This YEAR in Pop Culture: The Best of 2024

A totally unscientific look back at the best things I read, watched, and listened to in 2024.

Dec 27, 2024

Happy almost new year, friends! It’s hard to believe that another year has passed us by, and yet here we are. I like to look back at the art and media I’ve consumed over the year and reflect on what has stuck with me. Everything on the lists are things that came out in 2024 - but there was a lot of stuff from 2023 and before that I loved this year, too. Substack is telling me this post is too long for email (blame the embedded videos), so get ready to click out for the entire thing - it’s worth it, I promise.

Before we get into it, I wanted to shout out two excellent pop culture newsletters, Hung Up and Gossip Time, who took a look at the best papparazzi photos of 2024 and it’s deliciously fun trip down the past year in pop culture:

Hung Up

The Paparazzi Photos That Defined 2024

7 months ago · 423 likes · 27 comments · Hunter Harris

My favorite pap photo of the year is probably the one of Taylor, Selena and Keleigh1 gossiping at the Golden Globes. It launched so many posts on Reddit speculating what they were saying and I saw more than one TikTok of folks trying to lipread. Iconic!

The runner-up for me is definely Natalie Portman and Paul Mescal smoking and FLIRTING. It’s giving “I just got divorced but I am HOT”:

Whew! It’s been…a year. I’ve read over 150 books,2 watched countless hours of TV and movies, and spent more time online than is strictly necessary (or healthy). I’m so glad to have this silly little newsletter and love sharing my thoughts about the pop culture zeitgeist with you all. Looking forward to continuing that in 2025, no matter what else the world holds for us.

I don’t really do new years’ resolutions, but I always aspire to read more widely and diversely, seek out art that makes me think, and find things that challenge me and help me grow. Before we move forward, we can take a look back at the chapter we’re closing. Let’s get into it!

The Best Books I Read in 2024:

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe: Margo Millet finds herself a single, unemployed parent at the age of 20, and when her ex-wrestler father shows up and asks to move in, she reluctantly agrees. She ends up using his wrestling advice to start an OnlyFans to make money, and finds that the success comes with a price. This is the book that I have basically begged everyone I know to read this year. I loved it so, so much, devouring almost the entire thing on a plane this summer. Funny, smart, heartfelt, and totally unique, the characters stayed with me long after I finished it. It’s being turned into a series for Apple TV starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman,3 and I cannot wait.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio: When Lauren comes home after a bachelorette party, she’s greeted by her husband, Michael, only she’s not married and has never seen him before. But he’s in her phone and his stuff is in her place, so as she tries to figure out what’s happening, he goes up into the attic to change a bulb, and a new man emerges in his place. The attic keeps serving her new husbands while Lauren is stuck trying to determine how to know when the one is the one. Inventive, funny, and very smart, I devoured this weird, thought-provoking debut. I ugly cried through the last 20% or so and found it very profound and beautiful. I’ve read that this one is divisive, and I understand why, but I loved how it explored how weird and wonderful and absolutely bonkers it is to just decide that someone is “the one” for you and commit to it.

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino: When the Voyager 1 is launched into space, a baby is born to a single mother in Philadelphia at the same moment. Adina knows she’s different from the moment she enters the world: she’s from a different planet and communicates with her extraterrestrial relatives via fax machine, and when she shares this with a friend, they encourage her to write a book, launching her into the spotlight and making her question whether she’s as alone as she’s always felt. The fact that this novel seems to have largely flown under the radar this year is such a bummer, because it’s absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read. Strange, funny, smart, and ultimately both life-affirming and utterly heart-breaking, I don’t remember the last time that a book affected me so profoundly. It’s sci-fi for people who don’t read sci-fi; a gorgeous exploration of what makes us human and how we connect to the world. Seriously - read it!

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang: Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard in the decade-plus since a tragic accident bound them together forever. But when he shows up in the same writers’ room of the TV adaptation of her YA novels, she’s horrified and angry. The two have to figure out a way to work together, even as they have to confront their pasts and their current feelings for one another. Of the top romance novels I read this year, this was hands-down the best of the best. Although it was a little slow to start for me, I became fully immersed in the world and its characters and loved how much chemistry leapt off the page between Helen and Grant. Kuang is currently writing (and directing) adaptations of Emily Henry’s novels, so she’s busy, but I hope that this isn’t the last novel we see from her.

Behind You is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj: The diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in Baltimore reckon with their fates and their actions as they try to navigate the new world with the old one. When I reviewed this book earlier this year, I said that it “knocked me on my ass,” and that’s still the description I would use to sell it to others. A collection of connected short stories, the book captures a variety of experiences of Palestineans in the world. Moving and gorgeous and something I still think about, even months after finishing it.

The Best Things I Watched in 2024:

TV:

How to Die Alone (Hulu): Mel is a broke JFK employee who has never flown because she’s terrified of it. When she has a near-death experience, she shakes up her life in an attempt to find love and adventure. I loved this series, created by and starring Natasha Rothwell, and was surprised by how funny and how moving it was. The performances in this are great, the writing is solid, and it was a standout for me this year. If I have one quibble, it’s that the cliff-hanger ending was both upsetting and irritating. I’m hoping a second season will help rectify it, though!

Shogun (FX/Hulu): In 1600, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as the Council of Regents unites against him in Japan. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Toranaga finds a man who might help him win the impending war. While definitely not my usual preferred genre, my husband and I devoured this show, desperate for new episodes to drop each week. Brilliantly acted, meticulously written, and gorgeously shot, the show was remarkable in every way. It won 18 Emmy Awards this year, and deserved every single one.4

Fallout (Prime): Two centuries after the apocalypse, the folks who were wealthy enough to abscond to fallout shelters are forced to return to the hellscape on Earth’s surface and are shocked to discover that the world did not stop when the bombs fell. I’ve never played the video game that this series is based on, but I fell for this show hook, line and sinker and loved every minute of it. One of the most deranged premises I’ve ever seen, I also could not believe how violent it was (the pilot had me SCREAMING), but I thought the world-building was excellent and had a blast from start to finish. This is one that I can’t wait to return for another season - it’s very fun and very stupid (and it knows it).

One Day (Netflix): Over the course of 20 years, Emma and Dex fall in and out of one another’s lives as they navigate growing up. When this adaptation was first announced, I snarked that I wasn’t sure that we a) needed yet another adaptation of a mediocre book and b) that it needed to be a series as opposed to a movie. I’m thrilled to say that my snarking was wrong,5 and that this was so good. I vividly remember calling my mom sobbing after the last episode because I just needed to process it with someone who got it. Incredibly well-acted with chemistry that leaps off the screen, this is a gem of a show - I think about it often and will very likely revisit it this winter.

Dinosaur (Hulu): When Nina’s sister rushes into an engagement after only six weeks, she struggles with the changes that it means for her own life while also dealing with a burgeoning love interest herself. I loved, loved, loved this quiet Irish series that seems to have largely flown under the radar this year despite me raving about it to everyone I’ve ever met. Created by and starring Ashley Storrie, an Autistic woman, the show is both side-splittingly funny and sweetly emotional. I laughed so hard at so many jokes and teared up at the relationship between the sisters. If you haven’t watched yet, I recommend you rectify that immediately - and am jealous you get to experience it for the first time.

Movies:

Anora: A sex worker meets an extremely wealthy son of Russian oligarchs and the two embark on a whirlwind romance before his family shows up to put a stop to their relationship. I have not stopped thinking about this movie since watching it last week, and while I do have some quibbles with it, the way that it got under my skin is reason enough to include it on this list. Mikey Madison is absolutely incredible in this movie - you cannot take your eyes off of her - and the movie is funny and upsetting and a stunning exploration of sex work and social class and so much more. The final scene packs an emotional wallop that I didn’t expect and is one of the most memorable film moments in recent history. I wrote in my Letterboxd review that I loved and hated this movie, and I think that is still true - and I already know I’m going to watch it again soon because it begs to be revisited in different ways.

My Old Ass: When an 18th birthday mushroom trip brings Elliott face-to-face with her 39-year-old self, her older version starts doling out warnings about what she should and shouldn’t do, forcing Elliott to reconsider everything she knows about family, love and life. I’m already on record here about this terribly-named movie being one of the best of the year, so I won’t belabor the point here. Maybe it came into my life at the right time (39 and in rough life spot), but this deeply heartfelt and life-affirming movie is both wildly funny and very smart. Great performances, too.

Civil War: In a future America, a team of military-embedded journalists race against time to reach D.C. before rebel factions breach the White House in an attempt to overthrow the president. Although this movie was very polarizing when it came out and seems to have not gotten the awards buzz I was expecting (the performances are excellent here, especially Dunst), it is also a movie that I have continued to think about often since seeing it in theaters earlier this year. I don’t remember the last time I was so tense from start to finish while watching something, and while I haven’t revisited it (it’s pretty upsetting, and given what’s happening in the U.S. right now, I’m not sure that I can mentally handle it), I do think that it was a remarkable piece of filmmaking about war and the importance of journalism in the face of unbelievable violence.

We Live in Time: When a surprise encounter brings them together, Almut and Tobias fall for one another and learn to hold fast to every moment shared as time threatens its limits. I just recently wrote about how much I loved this movie and its utterly moving performances, and I’m here to reiterate that again. This small movie hinges completely on the chemistry of its two leads, and it is successful because both Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are so good in it. I didn’t know that misty-eyed Garfield was my exact type, but here we are. A quiet, emotional movie that packed a gut-punch for me. If you love small movies that feature actors with enormous chemistry together, this is a must-watch.

Wicked: A young woman with green skin forges a friendship with another student with a desperate desire for popularity, but after the two meet the Wizard of Oz, their relationship reaches a crossroad when they choose different paths. What is there to say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? Washed-out colors aside, this was a marvel and a delight from start to finish. Excellent performances, rousing musical numbers, really stunning practical sets, and a marketing campaign that felt like it would never end, Wicked is the year’s biggest movie of the year. It’s also really good, so there’s that. My husband asks every week if it’s available on streaming yet.6

The Best Things I Listened to in 2024:

Podcasts:

The Good Whale: From the New York Times and the producers of Serial, this podcast about the ambitious attempt to return Keiko, the orca who starred in Free Willy, to the wild, absolutely captivated me (and forced me to link my NYT subscription to Spotify).7 Even though I knew that the story didn’t have a happy ending, I didn’t know how much work went into trying to get Keiko back to the wild, nor did I know the story about the folks who worked with him for years. I found the journalism here to be great and the storytelling wonderfully compelling (except for the episode where they hired Disney songwriters to write a song about Keiko’s time alone in the ocean - that did not land for me), and I absolutely sobbed through the last two episodes. Even now, writing about it, I am tearing up again - I learned a lot about orcas, what happened to Keiko, and how humans can do enormous damage even when they have the best intentions.

Extra Hot Great: A weekly TV podcast from the original founders of Television Without Pity (RIP), EHG offers deep dives into new TV shows, a look back at the best episodes of TV, gametime, and much more. I wrote about this podcast last year, and I’m writing about it again this year because it’s one of the podcasts that I look forward to every week. The podcast has been around for over a decade and I’ve been a fan for just as long. This year, I took the plunge and became a Patreon subscriber when they started offering more content, and I’m so glad I did, because it’s given me access to their Discord, where I talk TV with other nerds and has offered an additional podcast episode a week. I would literally listen to Tara Ariano and Sara D. Bunting read their grocery lists, which is a good thing, because the next podcast on this list is theirs, too.

Again With This: Dawson’s Creek: After recapping the original Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place, Ariano and Bunting haven taken on Dawson’s Creek. Every week, they break down an episode and snark on how many times characters use a big vocabulary word incorrectly. Listening to the show (and revisiting the series) is a highlight of my week, and I’m thrilled that they’re about to start season 3, which has always been one of my favorites. I’ve listened to other recap podcasts and appreciate how tightly written this one is and how they keep it cute and keep it moving.

Who? Weekly: Every week, Lindsay and Bobby delve into the world of pop culture and try to figure out what’s going on with the Whos and Thems of the industry - so we don’t have to. This is another repeat entry from last year, but the fact remains that this is one of the podcasts that I return to, week after week. I am far from caught up - they publish 3 episodes a week if you’re a Patreon subscriber and it’s a lot of content - but I love hearing their takes on movies/TV/pop culture in general. My friend Christine and I have gone to a few of their live shows when they’re in town, and they’re so fun and funny! We saw them in October this year and it was an absolute blast.

Albums:

Beyonce, Cowboy Carter: Where Beyonce’s Renaissance didn’t grab me, Cowboy Carter did. I loved this album on the first listen, amazed at how deeply researched and meticulously put together it was. I loved finding new details in songs with each listen, reveling in the mix of genres, including gospel, country, R&B, pop, and so much more. “II Most Wanted” and “YA YA” are still regular plays for me. A marvel.

Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department: Perhaps one of Swift’s most polarizing albums, the 31-track anthology never stopped getting played in our house after it was released in April. Readers of this newsletter know that she was my top artist of the year (she always is), and while I didn’t love this album when I first heard it, it sneaked its way into my brain and my heart, creating earworms that I still haven’t been able to shake. I love that she combines the lyricism that we saw on folkore and evermore with some of the synth pop that we saw her do on Midnights. This is not an album of no skips (31 songs means something’s gotta go), but I’ve been really struck by how much of the back half has grown on me throughout the months. “imgonnagetyouback” was a sleeper hit for me, and “Down Bad” and “But Daddy I Love Him” never stopped getting played on runs.

Sabrina Carpenter, Short ‘n’ Sweet: I was very resistant to the Sabrina Carpenter train. When I first heard “Espresso,” I wanted to break something, I thought it was so stupid. But then I kept hearing it (which makes sense; it was everywhere this year), and then she dropped “Please Please Please,” a funny, self-deprecating song that has some of the best lines of the year. And the album as a whole is a lot of fun, too - her songs are filthy and funny and she roasts everyone (including herself) in a way that feels very genuine to her personality. This is a very fun pop album, and Carpenter has cemented herself as a main pop girlie as a result of it.

Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget Me: One of the things that I like about Maggie Rogers’s music is that she makes it so great to listen to. It’s easy to lose yourself in the sounds of the songs without even delving into the deeper emotional aspects of the lyrics, songs that are begging to be sung along to in the car or in an arena. “Don’t Forget Me” is the song that I played the most when encountering a Touch Tunes jukebox out in the wild, and it’s one that I return to again and again. I loved this album and its stripped down pop-rock sounds, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

What did I miss? Did you have a favorite book, movie, TV show, album, or podcast of the year that I overlooked? I would love to hear what you think - and get recommendations for the upcoming year.

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