Best of 2024: Found Families features spoilers for various shows. Please be advised if there’s something you don’t want to know.
We’re always going to be champions for romance here at Marvelous Geeks, but we’re also going to continuously scream about the platonic relationships that make our favorite shows more special. Some are bound by blood, others choose one another through every challenge, and some don’t even realize how close they are.
For more end-of-the-year coverage, be sure to check out our Best of 2024: Performances, the Best of 2024: Romantic Relationships, the Best of 2024 Romantic Scenes, and the Best of 2024: TV Episodes.
Woodstone Mansion Residents
Ghosts
Ghosts on CBS features some of the best and most thoughtful friendships on TV. With a big ensemble, it’s so easy to highlight small relationships within and shine a light on them, but the loveliest detail that defines the Woodstone Mansion residents is that there’s something special between all of them. So much so that there’s not a single character who can ever be replaced because the dynamics would change too drastically. They all need each other in great and significant ways, which, in turn, allows for exceptional character growth. This purgatory they’re stuck in is made better because of the bond they share, even if that involves mocking and occasionally getting frustrated with one another.
In addition, Season 3 and the first half of Season 4 prove that there’s nothing they wouldn’t do to ensure that someone else is happy. Whether it’s Hetty sharing her secret, Jay filling in for Trevor at his new job, everyone standing by Isaac after his wedding, or the ghosts consistently showing up for Sam and helping her out—there’s always something lovely at Woodstone Mansion that stands out as a wholesome reminder that this little found family is indeed a special one.
Paul Rhoades and Jimmy Laird
Shrinking
Shrinking Season 2 is a near-perfect sophomore season, and a large part of the reason is because of the platonic relationships. If time were on my side (and if the finale wasn’t airing so late), I’d have added every different relationship to our Best of 2024 found families list. But to choose one, it’s nearly impossible not to go with Paul and Jimmy, especially given what we get in “The Drugs Don’t Work.”
In more ways than one, Jimmy and Paul both need each other. But in Season 2, Jimmy needs Paul a little more, and he shows up in a way that might haunt me for a long, long time. A man like Paul showing up in his pajamas in the middle of the night to comfort Jimmy is everything that’s meaningful to showcase how enormous his heart is. In this same episode, we get the outright statement that he’s worried about Jimmy, and before it, we see how he’s also worried about himself. Yet, Paul being there for Jimmy is also a way for him to be there for himself—to remember that though he gets under his skin more often than not, Jimmy is his second chance to be a father figure who doesn’t run, but one who fully opens his arms. The men are kindred spirits in more ways than one, and how their relationship evolves this season is a brilliant display of vulnerability that reminds people it’s okay not to be okay. There’s no shame in breaking down or working through our trauma, which is the whole essence of the show. It takes strength to show up for ourselves, and sometimes, the most important thing we can do is hold someone while they break down.
The Podcast Trio
Only Murders in the Building
Mabel Mora, Oliver Putman, and Charles Haden-Savage have also been featured in these lists before, but what we get with them in Season 4 is without a doubt, my favorite display of the type of found family they are. It all starts when we see how frequently Mabel worries about them, and then we also get another lovely reminder right before Oliver’s wedding when Charles voices that he’s realizing he’s going to lose his best friend. It’s such a tender reminder of not only the unyielding love that lies in a friendship but that these seemingly small woes can happen to us at any point in life.
As the two men patch things up with a beautiful conversation that allows them both to be transparent, Charles and Mabel then stand beside Oliver as he ties the knot. With this, Only Murders in the Building Season 4 becomes an ode to their friendship and a heartwarming reminder of the fact that the mark they’ve left on one another will perpetually remain. There’s something deeply comforting about how a podcast between an unlikely trio turned into something life-changing and healing. They’ve each had people in their lives, yet they were profoundly alone until they met each other. They were sad and a little broken, and though their circles have grown, their unique friendship has gotten stronger, which genuinely warms my heart in a way that’s hard to describe.
The Garvey Sisters
Bad Sisters
Bad Sisters is a brilliantly compelling series, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that the best part of it is the fierce loyalty the Garvey sisters have to one another. Bound by blood, yes, but everything they do for one another is born from the choice to protect each other through everything. They lose a tremendous part of their heart this year with Grace’s death, yet in their grief, we get a compelling display of how deeply they love one another. As each of them goes through their own distinct battles along with the shared grief, we get further proof that they’ll always have each other’s back.
It’s fascinating because countless people throw around the idea of ride or die, yet we rarely see what those words literally mean on screen. Bad Sisters shows us this effectively during the first season, but it does so at an even more vulnerable level in Season 2 because, this time, it’s all about healing from the deep, indescribable pain and carrying one another through various forms of darkness. Whether the series will return or not, we’re left with the reminder that the show truly exemplified what sisterhood looks like: screaming and yelling one minute and holding each other the next. I don’t remember the last time a series brought such an accurate display to our screens, and even if they had, they surely weren’t like the Garvey women.
Firehouse 51
Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire’s Firehouse 51 consistently appear in our end-of-the-year lists, so it’s a no-brainer that they’d be in our Best of 2024 found families for the fourth year. The show does a solid job with romantic relationships, but in truth, it’s the platonic ones that consistently exhibit the series’ heart. There’s a reason it’s gone on for twelve years, and really, it’s not because the cases are that intriguing. It’s because these characters and their relationships matter to us as viewers.
And things are especially different this year because Eamonn Walker stepped down as Chief Boden, changing the course of the series forever. Yet, with every character that walks away, the show continues to remind viewers of how important their role still is, even while they’re gone because it diligently shows how fiercely the others care for them. It results in tear-jerker goodbyes that exemplify what it means to truly be a chosen family and how some people who cross our paths are always meant to be there.
Bobbie and Isabella
Happy’s Place
Happy’s Place is the newest addition to the wholesome shows that heal our hearts a little bit, and the platonic relationships within are the reason why. When adding this show to our list of Best of 2024 found families, it was a close tie between everyone working at the tavern or singling out the sisters who’d just come into each other’s lives. And because this is the first season, I had to go with the latter to highlight how Bobbie and Isabella coming together kickstarts everything, making their sisterhood one that’s worth investing in.
This show is all about how one man’s neglect is another woman’s gift, and if the series hopefully returns for more seasons, we’ll surely watch all these bonds evolve in beautiful ways. But right now, it’s about how Bobbie would do anything for Isabella and vice versa. By coming together, the sisters grow in ways that are crucial to both of them finding and becoming better versions of themselves. It’s their bond that also allows us to get to know everyone else to see how these characters draw near to one another and do things that’ll help them in the future.
Abbott Teachers
Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary, like many sitcoms, shines because of the characters and their relationships. For four seasons now, they’ve proven that they aren’t just co-workers but they’re a group of incredibly different people who care about each other profoundly. (And while two of them are now dating, it doesn’t change the fact that friendship is what anchors this show as a comforting place on TV.)
There are a lot of great things to appreciate about this little found family, but the strongest display of it this year occurs during the latest holiday special when these characters prove that they have each other’s backs through everything. The way that Barbara would do anything for Melissa and even Jacob is no small feat, and the way that Gregory and Janine show up for Ava results in a lovely and healing narrative. Year after year, one chaotic thing after another, the teachers show up for one another. Whether in big ways or small, it’s not just their proximity that makes them close but the choice to consistently be there for each other.
Eloise Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington
Bridgerton
The end of Bridgerton Season 2 tests the best friends, and Season 3 sees the fallout, but at the end of the day, Peneloise come out stronger by teaming up. Some of the changes the series makes to the book’s timeline don’t work for me, but the darling friendship that’s strengthened between Eloise and Penelope remains one of the best parts of it. It was anything but enjoyable to see Eloise hang out with Cressida (especially since the show didn’t give her a proper redemption arc or flush out her character). Still, it was exceptional to know that this rift made their friendship stronger.
Both Eloise and Penelope needed to understand the importance of transparency in their relationship, and this trial was the way to allow that to happen. Going forward, I hope that the series will use this hardship as an example to exhibit how the women could consistently show up for one another even when they don’t spend as much time together. At the end of the day, no matter who they love, they’re each other’s person, and we know that now more than ever.
Percy Jackson and Poseidon
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Understandably, we don’t get nearly enough of Percy Jackson and his father, Poseidon as I would’ve liked, but what we do get is still a small and powerful reminder that the sea god will perpetually look out for his kid. So much of the reason that this is so memorable is because of the performances by Walker Scobell and Toby Stephens. In their limited interactions, we not only get a good chunk of lore, but we understand the need for this separation and the importance of their bond in the future.
Poseidon meant it when he told Sally he’d be there when Percy needed him. We have proof of this, but it’s this idea that even while they’re related by blood, his choice to show up differentiates him from all other gods. Percy’s true found family is Annabeth and Grover, and there’s absolutely no denying that. Yet, the finale, which aired in the new year, is what stands out because of what it means for the character’s future.
Big Man and Gus
Sweet Tooth
There are parts of Sweet Tooth Season 3 and its ending that are open to interpretation, and at the top of the list is Tommy Jepperd, aka Big Man’s fate. In my head, he makes it and lives happily ever after. But I also have to take this opportunity to highlight the incredible bond shared between Big Man and Gus. A friendship like theirs is why a category like our found families exists because the way they took care of each other throughout the show’s run is the most wholesome thing.
There was nothing Big Man wouldn’t do for Gus and later for the other kids who joined their little family. Additionally, the entire thing wasn’t just about fulfilling a promise, but it was about doing everything in one’s power to protect someone who deserved the world. And in more ways than one, they both deserved the world—they both deserved having someone in their circle to watch their back and be there for them during horrible times. Gus is the heart of this show, and his life-changing bond with Big Man is a tremendous part of it, too.
Honorable Mentions: Ross Family (Trying), Elizabeth Thornton and Rosemary Coulter (When Calls the Heart), Landry Women (The Way Home), Declan O’Hara and Rupert Campbell Black (Rivals), Berzatto Family (The Bear).
Who do you think are some of the Best of 2024 found families? Let us know in the comments below.