Top 6 Must-Watch New TV Shows of 2024 You Can't Miss: Our Favourties Of The Year
As we wrap up our "Best of 2024" trilogy, we turn our attention to the top television shows of the year. If you haven't already checked out our lists of the Top 5 Movies and Top 5 Albums of 2024, be sure to do so and see if you agree with our picks! Just like in film and music, 2024 has been a standout year for TV, with some excellent series that are must-see. Join us as we dive into the best television of 2024 and the shows that have captivated audiences worldwide.
The Sympathizer
Adaptated from Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer follows a half-Vietnamese, half-French spy who is embedded within the South Vietnamese government and post-war America. Needless to say really but just based on its premise, you know that you’re in for a gripping and wild ride. At the helm of the show is none other than South Korean legend Park Chan-wook whose signature blend of dark humour, social-political commentary, absurdity, and distinctive visual style are on full display. Added to the fact that it’s produced by A24 and stars the Oscar-winning Robert Downey Jr in multiple roles alongside Emmy winner Sandra Oh and series lead Hoa Xuande, The Sympathizer has all the pieces to be a huge success come award season.
It tackles multiple themes of identity, loyalty, and the moral gray areas of espionage. All of that is pretty complex in today’s world, but The Sympathizer puts it into the context of the broader cultural tensions of the era in which it’s set. In turn, it provides a particularly nuanced look at the experience of refugees and the intersections of culture, politics, and personal sacrifice as well as American imperialism and the lasting impacts of the Vietnam War.
Fallout
The latest in the recent string of successful video game adaptations for the small screen, Fallout is an adaptation of the long-running post-apocalyptic franchise of the same name. Fallout joins its video game-adapted brethren The Last of Us, Twisted Metal, Halo and Arcane in being genuinely good versions of games-to-screen- something I have talked about before. But unlike its post-apocalyptic companion The Last of Us, Fallout doesn’t follow any of the established story of its existing material, but builds upon the world and its lore with original characters, and it’s canon.
Set in 2296, the series takes place in the furthest future the franchise has ever explored. It unfolds in an alternate timeline where advances in nuclear technology after World War II led to a retro-futuristic society. An apocalyptic nuclear exchange took place in 2077 between the United States and China, and, as a result, humans have been living in underground bunkers for centuries. Now, in 2296, a woman (Ella Purnell) decides to leave the vault and enter the hostile wasteland that Los Angeles has become. It blends dark humour, survival horror, and action-packed adventure in the Fallout way that we know and love, and also explores themes of moral ambiguity, human resilience, and the impact of technology.
What Fallout and show creators Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet do so well is create something that will not only appeal to established fans of the games but also brand new ones; a new story in a familiar but unexplored setting means that there is something for everybody here. And if you’re watching it with your friend who has played the games, it won’t be a case of them being really annoying and reciting the dialogue before it’s even said on the screen like somebody I know was doing with The Last of Us (it was me).
Dune: Prophecy
Dune has become a filmic and cultural phenomenon since Denis Villeneuve’s first entry in his series of adaptations of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name. Villeneuve has become one of the most celebrated filmmakers of today, with what-could-be-considered-masterpieces Bladerunner 2049, Sicario, Prisoners, Arrival and of course Dune and Dune: Part II. With both of those being Best Picture nominated; a spin-off TV show was imminent. TV is experiencing a bit of renaissance right now with all these expansions of Hollywood and everything becoming a franchise. There has long been talk of the line between film and television and long talk of that line crumbling, and we are currently revelling in the results.
With Dune: Prophecy and showrunner Alison Schapker, the story dials back the timeline to a brief 10,000 years before the events of the first film and focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, the sisterhood that Rebecca Ferguson’s Lady Jessica is a member of in the recent screen adaptations. It also draws upon the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy by Frank Herbet’s son Brian Herbert but takes place after those events. With a universe and lore this vast, a TV series is a much welcome cinematic expansion to the Dune franchise, especially as we eagerly await Villeneuve’s third entry. Dune: Prophecy takes its time to develop the characters behind the established story, offering freshness in familiarity and expands upon the more conventional themes of destiny, power, and survival.
The Penguin
Another expansion of a movie, The Penguin directly follows the events of Matt Reeves’ 2022 The Batman, with Colin Farrell reprising his role as the infamous Oswald Cobblepot in what was only the character’s second live-action appearance on the big screen. This version though is vastly different to Tim Burton’s with Danny DeVito portraying a malformed actual penguin-man. Matt Reeves and Farrell’s Penguin is much more in keeping with the original incarnation of the character, albeit more modern and less cartoony. He wouldn’t be totally out of place in The Sopranos, which incidentally has been a point of comparison when it comes to The Penguin series. It has been called DC’s answer to the iconic mafia series with James Gandolfini.
Following Oswald Cobblepot a mere one week after the conclusion of The Batman, Gotham is flooded and Oz’s descent up the ladder of the city’s criminal underworld begins. Whilst this is a sequel to the film, it is a standalone story and having seen The Batman isn’t a requirement (although it’s better if you do), the series offers enough background and exposition for it to stand on its own. It provides a little fabric for Matt Reeves’ upcoming sequel and delves into the character of Cobblepot looking deeper than his mobster ways. The show reminds us that he is a human who can be vulnerable under the ruthless and calculating exterior that we were shown in The Batman. The show delves into his struggles with power, betrayal, and his relentless ambition, with his personal relationships to his moral compromises.
3 Body Problem
Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, Netflix’s 3 Body Problem is the third screen adaptation of Liu Cixin’s Hugo-award-winning (the first by an Asian writer) sci-fi novel trilogy. The first was a Chinese film that was never released, and the second a 30-episode Chinese series which was widely acclaimed in its home country. With a story based on humanity’s discovery of, and first contact with an advanced alien civilisation, you’d expect something massive and grand and that is exactly what you get. It is nuts to think sometimes that it wasn’t even that long ago that there was a clear distinction between television and cinema, and now the production quality is just as good as any big screen feature. Not to mention that this is by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss who co-created Game of Thrones, along with Alexander Woo.
3 Body Problem is visually stunning and certainly ambitious in its scope and weaves together historical and futuristic narratives blending hard science fiction with deep philosophical questions about civilization, technology, and survival. There is a lot of world-building here and with the strong performances of its cast, which includes Game of Thrones alumni John Bradley, Liam Cunningham and Jonathan Pryce, the series captures the grand scale of the novel's themes and does an impressive job at visualizing its mind-bending concepts.
Shōgun
Shōgun is arguably the biggest show that started in 2024 with multiple awards and even breaking the record for most Emmy wins in a single year. In fact, it is the first non-English language drama to win Outstanding Drama Series. Shōgun is based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name. It isn’t the first time that the novel has been adapted to the small screen, with a successful five-episode miniseries in 1980, although the reception was less positive in Japan, with the feeling that the fictionalization of events in the 16th century seemed “frivolous and trivial.”
Now in 2024, we have a second adaptation this time created by husband-and-wife duo Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the latter of whom was nominated for an Oscar as a co-writer on Top Gun: Maverick. The series follows the journey of an English navigator, John Blackthorne, who is shipwrecked in Japan and becomes entangled in the complex power struggles during the latter feudal period. Shōgun boasts stunning visuals, from the landscapes to the meticulously designed period clothing, it is immersive in every sense. The performances are powerful and feature a who’s-who of the best Japanese actors working today including Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano.
Shōgun is a captivating journey into a time of shifting power, tension, honour complete with plenty of action of thoughtful character development. Fans of historical epics will appreciate its rich storytelling, while newcomers to the genre will find a compelling introduction to Japan’s feudal era.
As we close out our look at the Best TV of 2024, we hope you’ve discovered some new favourites or found a few shows to add to your watchlist. Whether you’re a fan of drama, comedy, or sci-fi, this year’s small-screen offerings have really continued to raise the bar! What were your favourite shows of this year? Let us know!
Check out our other "Best of 2024" articles:
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Top 5 Best Movies of 2024: Our Favourite Films You Can't Miss
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Top 5 Best Albums of 2024: Our Favorite New Releases You Need to Hear
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Our 5 Favourite Albums Of 2024... So Far
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Our Favourite Movies Of 2024... So Far
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