The best shows of 2024 so far… and where to watch them

These are the shows we’ve gotten excited about so far this year – and where you can watch them.

Can’t decide what to watch? Well, look no further—there’s bound to be something on this list of our fave shows so far this year, whether you’re watching for the first time, or revisiting a recent highlight.

This post will be updated each month with new recommendations. And, for the avoidance of any confusion, these are titles we covered in 2024—as opposed to what a formal release year might say—and there’s a chance not all of them will be available where you are.

Look, we just want you to watch some good stuff, OK?

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Sunny

A grieving wife and mother discovers there’s a lot she didn’t know about her husband in new series Sunny, set in near-future Japan. Steve Newall heard more about the show from stars Rashida Jones and Hidetoshi Nishijima and Sunny‘s writer and director, while Clarisse Loughrey says “Jones is fantastic in the role” in her show of the week column.

The Decameron

A group of young men and women shelter in a secluded villa outside Florence to evade the Black Death in a new Netflix… comedy? Apparently inspired by the delusional behaviour of the rich and powerful while sheltering from COVID, the show really captures the sense of hysteria that brews up when people think they’re living at the end of the world, according to Clarisse Loughrey. If that’s not enough, Loughrey also describes the bawdy show as “exactly what I’ve been craving since the untimely end of the Elle Fanning-led, Russian monarchy-themed historical comedy, The Great.”

Beacon 23

A cerebral sci-fi series set in a spaced-out 23rd Century lighthouse returns with season two of Beacon 23. The new episodes deliver even more thoughtful sci-fi twists, surprising turns, and dark drama, writes Adam Fresco: “exploits one main claustrophobic location to maximum effect, leveraging the isolation to ramp up a creeping sense of tension, doused in dread.”

The Bear

It seems as if treating the series primarily as a vehicle for story misses out on what’s so pleasurable about its existence, says Clarisse Loughrey about season three of The Bear (and its decidedly mixed reception). Season three is a little cooler, a little less explosive than what’s come before. But psychological intimacy is now the driving force of creator Christopher Storer’s world, and even what doesn’t quite work feels, at least, consistent.

The Boys

We’re now part-way through season four of OTT supe-satire The Boys. With the show ending after its final, fifth season, an endgame now in sight and the continual ramping up of stakes is taking on greater weight, according to Dominic Corry’s mid-season report: “But the central conflict remains the dance between Butcher and Homelander, which this season is manifesting more than ever in their battle for the soul of Homelander’s son Ryan”.

Sweet Tooth

The New Zealand-shot post-apocalyptic series comes to a close with this, its third season of kinda twee post-pandemic fantasy sci-fi. The show’s optimism in the face of its own subject matter is one of the things that impresses Clarisse Loughrey: “It’s clear that Lemire and show creator Jim Mickle believe that Sweet Tooth’s magic is a necessary counterweight to the feeling of hopelessness that can so easily invade our hearts”.

House of the Dragon

The tragedy that ended season one was joined by another horrific one in the first new episode of House of the Dragon—and the dramatic thrills just keep coming each week. Daniel Rutledge’s feature on the season opener makes the comparison everyone’s hoping for: “It’s quintessential Game of Thrones stuff—just the greatest adult fantasy TV show we’ve got, doing what it does best again. Hell yeah.

Eric

A puppeteer parent goes off the deep end when his kid goes missing in this limited series. With top-notch performances and world-building bringing to life so many elements of 1980s New York it exceeds expectations, according to Steve Newall’s review: “especially if ‘puppets doing shocking stuff’ was what you anticipated”.

Scavengers Reign

Thankfully on Netflix after last year’s minimal release that skipped some countries, survivors of a crashed spacecraft fight to survive on a bizarre alien planet in superb psychedelic sci-fi series Scavengers Reign. To call this show “otherwordly” is both the most appropriate use of that word ever, and a vast understatement, says Dominic Corry’s review: “One of the most imaginative science fiction stories to come along in years—animated or otherwise—Scavengers Reign is an intoxicatingly original show that sometimes feels like it was made just for me.

Bridgerton

Period romance returns in a new season of Bridgerton, and the show has hit a self-confident groove. Season three adopts a distinctly romcom tone, according to Clarisse Loughrey’s Show of the Week column—which describes this season’s lead Nicola Coughlan as luminous. “It’s her time in the spotlight, and our chance to revel in it—because, with Bridgerton, we’ve been trained to know exactly what to expect.”

Outer Range

Josh Brolin returns in a new season of eerie, sci-fi-tinged drama Outer Range, following mysterious goings-on at a Wyoming cattle ranch—where a portal to… somewhere has appeared in a field. An impressed Stephen A Russell review confirms the show’s best episode yet is just around the corner as this season progresses: “It also reveals a needle in the haystack as we begin to figure out how loose threads picked way back then are woven into the fabric of the present.”

Dark Matter

In Apple TV+ sci-fi series Dark Matter, multiple Joel Edgertons cross the boundaries that separate their same-same-but-different realities. According to Luke Buckmaster’s review, this thoughtful show deserves bingeing as quickly as you can: “This sensationally addictive new series, which I gobbled down in a few successive evenings, deploys plenty of mind-bending sci-fi concepts across its nine episode arc.”

Doctor Who

The 14th series of Doctor Who sees Russell T Davies back at the show’s helm, and Ncuti Gatwa staking his claim as the 15th incarnation of The Doctor. The initial episodes were praised in Adam Fresco’s review: “Doctor Who is back—bigger, brighter, and bolder than ever before, in a gloriously silly, modern family-friendly fresh season.”

Hacks

Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) return in the third season of biting sitcom Hacks, a show that knows good comedy isn’t made by happy, fulfilled people. Eliza Janssen’s review praises their comfortably chaotic double-act: “The once-reluctant mentee and her be-sequinned, Joan Rivers analogue of a nightmare boss must be driven together again, in a gloriously funny blaze of self-destruction.

A Man in Full

The word “toxic” doesn’t seem to cut it when it comes to the depraved real estate vultures of new Netflix series A Man in Full, according to Luke Buckmaster’s review: “The tone of this monstrously enjoyable show, filled with shit-eating snarls and bad men butting horns, is “there’s blood in the water, and somebody’s gonna get eaten.””

The Jinx: Part Two

The 2015 true crime sensation gets a follow-up that examines the impact of last decade’s episodes—even as they are airing. If you’ve forgotten the idiosyncracies of real estate heir/murder suspect Robert Durst (or the addictive investigative work of the show) this is a fascinating reunion. The results are every bit as vital and engaging as the original series—in fact, an essential companion to it, according to Amelia Berry’s review.

Dead Boy Detectives

A case-of-the-week style supernatural drama reminiscent of the genre’s greats (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Supernatural, Roswell), Dead Boy Detectives sees two young men take it upon themselves to solve the paranormal cases no else can. Given the time and faith so audiences can build loyalty to its characters and universe, the show could become a new supernatural drama classic, according to Clarisse Loughrey’s Show of the Week column.

Baby Reindeer

Scottish comedian Richard Gadd’s true stalker story gives way to stinging self-reckoning in addictive Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer. If you haven’t watched this yet, you’ve certainly heard about it—and Eliza Janssen’s review reckons you’ll get obsessed, too… especially after the devastating impact of episode four.

The Sympathizer

An acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning novel comes to the screen courtesy of director Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar and several Robert Downey Jrs—all teaming up for this complex, often darkly comic, tale of espionage during (and in the wake of) the Vietnam War. As Tony Stamp’s review observes, a narrative this elusive and fragmented is familiar territory for director Park Chan-wook, helmer of slippery texts like Oldboy and The Handmaiden, films which also play with audience perception and sympathy.

Fallout

A hyper-popular satirical post-apocalyptic video game series comes to the screen in Fallout. Set in the nuked ruins of America, an optimistic, propaganda-infused vault-dweller sets out across the wasteland… and encounters plenty to entertain us. Based on the opening episodes, Daniel Rutledge’s review concludes that if the show maintains this initial level of quality, it’ll cement itself as being one of the more prominent examples in the growing trend of video game adaptations that are actually great.

Ripley

In a classy new limited series for Netflix, Andrew Scott steals our attention—and several identities—as Patricia Highsmith’s literary conman Tom Ripley. Luke Buckmaster’s review praises the show’s atmosphere, also declaring “Scott’s performance is top-notch and gets under your skin more than Matt Damon did in Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film adaptation”.

Loot

This Maya Rudolph-starring comedy doubles as a cosy workplace sitcom, one that seems intended to follow in the footsteps of The Office and Parks & Recreation. And, according to Clarisse Loughrey’s Show of the Week column: “in season two, the Maya Rudolph-fronted series has really hit its groove, conjuring up a wilfully naive, hopeless fantasy in which the 1% might actually possess a soul.”

Physical: 100 

Fierce fitness competition show Physical: 100 returns, to show why it’s a rare, genuinely compelling, elimination-style competition show. As Liam Maguren’s review notes, season two seems intent on “not detracting too much from the first season’s formula of hurling 100 ultra-fit people into a brutal gauntlet of physical challenges, this new season sees enough tweaks and changes to make its ‘underground’ theme feel distinctive”.

Invincible

Prime Video’s animated super-series returned with part two of its second season, further exploring the Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley comic books about superheroes and expansionist alien empires and stuff. Dark and violent supes may now be sounding familiar, but according to Clarisse Loughrey’s Show of the Week column, Invincible, thankfully, is something new: “It exists between the extremes of satire, the middle finger held up to the cultural mainstream, and twinkly-eyed sincerity.”

The Regime

The great Kate Winslet flexes both dictatorial and comedic muscles in The Regime, a pointed political satire from the exec producers of Succession. As the autocratic ruler of an unnamed country in “Middle Europe,” Winslet’s Chancellor clings on to power with an iron fist—and has her impulsive tendencies encouraged by the arrival of a disgraced soldier (Matthias Schoenaerts). “There’s a flirtation with The Great’s absurdity here, some Armando Iannucci there,” says Steve Newall’s review: “In other words, the comedy’s sometimes broad, sometimes bawdy, sometimes leaning into astute political skewering.”

Shōgun

A new adaptation of the bestselling 1975 novel, last brought to the screen in 1980, at the turn of the 17th century, the arrival of an Englishman in Japan may tip the country’s balance of power in Shōgun. Based loosely on historical events, Shōgun is certainly complex, as Travis Johnson’s review explains: “It’s a series that rewards, and sometimes demands, close attention, and at times the learning curve is steep—although Western audiences are certainly more familiar with Japanese history now than they were in 1980. But as far as stirring historical sagas of ambition and aggression go, it’s definitely in the upper echelon.”

Constellation

Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) stars in this sci-fi conspiracy thriller (opposite Breaking Bad‘s superb Jonathan Banks) as an astronaut who returns home after a fatal space station incident to find her mind playing tricks on her—and having to confront hidden history of space travel. As Clarisse Loughrey’s Show of the Week column puts it: “While Constellation’s secrets are welcome ones, there’s also an unexpected sweetness to a story that uses such vast ideas to, instead, soothe the anguish of not feeling in control of one’s destiny. It’s a puzzle box that seeks to offer more than simply the pleasure of being solved.”

Halo

After creating much fan chatter about the highs and lows of its first season, the iconic action/sci-fi gaming series returns in live-action form. For the first three eps of the new season, Halo has doled out its action sequences sparingly—something that, as James Nokise’s review observes: “That all helps the tension build though, towards a fourth episode which, by the nature of its narrative, is absolutely action-packed.”

True Detective

Five years after its last season, Jodie Foster stars in a new instalment of True Detective. It’s a welcome return, echoing some of the show’s original strengths while adding a fresh perspective, wrote Steve Newall: “Horrific deaths, squabbling cops, occult overtones, long chats in the car—True Detective is back, baby.”

One Day

Decades-spanning romance novel One Day has already had one screen adaptation (a 2011 film that’s middling at best). As a Netflix series, the concept of revisiting the pair on the same day, each year, for two decades works a lot better, said Clarisse Loughrey: “In hindsight, it was always better suited to the small screen. And Netflix, thankfully, has traded Hollywood sentimentality for something still glitzy, but more recognisable.”

Feud

Feud is back, with Tom Hollander playing Truman Capote as he betrays the trust of a group of society women he calls his ‘swans’—played by Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart (with Demi Moore and Molly Ringwald also in the mix). While decidedly uneven, it’s just so hard not to have fun with a cast like this, observed Amelia Berry: “There’s always more desperately arch dialogue, more enormous hair, more scenery-chewing just around the corner.”

Griselda

Sofía Vergara leads this six-part limited series on the life of Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most profitable drug cartels in history (with ’70s Miami as an attractive backdrop). Having spent decades trying to bring this story to the screen, it’s little surprise that Vergara leans in with this passion project, writes Cat Woods: “Like Narcos, Griselda is grisly. Shot in cool tones of blue and purple, there’s a constant sense of doom and drama hovering in the atmosphere. There are close-up shots of knives through skulls, chests ripped open by bullets, bleeding wounds, and baseball bats to broken bones.”

Hazbin Hotel

A24 and Prime Video’s latest adult animated series Hazbin Hotel tells the story of a bright-eyed princess (of Hell) seeking salvation for her people. It’s twisted, Liam Maguren writes, but it comes from a loving place: “Achieves that delectable sweet-n-salty balance that a lot of modern adult animated shows fail to pull off. [Creator] Medrano’s characters might be pieces of shit, but she clearly cares for these turd-slices, rolling them in glitter and love under the admirable belief that the worst of us have the capacity for change.”

Belgravia: The Next Chapter

A new instalment of top-tier costume drama from Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, arrives with Belgravia: The Next Chapter. It’s a sumptuous treat for fans of costumed melodrama, wrote Adam Fresco: “As any fan of costume drama of the romantic kind knows, a little cliché is required. A dash of melodrama here, a pinch of stereotype there, plenty of billowing costumes, sumptuous locations, and grandiose narrative twists.”

The Curse

Nathan Fielder teamed up with Emma Stone and Benny Safdie for a new genre-bending show that’s generated plenty of chatter. This searing look at white saviours and privilege is awkward, complicated and much, much weirder than you imagine, noted Tony Stamp: “As directed by Fielder, the first episode frames its characters between bars or in reflections, slowly zooming in on their faces. It’s shorthand for creating dread, but relates to its subject (and its co-creator’s background), in the way it emphasises voyeurism. It often feels like we’re spying on these people.”

Expats

The Farewell director Lulu Wang adapts Janice Y. K. Lee’s Hong Kong-set novel The Expatriates, with a cast led by Nicole Kidman (and a production controversial for its COVID exemptions allowing cast and crew into the city). Clarisse Loughrey was impressed by this “beautiful, ambitious adaptation”, its ensemble and how its female characters are depicted: “If you want to talk about “difficult women”, here they are—not to be championed, but merely to be witnessed and understood.”

Ted

Seth MacFarlane voices everyone’s favourite foul-mouthed, weed-smoking teddy bear in prequel series Ted (and also found the time to create the series, direct all episodes, and co-write it with five others). With the lewdness levels of the big screen toned down, this coming-of-age comedy sees Ted and his human mate John grappling with teen issues—a slight change in pace that Luke Buckmaster appreciated: “It doesn’t pop and crackle like the original movie, but I appreciated the change of pace: breezy viewing that’s well-made, moreish, and sometimes surprisingly delightful.”

Cristóbal Balenciaga

Disney+’s dramatic retelling of the life and career of couture genius Cristóbal Balenciaga is both a celebration of haute couture and an examination of the place of fashion itself. The line walked by the show impressed Clarisse Loughrey, who writes: “I’m used to a certain kind of genius on screen—secluded and difficult, yes, but ultimately beneficent. But the series, created and written by Lourdes Iglesias, as part of the streaming service’s new, Spanish branch, approaches its subject with a far more inquisitive mind.”

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