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?

To help keep up with movies and shows, our watchlist feature lets you keep track of them, and our notifications tell you when they land in cinemas or on streamers. Join Flicks (it’s free) to start using these features, and access exclusive rewards: ticket giveaways, discount offers and—from time to time—advanced screenings.

Silo

Back for its second season, the world of Silo continues to expand, and its themes resonate further in our present—its dystopian world, in which 10,000 people live in an underground bunker beneath a ruined Earth, perhaps never seems so likely. Season two sees Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) continue her dogged pursuit to understand the truth of their predicament, while Silo’s Mayor, Bernard Holland (Tim Robbins), and head of security Robert Sims (Common) struggle to keep the cylindrical society together. Robbins and Common got deep, talking about the zeitgeist and path towards dystopia in an interview with Steve Newall.

Dune: Prophecy

10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s films, the origins of the Bene Gesserit are explored in new series Dune: Prophecy. Dodging the pitfalls of most prequels, while the first eps don’t show a lot of Arrakis outside of short flashbacks and assorted other visions plaguing the Sisterhood, the show feels like a seamless visual extension of the Dune screen universe, writes Steve Newall.

Say Nothing

IRA true story examines the ethics and realities of violent resistance, sharing the life story of a former IRA member in a series that Clarisse Loughrey predicts is sure to ignite some controversy. Achieving a tricky balancing act, she observes how it centres victims, while also considering “the differences between those who can sit at the top of the chain of command, and think about ethics in the abstract, and those at the bottom told to fire the bullet.”

Cross

Bestselling author James Patterson’s creation Alex Cross is back on screen after being previously played by Morgan Freeman (twice) and Tyler Perry. Cross, as played by Aldis Hodge here, is a younger and more raw version, and as Dominic Corry writes, the result is “a top tier serial killer thriller that is greatly informed by leaning into the complications of being a black member of law enforcement in post George Floyd/Black Lives Matter/Defund The Police America”.

The Day of the Jackal

A classic espionage thriller gets a fresh redo in The Day of the Jackal, a (loose) adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch. As Clarisse Loughrey observes, Redmayne’s “meticulousness is fascinating, and it’s fun simply to track each of his little mistakes, to wonder which one might (if anything does) spell his downfall”.

Citadel: Honey Bunny

The latest spy action is upon us in Citadel: Honey Bunny, with the espionage action moving to India and both the late 90s and early 2000s in this second spinoff of the… Citadeliverse? “The action is fast and frenetic, the sense of place is palpable, and Dhawan and Prabhu make for a stunningly charismatic pairing,” according to Travis Johnson.

Shrinking

Ted Lasso successor Shrinking returned this year, Harrison Ford’s therapist and Jason Segel’s grieving widower back for more “hard emotions made easily digestible, then laced with some cognitive behavioural therapy buzzwords,” as Clarisse Loughrey puts it.

The Office

An all-too-relatable awkward workplace comedy classic gets a more local spin, with the new Australian version of The Office. This iteration brings with it a whole new host of challenges and a cast rising to the occasion writes David Michael Brown: “By taking a defiantly Aussie tack on such familiar territory—hello, Melbourne Cup Day—it looks like it will be worth clocking in.”

Sweetpea

Fallout star Ella Purnell plays a meek murderer in a British thriller miniseries that sees the lines between the bully and bullied get blurry. As Purnell’s character turns homicidal, Clarisse Loughrey describes it as an oddly relatable metaphorical release: “Rhiannon’s killing spree is the fancifully extreme stand-in for life’s doormats pushing back, finally risking the perception they’re a little rude or curt so they can take up the space they’ve worked hard to claim and set their own boundaries.”

Citadel: Diana

This year’s first spin-off series in Prime Video’s Citadel universe follows the events of the first season of Citadel proper. Set in 2030 Milan, Citadel: Diana foregrounds its science fiction elements: brain-scrambling tech, an optical carjacking here, a gunshot wound sutured by lasers there. While it might share a broad setting with its progenitor, this is definitely and defiantly its own beast, said Travis Johnson: “Stylish, stripped down, and possessed of a coolly amoral heart.”

The Legend of Vox Machina

A stand-out in the current crop of swords-and-sorcery fantasies returns for season 3, with large and immediate stakes. But it’s not all serious—Liam Maguren describes the show as “a swords-n-sorcery saga worth taking whether you’re into otherworldly battles, stories with heart, jokes about bums, or—ideally—all of the above”.

Nobody Wants This

A podcaster (Kristen Bell) falls for a rabbi (Adam Brody) in this Netflix show that seems neither quite sitcom or romcom. The show flourishes thanks to the irresistible chemistry between its leads, writes Clarisse Loughrey: “They play out a relationship that’s disarmingly passionate but grounded, too, in how giddy yet unhurried their first sparks of attraction are.”

The Rings of Power

“If there’s one thing nobody will ever be able to say again, it’s that The Rings of Power is lacking in action,” says the opening line of Dominic Corry’s pre-finale season two recap. Indeed, of all the major film franchises that currently have small-screen incarnations (including Star Wars, Marvel and DC), Corry argues The Rings of Power does the best job of living up to its big-screen brethren.

Joan

Part gritty working-class drama, part glamorous true crime biopic, Sophie Turner stars in Joan. Its eye-catching costuming, compelling performances, and consistently banging soundtrack stole Amelia Berry’s attention: “Far be it from us to advocate for a life of crime, but it sure makes for a juicy slice of TV drama in Joan.”

Agatha All Along

Initially punctured by critics, who awarded it the dubious honour of second-worst-reviewed Disney+’s Marvel series, its two-part Halloween finale proved doubters wrong. Clarisse Loughrey noted how viewers defied the critics (to actually increase audience size across the season): “People tuned in, in increasing numbers, because they liked these characters and the story they had to tell, and probably also a little because they’d heard Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza had insane sexual chemistry.”

Wise Guy

The show that kicked off The Golden Age of Television—and the man behind it—are examined in this two-part documentary. It’s utterly essential viewing for die-hards and new fans alike, raved Dominic Corry (a massive Sopranos superfan): “We are very lucky that the (primary) author of such an iconic work of art is so in touch with, and open about, his own creative process.”

The Penguin

After his supporting turn in Matt Reeve’s Robert Pattinson-starring super-noir The Batman, Colin Farrell returned to the mean streets of Gotham, climbing the ranks of the city’s underworld as The Penguin. Steve Newall was impressed, not least of all by the show’s resistance to fan service: “No bat or cat cameos, which is welcome, keeping the focus tight and personal, and illustrating just what sets Gotham apart from better-functioning cities (and in turn allowing it to be a setting replete with enemies powerful enough to believably square off with Batman in the future).”

Terminator Zero

With Terminator Zero, the animation studio behind anime classic Ghost in the Shell adds to the apocalyptic sci-fi world created by James Cameron. It’s a franchise that, in the words of Dominic Corry, has been spectacularly mismanaged… but after three failed reboots, Terminator Zero makes a strong case for stories continuing to be told in this realm—a sleek enterprise replete with cyberpunk aesthetics and visual splendour.

Industry

In season three, finance drama Industry eviscerates performative morality and continues to peer behind the curtain of our high-stakes big-biz overlords. The heart of its brilliance is that it’s an anti-comfort show, wrote Clarisse Loughrey, who calls it television’s most ruthlessly compelling offering of late: “It’s neatly bucked the “eat the rich” trend by recognising the sour reality that the wealthy have an almost cockroach-like ability to bounce back from karmic punishment.”

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.”

• NETFLIX
• Streaming
• Neon
• Disney Plus
• PRIME VIDEO
• TVNZ
• Binge
• APPLE TV+
• Featured
• Homepage