24 Best Bits of 2024
What. A. Year. Every year when we make this list, it’s a mental quiz of “was that this year or….” But that’s never been more true than today. Like, can you believe that Jojo Siwa created gay pop music THIS YEAR? Thank goodness, the gays really needed that! Me included! We’ve gathered the very best bits, jokes, gags, and goof abouts of 2024. Here they are for your viewing and laughing pleasure:
Fantasmas social media consultant
Pirulinpinpina hit the scene hard. Fantasmas was such a lively, lovely, freaky gift. During a moment when the television industry is drowning in executive-dubbed “sure things” (sequels, remakes), Julio Torres broke through the monotony and created something funny, interesting, enriching, and genuinely singular. So many bits from this series made the shortlist for Best Bits–Kate Berlant’s theme park superhero, the Santa Claus trial, Bibo becoming an actor, the sitcom puppet affair, The True Women of New York, toilet dresses…the list goes on and on until it becomes a summary of every episode. But there’s something particularly funny and, yes, biting about Pirulinpinpina. As Julio’s social media consultant who won’t stand to be blindsided or interrupted, she really cuts through this absurd show and sticks with you. She wants to put you on the influencer track…but not enough to, like, actually help.
The third wish was to become rocks
Dropout TV has been doing its thing for years, now. But, for whatever reason, this year it seemed to really (as the kids say) “pop off.” Of all the programming on this College Humor Alumni Association Platform, VIP has to be some of the very best. Hosted by Vic Michaelis, one of Vulture’s “Comedians You Should Know in 2024”, VIP puts improvisers in lavish costumes (and special effect makeup, and this season there’s even a contact guy) and sends them into sit-down interviews. Hilarity ensues. Some episodes are better than others and I’m not sure whether it’s down to chemistry with Michaelis, comfort level with the character they chose, or just improv magic. But, I am sure that Anna Garcia is one of the very best at this show. Her first-season character, a European pop star, is topped only by Zeke (a fourth-grader who wished to become rocks). You probably should subscribe to Dropout for $6/month just to watch this.
Willie Wonka Immersive Experience
Not many immersive experiences are SO bad that the police get called. None are so bad they become a meme representing all things hopeless and horrible. But thank goodness we live in an age of PIONEERS like the Willie Wonka Immersive Experience. You remember it from the sad photo of the Oompa Loompa, its $200/family admission, that really scary dude, and general emptiness. Well, enjoy your jelly bean and lemonade. There’s no earthly way of knowing…which direction we are going…
Wow. Allow me to pause here and just hold space for the entire Wicked, Part One press tour. Many got bored by the endless onslaught of crying Ariana and Cynthia clips…but not me. I’ve never been more of a fan. As someone who works in queer media and has seen a couple of posts, this bit wins the year. If not for the incredible moment itself (finger holding, back peddling, whisper-crying, et al) then for the aftermath wherein all involved parties have admitted they had “no idea” what was going on. Iconic!
2024 brought us a Bob-essance. Suddenly “Bob” was funny again! Minions are back! But this time they make you sob! Bob was a surprisingly not-cringe standout in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. And he took over the GD world.
Easter eggs are pure gold and Rat Czar is full of them. But none are as successful and hilarious as Cat Star (a Paramount+ original which you can stream on Tumbi which is now Wendy’s+). What starts as a punny throwaway continues to pop up (sometimes literally, as graphics on the news) all season long. I wonder if Catrick Swazy wins in the end…I guess we’ll have to wait for season 2.
This show was a pretty slow burn. It’s an enjoyable watch, but not as joke-dense or hard-hitting as the usual HBO comedy. Until this episode. This episode left me giggling in the grave (dead.). *SPOILERS* When tasked with blowing up a bridge in Armenia, our rag-tag hero squad (made up of the ADs and producers of this Marvel-like BIG MOVIE) fails epically. They don’t get their shot. They don’t blow up their bridge…they do end up exploding a historic bridge which even appears on Armenian money. For one hilarious, lingering moment, they even think they’ve killed a woman. All the best parts of this show collide in this episode: their combined ambition and ineptitude, dumb mistakes, prioritizing the movie above all else–culture, history, endangered animals, and even human lives. This bit is so good it easily makes watching the entire show worth it.
Come on! This is just funny! I don’t make the rules!
A late submission to the list! Laid is the Peacock-original you haven’t heard of yet. Starring Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once, Joyride) and Zosia Mamet (Decameron, Girls) as true-crime-obsessed besties, this show is one of the best of the year. Basically, Stephanie Hsu’s Ruby comes to realize that every person she’s slept with is dying–in order. There’s a running gag in the show all about how obsessed Zosia’s character is with the iconic Amanda Knox saga. Somehow, this show lands Knox for a series of very funny background cameos. There’s a great big payoff for this bit, which I won’t spoil. You just have to watch. You’re welcome.
Traitors took over feeds in a big way. Not to make it about me, but my wife and I went DEEP. We watched all seasons from all countries of this hidden-role reality show. It’s wild. If you haven’t yet dabbled, you really should. The American version (the original), brings together reality stars across a wide variety of shows–Survivor winners, Housewives, Bachelors, and more. The second season, which premiered this year, was full of meme gold. But none were quite as pervasive as MJ just…existing.
Oh Lord, sweet baby Jesus, not Ekin-Su
Okay, remember what I said back there about Traitors taking over? This is a testament to that. If MJ was the meme-queen of the season, Phaedra was the all-around queen. Phaedra came not to play, but to WIN. And I don’t mean win the show, she did not come to do that. She was not great at that generally. But she won in a broader sense: her branding was ON LOCK. She was full of one-liners and star power. But the true peak is after Parvati poisons Ekin-Su (you’ll just have to watch!) and Phaedra mourns and bemoans “Oh Lord…Sweet baby Jesus….Not Ekin-Su…”
Classic! Perhaps the bit of the year, if we had to choose just one. It was simply impossible to avoid this one, unless, I don’t know….YOU really did fall out of a coconut tree!
Another pretty late entry on this list, TikTok’s latest trend is all about my favorite muppet. Accompanied by photos of Pepe the King Prawn looking shocked, disheveled, and horrified, people are posting their nastiest, cringiest, wildest stories. It’s all text, swiping, semi-anonomous story-telling. It’s a great (and yes, slightly refreshing) format. And, pending this TikTok ban, it may be the last big TikTok trend we get on this side of the Pacific.
We can all admit to getting a little annoyed with this by the end of the bit. But that doesn’t make it any less standout. Plus, it helped pay for Jools Lebron’s transition. A mainstream meme originated by a Transwoman, poking fun at gendered expectations…no matter how overused it became, it’s a winner in my book.
She’s grown now! We know that because she’s doing gross stuff all over our feeds. Jojo’s “mature” music video, ridiculous fashion choices, smoker’s cough voice, and weird 21st birthday add up to one of the best bits of the year. So much funny came from this corner of the internet this year, all thanks to the inventor of Queer Pop.
It was the year of the rat! Not technically speaking, but if things like that were decided by memes, it definitely would be year of the rat. Rat birth control and rat-proof trashcans came out of New York City this year. Paris was overrun by rats. But somehow, Chicago stayed the rat capital of the world. Thanks in part to the viral sensation that was the rat hole.
Fort Worth be damned, the best bit from the latest (and last–RIP) season of Girls5Eva was Gloria’s list of 178 women. Her fuck bucket list, as I like to call it, was sprinkled throughout the season as Gloria finally let loose and got some caboose. (I’m trying to impress Paula Pell with my wordplay just in case she reads this because when I met her on Zoom I accidentally left mute on…it was humiliating.) Finally, because she knew we needed it, Paula released the full list on her Instagram. I won’t list them here because you deserve to hear it from her.
i take back what i said about coconut tree, brat must be the bit of the year (again, if we had to choose only one). brat summer ruled the day and slaughtered capital letters while she was at it. charli’s tweet “kamala is brat” sent shockwaves through the internet, tossing this bit squarely into the hands of morning news anchors. it’s not often that we get to see 60-somethings explaining memes in relation to political campaigns. it was like a black mirror episode if black mirror was fun and not yucky.
Bowen on Update never misses. Like the iceberg of yesteryear, this year he took on a couple of non-human entities with great aplomb. It’s impossible to rank Moo Dang and the drone against each other. Both are true feats of charisma, rock-solid jokes, and genuinely impressive costuming. Easily the frosty peaks of SNL season 50.
So many potential bits for this list came out of the 2024 Paris Olympic Winter Games (TM). We all remember the spy-like airsoft shooters. But nothing had quite the grip on our public psyche as Raygun. Breakdancing was new to the Olympics this year, and boy oh boy were the people hungry for it. When Raygun, an Australian breaker, took the stage it was like the world stopped spinning. There aren’t a lot of these moments in life–where you feel like everyone in the whole world is looking at the same thing. It happened with the dress. And it happened again with Raygun. What a champion.
This year we saw a resurgence of several jokes. Old bits that were given new life under new contexts (“Show it to me, Rachel”). An obvious favorite is this gem from Broad City. Abbi and Ilana are so missed, as a pair, that we gobble up any hints of them together. And that definitely includes this throwback joke about how in the club we are all family! Part satire, part silly, this joke hits.
What was this about? When did it start? Does anyone know? When will we just admit that all white guys look the same? Why did this not happen when Elijah Wood and Daniel Radcliffe were a thing? Why do so many people look like Elijah Wood?
Another champion Olympic-bit was this guy! Do you remember where you were when you first heard that the US Men’s Gymnastics team had brought in a pommel horse ringer? He was so sleepy! And his girlfriend was so proud! He had America in the palm of his hand as soon as those glasses came off–like Superman… or Urkle. His star didn’t burn long, but it burned bright enough to land him a holiday ad campaign and a spot on Dancing With the Stars.
What We Do in the Shadows alternate endings
There are mixed feelings about this bit, all over the internet. But as a die-hard Shadows fan, I loved it. It was classic them. Silly, strange, a little overdone, and a little heartfelt. Shadows ended its spectacular run the way it started (in some ways, literally), with our vampire family sitting pretty for another hundred years. Callbacks, reveals, and genre-bending jokes galore. We see Jackie Daytona, Nandor and Guillermo waking up from a dream (Newhart-style), and Nadja hypnotizes us to see whatever ending we’ll like best. It’s charming and silly and if it’s a cop-out, cop me out!