Not to state the obvious, but TV occupies a different place in our brains than movies. TV is a bigger time commitment and often feels more intimate. It’s what you turn on at the end of a long day to unwind before bed. You invite the same characters into your home week after week (or for 10 hours at a time), and they often start to feel like real, tangible people.
When it came time to pick our favorite shows of the year, we approached our list-making a bit differently than our best movies of 2024. Like with films, we asked ourselves how these shows made us feel and what they made us think about. But we also considered if they featured characters we wanted to hang out with? Or change the way we think about something? But, perhaps most importantly, did we want to keep watching every episode? Did we want to return to the worlds of these stories? Were they worth the time and personal space we had given them?
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That’s why, ahead, you’ll find a mix of series that resonated in different ways throughout the year, like the comedies that have become our happy places, the historical dramas that made us feel every range of emotion, and the fantasy tales that kind of made our brains hurt — but in a good way. Read on to discover our picks on the best TV shows of 2024 (in no particular order).
Shōgun
I said it when I first screened this series and I’ll say it again: FX’s Shōgun is easily the most well-deserved breakout TV show of the year. An original adaptation of James Clavell’s historical fiction drama, Shōgun is set in 1600s feudal Japan at the start of a century-long civil war that comes to define the island nation. Lord Yoshii Toranaga (played by the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada) is staving off threats to his life and power from political rivals when English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmos Jarvis) is marooned in a nearby village, bringing with him secrets about what lurks past the sea horizon. With the help of Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a Japanese Christian noblewoman who serves as a translator between the two men and whose past has its own secrets, they must navigate the tense political landscape to defeat enemies on all fronts.
It’s hard not to think of 2003’s The Last Samurai, which also stars Hiroyuki Sanada, when watching Shōgun. In both, a white man from the West (in the case of The Last Samurai, that’d be Tom Cruise) brings Western knowledge that can help the Japanese but, despite cultural differences, comes to respect the new world he finds himself in. But there’s an intentionality in Shōgun that, unlike The Last Samurai, keeps the white savior at arm’s length; Japan is the main character and Europe is the foreigner.
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Shōgun is a stunning tour de force that was rewarded at the 2024 Emmys, scoring a record 18 wins including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Drama Actor for Sanada, and Lead Drama Actress for Anna Sawai, who made history as the first actress of Asian descent to win her category. If there’s one show that defined 2024, this is it.
Dune: Prophecy
Denis Villaneuve’s Dune: Part 2 made our best movies of 2024 list for a reason; its transportive images and sweeping narratives fully delivered a bigger spectacle that further immersed you in the story of Paul Atreides and the secrets of Arrakis. Although made for the small screen, Dune: Prophecy is a worthy successor in what will surely be the first of many expansions into the Dune universe.
Set 10,000 years before the events of the films, HBO’s Dune: Prophecy shows the Sisterhood (later known as the Bene Gesserit) in its messy journey to power and as it establishes an organization that puppeteers from the shadows by counseling the leaders of the Great Houses and manipulating bloodlines in order to cultivate rulers they can control. Bound both by blood and vows, Sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen work to cement the Sisterhood’s future in the face of existential threats, particularly in the form of a foreboding prophecy and a powerful, mysterious soldier named Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel).
Dune: Prophecy centers the power of women in a patriarchal society in a way that feels authentic and shows the breadth of how ripe Frank Herbert’s books are for Hollywood reimagining. The first season, just six episodes, makes for a quick and satisfying watch that answers some questions and leaves you hungry for more.
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Nobody Wants This
Every once in a while, you’ll come across a pair of actors who have so much on-screen chemistry, you can practically feel it radiating between them. Adam Brody and Kristen Bell can count themselves as one such duo — and thank goodness because, like with any rom-com, their new series, Nobody Wants This, thrives on said chemistry.
Inspired by creator (and online personality/Favorite Daughter co-founder) Erin Foster’s real life, the show chronicles the love story between Joanne, a spunky, unfiltered podcaster who is direct and goes after what she wants, and Noah, a routine-driven modern-day rabbi who is used to playing it safe and considering others in his decision-making. They’re not at all similar yet somehow they hit it off, and they fall hard and fast — in a way that will make you giddy as you watch their story unfold. But their differences are vast, and, eventually, the couple have to tackle them head on — while many people in their lives are not-so-subtly hoping they fail.
While there is room for improvement — see the thoughtful critiques about the show’s portrayal of Jewish women — the swoon-y romance rules all. It’s refreshing to see an actual adult relationship portrayed in a mature way — Noah listens! They communicate in meaningful ways! They don’t break up every other episode over silly misunderstandings! — even if it can feel like a fantasy. And for Season 2, they’re bringing on experienced showrunners Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan (who both worked on Girls) to work alongside Foster to hopefully make the show even better.
