The Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2024 Offer Something For Everyone

Between the pandemic and dual Hollywood strikes, it’s been awhile since the new year’s television slate has been able to move forward unhindered. But so far, 2024 is off to a promising start—with a long list of both new and returning titles to look forward to. There’s a political satire miniseries from the Succession team starring Kate Winslet; a look into the salacious world of midcentury New York high society with Feud: Capote vs. The Swans; a Colin Farrell vehicle set in Gotham City’s criminal underworld; and a Kathryn Hahn-starring WandaVision spinoff, to name a few. Below, the most highly anticipated television series of 2024:

The Brothers Sun

Starring: Justin Chien, Michelle Yeoh, Sam Song Li, Highdee Kuan, Joon Lee

Premiere Date: January 4, 2024

Streamer: Netflix

Although Michelle Yeoh’s most notable roles have typically been on the big screen, the actress is also known to dip her toes in television; after last year’s American Born Chinese, the Disney+ series in which she played a mythical god, she’s returning with Netflix’s dark crime comedy, The Brothers Sun. Per the logline, when the head of a powerful Taiwanese triad is shot by a mysterious assassin, his eldest son, legendary killer Charles “Chairleg” Sun (Chien) heads to Los Angeles to protect his mother, Eileen (Yeoh), and his naive younger brother, Bruce (Li)—who’s been completely sheltered from the truth of his family until now.

True Detective: Night Country, Season 4

Starring: Jodie Foster, Kali Reis

Premiere Date: January 14, 2024

Streamer: HBO Max

HBO’s True Detective was a true hit when it first landed in 2014, giving us Matthew McConaughey’s now-infamous monologue about time being a flat circle. The subsequent two seasons weren’t quite as well-received, but the anthology crime series is set to make a comeback with none other than Jodie Foster in the lead detective role. (It’s also the first installment of the series to not feature scripts written by Nic Pizzolatto; the six episodes were penned by Issa López instead). Set in the dark and spooky Ennis, Alaska, eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves—and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

Cristóbal Balenciaga

Starring: Alberto San Juan, Bélen Cuesta, Josean Bengoetxea

Premiere Date: January 19, 2024 in the U.K., Ireland and Spain; US date TBD

Streamer: Disney+

Disney+’s Spanish Original series will tell the story of iconic fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, who was born in the Basque region of Spain in 1895. Per a description, the series will begin with the designer presenting his first Parisian Haute Couture collection in 1937, having left behind a successful career in his ateliers in Madrid and San Sebastian dressing the Spanish elite and aristocracy. However, the designs that had set the trend in Spain don’t quite work in the sophisticated fashion empire that Paris has become, where Chanel, Dior and Givenchy are the benchmark of Haute Couture. Guided by his obsession for control in all aspects of his life, Cristóbal Balenciaga will define his style and eventually become one of the most important designers of all time.

Griselda

Starring: Sofía Vergara, Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappán, Martín Rodríguez, Juliana Aiden Martinez

Premiere Date: January 25, 2024

Streamer: Netflix

If you were a fan of Narcos, you may want to give this one a shot. Griselda chronicles the real life of savvy and ambitious Colombian businesswoman, Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most profitable cartels in history. Blanco is played by Sofía Vergara, a native Colombian herself who transformed for the role.

Masters of the Air

Starring: Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann

Premiere Date: January 26, 2024

Streamer: Apple TV+

Masters of the Air, based on the Donald L. Miller book of the same name, is a truly long-awaited series: not only was its production and release delayed a few years due to the pandemic, but the show itself serves as a companion to the critically acclaimed Band of Brothers (released all the way back in 2001) and (less well-received) The Pacific (2010). The Apple TV+ series follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group Air Force pilots as they conducted raids over Nazi Germany, and portrays the psychological and emotional price paid by the young men conscripted into the war.

Expats

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

Premiere Date: January 26, 2024

Streamer: Prime Video

Expats, which is adapted from Janice Y.K. Lee’s 1998 novel, The Expatriates, follows three American women, Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy. Per a logline, the series interrogates privilege and explores what happens when the line between victimhood and culpability becomes blurred. Brian Tee, who plays Margaret’s husband Clarke, and Jack Huston, who plays Hilary’s husband David, also star in the series.

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, Season 2

Starring: Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Tom Hollander, Treat Williams

Premiere Date: January 31, 2024

Streamer: FX/Hulu

The second installment of Ryan Murphy’s Feud series dives into the salacious drama of midcentury New York City society’s most elite women—Truman Capote’s “swans.” Tom Hollander plays Capote, who ingratiated himself into the inner circle of rich, powerful, and glamorous women: Barbara “Babe” Paley (Naomi Watts), Slim Keith (Diane Lane), C.Z. Guest (Chloë Sevigny), and Lee Radziwill (Calista Flockhart). After becoming their closest confidant, Capote betrayed them by turning their darkest secrets into thinly veiled fictional fodder published in Esquire. The fallout from the piece was disastrous for both the swans and Capote, leading to his banishment from the society he so loved—and sending him into a dark place from which he ultimately never recovered.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Starring: Donald Glover, Maya Erskine

Premiere Date: February 2, 2024

Streamer: Prime Video

Given that the 2005 film version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith delivered one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood history (resulting in Brangelina), the television reboot has a lot of hype to live up to. But the Donald Glover-led series promises to be its own thing, with Glover stating in an interview that the story focuses on the modern day conundrum of marriage, and whether it’s truly worth it anymore.

Abbott Elementary, Season 3

Starring: Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Chris Perfetti, Lisa Ann Walter

Premiere Date: February 7, 2024

Streamer: ABC/Hulu

The beloved elementary school-set series has made a bonafide star out of its stellar ensemble cast, not least of all creator Quinta Brunson, who has won several awards and been nominated for many more for her work on the show, including a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe. Now that the strike is over, season three is set to return, and given that we left season two on a cliffhanger regarding Janine (Brunson) and Gregory’s (Tyler James Williams) romantic relationship, hopes are high for where the third installment will take us.

Palm Royale

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin, Amber Chardae Robinson, Carol Burnett, Kaia Gerber

Premiere Date: March 20, 2024

Streamer: Apple TV+

Palm Royale is both a period piece and a comedy with a dazzling ensemble cast—what’s not to look forward to? Loosely based on the book Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel, the 1969-set Palm Royale follows socialite Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she tries to “secure her seat at America’s most exclusive table: Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, Palm Royale asks the same questions that still baffle us today: ‘Who gets a seat at the table?’ ‘How do you get a seat at the table?’” In addition to Wiig, Palm Royale also stars Laura Dern, Allison Janney, and Kaia Gerber.

Bridgerton, Season 3

Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Claudia Jessie

Premiere Date: May 16, 2024 (Part 1); June 13, 2024 (Part 2)

Streamer: Netflix

Bridgerton has been a huge hit since Shonda Rhimes first brought it to Netflix in 2020, so it’s no surprise fans can’t wait for its third installment. This season focuses on Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), who has finally given up on her long-held crush on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). The story focuses on their friendship and potential love affair, as well as all the usual Regency-era drama (and fashion), as always, narrated by the all-knowing Lady Whistledown (Julie Andrews).

Agatha: Darkhold Diaries

Starring: Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata

Premiere Date: Late 2024

Streamer: Disney+

After the massive success of the Elizabeth Olsen-starring WandaVision, Kathryn Hahn’s breakout character from the series (Agatha Harkness) is getting her very own spinoff. Per a logline, “in the first episode we see Agatha Harkness (Hahn) finally break out of a spell she has been trapped in. She can’t wait to go back to her old murderous ways only to find that she is powerless. The only way forward for her is to embark on a perilous quest to get her powers back with the help of an unlikely friend or two.” Additional cast of the Marvel limited series include Patti LuPone as the 450-year-old Sicilian witch Lilia Calderu, Aubrey Plaza as the witch Rio Vidal, Joe Locke as familiar Billy Kaplan, and Sasheer Zamata as sorceress Jennifer Kale.

Hacks, Season 3

Starring: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder

Premiere Date: 2024

Streamer: HBO Max

The Golden Globe and Emmy-winning Hacks will return this year for a third season. The end of season two saw comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) successfully rehabilitate their careers with the success of a stage show, but left us on a cliffhanger when Deborah fired Ava. Where do we go from here? Will the two women succeed on their own, or bring their delightfully dysfunctional partnership back together?

House of the Dragon, Season 2

Starring: Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke

Premiere Date: Summer 2024

Streamer: HBO Max

Game of Thrones is the HBO gift that keeps on giving, including another season of its wildly successful prequel series, House of the Dragon. Season two of the Targaryen civil war drama will pick up where it left off, with Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) feuding with her old friend Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) over who is the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Expect plenty of battles, wigs, twisted romantic relationships, and of course, dragons.

The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti

Premiere Date: Summer 2024

Streamer: HBO Max

After the success of 2022’s Oscar-nominated Banshees of Inisherin, Colin Farrell is jumping straight into another intense role with The Penguin. Set in the aftermath of 2022’s The Batman and the flooding of Gotham City, The Penguin focuses on Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot (Farrell) as he rises to power in Gotham’s gritty criminal underworld.

The Regime

Starring: Kate Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts, Hugh Grant, Martha Plimpton

Premiere Date: 2024

Streamer: HBO Max

Another series led by a silver screen icon, The Regime stars Kate Winslet as the chancellor of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel. From the executive producers of Succession, The Regime will have the same witty dialogue and satirical take on people who have been in power for perhaps a bit too long.

Ripley

Starring: Andrew Scott

Premiere Date: 2024

Streamer: Netflix

Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn was a clear homage to the 1955 novel (and 1999 film starring Matt Damon) The Talented Mr. Ripley. Now, that IP will be turned into a new Netflix miniseries, with Irish actor Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers, Fleabag) in the titular role. Other stars include Johnny Flynn as Dickie Greenleaf and Dakota Fanning as Marge Sherwood.