There are two kinds of great TV shows: the kind that millions of people are watching and talking about and the kind that never enter the larger cultural conversation. In the latter case, it is not due to lack of value. It's just that not every good drama finds its fandom.
So you'd be forgiven for missing out on one—if not all—of the best movies to come out this past year. After all, with countless networks in a variety of formats (broadcast, cable, streaming, etc.) all looking to get into the original content game, there's a lot of TV to sort through. Some of them are worse than others; some of them much worse. Luckily, we've done the heavy lifting and taken the guesswork out of you. Here are our picks of the best TV shows you might have missed in 2024.
After the flood
Whatever you think After the flood is, maybe you're wrong — or at least missing a large part of the series' appeal. After flash flooding left much of the town of Waterside in Yorkshire under water, police officer Jo Marshall (Peaky Blinders' Sophie Rundle) is called to a parking garage, where the body of a man trapped in an elevator, presumably drowned, is found. But when authorities learn that the unidentified man was killed three days before the flood, Jo will do everything he can to register the body in the morgue. When she makes the very wrong decision to enter his DNA into an ancestry database, she learns that the man who was definitely breathing just 72 hours ago was presumed dead for many years. For Jo, who is just weeks away from giving birth, it's a race to find the killer before motherhood arrives. And in doing so, she discovers that not everyone—even those closest to her—are or who they say they are. Good news for those who give it a watch: After the flood has been renewed for a second season.
Criminal records
Peter Capaldi fights type as Daniel Hegarty, a veteran detective nearing the end of an impressive career whose legacy may be at stake. When an anonymous informant provides some shocking information that casts doubt on the verdict in a famous, decades-old case in which Hegarty was involved, he would rather imagine that he had do things right the first time. What he did not expect was that detective June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) also received the same information and began to track down Hegarty, which put the two in an extreme confrontation. The always charming Capaldi has found a great sparring partner in Jumbo. A second season is already in the works.
Diarra From Detroit
Diarra Brickland (Diarra Kilpatrick) is a teacher going through a painful divorce who finally feels like she might be ready to get back into the dating scene—or at least have a little fun on Tinder. The person she didn't expect was Chris (Shannon Wallace), a man with the potential to become a true soulmate. When she stops hearing from him after a glorious night together, Diarra insists that he must be missing, because there's no way he'd be a pimp…right? Her closest friends are skeptical, but Diarra goes all in on the search for her man—and soon finds herself entangled in Detroit's dangerous criminal underworld. Did we mention that it's a comedy? Kilpatrick is a force of nature in this BET+ series, which she creates and produces (with Kenya Barris).
Lost boys and fairies
We know that Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer is not the final word on quality. But it says something Lost boys and fairies has a perfect score of 100 percent (but is still based on half a dozen critic reviews). After nearly a decade together, Gabriel (Sion Daniel Young) and Andy (Fra Fee) decide they are ready to step into parenthood. But as they officially begin the adoption process, Gabe – whose childhood was traumatized by his mother's death and a strained relationship with his homophobic father – worries that he might incapable or unworthy of being a loving father or mother. . It's a poignant and powerful reminder that the ties that bind us can also break us.
hunt
Even if you weren't paying attention in third grade history class, you probably know the basics about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at the hands of John Wilkes Booth. But hunt not about service level history; Quite the opposite. It reveals the lengths that Lincoln's close friend and secretary of war Edwin Stanton (Tobias Menzies) went to to capture Booth. Series creator Monica Beletsky, who previously served as writer and producer on Fargo, Leftover food, Be a parentAnd Friday night lightsis meticulous in its approach to getting the details just right (this is sure to please any presidential history buff).
MaryLand
Becca (Suranne Jones) and Rosaline (Eve Best) were once close sisters but have grown apart over the years because time, space and circumstances have changed them both. When their mother is suddenly found dead on the Isle of Man, they must come together – however briefly – to identify her body and transport it back to the UK, where their father is waiting grandma. While both sisters are confused as to what their mother was doing on the island in the first place, they soon learn about the many buried chapters of their mother's history that brought her to this place. Jones (Gentleman Jack) and Best (Dragon's House) is never better than when it's just the two of them, as sisters, for better or worse.
Mr. Spade
Clive Owen joins a long list of formidable actors, from Humphrey Bogart to Tom Wilkinson, to take on the role of famous private detective Sam Spade—Dashiell Hammett. In this case, Mr. Spade takes place in the early 1960s, two decades after the event Maltese falconand Spade have decided to retire to the picturesque town of Bozouls in the South of France. But when a group of nuns are brutally murdered at a nearby convent, Spade will have to don her detective hat again to solve the crime.
My Jane
With a somewhat reminiscent tone Great EmperorGemma Burgess' My Jane reimagines the life of Lady Jane Gray (Emily Bader) through a somewhat supernatural lens. That's right, in this version of 16th-century England, there are a lot of shapeshifters — which only adds to the weirdness. However, at its core, My Jane tells the story of the budding romance between Jane and Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel), whom Jane's mother has arranged for her to marry. Sadly, we only have eight episodes of the series as Amazon announced its cancellation after just one great season.
Pradeeps of Pittsburgh
Lost star Naveen Andrews puts his comedic chops to good use in this darkly humorous tale of the American Dream gone wrong. When a business opportunity seemingly presents itself, family patriarch Pradeep Mahesh (Andrews) moves his family from India to America, where culture shock is the least of their problems. By the time we met the family, they had been living in Pittsburgh for two years — and were recounting their story to a pair of federal agents (Pete Holmes and Romy Rosemont) from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services , as they are also suspected of possibly burning down the house of their snobby neighbors (Megan Hilty and Ethan Suplee). The best part is that the story is partly based on the real life of creator Vijal Patel.
Road
The small screen has had good results for Colin Farrell this year, most notably the success of penguin. But five months before reprising his role as Oz Cobb, the Oscar-nominated actor turned to a neo-noir style for the role. Road. In the stylish crime drama Farrell plays John Sugar, a private detective hired to investigate the disappearance of the niece of a major Hollywood producer while battling some of his own personal demons. yourself. If you've heard anything about the show, you probably know that there's a twist (actually more than one of them). A second season has been confirmed.
Nell betrayed
Sally Wainwright has never been known as the creator of “family-friendly” dishes—unless your kids think binge-watching Happy Valley It's a story for all ages. But she is the creative force behind it Nell betrayed makes sense when you watch even the first episode. After being accused of murder, Nell Jackson (Louisa Harland) becomes one of England's most feared female assassins. Of course it's all a hoax, but Nell realizes that the best way to clear her name is to lean into the notoriety surrounding her and have a little fun with it. Harland is a joy to watch (even if you know there's no Season 2 on the menu).