The TV Gold critics have delivered their Best of 2024 Lists. There are over 30 shows on the List.

Some of the programs Andrew and James both agree on are:

• Boy Swallows Universe (Netflix)
• Mr Bates vs the Post Office (7plus)
• Ripley (Netflix)
• After the Party (ABC)
• Thou Shall Not Steal (Stan)
• Rivals (Disney+)

Check the complete lists on the TV Gold Facebook page.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode of TV Gold is largely about spies this week as we look at two major espionage dramas.

• Black Doves (Netflix, 6 episodes) features Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire in this expansion of the genre. Meet the Christmas spy thriller.
• The Agency (Paramount+, 10 episodes) This series takes viewers inside the CIA in a tale about its undercover agents working in Europe. Another all-star spy thriller with Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright and Richard Gere as high ranking agents.
• The Sticky (Prime, 6 episodes) A comedy-drama series about Ruth Landry, a maple syrup farmer who, in defiance of a heartless system, assembles a team to undertake the Canadian heist of the century. The target: the country’s multi-million dollar maple syrup surplus.
• Tsunami: Race Against Time (Disney+) The story of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the deadliest in history. It follows the wave coast to coast as it spreads, with unseen archive video and stories of survival.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three TV series and three recent movies on offer this week.

• Landman (Paramount+, 10 episodes) The latest from Taylor Sheridan with Billy Bob Thornton and Demi Moore.
• The Madness (Netflix, 8 episodes) A political thriller about a CNN pundit framed for murder.
• Get Millie Black (Binge, 5 episodes) Another crime drama about an officer returning home, but wow is this one a little different.
• Movie bonus: Three new arrivals on Netflix – Laura Dern meets a Hemsworth in Lonely Planet, Lindsay Lohan’s latest Xmas movie and the massive box office flop The Fall Guy turns up on streaming.
• Reminder: Don’t miss last week’s Show of the Week – How To Make Gravy (Foxtel/Binge)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three programs reviewed this week – an Australian Christmas movie, and series from the US and UK.

• How to Make Gravy (Binge/Foxtel, movie) The much anticipated movie from Meg Washington and Nick Waterman. Brilliant cast including Daniel Henshall in the lead, another unforgettable Hugo Weaving performance and Meg Washington showing another side of her considerable skills.
• A Man on the Inside (Netflix, 8 episodes) Ted Danson has helped make yet another sitcom a major hit. Here he plays a retired professor moonlighting as a private investigator.
• Douglas in Cancelled (ABC/iview, 4 episodes) A mini-series about the news business and what might happen when you say the wrong thing. Stars Hugh Bonneville with a breakout performance from Karen Gillan as the news program anchors.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

special guest in the TV Gold studio this week as TV Tonight’s David Knox joins the episode.

Programs we review this week below. What will be the Show of the Week?

• Dune Prophecy (Binge, 6 episodes) A prequel to the two Dune movies. An ambitious storyline that has a flavour of Games of Thrones about it. The cast features five Australian actors including Travis Fimmel.
• Nuggett Is Dead (Stan) The latest Christmas movie from the streamer and two very different reviews from Andrew and James.
• Bad Sisters S2 (Apple TV+) A great cast tries to recapture the magic that was Season 1. And you haven’t seen that, forget Season 2 until you’ve enjoyed those episodes.
• Television Event (SBS On Demand) A documentary about the 1983 US telemovie The Day After which pulled a huge audience of people worried about the nuclear arms race.
• Countdown50 (iview) All three commentators this week agree this was a brilliant special. David Knox was in the audience and the TV Gold commentary was unanimous – more please ABC.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We power through five shows this week – four new series plus the return of Yellowstone.

• The Day of the Jackal (Binge/Foxtel, 10 episodes) is the big show of the week with a stunning performance in the lead role from Eddie Redmayne.
• The Jury: Death on the Staircase (SBS ON Demand, 5 episodes) A re-enactment of a real manslaughter case, presented word-for-word with actors taking on the roles of the jury.
• Matlock (Paramount+/10) Kathy Bates is a lawyer in her 70s who rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm, where she uses her wily tactics to win cases and expose wrongdoing. One of our critics got the plot twist, the other one…well, not so much!
• A Remarkable Place to Die (Seven, 4 episodes) Rebecca Gibney features in this, but despite the publicity, she’s not the star. This murder mystery feels a little like Return to Paradise and it stars Chelsea Preston Crayford.
• Yellowstone (Return of S5, 6 episodes) At last Taylor Sheridan’s biggest hit is back. But without its biggest star. Just how do they tidy up that plotline?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew and James have seen five new series and a movie between them this week.

They have both watched just the same two though – the Netflix movie Woman of the Hour and the Disney+ series, Doctor Odyssey.

Meanwhile, Andrew has also seen Rescue High Surf (Binge) and It's Florida Man (Binge).

James has returned to the second seasons of two shows he loved the first time around – The Diplomat (Netflix) and Lioness (Paramount+).

Listen to what they both have to say including their Show of the Week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four new series reviewed this week, three of them featuring Anna Torv!

• Territory (Netflix) is the series currently sitting at the top of the Netflix chart. Tells the story of a struggle to control the biggest cattle farm in Australia. Great cast and impressive photography.
• Before (AppleTV+) is a thriller starring Billy Crystal as a child psychiatrist with a patient who has a spooky relationship to the doctor.
• Nautilus (Stan) was shelved by Disney after they spent a fortune on filming it in Australia. Stan then picked it up. The fantasy tells the story of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
• So Long, Marianne (SBS On Demand) This Norwegian drama covers the years Leonard Cohen spent on the Greek Island of Hydra. The cast includes Noah Taylor and Anna Torv as Australian writers George Johnston and Charmian Clift.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week our search for the best dramas on TV looks at three new series:

• Rivals (Disney+) – The fascinating world of TV starring David Tennant and Aidan Turner in this bonkfest based on a Jilly Cooper novel. Plenty of posh people that can't keep their pant on!
• Four Years Later (SBS) – The latest drama from the TV hit factory (Easy Tiger). The series charts the lives of an Indian couple who relocate to Australia.
• Passenger (BritBox) – A British crime drama that investigates unnatural incidents in a close-knit community.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three Australian TV series this week.

Though Shall Not Steal (Stan) An amazing road trip across the Northern Territory in the 1980 starring Noah Taylor and Miranda Otto. Yet the series really belongs to the young road trippers Will McDonald and Sherry-Lee Watson.

The Office (Prime Video) The much-anticipated remake of the format that has proven to be such a hit in first the UK, and then later in the US. Get past the first episode and you might find the laughs come along with some very awkward situations.

Plum (ABC) It’s got Brendan Cowell and Asher Keddie and has been made by John and Dan Edwards. Also a great supporting cast and a storyline that is very contemporary.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.