Movies & TV

31st Dec 2023

24 of the most exciting TV shows coming in 2024

Stephen Porzio

There will be a nice mix of new and returning TV shows in the next 12 months.

As can be expected, this year’s Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes may impact some of the following TV shows’ release dates.

That said, as of now, these are the series you can look forward to in 2024.

3 Body Problem

Plot: “A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes, five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.”

Cast: Alex Sharp, Benedict Wong, Ben Schnetzer, Eiza González, John Bradley, Jonathan Pryce, Jovan Adepo, Liam Cunningham, Rosalind Chao, Saamer Usmani and Zine Tseng

Reason(s) to watch: Based on the hit sci-fi novel of the same name, the new TV show from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss

Release date: 21 March, Netflix

The Acolyte

Plot: “The Acolyte is a Star Wars mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.”

Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss, Charlie Barnett, Dafne Keen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto and Rebecca Henderson.

Reason(s) to watch: A Star Wars show from Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland

Release date: To be announced (TBA), Disney+

The Boys Season 4

Plot: “In season four of The Boys, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is closer than ever to the Oval Office—and Butcher (Karl Urban), who has only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The team is fed up with his lies—but with the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world.”

Cast: Antony Starr, Cameron Crovetti, Chace Crawford, Claudia Doumit, Colby Minifie, Erin Moriarty, Jack Quaid, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessie T. Usher, Karen Fukuhara, Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, Susan Heyward, Tomer Capone and Valorie Curry

Reason(s) to watch: The best superhero show on TV returns!

Release date: TBA, Prime Video

Expats

Plot: “Set against the complex tapestry of Hong Kong residents, Expats depicts a multifaceted group of women after a single encounter sets off a chain of life-altering events that leaves everyone navigating the intricate balance between blame and accountability.”

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee and Jack Huston

Reason(s) to watch: Kidman back on TV, the show is created by Lulu Wang (The Farewell)

Release date: 26 January, Prime Video

Fallout

Plot: “Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. 200 years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind — and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird and highly violent universe waiting for them.”

Cast: Ella Purnell, Johnny Pemberton, Kyle MacLachlan, Leslie Uggams, Moisés Arias, Michael Emerson, Sarita Choudhury, Walton Goggins and Zach Cherry.

Reason(s) to watch: Developed by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan (Westworld), based on the popular video game of the same name

Release date: 12 April, Prime Video

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans

Plot: “Acclaimed writer Truman Capote (Tom Hollander) surrounded himself with a coterie of society’s most elite women – rich, glamorous socialites who defined a bygone era of high society New York – whom he nicknamed ‘the swans.’ Enchanted and captivated by these doyennes, Capote ingratiated himself into their lives, befriending them and becoming their confidante, only to ultimately betray them by writing a thinly veiled fictionalisation of their lives, exposing their most intimate secrets.”

Cast: Tom Hollander, Calista Flockhart, Chloë Sevigny, Demi Moore, Diane Lane, Joe Mantello, Molly Ringwald, Naomi Watts, Russell Tovey and Treat Williams

Reason(s) to watch: The stand-alone follow-up to the excellent Feud: Bette and Joan, the cast, partly directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting)

Release date: TBA, Disney+

The Franchise

Plot: “The crew of an unloved franchise movie fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. The Franchise shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every f**k-up has an origin story.”

Cast: Aya Cash, Billy Magnussen, Daniel Brühl, Darren Goldstein, Himesh Patel, Jessica Hynes, Lolly Adefope and Richard E. Grant

Reason(s) to watch: Created by Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It, Veep) and Sam Mendes (1917, Skyfall),

Release date: TBA, Sky and NOW

Generation Z

Plot: “Set in the fictional town of Dambury, the kind of place with stark opportunities and not much to do. Grey, unassuming, forgotten. It’s the last place you’d expect the apocalypse to begin… But when an army convoy overturns outside a care home, a chemical leak starts to have an adverse effect on the residents there.”

Cast: Chris Reilly, Ellora Torchia, Gareth Tunley, Johnny Vegas, Mark Manero, Robert Lindsay, Robin Hill, Sue Johnston and T’Nia Miller

Reason(s) to watch: A darkly comic zombie TV series created by cult film director Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, Kill List)

Release date: TBA, Channel 4

Griselda

Plot: “Griselda is inspired by the life of the savvy and ambitious Griselda Blanco (Sofia Vergara), who created one of the most profitable cartels in history. In 1970s-80s Miami, Blanco’s lethal blend of unsuspected savagery and charm helped her expertly navigate between business and family, leading her to become widely known as ‘the Godmother’.”

Cast: Sofia Vergara and Vanessa Ferlito

Reason(s) to watch: A new Netflix show made by several people involved in Narcos and Narcos: Mexico

Release date: 25 January, Netflix

House of the Dragon Season 2

Plot: “Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.” Season two details have not yet been revealed.

Cast: Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Ewan Mitchell, Fabien Frankel, Freddie Fox, Gayle Rankin, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Simon Russell Beale, Sonoya Mizuno, Steve Toussaint and Tom Glynn-Carney

Release date: Summer, Sky and NOW

Industry Season 3

Plot: “The high-octane drama gives an insider’s view of the blackbox of high finance following a group of young bankers as they forge their identities within the pressure cooker environment and sex and drug-fueled blitz of international bank Pierpoint & Co’s London office.

“In series three, as Pierpoint looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing, the desk find themselves front and centre in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company – in a story that runs all the way to the very top of finance, media and government.”

Cast: Myha’la Herrold, Conor MacNeill, David Jonsson, Harry Lawtey, Ken Leung, Kit Harrington, Marisa Abela, and Sarah Goldberg

Reason(s) to watch: The return of easily one of the best TV shows of recent years, Industry deserves to be seen by more viewers

Release date: Summer, BBC

The Jinx Part 2

Plot: “At the end of the original series, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, viewers around the world were stunned to hear Robert Durst utter the words ‘Killed them all, of course.’ Just hours earlier, based on evidence uncovered by the filmmakers, Durst had been arrested in a hotel lobby in New Orleans. The filmmakers continued their investigation for the next eight years, uncovering hidden material, Durst’s prison calls, and interviews with people who had never before come forward.”

Reason(s) to watch: A follow-up to one of the most shocking true crime documentary shows ever

Release date: TBA, Sky and NOW

Masters of the Air

Plot: “Masters of the Air follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the ‘Bloody Hundredth’) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air… Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.”

Cast: Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Anthony Boyle, Callum Turner, Fionn O’Shea and Ncuti Gatwa

Reason(s) to watch: The long-awaited follow-up to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Barry Keoghan!

Release date: 26 January, Apple TV+

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Plot: “Two lonely strangers (Donald Glover and Maya Eskrine) land a job working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travels and a dream brownstone in Manhattan. The catch: new identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. & Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier, espionage or marriage?”

Cast: Donald Glover, Maya Erskine, Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, John Turturro, Michaela Coel, Parker Posey, Paul Dano, Ron Perlman, Sarah Paulson, Sharon Horgan, Ursula Corbero and Wagner Moura

Reason(s) to watch: A TV reboot of the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt action-comedy movie of the same name, co-created by Donald Glover, the incredible cast

Release date: 2 February, Prime Video

The Penguin

Plot: “Starring Colin Farrell as The Penguin, the eight-episode DC Studios drama series continues The Batman epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves began with blockbuster The Batman and centres on the character played by Farrell in the film.”

Cast: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Clancy Brown, Deirdre O’Connell, Michael Kelly, Michael Zegen, Rhenzy Feliz and Shohreh Aghdashloo

Reason(s) to watch: Colin Farrell reprising his scene-stealing role from The Batman

Release date: Late 2024

The Regime

Plot: “The Regime tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel.”

Cast: Kate, Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Guillaume Gallienne, Hugh Grant, Martha Plimpton and Matthias Schoenaerts

Reason(s) to watch: Created by Will Tracy, who worked on Succession and co-wrote the movie The Menu

Release date: Spring, Sky and NOW

Ripley

Plot: “In 1960s New York, Tom Ripley is hired by a wealthy man to convince his wayward son to return home from Italy. But Tom’s introduction to Dickie Greenleaf’s leisurely life abroad is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.”

Cast: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning and Johnny Flynn

Reason(s) to watch: A new take on Patricia Highsmith’s legendary novel, Andrew Scott playing another iconic villain

Release date: TBA, Netflix

@joedotie “I hope I haven’t messed it up!” ? Andrew Scott tells us about Ripley, his upcoming Netflix show focusing on one of literature’s greatest villains… #fyp #irish #ireland #andrewscott #sherlock #fleabag #ripley #movie #redcarpet #dublin #hotpriest #redcarpet ♬ original sound – JOE.ie

Severance Season 2

Plot: “Mark Scout (Adam Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself.” Season two details have not yet been revealed.

Cast: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Christopher Walken, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, John Turturro, Patricia Arquette, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Alia Shawkat, Gwendoline Christie and Merritt Wever

Reason(s) to watch: Season one of this Ben Stiller produced dark sci-fi thriller was thrilling and ended on a huge cliffhanger so season two comes much anticipated

Release date: TBA (expected in 2024), Apple TV+

Shōgun

Plot: “Shōgun, an original adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Producer Hiroyuki Sanada stars as Lord Yoshii Toranaga who is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, its English pilot, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), comes bearing secrets that could help Toranaga tip the scales of power and devastate the formidable influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies — the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants.”

Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai

Reason(s) to watch: The 1980 TV version of the novel was a huge hit

Release date: 27 February, Disney+

Squid Game Season 2

Plot: “The wildly popular — and lethal — competition that puts 456 desperate contestants through a series of children’s games with a massive cash prize at stake (but deadly consequences for the losers) will return in the forthcoming Squid Game Season 2.

“Along with the character of Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) – now determined to make the people responsible for the cruel competition pay for their atrocities against people – Season 1 returnees will include Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), the leader of the masked staff behind the game; Hwang Jun-ho (Wi Ha-jun), a detective who sneaks into the game in search of his brother; and the Recruiter (Gong Yoo), the mysterious man in the suit who initially invited Gi-hun to play the game.”

Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun and Gong Yoo

Reason(s) to watch: The long-awaited return of the surprise global smash hit

Release date: TBA (expected in 2024), Netflix

Sugar

Plot: “An enigmatic private detective (Colin Farrell) struggles with personal demons as he investigates the disappearance of a Hollywood producer’s beloved granddaughter.

Cast: Colin Farrell, Amy Ryan and Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Reason(s) to watch: “A genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story” starring Colin Farrell, sign us up!

Release date: TBA (expected in 2024), Apple TV+

Ted

Plot: A prequel to the hit comedy movie franchise. “It’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (Seth MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach) and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.”

Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Alanna Ubach, Giorgia Whigham, Max Burkholder and Scott Grimes

Reason(s) to watch: Ted is back

Release date: Early 2024, Sky and NOW

The Sympathizer

Plot: “Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”

Cast: Hoa Xuande, Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh

Reason(s) to watch: Co-created by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden), Robert Downey Jr. plays four different characters

Release date: TBA, Sky and NOW

True Detective Season 4

Plot: “When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.”

Cast: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Christopher Eccleston, Finn Bennett, Fiona Shaw, Isabella Star LaBlanc and John Hawkes

Reason(s) to watch: The first True Detective season in five years

Release date: 15 January, Sky and NOW