It’s no secret that after the dual Writers and Actors strike, 2024 was finally the year to return to great television.
And the year had its fair share of spectacular debuts of new series that wormed themselves into our hearts with strong writing, great characters, and the ability to keep us coming back for more.
From broadcast procedurals to adaptations and streaming hits, we’ve compiled a list of the best new series of 2024.
Shōgun – Hulu
The critically acclaimed series is easily one of the most talked about debut shows of the year, and there’s no way a list commending incredible new series is complete without it.
Based on the James Clavell novel of the same name, this adaptation does justice to the genre during an era when the medium is saturated with far too many of them.
And Shōgun stays faithful to the source material, elevating it with some of the most commanding actors currently onscreen. These actors bring these characters to life, and the incredible setting, costuming, and more make this one of the best historical dramas.
It’s aesthetically a masterpiece, a feast for the eyes for visually stunning effects and cinematography that’s laudworthy, and an attention to detail that makes the series immersive and authentic.
As we’ve discussed, the series stays true to the source material and effectively adjusts to modern sensibilities. It also manages to avoid things like the White Savior Trope by ensuring Toranaga and Mariko helming the political mechanizations of feudal Japan are just as much centered as Blackthorne.
The series is careful and calculated in exploring Japanese culture during that time. It examines the typical expression of savagery with a mutual befuddlement by differing cultures. It opts to be more authentic in its portrayal while not pulling any punches.
The series is not gunshy in depicting violence. But the series uses it to support strong storytelling and explore complex and compelling characters, not simply empty violence for entertainment.
Watch Shogun Online
Elsbeth – CBS
Who knew there was a world where a beloved, quirky character from The Good Wife universe could expand into a leading role and foster a massively successful series?
Elsbeth is easily one of the greatest new series of the past decade, let alone 2024, with Carrie Preston absolutely dazzling us with a modernized version of the classic “whodunnits” of yesteryear.
The series is a bonafide hit with an impressive guest-star list, Elsbeth‘s kooky, fun, unique fashion sense, and lovable appeal.
Elsbeth debuted on Leap Day, fitting for such a unique character. It had months to find and build an audience until its big return later in the Fall, and it’s taken off since then.
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Baby Reindeer – Netflix
By now, who hasn’t heard of the phenomenon of Baby Reindeer? The Netflix hit series created by and starring British comedian Richard Gadd scored 11 Primetime Emmy nominations. It scored six to give you an inkling as to its critical acclaim.
Viewers were riveted by Gad’s dark dramedy, inspired by his real-life experience with a stalker. The unique exploration of that dynamic was unlike anything we’ve seen on television or film.
It quickly climbed to the top of Netflix’s streaming chart, amassing millions and millions of views to the profoundly poignant series, Gadd’s performance, and a heart-aching exploration of male victims of sexual assault, harassment, and trauma.
Watch Baby Reindeer Online
Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Prime Video
There was plenty of reservation, and understandably so, about Prime Video adapting a series version of the hit film Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and that carried over when the casting was initially announced.
But Donald Glover and Maya Erskine exceeded expectations with a crackling chemistry that viewers couldn’t get enough of and a premise that totally reinvented the often oversaturated spy drama genre.
The series scored 16 Emmy nominations, and recognition of the fantastic casting from its leads to a stacked guest star list (Sarah Paulson and John Turturro, anyone?) couldn’t go unnoticed.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s compelling and slow-burn storytelling, which focuses as much on the emotional complexities of its characters and their dynamics as on action sequences, resulted in character-driven storytelling that is often sorely lacking from series today, regardless of the genre.
The first season set the pace for what will be a great series moving forward as the cast changes, but hopefully, the quality will remain the same.
Watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith Online
Tracker – CBS
Tracker is unstoppable. It’s in its second season in a single year and continues to dominate the charts and viewership for CBS. Justin Hartley knocked his first official role out of the park after his acclaimed tenure on This is Us.
Certified “Dad-TV,” Tracker follows Colter Shaw, a self-proclaimed rewardist, but more specifically, a survivalist, tracker, and bounty hunter who travels around the country, often searching for missing people for reward.
Tracker combines the appeal of a hit series like Reacher with the typical formatting of CBS procedurals. The result is an action-packed, exciting, but comfortable series that leaves fans tuning in week after week, and its casting doesn’t hurt either.
If we didn’t think it could get any better than Justin Hartley, Jensen Ackles joining the series as Colton’s brother has elevated an already strong series, and there’s no wonder fans cannot tear their eyes away.
Watch Tracker Online
English Teacher – Hulu
Yes, there’s plenty of room for teacher-based comedies. English Teacher makes the case that its entirely different premise still holds its own against Abbott Elementary despite the puzzling comparisons.
English Teacher’s biting commentary on faculty life is a raucous good time. Brian Jordan Alvarez helms a truly talented and hilarious cast, including Enrico Colantoni in this raunchy sitcom that leaves fans belly laughing, where the faculty of a high school is just as hilarious as its wide array of students.
English Teacher plays into the generational bits in genuinely funny ways as Millennial teachers clash with Gen Z students and Gen X faculty members and parents, in a way that confirms how much the series has its finger on the pulse.
Watch English Teacher Online
High Potential – ABC
If you’ve been following our reviews and content, you’d know we cannot get enough of High Potential, but neither can viewers!
Kaitlin Ohlson is a true delight as Morgan Gillory, carrying the series on her back as the quirky, relatable, and authentic working-class mother who is neurodivergent and helps the police out.
It’s a wonderful twist on a familiar genre, adding enough humor and heart to the procedural formatting and ushering in a new era for the much-needed and missed Blue-Sky genre.
High Potential is a must-see television every week. The premiere amassed 11. 5 million views across multi-platforms and is ABC’s most-watched new series in six years.
Watch High Potential Online
Fallout – Prime Video
Adaptations of video games can be a dangerous game that doesn’t always have the best results that pay off for audiences. But Fallout had nothing to worry about in the least.
The post-apocalyptic sci-fi-western drama was one of the most successful series on the streamer, amassing 65 million views in its first 16 days and surpassing 100 million well into the Fall after its spring debut.
Fallout appeals to the faithful and loyal initial fanbase while remaining appealing and adaptable to newcomers, which is half the battle with any adaptation.
It’s a cinematic masterpiece, with fantastic visuals that enhance the strong storytelling, world, and character building. It’s capped off with fantastic performances by its cast, particularly Walton Goggins, who scored multiple award nominations for his role.
For an often underappreciated genre, Fallout is the cream of the crop and a must-see if you’re one of the rare few who have yet to enjoy every facet of this fantastic series.
Watch Fallout Online
Brilliant Minds – NBC
Initially, there were genuine reservations that NBC’s latest medical drama would have the schmaltz and hokeyness that descended into something truly unconscionable like New Amsterdam. No, we’re still not over how far that series fell.
However, Zachary Quinto leads a truly endearing medical drama inspired by Oliver Sacks and his real work as a brilliant neurologist who actively worked to destigmatize medical conditions pertaining to the mind and mental illness.
And Brilliant Minds most certainly does that, refreshingly focusing exclusively on neurological and psychological cases with an incredibly talented and empathetic doctor who focuses as much on genuinely connecting with and helping the patient as “fixing” them.
Refreshingly, with Oliver Wolf, we have a doctor whose own experiences as someone neurodivergent (he battles face blindness), queer, and who grew up with a mentally ill father inspires him to be the best doctor and one who leads with empathy and compassion despite often coming across as a bit of a loner.
And he teaches his endearing brood of interns to do the same. Quinto is magnificent, and the supporting cast is just as strong, with each series episode finding ways to surpass the next. It’s definitely solidifying its place as one of the most brilliant medical dramas ever.
Watch Brilliant Minds Online
The Penguin – Max
Who knew the most talked about, engaging, and well-written crime drama to hit the air in ages would be connected to the Batman franchise?
The Penguin draws comparisons to The Sopranos because of its excellent storytelling, character study work, and performances, resulting in a series we cannot stop talking or raving about.
Colin Farrell is transformative as Oswald Cobblepot, bringing refined complexity and charisma to the role by successfully balancing the Penguin’s villainy with vulnerability.
More mob drama than superhero flair, The Penguin is grim, gritty, grounded, and realistic. It is a character-driven drama that leans into its darkness while separating itself from the fray of what has become the status quo in dark genres.
And the supporting cast is just as sublime, with Cristin Milioti’s performance as the compelling and complex Sofia Falcone being most notable.
Watch The Penguin Online
NCIS: Origins – CBS
Spinoffs and franchises are eliciting a general sense of fatigue as many networks lean into IP rather than original content, but then a series like NCIS: Origins comes along and makes one appreciate what’s possible when a spinoff is done right.
It was a bold move to take a prequel and focus on one of a franchise’s most beloved and popular characters. NCIS: Origins knocks it out of the park with this incredibly heartfelt, character-centered series.
Unlike what has become the norm for procedurals, NCIS: Origins hinges more on compelling, character-driven storylines rather than the characters playing second fiddle to various plot points and cases throughout the week.
Austin Stonewall breathes new life into a character that we thought we truly knew as a young Gibbs, fresh off the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter.
In turn, we get such raw vulnerability, as the series strongly focuses on mental health, vulnerability, and grief in genuinely refreshing and daring groundbreaking ways despite taking place in the 1990s.
NCIS: Origins also leans into the nostalgia of the franchise and legacy itself and the time period with fantastic needle drops and a fascinating look at the early days of NIS and crime-solving without all the bells and whistles of modern technology.
And the cast is fantastic, as we’re treated to new characters we never knew about and newer, more in-depth versions of fan favorites. Seriously, this is a Kyle Schmid Stan site, and Mike Franks is truly the heart of NCIS: Origins.
Watch NCIS: Origins Online
TWD: The Ones Who Lived – AMC
The Walking Dead franchise keeps growing, and sometimes that comes with some lows as much as it does highs, but you can count The Ones Who Lived right up there with the highs.
The long-awaited reunion of fan favorites and staple characters, Rick and Michonne, resulted in one of the year’s most fascinating and unexpected love stories.
Seriously, amid a post-apocalyptic zombie world, The Ones Who Lived does something unexpected by centering a love story, somehow making it one of the year’s best romances.
There were simply no misses in this short season that had both Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln deeply involved in bringing their characters back to life.
This proves that sometimes, the best people at the forefront of executing a story are those who play the characters, understand their motivations, and know how to execute.
When given the space to do what they please, Gurira pens one of the best television episodes of the year.
The Ones Who Lived serves as a love letter to longtime fans as much as to the characters themselves, with a blockbuster quality and effect that kept us locked in until the final seconds.
Watch TWD: The Ones Who Lived Online
Matlock – CBS
With one of the best twists in years, Matlock went from entirely predictable to totally unexpected, which is one of many reasons it is a wildly successful new series.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the incomparable Kathy Bates helms the series as Madeline Kingston, better known by her alias Madeline “Maddie” Matlock, a widowed grandmother singlehandedly taking care of her grandson after the loss of her daughter.
Nothing is as it seems in Matlock, so the twist perfectly flipped the narrative and engaged viewers with a revenge plot rather than what initially seemed like another reboot or revision of a previous successful series.
Matlock is much more than just a presumed gender-flipped reboot, and that’s what makes it such a success and one of the year’s greatest new series.
Watch Matlock Online
Criminal Record – Apple TV+
This tantalizing crime drama, which properly uses the crackling chemistry and tension between Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo, is the perfect British thriller to leave you riveted from beginning to end.
The dark police drama centers on a wonderfully messy female character, Jumbo, played by June Lenker. To expose police corruption, she engages in a pulse-racing cat-and-mouse game with Capaldi’s Daniel Hegarty and solves a complicated case that tears her whole life apart.
The series has great storytelling, not shying away from addressing various social issues and unpacking things like systemic racism and police corruption in London, as well as the difficulties of navigating a male-driven field as a woman, particularly one of color.
Criminal Record expertly weaves these narratives without ever feeling like “too much,” resulting in an exciting thriller that makes you think.
Watch Criminal Record Online
Presumed Innocent – Apple TV+
Jake Gyllenhaal helms one of Apple TV+’s most exciting adaptations to date, luring us into this psychological, legal thriller that had us on the edge of our seats.
With two heavy hitters like JJ Abrams and David E. Kelley behind it, Presumed Innocent was destined for greatness and appeal. Adding a powerhouse talent like Jake and a strong connection to the source material resulted in a buzz-worthy series viewers could not get enough of.
Sleek and gripping, it’s hard to take your eyes away from the screen during Presumed Innocent, as the series spins a complex web of a tale that places Rusty in the spotlight as much as he is on trial.
But it’s no one-person show; the supporting cast rises to the occasion, leaving us clamoring for more.
Watch Presumed Innocent Online
Cross – Prime Video
Yes, there are many adaptations on this list, which speaks to how many are churned out these days, but when they’re done well, what’s not to love?
And that’s something we can definitely say about Cross, which we deemed an adaptation done right. Aldis Hodge is at his absolute best as Alex Cross, bringing the iconic James Patterson character to life in a way that sets him apart from previous iterations.
It’s the best version of the character onscreen yet. The series does something different by straying away from the source material and creating an original storyline that captures the appeal and attention of both diehard fans of the series and newcomers.
Cross takes us on a riveting journey of Cross solving two different cases, one a more personal matter linked to his wife’s murder and the other, a serial killer case that involves a deliciously evil Ryan Eggold who enjoys every bit of playing a villain with flair as Johnny Ray Gill does as the scene-stealing Bobby Trey.
Cross is a pure delight to binge, with Hodge and laud-worthy Isaiah Mustafa’s chemistry at the very heart of a series that successfully captures the magic of urban DC while also exploring brotherhood, mental health, grief, and family, all against the backdrop of crimefighting.
It’s no wonder Cross hit number one on the Nielsen streaming charts, amassing 1.3 billion minutes of views in its first four days of streaming. We cannot wait for season two.
Watch Cross Online
Ripley – Netflix
Ripley is a unique offering. The series pays homage to film noir with its black-and-white cinematography and overall tone.
A psychological slow burn, Ripley provides ample space to explore the character, his motivations, what makes him tick, and his subsequent responses and reactions to him. Andrew Scott’s performance and the strong character work captivates, scoring him multiple nominations and even an award.
A reinterpretation of a classic brings the film noir genre back to life in a way we haven’t seen in quite some time. It is an utterly unique take in a landscape where originality is dwindling by the second.
Watch Ripley Online
Griselda – Netflix
Sofia Vergara was unlike anything we’ve ever seen from her in this biographical crime drama, which explored the life of Colombian Queen Pin Griselda Blanco.
Vergara disappeared into the role, virtually unrecognizable as she embraced the dramatic piece with aplomb and expanded a new avenue of potential work for herself moving forward. Her seamless transition from comedy to drama was laudworthy.
Griselda spotlights a complicated figure, taking some liberties with the depiction of this story while serving as an indictment not just on Griselda, of whom the series adds many layers and complexities, but also on the drug industry at large and all of North America’s role within it.
Watch Griselda Online
The Day of the Jackal – Peacock
Eddie Redmayne’s chilling and wonderfully complex performance as the Jackal is equally matched by Lashana Lynch’s brilliance. Both completely embody their roles in a propulsive thriller that leaves viewers on edge until the closing moments.
This globe-trotting spy thriller does the film justice.
It’s a suspenseful, slow burn that pays off by the end. The Day of the Jackal has so many plot twists that it keeps viewers glued to the screens.
The Day of the Jackal understands the art of building the storyline and does it incredibly well, resulting in a satisfying final scene. Overall, this series is undoubtedly one of the best of the year.
Watch The Day of the Jackal Online
Rivals – Hulu
Rivals has a little bit of everything.
It’s sexy, cheeky, comical, thought-provoking, and just on the right side of naughty. Set in the 1980s, the series showcases a variety of, you guessed it, rivalries between various people living in the Cotswolds of England.
The main rivalry is between Rupert Campbell-Black, a retired Olympian who spends much time wooing various women while away from his role as a sports minister, and Lord Baddingham, the ruthless head of an independent commercial television station.
The two powerful men constantly battle to destroy one another, but they’re just one of the fascinating dynamics in a series that pushes every conceivable envelope.
The cast is stacked, with chemistry for days and a plethora of romantic ships to invest in if that’s your thing. While romance is at the core of Rivals, the series also takes a much deeper dive into topics like racism, ageism, classism, sexual abuse, and more.
The first season masterfully introduces the characters, establishes the relationships, and sets the stage for what’s sure to be an exhilarating second effort, with old enemies and new ones alike battling in the hills of South West England.
Watch Rivals Online
Over to you, TV Fanatics.
Which was your new addiction of 2024?
Which 2024 TV Debut Was Your New Addiction?
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