The first half of 2024 brought us more of what we love (Bridgerton, The Bear, Drive To Survive) but it also introduced us to shows we’ll never forget (Baby Reindeer, Shogun and Quiet on Set), as well as fresh takes on classics (One Day, Ripley). The Broadsheet team saw it all, and then some. I put it to the office to find out what films or TV shows they’d rate the highest this year so far. Here are the results.
Monkey Man (Apple TV, Prime Video)
I did a lot of background reading before watching Dev Patel’s directorial debut and I learnt there were many filmmaking challenges – from a death on set to Patel breaking his hand and tearing his shoulder. All of it made the film feel more impressive. It’s a bold, gritty and deeply complex take on the ancient Indian tale of Hanuman, narrated through a classic revenge lens. And the cinematography is next level. The fight training scene between Patel and Grammy Award-winning tabla player Zakir Hussain was like nothing I’ve seen before.
– Gitika Garg, assistant editor
Under the Bridge (Disney Plus)
Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough absolutely shine in this unsettling true story about youth gang culture in ’90s British Columbia, Canada. The murder mystery element keeps you on your toes every step of the way, and it even has you rooting for some questionable characters. It’s the first show in a long time that I’ve watched four-plus episodes in a row without leaving the couch. Episode six made me feel sick to my stomach. IYKYK.
– Ella Witchell, junior graphic designer
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Shogun (Disney Plus)
This lush costume drama is set in a fictionalised feudal Japan. It forces you to pay attention, in part because a large number of scenes are subtitled. I watched it for the scenery and scheming, but its powerhouse central performances – by Anna Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis – are what kept me coming back.
– Kit Kriewaldt, subeditor
Kinds of Kindness (in cinemas from July 11)
I didn’t expect anything less from Yorgos Lanthimos’s recent film, Kind of Kindness. My expectations were high given his previous masterpieces, Poor Things and The Favourite, and I was not disappointed. True to his style, it was strange and discombobulating. It’s divided into three storylines, each more outlandish than the one before. I especially enjoyed the director’s choice to use the same actors for each story. It’s highly engaging.
– Gabriella Dolfo, sales and partnership executive
The Taste of Things (Apple TV)
I got a serious case of anemoia (nostalgia for a time and place one has never lived in) watching this sun-drenched paean to food and love set in 19th-century rural France. Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel (former IRL lovers) chop, sizzle, roast and booze their way through this dazzlingly shot film that captures the essence of French cooking, the ins and outs of the seasons and the splendour of the French countryside. It’s as good a reason as any to keep up my French Duolingo streak.
– Che-Marie Trigg, contributor
Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
By far the most impactful thing I’ve seen this year: Baby Reindeer made me laugh, cry and question my complicity in an ethically messy case of watching someone relive their trauma for my viewing pleasure. Was it pleasure? It was addictive. From the moment Jessica Gunning (who played Martha) walked into the pub and ordered a diet co*ke, plenty of ice, I was hooked. I read countless articles about creator and star Richard Gadd, and I’ve wondered a lot about how he’s doing. The real Martha has taken the Netflix to court, and the internet is still hungry to know who the real Darrien is. As a show Baby Reindeer showed a lot of humanity – in all its troubling, amusing, unfair ways. And it’ll stay with me for a long time.
– Emma Joyce, features editor
Jacqueline Novak: Get on Your Knees (Netflix)
Jacqueline Novak’s brilliant stage show was recorded and turned into an equally brilliant Natasha Lyonne-directed Netflix special. In it, Novak – a comedian and co-host of comedy-wellness podcast Poog with Kate Berlant – uses an hour-long dissection of blowj*bs to take the audience through a coming-of-age story. It feels less like a standup set, and more like watching an essay come to life. It’s not for everyone, but as soon as Novak started impersonating a penis, I was sold.
– Audrey Payne, Melbourne food and drink editor
Ripley (Netflix)
I’m two episodes into Ripley and it’s already having a profound influence on my life. Just as Ripley’s (Andrew Scott) grasp on Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) is hard to shake, the series has me hooked. The cinematography by Robert Elswit is, for lack of a better word, epic. The arthouse-inspired black and white visuals are, quite frankly, gorge. And the limited series will have you thirsting for more of the classics that inspired it.
– Lucy Matthews, senior video producer
The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Stan)
It was one of those books that never really left me once I put it down. I was hesitant to start the series because the book encapsulated the story so beautifully. I was wrong. While a love story is central to the narrative, the horror of the Holocaust is ever-present. The acting is phenomenal, especially performances by Jonah Hauer-King and Anna Próchniak. Just like with the book, I found the story of Lali Sokolov lingering with me long after I switched off.
– Madelaine Pogue, social media coordinator
The Blue Star (in select cinemas)
It’s such a beautiful film and a showcase of traditional Argentine music and culture. I only realised towards the end of the film that it’s based on a true story of Spanish music icon Mauricio Aznar – several actors in the film are actually the real people and musicians that met him in the ’90s, which made it feel even more special.
– Matt Phillips, group sales & partnerships manager
Evil, season 4 (Paramount Plus)
I’m sure they pitched this show as: “Just like The X Files, but in the Catholic Church”. A trio of assessors (a psychologist, a Muslim scientist and a trainee priest) investigate people who claim to perform miracles – or claim to be possessed by demons. But that’s just the start of the (sometimes gory) fun. Evil is created by the same people who made The Good Wife and The Good Fight, so it’s loaded with absurdism, snark, horniness, cracking dialogue and political commentary. Also, Wallace Shawn plays a gay priest.
– Jo Walker, editor, Domain Review
