It’s time to bid farewell to 2024 and reset your watchlists for all that 2025 is about to bring. But not before we tip our hats to some incredible new television that came our way this year. From the awards-sweeping historical drama Shōgun to the rom-com that reinstated our faith in love, Nobody Wants This, the new TV shows of 2024 really kept us bingeing hard.
In case you haven’t caught any of these, here are 25 best new TV shows of 2024 (in no particular order) that everyone will still be talking about in 2025, especially now that some of these, like Black Doves and Presumed Innocent, are already greenlit for second seasons!
25. Kaos (Netflix)
A modern-day setup for the hubris-fuelled family drama of the Greek pantheon of Gods sounds fascinating, doesn’t it? Add to that Jeff Goldblum’s impeccable casting as Zeus, and some clever writing, and you’ve got some great fantasy TV. Fair warning: Netflix has cancelled Kaos after one season, so you’ll be praying for a renewal to the TV Gods after watching this one.
24. The Day of The Jackal (Peacock)
Based on a Frederick Forsythe novel, The Day of The Jackal is already a hit on the awards circuit thanks to its gripping premise, high emotional stakes, and a sharp and chilling performance by Eddie Redmayne. He plays The Jackal, a ruthless assassin, who finds an MI6 agent played by Lashana Lynch, hot on his trail. For lovers of action and spy thrillers, this is as good as it gets.
23. A Man on The Inside (Netflix)
This Ted Danson series about a retired engineering professor and widower who turns amateur detective is entertaining, sharply funny, and mostly just a wholesome warm hug. It plays to Danson’s strengths as it explores both grief and second innings for those who still have so much more life to live and give. It’s already renewed for a season 2.
22. Say Nothing (FX on Hulu)
Say Nothing adapts the 2018 novel by Patrick Radden Keefe set during The Troubles, a period of ethno-nationalist turmoil in Northern Ireland, and explores lives of four generations (70s to 90s) born during it. It deftly marries tragic history with thriller, and has received critical acclaim for its impartial portrayal of this complicated part, inluding key events, such as the murder of Jean McConville.
21. Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
This erotic psychological thriller mini-series from Alfonso Cuarón isn’t consistent, and will really make you feel its slow burn. But in its highest moments, Disclaimer shines in its filmmaking, stunning visuals, and portrayal of the destructive power of revenge. Plus, it is stacked in the talent department with Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Manville, Louis Partridge and more.
20. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix)
The fact that Netflix’s One Hundred Years of Solitude even got made is a feat in itself because Gabriel García Marquéz’s magical realiam novel spanning seven generations of the Colombian Buendía family was deemed unadaptable. But the series is breathtakingly beautiful, and manages to translate the revered author’s magical words to screen. The fictional town of Macondo is now not just for readers but everyone who wants to experience this anthropological marvel.
19. The Franchise (HBO)
If you’ve ever felt superhero film franchise fatigue, HBO’s satirical comedy is going to be that friend you get together and laugh with. Himesh Patel plays a first AD who is working on a superhero franchise that he secretly cares for. Only, the demands of working in multiple films in the franchise is kind of taking a toll on him. The show offers a hilarious BTS jibe at the madness that we all know must definitely go on these film productions, even if it leaves you wishing its teeth were a tad more sharp. The cast also features The Boys actor Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, and Billy Magnussen.
18. The Agency (Paramount+)
This espionage thriller, based on the acclaimed French series Le Bureau des Légendes, comes with a stacked cast: Michael Fassbender, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeffrey Wright, and Richard Gere. It’s pacing is sometimes a hit and miss, as it takes its time to build its base before heating up. But it’s take on the high cost of espionage on those who do it makes this a deeply engrossing watch.
17. Black Doves (Netflix)
Espionage thrillers are a dime and dozen on streaming. But the Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw, and Sarah Lancashire starrer British spy series from Joe Barton for Netflix just hits the spot. It’s got everything: Clandestine spy organisations, femme fatales, assassins with conscience, geopolitical conflict, great action, and a lovely banterous friendship between Knightley and Whishaw’s characters. If you haven’t caught this one, binge it over a weekend.
16. Ripley (Netflix)
Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 crime novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley gets new life in Netflix’s series, Ripley. Headlined by Andrew Scott, who plays the conman Tom Ripley with delicious finesse, the neo-noir thriller, which also stars Dakota Fanning in a great supporting turn, is elevated by excellent production design, score, and cinematography. Ripley has swept major nominations and it deserves them all.
15. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Netflix)
The Emma Myers-led adaptation of Holly Jackson’s popular novel plays out just like a cosy read by the fireside on a winter weekend. It’s got everything from teen drama to murder mystery, and hot chemistry. Plus the music is killer (pun intended). For lovers of thrillers set in sleepy small towns, this one is the perfect binge.
14. Deadboy Detectives (Netflix)
Much like its protagonists, who turn detectives in the afterlive to solve supernatural crimes, fans of Deadboy Detectives keep hoping that this much loved show gets resurrected after being cancelled by Netflix. But even if it doesn’t, this fantasy thriller set in The Sandman universe remains a refreshingly fun outing in its genre, with an angsty queer love story at its core.
13. The Perfect Couple (Netflix)
Yes, Nicole Kidman is babygirl, but she is also That Girl of pulpy, airport-read thrillers on screen. Netflix’s The Perfect Couple has Kidman lead an ensemble of characters who become murder suspects at a rich family wedding. Much like Big Little Lies and The Undoing, this limitef series is deliciously bingeable without stressing you out too much.
12. Agatha All Along (Disney+)
The fact that Kathryn Hahn has a Golden Globe nomination for her turn as Agatha Harkness should tell you exactly why this MCU show is on our list. 2024 was clearly the year of the witch on screen. And Agatha All Along, with its coven of witches solving escape rooms on the Witches’ Road, high stakes, and well-executed character reveals, really takes the broom!
11. Mr & Mrs Smith (Prime Video)
The film and the series might be slightly different in their setup if its lead couple (the two are undercover as a married couple in the series, and not actually married), but they both work for the same reason: chemistry. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are fire together, bringing out the struggles of a relationship that must cruise through such testy circumstances. It’s witty, sexy, has grear action, and trumps its film predecessor by a margin.
10. The Acolyte (Disney+)
The Acolyte takes Star Wars to a whole new level where it isn’t just benefitting off the Star Wars nostalgia but actually exploring the untapped potential of stories about, say, unchecked Jedi power. This show also brought the spotlight on Manny Jacinto, so we ought to be thankful!
9. Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+)
Finally, a show that broke viewing records despite Apple TV+’s inexplicable trend of not marketing its shows starring big Hollywood names. Presumed Innocent, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Negga, Peter Sarsgaard, Bill Camp, and Renate Reinsve is a courtroom thriller that grips you tight and manages to keep you guessing, even though it’s a remake of an old Harrison Ford film that was adapted from an even older novel. You won’t see that twist coming!
8. Dark Matter (Apple TV+)
What if you could see yourself live a whole different life because one small decision you made was different? If you’re a sucker for quantum mechanics and the multiverse, this Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly starrer sci-fi thriller is one of the more interesting takes on the this done-to-death subject because really, it can go anywhere. What makes the difference is that it is also has a family drama at its heart that adds great emotional stakes and grips you tight.
7. Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Baby Reindeer doesn’t need much selling. Because unless you live under a rock, you’ve already seen the frenzy around this British limited series on Netflix that’s based on Richard Gadd’s autobiographical one-man show. A comedian begins a friendship with a woman that morphs into something dark, twisted, and complicated. Gadd is matched in step by the amazing Jessica Gunning who plays his alleged stalker with cold flair.
6. The Gentlemen (Netflix)
A spinoff of Guy Ritchie’s 2018 film, The Gentlemen, featuring a magnetic Theo James and excellent Kaya Scodelario gives us more of what Ritchie is a master of. The dry British humor, the stylised editing, the suave gangsters that ooze charisma and are high rollers in the game of drugs and money… maybe Guy Ritchie needs to make more of these.
5. Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
That title is an irony because EVERYONE wants more of this, whatever Erin Foster has whipped up in this Netflix rom-com series starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Women watched it because Brody’s Noah was such a green flag. They made the men watch it too, because the show had some of the most accurate representations of modern dating and relationships. That quick season 2 greenlight is proof, the audience wants more nuanced romantic comedies.
4. One Day (Netflix)
Did we need a remake of One Day? We thought not; the film was perfect. But upon watching the Netflix series, with Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod completely breaking our hearts and rebuilding them again, we realised how wrong we were. One Day’s portrayal of love, friendship, and grief is one of the year’s most poignant. Oh to be known and loved like that by someone!
3. My Lady Jane (Prime Video)
If I had a penny for every time I recommended My Lady Jane to someone and complained about its ridiculous cancellation, I’d be rich enough to produce season 2 myself. Gemma Burgess’ witty, sexy, banterful, colorful feminist retelling of this British royal’s story, ft. Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel ia both 2024’s best show and Prime Video’s worst mistake (cancelling it after season 1).
2. The Penguin (HBO)
With just one show, DC really showed Marvel how to carry on their comic book universe from the big screen onto television, huh? The Penguin on HBO, with its The Sopranos-esque take in Gotham crime families, sets up a villain arc that begins with pity and ends with us desperate for Batman to take out Colin Farell’s Penguin. One of the best shows on TV this year, it is Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone that steals everyone’s thunder.
1. Shōgun (FX on Hulu)
Hands down the best piece of television to arrive on our screens this year, Shōgun is the first Japanese-language series to win a Primetime Emmy. But what’s perhaps the biggest praise bestowed upon this series is that it transcends its source material and every iteration that’s come before it. Shōgun’s mounted on an epic scale, with richly woven political and psychological games that its characters are embroiled in. Hiroyuki Sanada’s micro-expression filled performance and Anna Sawai’s stoic act will take your breath away.
Published: Dec 31, 2024 05:31 pm