You’ve seen all kinds of other worst-of lists for 2024, but now, see them done TV Fanatic style!
This list has a little of everything.
Whether we once loved them or they never stood a chance, they can still land right here on the worst-of list.
Our current team, including Carissa Pavlica, Jack Ori, Jasmine Blu, Joshua Pleming, Laura Nowak, Lisa Babick, Paul Dailly, and Whitney Evans, have shared their very crucial two cents to compile the list below only for true TV fanatics!
Accused (FOX)
With more hits than misses, Accused Season 2 was shockingly underwhelming and disappointing.
Most of the cases didn’t grab our attention, and some strayed too far into absurdity (sex robots, anyone?).
Accused scored a myriad of talented guest stars for the occasion, delivering with its star-studded cast but falling insanely short on strong writing.
In contrast, the Accused Season 1 scored more hits than misses, often driving thoughtful conversations days after the episode aired. We were lucky to get two that hit home in equal measure this season.
While we don’t think the purpose of the show changed, we couldn’t help but notice that it felt like an entirely different series from its debut season. As an anthology, that should never have happened.
At this point, we wouldn’t be as eager to welcome a third season, which is a damn shame.
Watch Accused Online
The Bear (Hulu)
Unpopular as it may be to say, The Bear Season 3 was lukewarm at best, with few worthwhile moments to savor in a pretentious season that bought too much into its own hype.
The art of the cameo and guest star became a lost form in The Bear‘s hands as they relied too heavily on dazzling viewers with the return (or random introduction) of recognizable faces.
Carmy’s descent continued as he pushed himself and all those around him to their absolute limits, channeling the psychological warfare unleashed on him during his training onto all around, resulting in a mostly miserable kitchen that left many reevaluating where they stood.
Standout episodes focused on characters almost entirely removed from the restaurant and Carmy’s self-torture, which doesn’t bode well for the future of this “comedy.”
The season ends on an incomplete and bleak note that, frankly, left a bad taste in our mouths and only increases our annoyance that the show is still marketing itself as a comedy, seemingly just to win awards it wouldn’t earn against other great dramas. Very uncool!
Watch The Bear Online
Cruel Intentions (Prime Video)
Prime Video’s desire to bring back hit 1990s movies as contemporary TV shows needs to be a thing of the past because these reboots are complete and utter disasters.
After the lack of success with I Know What You Did Last Summer, you would have thought they’d have learned their lesson and made Cruel Intentions somewhat watchable.
Sadly, Cruel Intentions did nothing to improve upon the unsuccessful reboots to come before it. The plot was thin, and the show didn’t have very much to say.
The cast, led by Sarah Catherine Hook, was given frivolous plots to work with, and the series came and went with little fanfare.
We’d be surprised if it scored a renewal on the cancel-happy Prime Video, but stranger things have happened.
Watch Cruel Intentions Online
Doctor Odyssey (ABC)
Doctor Odyssey might be one of the most bewildering shows on TV in 2024 — and not in a good way.
On the surface, it promises a mind-bending journey through surrealist storytelling, but what viewers actually get feels like a chaotic acid trip where even the characters seem unsure of what’s real.
It’s an experience that leaves you more frustrated than intrigued, with every twist feeling less like a revelation and more like a shrug from the writers.
The show’s attempt at edgy storytelling is epitomized by its perplexing ménage à trois subplot, which manages to be neither provocative nor meaningful.
Instead, it feels shoehorned in, as if the creators hoped that throwing in some provocative content would distract from the fact that the characters are, frankly, insufferable.
They’re egotistical to the point where you actively root against them, making it nearly impossible to connect with the story — or even care about where it’s heading.
There’s a lingering question about whether Doctor Odyssey is trying to say something profound about death and the collective trauma left in the wake of COVID-19.
If that’s the case, the message is buried so deep under layers of pretentious dialogue and nonsensical plotlines that it’s hard to dig it out. Is it a commentary on grief? On existential uncertainty? Or is it just a muddled script that mistook being obscure for being profound? At this point, it’s hard to say.
What’s clear is that Doctor Odyssey struggles to define itself.
It flirts with themes of mortality and the human condition but lacks the narrative clarity or emotional resonance to make those ideas stick.
Instead, it feels like a show more interested in appearing avant-garde than actually telling a story worth watching. In the end, viewers are left with a show that’s as egotistical as its characters and as confusing as its premise — a journey better skipped than endured.
Watch Doctor Odyssey Online
La Brea (NBC)
La Brea was affected by the writer’s and actors’ strikes, getting only six episodes for its third and final season.
This proved to be a disaster since no one’s arc felt finished, especially since lead actress Natalie Zea (Eve) only appeared in the series finale, La Brea Season 3 Episode 6, barely getting any screen time with her on-screen family.
While Izzy finally got a storyline, her relationship with Leyla almost felt like an afterthought when they broke up.
For a show that dazzled us with the what-ifs by imagining how we’d survive if plummeted back in time, the final episodes were a real drag. Let’s be honest, technically, it was always a dud, but we bought into it thanks to the storytelling and the character development.
One those elements diminished, we were left with nothing, and true fans felt nothing but disappointment as the series drew to a close.
Watch La Brea Online
Power Book II: Ghost (Starz)
This one is painful to admit because of all the series in the Power Universe, Ghost always stood out as the most entertaining and the biggest success.
But Power Book II: Ghost Season 4, the first full spinoff of Power, had an incredibly sad ending. It was plagued by unappealing storylines, not enough focus on the characters who mattered, and a speedy rush to the finish line that left a lot to be desired.
Tariq’s story started strong, as he sought to establish his own legacy away from his father, all while balancing that with the struggles of being a college student.
But somewhere along the way, it lost sight of that, and the abundance of characters took the focus away from what turned out to be one of the most intriguing characters in the universe: Tariq St. Patrick.
The series did the impossible in making Tariq a sympathetic and somewhat relatable figure, but the final season was so rushed and uninteresting half the time that you almost forgot all the reasons we began to root for Tariq in the first place.
Michael Ealy was perfectly fine as newcomer Detective Don Carter, but the emphasis on him and his team meant time was taken away from characters like Brayden and Davis, whose stories we’d come to know and enjoy over the years.
It wasn’t all bad, as there were still elements of fun and some surprises that felt like quintessential Power. But overall, it was the worst season of the series, and it sucked to see what was once such an addictive series end its run on such a low note.
Watch Power Book II: Ghost Online
Sunny – Apple TV+
The most ironic part about the dark comedy series Sunny is that it would have benefited from a sunnier scene or two — and no, I’m not talking about the weather.
Sunny had a strong start to its premiere season, boasting the comedic talents of Rashida Jones. However, despite the show’s best efforts to balance dark tones with camp and absurd humor, the series just couldn’t stick the landing.
The first half of Sunny Season 1 gave viewers plenty of questions concerning the plot to keep audiences invested. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a return on that investment.
After the first few episodes of Rashida’s Susie sulking with booze over the deaths of her husband and son, the protagonist finally got off her ass to figure out the mystery surrounding her family’s unlikely demise.
Sadly, that’s most of what was interesting about the series, and it got stale pretty fast. Based on the 2018 novel The Dark Manual by Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan, the series had more than enough source material to work with.
In the end, the series took too many chances with the plot that didn’t pay off, and viewers lost interest in the dark and brooding comedy.
While Rashida Jones is a household name, Sunny will likely be forgotten in the hall of shows that begin and end with one season. Unfortunately, though, some of us will never be able to forget the images of robot sex.
Watch Sunny Online
Yellowstone (Peacock)
Sadly, the Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2, supposedly its last, was not worth the two-year wait.
While Kevin Costner’s John Dutton had to be written out somehow, his death was an afterthought, with the majority of each episode revolving around unnecessary flashbacks or, worse, long sequences with Travis (Taylor Sheridan) that served no real purpose other than to annoy viewers.
Hell, Paramount Network didn’t even bother to release press photos to go along with the weekly coverage. If they couldn’t be bothered promoting the series, then why did we bother watching?
We waited five seasons for Beth Dutton to utterly destroy her brother Jamie, but she somehow tamped down her anger until after John’s funeral, which was in the final episode of the season.
What Jamie did to her deserved a far greater punishment than death. Earlier in the season, she promised to carry out vengeance with his child, and although we never expected her to harm a guiltless boy, seeing Jamie in pain while his son was torn from him would have been good enough.
Sure, they fought to the death in a shockingly short scene, but it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy our thirst for justice against the death of her first child, robbing Beth of motherhood, and the cowardly murders he’d committed several times before. It just wasn’t enough.
The finale, Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 14, wrapped things up well enough, but by then, it was way too little and far too late to turn this train wreck around. Take it to the train station!
Watch Yellowstone Online
Now it’s your turn!
Did we even come close to capturing the essence of the worst TV shows of 2024?
Be sure to comment down below with your thoughts on what shows should or should not have made the list