Are you staring at menu screens for too long, trying to decide what to watch? Well, do we have a list for you! You see, 2024 has been a fantastic year for great television, so check out our picks. You’re sure to find something. Here are the 29 best shows you should be watching right now. Whether you like drama, romance, action, or humor, there’s plenty here for you to enjoy.
Colin From Accounts
What’s not to love about a show that stars a cute little border terrier? This show tells the story of two single people who slowly come together after being involved in an accident that injures a small dog named Colin.
The Penguin
If you were a fan of the dark 2022 reboot of The Batman, then you will love this spin-off miniseries. Viewers will be intrigued as they watch Oswald Cobb’s rise to power as a criminal kingpin after the death of his boss. Apologies to the DC purists if you are upset about The Penguin’s surname. The creators of the show though it would be best to change his name from Cobblepot to Cobb.
Only Murders In The Building
If you’re one of those people who fall asleep while listening to true crime podcasts, then you will love this show. Only Murders in the Building follows three people who come together to investigate a series of murders that have taken place in their apartment building. If you haven’t watched this show yet, you are missing out! Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez make the best on-screen trio since The Three Amigos. (We don’t miss you at all, Chevy.)
Kaos
This show may have been canceled, but you can still enjoy its run. Fans of Greco-Roman mythology will love this show which tells the story of three humans who discover they are connected to a prophecy concerning the volatile gods.
My Lady Jane
Here’s another show that was canceled too soon. If you love history, you will adore this show. If you hate history, you will adore this show. My Lady Jane is a fictionalized retelling of the tragic story of Queen Jane Grey. Though this show is far less tragic and much more magical.
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder
After you finish Only Murders in the Building, give this series a try. This show follow a school girl named Pip, who sets out to solve a murder that she believes was not investigated properly. How can anyone resist a good whodunnit?
The Decameron
If you love historical fiction and dark humor, then this show is for you. The Decameron is based on a series of short stories that were written back in the 14th century. The show follows a group of nobles and servants who flee the black plague by hiding in the countryside.
We Are Lady Parts
This show is for the lovers of the punk rock genre. We Are Lady Parts follows an all-female Muslim punk band as they navigate relationships, cultural differences, and the music scene in London.
Matlock
Everyone remembers being sick and staying home from school and watching the original 90’s television show Matlock starring the incomparable Andy Griffith. Now you can enjoy the reboot starring the brilliantly talented Kathy Bates. Follow Madeline Matlock as she wins cases for her law firm and exposes corruption within the legal world.
Girls5eva
If you have finished We Are Lady Parts and are now craving something sillier, then you should watch Girls5eva. This series follows four former pop stars as they get their girl group back together and struggle to achieve the same level of success that they once did.
Abbott Elementary
If you are a teacher or just someone who loves and respects teachers, you will love this quirky show. It is filmed in a mockumentary style similar to The Office and Parks and Recreation. Viewers will adore the misadventures of teachers as they awkwardly navigate workplace friendships and do their best to educate their students.
Ghosts
You can watch the U.S. version of this show or check out the original U.K. version. This series follows a young woman and her husband as they try their best to turn an old Victorian home that they inherited into a bed and breakfast. But hilarity ensues when the young woman hits her head and is endowed with the ability to see the ghosts who inhabit her house.
Ripley
If you love Saltburn or the story that inspired it, The Talented Mr. Ripley then you will absolutely adore the series adaptation of the aforementioned story starring Mr. Hot Priest himself, Andrew Scott. Follow the con man Tom Ripley as he worms his way into the life of rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf and tries to take it over.
Bridgerton
If you have been holding off on watching this critically acclaimed show, here is your sign to give in and binge this show while drinking a glass of wine and eating your favorite chocolate bar. Every season focuses on a new member of the Bridgerton family in their quest to find love.
Grotesquerie
American Horror Story fans rejoice! Ryan Murphy is bringing us a new spooky bingeable show. This series follows a detective who teams up with a nun to solve a series of gruesome crimes that are tearing the local community apart.
Baby Reindeer
Image Credit: Netflix
Baby Reindeer might sound cute, but don’t let the name fool you. It’s a harrowing psychological thriller at its core. Obsession can be terrifying, and when a man named Donnie finds himself the object of Martha’s obsessive stalking, mild bemusement gives way to abject horror.
The Veil
Photo Credit: FX
Sometimes, you just want a good spy show. That’s what you get with The Veil, a breakneck thriller starring Elizabeth Moss as Imogen Salter, an MI6 agent tasked with secreting terrorist Adilah El Idrissi out of a refugee camp. The mission causes Moss to reexamine her code of ethics amidst a thorny political landscape.
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA
Image Credit: Netflix
John Mulaney’s highly publicized bout with relapsing alcoholism became the topic of tabloids for months. The comedian discusses his turbulent personal life in detail in John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, a late-night talk show that upends the genre’s conventions by being made to end in six episodes from the beginning.
Eric
Image Credit: Netflix
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in this eerie, gripping drama about a puppeteer named Vincent who begins to lose his grasp on reality when his son, Edgar, goes missing in 1980s New York. Vincent becomes convinced he can get his son back if he creates a puppet based on one of Edgar’s drawings, a monster called “Eric.”
Presumed Innocent
Image Credit: Apple TV+
If you’ve ever read the excellent 1987 novel, you already know how gripping Presumed Innocent is. This legal thriller follows Rusty Sabich, the chief deputy prosecutor for the city of Chicago. Sabich stands trial for the murder of Carolyn Polhemus, a woman he worked with—and allegedly had a relationship with.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video
Yes, there was a Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie by the same name, but the Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane remake bears few stylistic similarities to that Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This show, by contrast, is a slower-burning story in which the title characters are already aware of each other’s jobs as spies.
Ren Faire
Image Credit: HBO
The documentary film Ren Faire focuses on George Coulam, the founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival, and his struggles with finding someone else to take over. The documentary gives viewers a unique look into the psychology of succession, including the ways in which those in power delay handing it over for as long as they can.
Tokyo Vice
Image Credit: HBO
Tokyo Vice is based on Jake Adelstein’s memoirs regarding the seedy underbelly of Tokyo and clashes between criminal organizations like the Yakuza and upstart street gangs in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a gripping show, offering a window into the dangerous world of gangs, codes of honor, and ruthless violence.
The Sympathizer
Image Credit: HBO
The Captain is a fascinating protagonist for thriller The Sympathizer, a show that sees a North Vietnamese communist infiltrate the inner circle of a South Vietnamese general in LA. The tense, brutal show is a deep meditation on ideology, nihilism, and lines that divide people and lead to violence.
Interview With the Vampire
Image Credit: AMC
Who doesn’t love steamy vampire romance stories? The original entry in that long-standing genre is Anne Rice’s phenomenal book, Interview With the Vampire, now adapted again as an AMC series. It’s perfect for any fans of blood-sucking relationship drama or pretty, tormented undead monsters.
X-Men ‘97
Image Credit: Disney+
You know you can hear that theme music just by looking at a still frame from X-Men ’97. This excellent throwback picks up right where the iconic 90s series left off, finding our mutant heroes caught in a new web of problems. If this show teaches you anything, it’s that the X-Men can star in comics, movies, and TV shows from now until the end of time.
Agatha All Along
Agatha All Along is a direct followup to the magnificent WandaVision series, but it strikes its own tone with the titular Agatha leading a fantastically witchy cast as they attempt to traverse the Witches’ Road. Add in some surprise cameos and a banger of a featured original song, and you have yourself a witchy stew cooking. Don’t worry about all the other Marvel shows and movies, you only need to understand the events of WandaVision to jump right in.
Fallout
Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video
HBO struck gold with The Last of Us, a video game adaptation uniquely suited to the format of prestige TV. Fallout is not the first series that comes to mind when you think of glossy still shots from lauded TV shows, but the team at Prime Video managed to make their adaptation a gripping, genuinely funny meditation on the dangers of militarization and capitalism.
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Shogun
Image Credit: FX/Hulu
When English captain William Blackthorne washes ashore in 17th Century Japan, he has no idea that he’s arrived at a time of unparalleled political strife. The hapless sailor finds himself swept up in a conflict of royals like Lord Toranaga and Lady Mariko, and the show dizzyingly keeps all of the major players at the forefront of the tale. This makes for great TV and deftly sidesteps problematic white savior themes that could have been (accidentally or otherwise) adapted from the James Clavell novel.
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House of the Dragon
Image Credit: HBO
Game of Thrones might have gone out with a whimper, but its prequel series, House of the Dragon, is spitting fire like its progenitor did in its earlier seasons. This sweltering fantasy drama ropes you into the gnarly civil war that threatens to pit dragon against dragon for the right of sitting on the Iron Throne of Westeros. It’s gripping, sexy, and perfectly crunchy, just like Thrones before it.
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