jones playing Alan Bates, who led the fight for justice, it was campaigning British drama at its finest.
3. The Penguin
Sky Atlantic; September
Honourable mentions to offbeat Vietnam war spy comedy The Sympathizer (Sky Atlantic) and the inventive Greek mythology-derived Kaos on Netflix. However, reprising his role from 2022 film The Batman, Colin Farrell’s performance as the eponymous waddling Penguin was strong enough to scorch through weighty prosthetics in one of edgiest, most unorthodox thrillers of the year.
4. Shōgun
Disney+; February
Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel, this 17th-century tale of Samurai feuds, honour and bloodlust was equal parts visually breathtaking, poetically heartbreaking and uncompromisingly savage.
5. Industry
BBC One; October
In a year of mighty returning series, not least Slow Horses (Apple TV+) and Sherwood (BBC One), came the third outing of City bankers drama Industry. A brittle, swaggering showcase of high-stakes cynicism, this was its most assured series yet.
6. Nobody Wants This
Netflix; October
On the comedy front I enjoyed hilarious new disability-themed dramedy We Might Regret This and a superb second series of Colin from Accounts. Then there was this word-of-mouth hit Nobody Wants This, about a rabbi (Adam Brody) and a secular podcaster (Kristen Bell). Nuanced and mischievous, it remembered to bring the funny.
7. Defiance: Fighting the Far Right
Channel 4; April
Made by Rogan Productions, co-produced by Riz Ahmed’s Left Handed Films, a docuseries focusing on the harrowing racist violence and prejudice endured by the British Asian community between 1976 and 1981. Drawing on first-hand activist accounts and archive footage, Defiance brought a terrible period of social history to brutal life.
8. Baby Reindeer
Netflix; April
This blacker-than-black comedy drama, starring creator Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning, was controversial from the off. Skilfully weaving together disparate themes such as stalking, intrusion and unreliable narratives, it emerged as a compelling original TV curio fuelled by trauma.
9. After the Party
Channel 4; November
A gripping, original he said/she said New Zealand drama about a disputed sexual assault. First shown in New Zealand in 2023, co-written (with Dianne Taylor) by Robyn Malcolm, who also starred alongside real-life partner Peter Mullan, it managed to keep viewers guessing and twitching until the last tense moment.
10. Rivals
Disney+; October
Some of us retain a sneaking soft spot for the nostalgic sweetness of One Day (Netflix), but Rivals, based on Jilly Cooper’s riotous 1988 bonkbuster, was a brazen wink to bygone mores that didn’t stint on the sex or the giggles, or, for that matter, some fine performances.
• This article was amended on 23 December 2024 to include reference to Rogan Productions in the details for Defiance.
