From Arcane Season 2 to the live-action adaptation of Fallout, there’s a lot of TV to look forward to this year.
If there’s one thing to take away from this list, it’s that we live in a new golden age of television. Whether you’re into gritty detective stories or superhero franchises, this year has something for every channel surfer out there - and most of them are budgeted like blockbusters to boot. The League of Legends series Arcane is finally coming back with new episodes this November for one, while Fallout gets its first live-action adaptation on Amazon Prime.
Zombies, X-Men and sitcoms; this year has it all. These are our most anticipated TV shows of 2024:
True Detective: Night Country (January 14)
We’re cheating a little with this one, as it’s already airing. The fourth season of True Detective is a crime thriller set in a fictional town in Alaska, where residents putting up with multiple days of nighttime find themselves at the center of a mysterious series of disappearances.
Masters of the Air (January 26)
This World War II-set series is meant to serve as a companion piece to Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010), only this time the story follows the 100th Bomb Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The unit was nicknamed the ‘Bloody Hundredth’ due to all the losses that followed its combat missions, so this could be a pretty harrowing watch.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (February 2)
Donald Glover (Community) and Maya Erskine (Blue Eye Samurai) star in this action-comedy remake of the 2005 movie of the same name, though it sports a few notable differences in story. The series follows two spies who get paired up together to impersonate a married couple named John and Jane Smith for a series of missions.
Abbott Elementary Season 3 (February 7)
This award-winning, very funny workplace sitcom about a group of schoolteachers in an underfunded elementary school finally returns with new episodes this year. In Abbott Elementary, a documentary crew records the many shenanigans teachers face while working in a public school in Philadelphia, where second-grade teacher Janine Teagues is determined to help her students against all odds.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (February 22)
Of all the titles on this list, this might be the one I’m most uncertain about. Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender looks as authentic as it gets however, set in a world where people called benders can manipulate one of four elements: water, earth, fire and air. The only person capable of manipulating all four elements is the Avatar, but he’s been missing for a century… until now. Can Netflix improve upon a classic? We'll see in February.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (February 25)
The Walking Dead’s original series protagonist Rick Grimes returns in this miniseries, which follows the survivor’s adventures after being presumed dead by his former friends. While he finds new allies in a zombified world, the katana-wielding Michonne searches the apocalypse for her former partner.
Shōgun (February 27)
This ambitious adaptation of James Clavell’s novel of the same name follows the collision of three different characters: an English sailor who winds up shipwrecked in Japan, a shrewd and powerful daimyo with dangerous political rivals and a highly-skilled woman with dishonourable family ties whose loyalty is put to the test. Set in Japan during the late 1500s to early 1600s, the series will focus on a political struggle over the country’s rule.
The Regime (March 3)
Created by Succession and The Menu writer Will Tracy, this political satire is set within the palace of a modern European authoritarian regime as it unravels over the course of a year. Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant star in the HBO series, which is keeping the rest of its story under wraps. Intriguing.
3 Body Problem (March 21)
The creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones are behind this adaptation of the acclaimed sci-fi trilogy The Three-Body Problem. The series kicks off with a young woman making a fateful decision in 1960s China, which has massive consequences on a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. With the laws of nature unravelling around them, five former colleagues must confront the greatest threat humanity has faced in history.
Fallout (April 12)
Per Amazon, “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.” This game adaptation of the Fallout franchise comes from the creators of Westworld.
X-Men ‘97 (Early 2024)
One of the most unexpected nostalgia plays from Marvel Studios thus far is X-Men ‘97, a continuation of the classic X-Men: The Animated Series that picks up right where it left off… 27 years later. Most of the original cast is back for this continuation, which sees Storm and Wolverine try to continue the X-Men while Mr. Sinister strives to end the team once and for all. The series is being developed by Beau DeMayo, writer of The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, Moon Knight and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds among others.
House of the Dragon Season 2 (Summer 2024)
The bloody, messy saga of the Targaryen saga continues this year, as the war of succession within the family finally kicks off irrevocably. After the tragic and climactic events of Season 1’s finale, Rhaenyra Targaryen is now set to wage war against her former childhood friend Alicent Hightower - not just to decide who rules the Iron Throne, but for the sake of pure cold-blooded revenge.
Arcane Season 2 (November 2024)
Vi and Jinx head towards an inevitable confrontation in this follow-up to Netflix’s League of Legends animated series, which continues to flesh out the origin stories of various Champions from the game. This season, it looks like the wolf-like beast Warwick is entering the fray.
Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (Late 2024)
It was Agatha all along! One of Marvel Studios’ few TV series this year will follow Agatha Harkness, the witch behind most of the chaos that unfolded in WandaVision. After freeing herself from containment, the powerless magic-user seeks to regain her former abilities with the help of a few unlikely allies.
Dune: Prophecy (Late 2024)
This prequel to Dune and Dune: Part Two is set 10,000 years before the events of either movie, following sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen as they establish the Bene Gesserit and combat forces that threaten to put an end to humankind. Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Mark Strong and more star.
The Acolyte (TBA 2024)
This Star Wars series is set at the tail end of the High Republic era, which is viewed as a golden age for both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Around 100 years before The Phantom Menace, a former padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes - but both unearth more sinister forces than they could have anticipated instead. Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland show runs the series, which stars an ensemble cast of Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-Jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen and more.
The Franchise (TBA 2024)
Superhero franchises can be difficult to put together. Just look at The Franchise - a series about exactly that. This HBO comedy comes from Armando Iannucci (Veep, The Thick of It), Jon Brown (Succession) and Sam Mendes (Skyfall, 1917), whose combined credentials alone make this worth keeping an eye on. The series follows a film crew who face various issues during the dysfunctional production of a superhero film.
The Boys Season 4 (TBA 2024)
The Boys returns for more blood-splattered superhero mayhem this season, where Homelander has finally taken off his mask to show the public his true murderous self - only, plot twist! They love him for it. While Starlight and Homelander seemingly draw factions in a superhero civil war, the Boys continue to find new ways to take down Vought and the supervillains it produces.
The Penguin (Late 2024)
This spin-off of The Batman follows the Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell), who seeks to climb the ladder of Gotham’s criminal underworld after a series of floods and murders leave it vulnerable to a power struggle.
The Umbrella Academy Season 4 (TBA 2024)
Netflix’s sci-fi superhero series The Umbrella Academy will release its final batch of episodes later this year, closing the book on the Hargreeves siblings for good. When last we left them, the Hargreeves were left in a rebuilt universe where their lives had been altered to unknown extents - Luther was no longer an ape-man, Five’s missing limb returned and no one had their powers anymore. The family went their separate ways, unaware that their dead brother Ben is now alive in Seoul.
Wondering what else to watch and play this year? Check out our most anticipated anime of 2024 here and our most anticipated games of 2024 here.