The Best TV Shows of 2024 So Far, Ranked

Summary

• New TV shows in 2024 include spin-offs, continuations, and original concepts, all worth your time.
• Hazbin Hotel is a dark comedy musical that blends the morbid with hilarity, earning praise from critics.
• Shōgun, a historical drama based on real events, mesmerizes with stunning visuals and gripping performances.

The year 2024 is off to a great start with fabulous new TV shows making their way to the top streaming services. Along with returning shows launching exciting new seasons, there are also interesting new shows making their mark on the TV streaming landscape. These range from comedies to thrillers and dramas, to mind-bending stories.

There’s a trend with many of the brand-new shows in 2024 so far: they are actually spin-offs, continuations after long hiatuses, or are stories based on movies or previous series. A few, however, are entirely new concepts. And the one thing all the shows share is that they are well worth your time. Each one has the potential to become viewer favorites of this year and beyond.

8 Hazbin Hotel (2024)

Read Our Review

Even the devil’s daughter has faith that anyone can be rehabilitated. So much so that in Hazbin Hotel, Charlie Morningstar, also known as the Princess of Hell, decides to develop a rehabilitation center in the depths of the underworld. Her hope is to send at least some tortured souls to Heaven instead of having them exterminated due to overpopulation. Her naivety could be her downfall, however, and no one wants to prove that more than Radio Demon Alastor, who agrees to help Charlie. What she doesn’t know is he secretly just wants to see how horribly wrong the plan goes.

A Dark Comedy With a Musical Twist

Hazbin Hotel is an adult animated musical comedy, so while the theme seems dark and disturbing, the presentation beautifully weaves the morbid with the hilarious. The series became popular after debuting the pilot on YouTube, with the entire project funded by Patreon followers and created by freelance animators. Following the first season of nine episodes, Hazbin Hotel has already been renewed for a second. Critics praise the show for its uniqueness, impressive animation, catchy tunes, and wonderful voice cast that includes Stephanie Beatriz, Keith David, Kimiko Glenn, and Alex Brightman. Stream on Prime Video.

7 Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)

Read Our Review

A surprise hit, fans weren’t sure about the spy TV series adaptation of the story based on the 2005 movie that starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as the titular characters. But reviews for Mr. & Mrs. Smith have been positive. The roles are taken over by Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, who play Michael and Alana, two secret agents posing as a married couple named John and Jane Smith. The series depicts their involvement in various dangerous cases while also trying to keep up appearances. Their romantic feelings for one another, however, start to get in the way.

The Perfect Combination of High-Action and Comedy

Mr. and Mrs. Smith beautifully melds intense action and fight sequences with biting humor. The two leads are praised for being charming, their chemistry making the show enjoyable to watch as they partake in all types of hijinks. Named one of Prime Video’s top five new show debuts ever in the U.S., according to Deadline, it’s likely that Mr. & Mrs. Smith will see a second season renewal.

6 Constellation (2024)

Read Our ReviewImagine coming back to Earth only to discover that things have changed, but you’re the only one who sees it. There are aspects of life that don’t make sense, and even your own child doesn’t appear to be the right person. This is what happens to Jo in Constellation, an astronaut who returns home after a mission goes terribly wrong. But as she tries to adjust back to society and family life, she is convinced that parts of her life are missing. Even parts that are there don’t seem right. There’s something off, and she can’t put her finger on it. It appears that there might be a sinister reason for all of this, and Jo is desperate to get to the bottom of it before she loses her mind.

An Intense Mind-Bending Thriller

Apple delivered a mind-bending psychological thriller with Severance and the streaming service has done it again with Constellation. From the cast that includes talented actors like Noomi Rapace, Jonathan Banks, and James D’Arcy to the fascinating storyline, the show holds attention the entire way through. While it has been criticized for being too slow-paced, even confusing, the general creepiness of the plot brings an interesting horror aspect to the series as well that some will find especially captivating, if not also a bit scary. Stream on Apple TV+.

5 Ted (2024)

Read Our ReviewAnyone who loves the movies Ted and Ted 2 will delight in watching the series Ted. It has a traditional ‘90s sitcom feel, but it’s actually anything but. Don’t be fooled, as the show is filled with inappropriate conversations and themes, as well as tons of profanity. Serving as a prequel, it tells the story of sentient teddy bear Ted growing up with his best friend John and the rest of the Bennett family. All the fanfare about him coming to life is over and now Ted is just helping John through typical coming-of-age challenges, though he’s often not the greatest influence. When he’s forced to attend high school with John, plenty of hijinks ensue.

A Profane Comedy Wrapped in a Sitcom

Ted is deeply funny, with every episode offering a different theme, from John trying drugs for the first time to dealing with bullies, dating, and even going to a school dance. While Ted and John are the central figures, the supporting cast steals scenes, including John’s surly and racist dad Matty, and his deeply religious, prudish, and overly joyful mother Susan. College-aged cousin Blaire, a feminist who seems like she belongs in the 21st Century, adds color and flavor to the show. Seth MacFarlane reprises his voice role for Ted and Max Burkholder does a fabulous job portraying the thick Boston-accented John (a younger version of Mark Wahlberg’s character from the movies). Ted is vulgar yet refreshingly nostalgic at the same time.

4 Masters of the Air (2024)

Read Our Review

Delivered as a companion series to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Masters of the Air follows a group of men known as the 100th Bomb Group during World War II. As they embark on dangerous missions, viewers follow the intense and sometimes deeply personal moments as well. Teamwork has never been so important, especially when lives are on the line.

A Visually Stimulating Production

It’s tough to beat the A-list cast, which includes Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, and Barry Keoghan, all of whom are at the top of their games right now. The show is both a tribute to the real-life men who risked their lives, some of whom didn’t make it, as well as a thrilling and emotional story. Masters of the Air won’t disappoint, with the potential to rank among the greatest war series. With Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg behind the project, it’s no wonder the show has been such a success. Stream on Apple TV+.

3 True Detective: Night Country (2014-2024)

Read Our Review

Technically the fourth season of the anthology series True Detective, fans waited five years for a new season to come to fruition. That it did, and it’s called True Detective: Night Country. With an entirely new cast and setting, as with each season, the story follows two detectives investigating the mysterious disappearance of eight men from a local research station in Alaska. The case gets creepier and more puzzling the deeper they dive, with troubling connections to an earlier case of a missing woman.

Crime With a Supernatural Twist

This season of True Detective injects the concept of supernatural elements, making it stand on its own from others in the anthology crime drama. It might not rank as the best of the four seasons to date, but Jodie Foster and Kali Reis deliver exceptional performances as detectives at odds with one another, both with their own personal demons they are trying to overcome. This season is haunting and creepy, more so than any other, enough to almost classify it as part horror as well. Stream on Max.

2 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024)

Read Our Review

Arguably the most anticipated spin-off in the growing The Walking Dead franchise, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live finally answers the questions fans have been waiting years to learn: where has Rick Grimes been all this time, and why hasn’t he tried to come back home? The series fills in plenty of blanks while also skipping forward to his partner Michonne’s journey to find him, and what happens when they finally reunite.

One Part Love Story, All Parts Survival

Unlike other The Walking Dead shows, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is also a love story about two people coming together against all odds and struggling to find the love they once had while surrounded by death, destruction, and powerful enemies. Yes, Rick and Michonne have faced formidable villains before, but none quite as enduring and dangerous as the Civic Republic Military (CRM) – not even Negan. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Livebroke records for AMC for its first season, and remains the highest-rated spin-off to date with a solid 89% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. Stream on AMC+.

1 Shōgun (2024)

Read Our ReviewThere was a series in 1980 based on the James Clavell novel of the same name, and now Shōgun has been remade into a new historical drama. The story, based on real-life historical events, centers around three individuals. John Blackthorne is an English sailor who becomes shipwrecked in Japan. Lord Toranaga is a powerful daimyo with equally powerful rivals. And Lady Mariko is a samurai who comes from a well-to-do family but she has become dishonored by them. Together, the unlikely trio meet and train together to battle through dangerous times.

A Visual Spectacle With a Gripping Story

Drawing comparisons to Game of Thrones, fans of that popular series who have been waiting for something to fill the void will appreciate Shōgun. The story is very different, but it’s just as compelling with fabulous scenery, fight scenes, and marvelous performances. What makes it even more fascinating is that each character is based on one from real history. Blackthorne is based on English navigator William Adams; Lord Toranaga on the founder of the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu; and Lady Mariko on Hosokawa Gracia, a political hostage and member of the aristocratic Akechi family in the 1500s. Explore the real history that inspired the show and it becomes even more intriguing. Stream on Hulu.