The 35 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2024
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After a year of Hollywood strikes and production delays, television is finally back in full swing for 2024. The next few months are sure to be overwhelming for the industry, as networks and streamers rush to release new programming before the Emmys consideration deadline at the end of May. For television lovers like us, though, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
An emerging trend among the titles curated below is an increasing reliance on existing intellectual property: novels, spin-offs, and adaptations of films or miniseries. Although a number of shows were canceled for strike-related reasons, and some big series have released their final seasons lately (we’ll miss you, The Crown), there is a lot to look forward to. Of note: a second season of the campy, glamorous Ryan Murphy anthology series Feud, the long-awaited live-action adaptation of the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Natalie Portman making her television debut in a limited series, to name a few things.
The nature of our diversified television landscape means this list isn’t even exhaustive—who knows when a niche show might stand out from the high-budget crowd, or which foreign-language program could become the next Squid Game? Our only option is to watch and find out.
Expats (January 26, Prime Video)
Nicole Kidman is back, this time in a long-awaited limited series created by The Farewell’s Lulu Wang, filmed in Hong Kong at the height of COVID-19 restrictions. The series is based on 2016 novel The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee, following three expats in the city and how their lives (and secrets) all intertwine.
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (January 31, FX)
Ryan Murphy’s Feud anthology returns for its second season, this time with a dramatized reimagining of the high-society women who were scorned after their friend Truman Capote published scathing stories about their secrets and intimate lives. Based on 2021’s nonfiction account Capote’s Women, by Laurence Leamer, this will likely be one of the juiciest and most glamorous television releases of the year. The cast might blow your wig off: Tom Hollander as Capote himself, and the titular swans played by Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, Diane Lane, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, and Molly Ringwald.
Genius: MLK/X (February 1, National Geographic)
The Genius anthology series returns with a season focused on the relationship and parallels between Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre) over the course of the civil rights movement. The cast includes Weruche Opia as Coretta Scott King and Jayme Lawson as Betty Shabazz.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (February 2, Prime Video)
Technically, a short-lived 1996 CBS series is the original source material here, but you more likely remember the 2005 spy film starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. A reboot has been gestating at Prime Video, and at long last, after some changes (Phoebe Waller-Bridge was originally set to costar), Donald Glover and Maya Erskine will appear as the titular couple, with an impressive supporting cast including Sarah Paulson, Michaela Coel, Parker Posey, and Alexander Skarsgård, in what is sure to be one of the more explosive releases this year.
One Day (February 8, Netflix)
If you don’t have plans for Valentine’s Day (or just miss Normal People), consider watching this British limited series based on the popular 2009 novel of the same name. (There was also a film adaptation in 2011.) This love story spans two decades and stars This Is Going to Hurt breakout star Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) as star-crossed lovers.
The New Look (February 14, Apple TV+)
This English-language biopic follows a few key fashion designers during and after the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, primarily focusing on Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche) and Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn), with guest stars like Glenn Close. The series has already been greenlit for a second season.
Constellation (February 21, Apple TV+)
With Severance, Silo, and For All Mankind, Apple TV+ has cemented itself as a streaming platform committed to high-budget science-fiction storytelling. Constellation continues this trend, with Noomi Rapace at the helm in a psychological thriller about an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space. The series is directed by Emmy winner Michelle MacLaren (Shining Girls, Breaking Bad, The X-Files).
Avatar: The Last Airbender (February 22, Netflix)
The highly anticipated live-action adaptation of the Peabody-winning 2005 Nickelodeon animated series is finally upon us. With 2010 film version by M. Night Shyamalan having been widely panned, fans of the original have waited with bated breath to find out if this new adaptation—starring a completely Asian and Indigenous cast—will do justice to the source material.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (February 25, AMC)
Rick Grimes returns. This limited spin-off series continues his and Michonne’s story in the greater Walking Dead universe after the events of the original show’s ninth season. As they’re two of the most recognizable figures from the entire franchise at the peak of its popularity, the pressure is on to deliver a satisfying continuation of the story.
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy (February 23, Prime Video)
Adult animation has been experiencing something of a golden age, lately characterized by last year’s Blue Eye Samurai and Scavengers Reign. Created by Russian Doll writer Cirocco Dunlap, The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy follows alien doctors who specialize in treating rare illnesses. Stephanie Hsu is set to star alongside Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne, Keke Palmer, Kieran Culkin, and Sam Smith. Prime Video already greenlit a second season, so you don’t even have to worry about it getting canceled before you have a chance to watch.
Shogun (February 27, FX on Hulu)
Based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell and previously adapted into a 1980 Emmy-winning miniseries, this fictional historical drama has been teased as one of the highest-budget releases of the year to come. It chronicles the clash of cultural and political forces in 16th-century Japan.
Elsbeth (February 29, CBS)
The Good Wife’s extended universe continues to expand with the return of Elsbeth Tascioni, a quirky fan favorite character (and an Emmy-winning performance by Carrie Preston). Finally front and center, Elsbeth moves to New York City and begins solving murders, in what appears to be a more straightforward police procedural than the serialized storytelling we got used to on The Good Fight from showrunning powerhouses Robert and Michelle King.
The Regime (March 3, HBO)
Nothing compares to a Kate Winslet HBO series. Following the success of Mare of Easttown, the Academy Award winner returns as the chancellor of a fictional Central European autocracy in this satirical political miniseries. She’s joined by Hugh Grant, Martha Plimpton, and Andrea Riseborough, among others.
Alice & Jack (March 17, PBS)
Speaking of Andrea Riseborough, she will also star as Alice in this London-based romantic miniseries, which spans 15 years of a tender relationship with Jack (Domhnall Gleeson). The cast is rounded out by Aisling Bea and Aimee Lou Wood, and the show is written and created by Victor Levin (Mad Men, Mad About You).
Palm Royale (March 20, Apple TV+)
Palm Royale follows underdog Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), a woman determined to break into Palm Beach high society in 1969. This period-comedy miniseries was created by Abe Sylvia (Dead to Me), adapting the 2018 novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie, by Juliet McDaniel. The impressive cast includes Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Leslie Bibb, Kaia Gerber, and Laura Dern.
3 Body Problem (March 21, Netflix)
Like Dune and Foundation, 3 Body Problem is based on a sprawling series of science-fiction novels. Chinese author Liu Cixin’s story features multiple timelines and alien civilizations. The Netflix adaptation by Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, with Alexander Woo, is highly anticipated by fans of the books and will focus on the future reverberations of actions taken by an astrophysicist in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s.
Apples Never Fall (March TBA, Peacock)
Two decades after appearing on an episode of The Sopranos, Annette Bening is back on television, this time in a starring role alongside Sam Neill. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name and created by Melanie Marnich (The OA, The Affair) Apples Never Fall will follow a picture-perfect American family navigating the secrets that surface in the wake of their matriarch’s disappearance.
Fallout (April 12, Prime Video)
Video game adaptations can be hit or miss, but Fallout is looking promising. Developed by the creators of Westworld, the postapocalyptic story takes place two centuries after a nuclear war forces humanity to live in bunkers. Lucy (Ella Purnell) decides to leave behind her safe underground life to explore the dangerous wastelands.
Orphan Black: Echoes (TBA, AMC)
The highly anticipated follow-up to the original Emmy-winning Orphan Black is set to premiere in early 2024. The revival—which is sure to engage in more science-fictional human alteration techniques—stars Krysten Ritter and Keeley Hawes, plus some familiar faces returning from the original series.
Mary & George (TBA, Starz)
This British historical drama is the true story of Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham (Julianne Moore), who molded her son George Villiers (Nicholas Galitzine), the 1st Duke of Buckingham, to seduce King James VI of Scotland and I of England (Tony Curran). It sounds very gay and juicy.
The Sympathizer (TBA, HBO)
Based on the 2015 Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, this upcoming historical black comedy miniseries produced by A24 is set to follow the Captain (Hoa Xuande), a double agent spying on his fellow soldiers in the South Vietnamese army for the Northern Vietnamese. The cast also includes Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr., who is set to play multiple roles.
2024, 1944, and 6666 (TBA, Paramount+)
It’s been quiet in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe lately, but won’t be for much longer. 2024 has been announced as the Matthew McConaughey–starring sequel series to Yellowstone. 1944 will serve as a sequel to 1923. And 6666 will take place on the Texas ranch featured in the fourth season of Yellowstone. That’s not even including Land Man, a stand-alone Sheridan show set to star Billy Bob Thornton this year.
Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (TBA, Disney+)
The long-awaited Kathryn Hahn–focused spin-off of WandaVision is finally upon us. Jac Schaeffer returns as showrunner, and the cast includes Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, and Joe Locke.
A Gentleman in Moscow (TBA, Showtime/Paramount+)
As the Bolshevik Revolution unfolds, a lucky Russian aristocrat is saved from death and placed under house arrest in this miniseries starring Ewan McGregor (with a large mustache) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The show is based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Amor Towles and is directed by Sam Miller (I May Destroy You).
Black Doves (TBA, Netflix)
In this upcoming London-based spy thriller created by Joe Barton (Giri/Haji), Helen (Keira Knightley) begins a love affair that threatens her secret identity. Knightley is joined by Sarah Lancashire and Ben Whishaw.
Dark Matter (TBA, Apple TV+)
In this science-fiction series based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Blake Crouch (who also writes the show), Joel Edgerton plays Jason Dessen, a physicist who is transported to an alternate version of his life. Jennifer Connelly—no stranger to sci-fi after a few seasons on TNT’s Snowpiercer—plays his wife.
Dune: Prophecy (TBA, Max)
Taking place 10,000 years prior to the events of Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune movie, this prequel series will chronicle the origins of the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood of women who train to obtain superhuman mental and physical abilities. Emily Watson and Olivia Williams are set to star.
How to Die Alone (TBA, Hulu)
Between the next season of The White Lotus and this upcoming comedy produced by the Onyx Collective (UnPrisoned, The Other Black Girl), fans of Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell have much to look forward to. How to Die Alone follows a “neurotic fat black woman” who has never been in love, as she deals with the emotional aftermath of a near-death experience.
Lady in the Lake (TBA, Apple TV+)
Natalie Portman is set to make her television debut as Maddie Schwartz in this limited series based on the novel by Laura Lippman, about an investigative journalist working on an unsolved murder in the Black community of 1960s Baltimore. Moses Ingram will costar as Cleo Sherwood, a woman who clashes with Maddie during her investigation.
Ripley (TBA, Netflix)
In 1960s New York, Tom Ripley (Fleabag’s Andrew Scott) is hired by a wealthy man to convince his son to return home from Italy, only to uncover murder and deceit. The show is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley and will also star Dakota Fanning.
The Savant (TBA, Apple TV+)
Not to be confused with Servant or Severance, The Savant will star Jessica Chastain as an investigator who scours online hate groups to monitor for threats and stop large-scale attacks. The show is based on Andrea Staley’s 2019 Cosmopolitan article, “Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?”
Star Wars: The Acolyte (TBA, Disney+)
Andor set the bar high for Star Wars, but The Acolyte may reach it. Creator Leslye Headland will bring her Russian Doll experience to this spin-off, which takes place 100 years before 1999’s Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The impressive cast includes Amandla Stenberg as a padawan, or apprentice Jedi; Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae as a Jedi master; and Dafne Keen as a young Jedi.
Three Women (TBA, Starz)
Three Women was originally set to air on Showtime, and then moved to Starz, where it awaits a premiere date. Based on the 2019 novel by Lisa Taddeo (who also writes and produces the series), it will star Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise, and Betty Gilpin, and examine the sexual and emotional lives of their characters.
The Veil (TBA, FX on Hulu)
Industry insiders are saying Elisabeth Moss gives her best performance yet on this FX series—which is saying something, considering her résumé. The details of this thriller limited series are still mostly under wraps, but it will follow two women traveling across Europe as one tries to expose the other’s secrets.
Under the Bridge (TBA, Hulu)
The dramatization of true crime continues apace in 2024. Under the Bridge is adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by late Canadian writer Rebecca Godfrey. It investigates the murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk in 1997 on Vancouver Island and the moral panic it caused in Canadian culture. Riley Keough will play Godfrey herself, alongside Archie Panjabi and Lily Gladstone.
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