This list shows how tightly everyone's watching the same handful of things, doesn't it? I was hoping to stumble on something that felt genuinely new. 'Shōgun' is obviously a masterpiece, but it's also a heavy historical drama—sometimes I just want something that's pure fun and moves quickly. I found 'Ripley' almost punishingly slow, and I couldn't finish it. My real binge this year was an older comedy-drama I'd missed, 'Reservation Dogs'. It's not on any of these 2024 lists, but the episodes are short, the characters feel real, and you can fly through a season in an afternoon. The pacing on a lot of the praised prestige shows just doesn't suit a true binge for me.
For something actually from this year, I'd throw 'The Gentlemen' on Netflix into the mix. It's not deep, but it's stylish, has a great cast having fun, and the plot hums along without getting bogged down. That's the kind of energy I need to get through multiple episodes in one sitting. Maybe my criteria for a binge are lower stakes and higher momentum than what's currently getting all the critical love.