It feels like everyone is a little frustrated by television in the 2020s. The most common complaint is that there’s too much out there on too many platforms. How can one find what’s actually worth watching through all the noise? When there are 100 new shows every month across companies like HBO, Netflix, Prime Video, AMC, Hulu, and more, where does one even begin? And would classics like “Breaking Bad” or “The Sopranos” even be able to find an audience with so much competition out there?
We’re here to help.
We asked the six regular TV critics at this site (Brian Tallerico, Nandini Balial, Cristina Escobar, Clint Worthington, Rendy Jones, and Kaiya Shunyata) to name their faves of the year, and we got dozens of shows that really reflect a wide spectrum of genre, interest, and POV. The diversity of the list below is what’s most remarkable. Comedies, thrillers, dramas, action shows – there’s something for everyone.
We’ve assembled 25 of the best things you could watch right now, and we’re still missing some shows that pretty much all six of us like. What the list below reflects is the broad, current array of quality programs, including animation, horror, dramas, comedies, thrillers, and more. It may be harder to find what’s great on TV in the 2020s. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
25. “Girls5Eva” (Netflix)
Jumping from Peacock to Netflix, “Girls5Eva” remained one of the funniest shows on television today. The pop group at its center, comprised of Dawn (Sara Bareilles), Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry), Summer (Busy Philipps), and Gloria (Paula Pell), embarked on a road trip during its third season, and each episodic mishap they encounter had a significant impact on their growth. The ensemble is outstanding, but it’s Goldsberry as the resilient diva Wickie Roy who steals the show every second she’s onscreen. Her impeccable comic timing and phenomenal voice are such a force to be reckoned with; it’s criminal how her performance hasn’t been nominated for any Emmys yet. Stuck with a six-episode mini-season this year, in a better timeline, it would have been one of those network shows with a reasonable 20-episode per season count. It is what Girls5Eva deserved and what we need now. -Rendy Jones
24. “Three Women” (Starz)
Watching “Three Women” is an uneasy experience. The STARZ series uses a truly female gaze, which is still disorienting in 2024 when we remain awash in male perspectives. Based on the book of the same name, the series follows a journalist (Shailene Woodley) as she finds and tells the story of three women’s experiences with sex.
Women are everywhere in this production. They’re all the main characters, all the episode directors, and the vast majority of the writers, including book author Lisa Taddeo, leading the adaptation of her work as the series creator. In the strong ensemble, Betty Gilpin shines as frustrated housewife Lina. Gilpin glows and struggles and emits in a way that perfectly communicates this show’s ambition to portray how women’s interiorities and exteriorities interact, especially when trauma mars their road to fulfillment.
At its core, “Three Women” is an investigation into what happens when women assert our full humanity in a society that normalizes sexual violence. And the findings are disorienting, to say the least. -Cristina Escobar
23. “The Bear” (FX/Hulu)
After a rocky first season in which its food-porn inspo vibes clashed with a, let’s say murky understanding of Chicago’s food scene, FX’s “The Bear” bounced back with an incredibly assured second season that honed in on what works and got some more of the city’s details right. The third season, much like the restaurant at the show’s center, is concerned with sticking the landing: Now that we’ve gotten to this more assured place, can we maintain it?
Granted, Season 3 doesn’t feel as much of a quantum leap forward as the last season, but it offers more of the same sense of culinary and cinematic experimentation. Its premiere episode, a 36-minute wordless montage, is a daring way to start a season of television, offering spiritual glimpses into the blood, sweat, and tears Carmy and his chefs put into honing their craft (and the personal demons they wrestle to do so). It’s a show that’s evolving and changing alongside its vibrant cast of characters (Ayo Edebiri and Liza Colon-Zayas do remarkable work this season), and it’ll be fascinating to see what course they set in front of us for its final dish next year. -Clint Worthington
22. “Industry” (HBO)
From the first episode of “Industry” season three, it was clear that creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay were firing on all cylinders. Though the series has always been filled with sex scenes and career-ending decisions that aren’t for the faint of heart, season three proved that there was no going back. At the heart of this is a star-making pivot from Marisa Abela, who, with each yell and twitch of her eye, gives us a look into the psyche of a woman desperate to create a life where she is the sole person in charge.
Unlike most shows currently airing, “Industry” doesn’t stray away from the rot within each character. In giving them no time to react to the show’s intensified pacing, the series forces them to make decisions they may not have made two seasons ago. By the end, many of them lose aspects of their lives that they’ll never get back, cracking the show’s foundation and hurling it into unknown territory after a shocking finale. The series remains the perfect example of why it’s important to let shows last longer than a singular season, lest they never get the chance to become the best versions of themselves. -Kaiya Shunyata
21. “Arcane” (Netflix)
Riot Games and Fortiche Animation’s long-awaited and highly anticipated season 2 of “Arcane” was worth the three-year wait. Picking up mere seconds after the first season, the saga between sisters-turned-enemies Jinx (Ella Purnell) and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) explode beyond their wildest dreams. A bubbling war ensues between the regal city Piltover and the poverty-stricken undercity Zaun, from which they are from, following Jinx bombing Piltover’s council. As they are on opposing sides, Vi and Jinx’s relationship undergoes many unexpected twists and turns that captivate you to the edge of your seat.
The same applies to other players whose arcs were well-developed during the season, like Jayce (Kevin Alejandro) and Viktor (Harry Lloyd), Heimerdinger (Mick Wingert) and Ekko (Reed Shannon), Mel (Toks Olagundoye) and Ambessa (Ellen Thomas), and Vi’s love interest Caitlyn (Katie Leung). It’s an epic, dense, and action-packed affair bursting with state-of-the-art animation and a kaleidoscope of art techniques that leaves you dazzled. “Arcane” puts its money where its mouth is and delivers an awe-inspiring experience that is a visual feast to behold. -RJ
20. “Slow Horses” (Apple TV+)
Four seasons into Apple TV+’s hit spy show, there are no signs of creative sag behind the scenes of this consistently excellent thriller. Seriously, 24 episodes in, and there’s not a single clunker. In fact, the fourth season may be the best to date, bringing in a great villainous turn from Hugo Weaving and giving the excellent Jonathan Pryce his meatiest season to date. Of course, Pryce plays the grandfather to River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), who gets his juiciest season so far too, caught up in a mystery involving a terrorist attack and his own lineage. “Slow Horses” is smart, funny, thrilling, and just about perfect. It’s already been renewed for fifth and sixth seasons. I’m starting to believe it could run forever. –Brian Tallerico
19. “Sweetpea” (Starz)
Ella Purnell (on this list a stunning three times!) has murderous intent in her big doe eyes, and she goes full-on slasher mode in “Sweetpea,” one of the year’s best surprises. Based on the book series of the same name by C.J. Skuse, this brief inaugural season follows Rhiannon, an invisible woman who harbors repressed rage, grief, and trauma and unleashes that anger on men through murder. As Purnell dives into a confident persona as a wallflower turned serial killer, she delivers a dazzling slow burn to self-assurance. She turns a character study that could be flat into a fleshed-out portrait.
The same goes for the supporting characters, including Julia (Nicôle Lecky), her high school bully, who she wants to exact revenge on, and detective Marina (Leah Harvey), who serves as a contrast to Rhiannon with a few subtle touches that make their inevitable collision all that stirring. “Sweetpea” is sharply written, deliciously entertaining, and darkly funny. By the time the season concludes on a thrilling cliffhanger, it leaves you wishing for much, much more. -RJ
18. “Interview with the Vampire” (AMC)
It’s hard to think of a series released this decade that’s as unashamed, as melodramatic, and as thrilling as “Interview with the Vampire.” Season two ups the ante with Louis (Jacob Anderson) and his sister-daughter Claudia (this time played by an enchanting Delainey Hayles) fleeing to Paris after killing their maker, Lestat (Sam Reid). Though there’s a brief period of safety and a sense of home, it becomes clear that the coven they encounter, led by Louis’ new beau Armand (Assad Zaman), are indeed the kind of vampires Lestat warned them about.
When watching “Interview with the Vampire,” a quote from Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” comes to mind: “Sometimes dead is better.” Whether he’s resurrecting ghosts in his mind in Paris or Daniel Molloy’s (Eric Bogosian) manuscript in the present, Louis pushes himself further than he’s ever gone. This sparks a captivating and deeply empathetic performance from Jacob Anderson, who commands the screen in a way that no other actor this year, or perhaps this decade, has. Paired with a revelatory Assad Zaman, the two engage with a tension that crackles throughout each twist and turn before coming to a head in an earthshaking reveal that results in one of the most tender reunions in television history. -KS
17. “Disclaimer” (Apple TV+)
“Beware narrative and form.” These are the words that open Apple’s brilliant adaptation of the book by Renee Knight, a story of secrets, betrayals, and how easily we can be misled by what we want to believe. Cate Blanchett is simply phenomenal as a woman who gets a book in the mail one night and realizes it’s about her, about a secret she’s kept for years. Or is it? One of the many brilliant things about this show is how it makes us question what we know and believe about its characters, all the way to the stunning finale.
Kevin Kline plays the man who believes that Blanchett’s documentarian is responsible for his son’s death and who will do anything to destroy her, and the Oscar winner reminds us how incredible he can be in drama as much as comedy. Gorgeously directed by Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron, this mini-series really does feel like that overused cliche in modern TV that it’s a long film split into chapters. This is a project with a level of direction, cinematography, editing, and acting that stands alongside most Oscar bait this season. -BT
16. “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
The first season of this Jason Segel dramedy about a therapist who gets too close to his patients was reasonably entertaining. Still, everything about it went to another level in its excellent sophomore outing. The writers figured out how to really write for their performers, bringing out the best of Segel, Jessica Williams, and especially Harrison Ford, who hasn’t often been this vulnerable, moving, and funny. More than most shows in 2024, it’s a program made by people who love their characters, using these relatable, funny personalities to say something that feels pure and true. This is a great example of a team (writers, directors, actors, tech) working in unison, confidently moving in the same creative direction. This one is only growing. -BT
15. “Interior Chinatown” (Hulu)
Charles Yu’s adaptation of his award-winning novel, “Interior Chinatown,” is a powerful comedy that satirizes Asian stereotypes in ’90s media with a “The Truman Show”-like sensibility. Jimmy O. Yang is at his career best as Willis, a background character within a police procedural drama who fights his way into the spotlight utilizing his smarts and inventiveness. He delivers a charming and triumphant portrayal of self-actualization that makes you want to stand up and cheer in each winning stride Willis makes in his self-written hero’s journey.
Yang is paired with Chloe Bennett as Lana, a smart rookie cop, and Ronny Chieng as Fatty, Willis’s wisecracking, deadpan best friend. As Willis tries to uncover the disappearance of his older brother, the series unravels the complexities of Asian Americans in a world where they are limited. Showrun by Yu himself, the series is confident in the liberties it takes to fit the medium and does so with style and wit without sacrificing the source’s visceral commentary. -RJ
14. “X-Men ’97” (Max)
The release of “X-Men ’97” proved there are still stories that need to be told in Marvel’s expansive universe and how these stories can still be great when told by the right voices. Picking up right where the original series left off in 1997, the show wasted no time reintroducing itself to a new and broader audience. In doing so, the series may have surpassed its original iteration.
“X-Men ‘97” brings forth a version of this team that fans have been desperate for in the years following the Fox “X-Men” films. Thanks to its mature writing and fantastic animation, the series gives fans an intimate look at the superhero team while also delivering some of the year’s most thrilling action sequences. From Cyclops (Ray Chase) to Rogue (Lenore Zann), it feels like this is the true version of the X-Men, a version that isn’t afraid to be head-on with the politics that this beloved team was shaped around in the 1960s. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen these characters fighting together, no matter what iteration of them, but this time, it felt like fans could finally breathe instead of waiting for the series they existed in to drop the ball. -KS
13. “Like Water for Chocolate” (Max)
HBO’s “Like Water for Chocolate” adaptation answers the question, ‘What if “Bridgerton” was Mexican?’ The costumes, the sex, the star-crossed lovers, they’d all be there, but, they’d be joined by more magic, more food, and more macabre.
I poise that question partly in jest because “Like Water for Chocolate” existed decades before Shondaland. It is not derivative but rather exceptional, giving magical realism a feminine touch that manages to both honor the work and beauty of home cooking and delve into the racial injustices that powered the Mexican revolution. Produced by Salma Hayek, the HBO adaptation brings new life to the beloved IP, with Irene Azuela doing a fantastic turn as the cruel matriarch, Mamá Elena.
That said, the Spanish-language series hasn’t gotten the attention that “Bridgerton” has stateside. This is a shame because here’s a saucy show with luscious sets, beautiful young lovers, emotionally impossible situations, and mouth-watering credits. This “Like Water for Chocolate” is the rare show that makes you feel and taste something. -CE
12. “A Man on the Inside” (Netflix)
Michael Schur joints have their common traits. “Parks and Recreation.” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” “The Good Place.” They’re all powered by a fundamental belief in people’s decency, a quirky sense of humor, and a team mentality, fed partly by recurring players across productions.
Inspired by the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Mole Agent,” “A Man on the Inside” has all that and more. Ted Danson returns to Schur’s fictional playground as Charles, a retired and widowed engineering professor who decides to break out of his shell by joining a private eye (Lilah Richcreek Estrada as Julie) in her investigation of a stolen necklace inside a retirement community. As a spy, he interacts with other Schur alumni, notably Stephanie Beatriz, the facility’s executive director, and Marc Evan Jackson, the paying client.
Danson excels at the role, asked to be funny and vulnerable and making it all work. The result is a heartfelt addition to Schur’s body of work, another warm and humorous tale to affirm your faith in humanity. -CE
11. “The Sympathizer” (HBO)
The brilliant Park Chan-wook worked with Don McKellar to adapt the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, resulting in arguably the most underrated show of 2024. A riveting study of world politics, this is the story of a man (Hoa Xuande) who flees Vietnam at the end of the war but remains a spy for his home country and even becomes an advisor on a Hollywood war film (in one of the best hours of TV this year, directed by Fernando Meirelles). Robert Downey Jr. steals some episodes in a multi-role performance that recalls Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” in its exaggerated analysis of the decaying and corrupt American governmental machine. -BT
10. “Monsieur Spade” (AMC)
Scott Frank and Tom Fontana set themselves a tall order with AMC’s miniseries “Monsieur Spade”—can they replicate the cadence and mannerisms of one of film noir’s most iconic detectives, age him up, and set him as a fish out of water for a new age? Over the show’s six episodes, we see them do just that, crafting a beguiling story set in 1960s France, with the aging gumshoe (a world-wearied Clive Owen, never better) taking a break from mourning his late wife to solve a mystery involving an old nemesis, a missing girl, and the French resistance.
The show, like its mysteries, unfolds with the patience of a scholar, marking each new setpiece or cat-and-mouse interrogation with a casual, caustic wit prototypical of Spade in his prime. And yet, there’s a sense of welcome fatigue here, as we watch the old copper search for meaning in a world he’s convinced lacks any. It’s one of the most mature series to come out this year, and for that reason alone merits consideration. -CW
9. “Fallout” (Prime Video)
Video game adaptations are having a surprising moment right now, but for every prestige-y “Last of Us,” there must be a droll, dipshit cousin, and that’s where Prime Video’s “Fallout” comes in. Adapting the post-apocalyptic Bethesda games is no small feat—its atompunk aesthetic and tongue-in-irradiated-cheek humor are so singular to that franchise—but showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan manage to do just that. But between all the jokes about rotting body parts and homicidal medical droids, “Fallout” manages to weave a haunting tale of humanity’s capacity for self-destruction and how quickly innocence fades when war is the only thing you’re born into.
The cast is uniformly excellent, but MVP goes to Walton Goggins as the avatar for “Fallout”’s deliciously amoral perspective: The gunslinging Ghoul, a man who’s lived long enough to know that hope is dead and life is earned at the business end of a rifle. -CW
8. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (Prime Video)
Rarely does a series surpass the movie it was inspired by, yet “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” does so with strong writing and the marriage of talents between stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. It skillfully modernizes the concept of spies being assigned as a married couple and falling for each other during their endless missions while being nuanced in its examination of millennial love. John and Jane Smith are novice agents who occasionally fail in their missions, and their even-tempered and adversarial camaraderie sketches a romance that you will love to witness unfold.
The series works equally as a strong romantic comedy and a spy thriller because of the strong chemistry between the leads, the grounded tone, the filming of each mission on location, and the predominantly female-led writing. It shares the same potent ingredients as Glover’s “Atlanta.” It’s the romantic comedy of the year, and frankly, there should be more shows like it. -RJ
7. “True Detective: Night Country” (HBO)
It’s hard to name the main feeling I experienced watching Jodie Foster and Kali Reis investigate a set of haunting murders in HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country.” I was legitimately scared in my comfy, warm room thousands of miles from Alaska. I was anxious and shocked, expecting nearly every episode to have reached the nadir of the character’s arcs, only to be pushed further later. Watching at night, I’d strategize how not to have nightmares before turning off my light.
But the thing is, Issa López’s thoughtful reboot is also empowering. It takes an unflinching look at the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and invites us to see ways out of it, powered by those women’s mothers, daughters, friends, and colleagues. Of course, the acting is superb. And López, known for “Tigers are Not Afraid,” among others, brings her horror bona fides to the show.
Still, the worldview is more surprising in this HBO juggernaut, and kudos to López for making this once Matthew McConaughey vehicle brown, feminine, gay–and better. -CE
6. “Hacks” (HBO)
HBO’s Emmy-winning hit could have ended after two seasons. After all, the story of Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) felt like it reached a natural conclusion at the end of the last season, leading some to question how they could match it in a third outing. We shouldn’t have doubted the writers behind this show, who not only matched what came before but exceeded all expectations with a season of television that’s funny, insightful, and even moving. Of course, it helps to have one of the best comedy performances from Smart of not just this year, but the history of TV. -BT
5. “Evil” (Paramount+)
One hopes that the fourth season of Robert and Michelle King’s “Evil” isn’t really its last (rumors abound of a renewal or rescue by another network) because there’s just no other show like it on TV right now. In its fourth season, our gang of skeptics navigated such dire straits: Katja Herbers’ Kristen grappled with the knowledge her frozen embryo was used to spawn the Antichrist, and Mike Colter’s David waffled between his earthly desires and his yearning to serve the Church, while Aasif Mandvi’s Ben sees his skepticism challenged by a djinn that ends up haunting him.
But among those arcs, we got more of the Kings’ signature episodic structure, throwing our gang into one delightfully macabre situation after another, including a haunted Hadron Collider in the premiere. Peppered amongst the fun are some devilishly fun arcs, including Christine Lahti’s furtive efforts to break through the literal glass ceiling at Michael Emerson’s delightful corporation of evildoers. It’s a show grappling with modern concerns about faith, technology, social media, and our fragmenting social structure. But it also takes care to throw in the occasional goat demon and Wallace Shawn as a lackadaisical priest who jumps in to manage the team without really knowing or getting what they do. Who wouldn’t want more of that? -CW
4. “The Penguin” (HBO)
Where Matt Reeves’ mud and grime-soaked “The Batman” peered down from above at a Gotham cloaked in darkness and corruption, HBO’s “The Penguin” takes us down to street level with impressive results. Think of it as “The Many Saints of Gotham,” a “Sopranos”-style crime drama that just so happens to star Colin Farrell as the unflappable Oz Cobb, aka The Penguin. But of course, this is a story of ambition, and so we watch the amoral, corpulent canary of crime scheme and double-cross his way to the top of Gotham’s criminal underworld. (One wonders why anyone would want that smoke considering the Caped Crusader’s track record, but I digress.)
As in Reeves’ film, Farrell is unrecognizable and vulnerable, filling Cobb with a deep well of longing and insecurity that fuels his impulses toward violence. But the real surprise is Cristin Milioti as the wily Sofia Falcone, a rival with just as much reason to grasp for the brass ring as he, approaching the throne from two distinct leylines of pain. -CW
3. “Under the Bridge” (Hulu)
In a decade where the true crime genre has exploded, often leaving the real victims to the wayside, Hulu’s “Under the Bridge” feels like a miracle. The series focuses on the murder and subsequent investigation surrounding Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta), a young girl whose death has haunted Canada since the late 1990s. There is a deliberateness to this series, one that has no interest in entertaining the masses but rather wants to educate them through Reena’s story. What comes of this is a harrowing dissection of what it means to be a child growing up in a rural community, whether it’s your race or your class that forces you to be Othered.
“Under the Bridge” is a series that is concerned with how grief can consume us but also allows us to engage in acts of forgiveness that may not have existed prior. Hinging on devastating performances from Lily Gladstone and Archie Panjabi, the series never absolves its characters of their guilt. Instead, the series asks us if there is a place for forgiveness in the cruel world we live in, one where children are often abandoned by those around them and a system that is so keen to chew them up and spit them out. -KS
2. “Shōgun” (FX/Hulu)
The genius of FX’s “Shōgun” is how it transports. Here’s a series taking place in feudal Japan, where the characters, accordingly, mostly speak in an outdated Japanese, that transfixed audiences in the US. It does so by showcasing a fully built-out world in a way that feels effortless but is clearly purposeful and labor-intensive. Correcting the oppressively white POV of the hit mini-series adaptation of generations ago, Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga, Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige, and Anna Sawai and Toda Mariko are the show, each psychologically complex nuanced humans dealing with their place in their society in dynamic and surprising ways.
Leveraging stunning sets, detailed costumes, and great jokes at Europeans’ expense, “Shōgun” requires no knowledge of feudal Japan to succeed but offers a great insight into its period. It’s a story that only could have taken place where and when it’s set and has so much to say about love, loss, and power generally. Truly a masterpiece. -CE
1. “Ripley” (Netflix)
Often, remakes don’t hold a candle to the original, but sometimes, they expand and reinvent the material they’re inspired by. Netflix’s “Ripley” was thankfully one of those. Bathed in a sparkling yet frigid light, Steven Zaillian’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel feels revolutionary. It cracks open the spine of the book, peeling away at the layers of each page and contorting it for the screen. What comes of this is a cold, sharp, and self-assured series that puts its protagonist, Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott), neither on a pedestal nor under a microscope.
Rather, the series keeps its titular character at a distance. We watch as he falls deeper into the black hole he’s created, evading guilt by the skin of his teeth. Scott is fantastic as always, but his resolve, which collides with Marge’s (Dakota Fanning) bite, truly makes the series shine. The two of them, operating in a cat-and-mouse chase throughout half of the series, propels this adaptation into masterclass territory. Zaillian reworks these two characters into the most magnetic versions of themselves and catapults “Ripley” into the realm of adaptations that are close to being more mesmerizing than the work they’re based on. -KS
