Best TV Shows of 2024

Shōgun (2024) won Outstanding Drama Series at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. It became the first Japanese-language show to do so. It won a total of 18 trophies becoming the most awarded, single season of a television program. It was also reportedly one of the most-streamed programs in the streaming video era. Hiroyuki Sanada is a legendary Japanese actor who has been working for a half-century. His Emmy win for this show is probably his first major acknowledgment in over 20 years. Hopefully, this show's success bodes well for fellow Emmy-winner Anna Sawai and fellow Emmy nominees, Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira. Other notable Emmy winners include HBO's Hacks (2021), which won Outstanding Comedy Series and Netflix's Baby Reindeer (2024), which won Outstanding Limited Series.

Honorable mention goes to The Devil's Plan (2023), which technically premiered on Netflix before the calendar year, but I didn't watch it until 2024. It's a South Korean reality game show. It's not unlike CBS' Survivor (2000) or Peacock's The Traitors (2023). What makes it outstanding and one of the most incredible shows is that instead of physical challenges or trivia knowledge, the contestants who play have to be good at mathematics. The games are strategy competitions, requiring the use of geometry or algebra. It's one of the most intelligent games I've ever seen and better than so many, particularly on American television.

Best TV Movies or Nonfiction Programs

5. THE GREATEST NIGHT IN POP (Netflix

4. REZ BALL (Netflix)

3. NORWEGIAN DREAM (Here TV)

2. GANYMEDE (Amazon)

1. REBEL RIDGE (Netflix)

Best Returning Series

5. YOUNG ROYALS: SEASON 3 (Netflix)

4. SUPERMAN & LOIS: SEASON 4 (CW)

3. COBRA KAI: SEASON 6 (Netflix)

2. TOKYO VICE: SEASON 2 (Max)

1. THE BEAR: SEASON 3 (FX)

 

Best New Series

9. FANTASMAS (HBO)

8. TERMINATOR ZERO (Netflix)

7. THE MADNESS (Netflix)

6. FIGHT NIGHT: THE MILLION DOLLAR HEIST (Peacock)

5. CLIPPED (FX)

4. THE BROTHERS SUN (Netflix)

3. AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: AARON HERNANDEZ (FX)

2. HOW TO DIE ALONE (Hulu)

1. MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY (Netflix)