It's been a year of excess on television. On the heels of last year's strikes, this year has felt twice as full, with new shows and delayed shows all crowded up against each other, fighting for our attention. Still, as we looked back on what we watched in 2024, it was surprisingly easy to narrow down our list of favorites. Plenty of TV series were good this year, but the great ones stood out from the crowd.
And this year's best TV had range — from feudal Japan to Northern Ireland, from vampires to demons, from the humor of teaching high school to the cutthroat drama of working in finance. Our list includes exciting debuts and old favorites, Emmy-winning smash hits and under-the-radar gems. In a time when Hollywood seems to be at risk of getting stuck in a rut, these series are a testament to TV's limitless potential. These are TV Guide's picks for the 10 best TV shows of 2024.
10. Say Nothing (Hulu)
FX's Say Nothing, an adaptation of Patrick Radden Keefe's bestselling nonfiction book about Northern Ireland's Troubles, is constrained by true stories — at least, true stories as alleged by the people who lived them. What's most remarkable about the limited series is how often it seems to move without inhibitions, as if it has no constraints at all. The show plays like pure, propulsive fiction, shifting across the decades from a spy thriller to a harrowing prison story to an elegy for the victims of war. Beautifully filmed, and led by a commanding cast, particularly Lola Petticrew as Dolours Price, Say Nothing uses its own entertainment value to haunting effect, as its clear-eyed understanding of the conditions that drive people to violence gives way to a deep, jittery grief. -Kelly Connolly
9. Fantasmas (HBO)
It feels safe to say there was nothing on TV this year quite like Fantasmas. From the mind of Julio Torres came this dreamy surprise of a series, which is framed around a fictionalized version of Torres' quest to find a lost earring, but is largely a showcase for his singularly strange brand of sketch comedy. Like his past work, which includes the canceled-too-soonLos Espookys and the film Problemista, Fantasmasmoves its biggest concerns to the periphery, from credit scores to potentially cancerous moles. On screen, Julio's willful ignoring of those issues in favor of indulging in the bizarre, like explaining the history of a miniature nightclub for gay hamsters or catching up on the very sinister reality show The True Women of New York, becomes a plotline in itself, as his agent Vanesja (a sensational Martine) begs him to take just one thing seriously, please. Fantasmas gave Torres' one-of-a-kind vision its brightest spotlight yet, and anyone who gave themselves over to it knows exactly how remarkable that is. -Allison Picurro
8. Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Pachinkois Apple TV+'s best show of 2024, and not enough people are talking about it. The series, based on Min Jin Lee's novel of the same name, returned this year with all the elements that made its first season brilliant, daring TV: a story following three generations of one Korean family that's at once expansive and intimate, piercing dialogue in three languages that pointedly reflects the diasporic experience, and star Minha Kim anchoring it all as matriarch Sunja (her older counterpart is played byYuh-Jung Youn). But while Season 1 mostly introduced the array of characters in the ensemble cast, this season dedicated quality time to unearthing their hopes and fears. And so much of what's exhumed threatens to devastate this home that Sunja built with her blood, sweat, and tears.Lee Minhoadded significant depth to his character, Koh Hansu, and Kim Kang-hoon and Kang Tae-ju — who shared the role of Noa — were also standouts of this season. Still, it's Minha Kim's performance as the resilient Sunja that's the emotional core ofPachinko.She masterfully injects her character with the quiet but undeniable strength of a survivor, and must be in every conversation for Best Actress come awards season. -Kat Moon
7. Girls5eva(Netflix)
Like a radio edit of a song about Fort Worth, the third season ofGirls5evaleaves you wanting more. After Netflix saved the series from cancellation on Peacock — where it lived for two amazing eight-episode seasons in relative obscurity — and granted it six more episodes, creator Meredith Scardino delivered the tightest, funniest, and best season of the show yet. The reunited pop group's mission to play Radio City Music Hall created a guardrail for the show's rapid-fire jokes to bounce off of, and it also provided all the tension the show needed for substantial character development. (Learning the truth about Wickie Roy's upper-middle-class upbringing was some of the best 30 minutes of TV all year; she walked through a Jeff Garlin fart cloud to get where she is today!) Season 3 was everything Girls5eva, but better. The even more incredible performances by Sara Bareilles, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps, and Renée Elise Goldsberry (and Richard Kind!); beating its own record for the most jokes per minute of any show; the hot earworms about elderly sugar daddies and the 12th largest city in America; the eerily relevant theme of searching for success but being content with just a few wins here and there... if this was indeed the swan song for Girls5eva, it goes out on a high note. -Tim Surette
6. Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Whenever a show of Somebody Somewhere's caliber is canceled (and there are very few shows of Somebody Somewhere's caliber to begin with), it falls to the fans to put a positive spin on the news. After all, what a gift to have had this show for three seasons! Just once, it would be nice not to have to trot out that old song and dance; imagine getting to keep a series this good around a little longer. But if any show has earned our hard-won positivity, it's Somebody Somewhere. Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen's graceful HBO dramedy, now in its final season, is a true original: a small-town slice-of-life story with a ribald sense of humor and a vulnerable heart. Led by the great Bridget Everett as Sam, a woman looking for direction in her Kansas hometown, the show offers plenty of escapes from the isolating depths of grief and self-sabotage: friendship, queer community, family, performance. But it also suggests that the work of finding happiness is endless. It doesn't promise big resolutions but small comforts. For a while, Somebody Somewhere was that comfort. What a gift to have had it as long as we did. -Kelly Connolly
5. English Teacher(FX)
What better place to learn how to get along than school? FX's new sitcomEnglish Teacheris embedded in the front lines of the culture wars: the suburbs of liberal Austin in conservative Texas, where blue and red mix into an indistinguishable swirl of purple. No show on TV is as understanding of our country's current messy state of polarizing extremes, putting targets on everyone — left, right, center, or otherwise — while preaching acceptance in the wackiest way possible. In one episode, a protest about a revitalized campus gun club ends with the teachers being required to get firearm instruction. In another, complaints about a dated powderpuff Homecoming game lead to the football players going all out with a full-on drag show and the cheerleaders learning self-defense. ButBrian Jordan Alvarez's excellent series — easily the best new comedy of the year — dances around these extremes with heart, using its hangout comedy core as a means to show we're all in this together. Gay teacher Evan (Alvarez) may have his differences with Markie (Sean Patton), the macho conservative P.E. teacher, but Markie has no problem going to Evan's birthday party at a gay bar and sticking up for him. High school principal Grant (Enrico Colantoni) spends most of his work day laying down the law as dictated by bureaucracy but has beers with the teachers after the bell rings. English Teacher is the best show to get schooled in how to survive everything we're going through. -Tim Surette
4. Evil (Paramount+)
Evil began its final season by opening the gates of hell. Then, gloriously, it cut to Wallace Shawn saying, "Well, that is odd." That was the Evil experience. Robert and Michelle King's supernatural masterpiece stared into the darkness but wasn't overwhelmed by it; the show was too curious and too amused by the world to give in to despair. For four seasons, a procedural about demonic possession was one of the most radical shows on television, diagnosing society's ailments and having a little laugh in the process. Evil was a cool series about moral and spiritual dilemmas; it was inventive within a traditional format; it was silly, earnest, transcendent. If this is my last chance to sing its praises, I'm paying tribute to the whole package.Evil could do anything, and it was good at everything. I always looked forward to being surprised by this show. Every strange story in the news from now on will feel like a great Evil episode that could have been. -Kelly Connolly
3. Industry (HBO)
After two seasons of flying under the radar as TV's most "if you know, you know" hidden gem, Industry finally got a long-deserved bump in popularity, just in time for its best season yet.Mickey Downand Konrad Kay's drama about a group of young people clawing their way into London's poisonous, cocaine-dusted financial industry leveled up in Season 3, blowing things up so spectacularly — and, in the cases of a few characters, devastatingly — by the end that there's no telling where it could all be headed in its upcoming fourth season. Part of the joy of watching Industry is that it's long proven itself to be just as unpredictable as its fully realized cast of characters, from the Machiavellian Harper (Myha'la) to the woebegone Robert (Harry Lawtey). Still, even Season 3's most jaw-dropping moments, like Eric (Ken Leung) stabbing his longtime colleague Bill (Trevor White) in the back, or Yasmin (Marisa Abela) choosing the security of the wealthy Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington) over Rob, seem inevitable when you realize how meticulously Industry has mapped out its every move. It's a rare pleasure to watch such a smart and self-assured series succeed. -Allison Picurro
2.Shōgun(FX)
When Hiroyuki Sanada called Shōguna "dream East-meets-West project" at a New York City screening in December 2023, his words were more than a lofty ideal. They were a precise description of FX's adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name. A transportive masterpiece that depicted feudal Japan in its majestic, complex glory, Shōgunhas set a new standard for authentic storytelling from a global production. Unlike the 1980 NBC miniseries adaptation, which, while paying homage to the East, ultimately centered a Western perspective,Justin MarksandRachel Kondo's series unapologetically tells the story through a Japanese lens. In theirShōgun, English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis)is merely a pawn in Yoshii Toranaga's (Sanada) artful game of political chess. His motivations, along with those of the other lords — including Kashigi Yabushige, portrayed by the inimitableTadanobu Asano — take center stage. The series is also elevated throughAnna Sawai's career-best performance as the stoic translator Toda Mariko. The praiseworthy acting, combined with the craftsmanship behind every frame — costume design, hair and makeup, rounds of translation between English and Japanese — makesShōgun a sublime modern-day samurai drama. -Kat Moon
1. Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
Following a near-perfect first season of television is a historically tough feat, but it should come as no great surprise thatInterview with the Vampire made it look easy. Rolin Jones' gothic drama had a lot of tricky ground to cover in Season 2 as it tackled the second half of Anne Rice's first novel, elegantly shifting from a New Orleans-set chamber drama into a theatrically Parisian nightmare. As the scale became more epic, it never lost the qualities that made it special — its lyrical dialogue, its richly detailed production design — nor did it lose its ability to weave together its two timelines with reveals both gasp-worthy and heart-wrenching. We didn't dub it "the feelings show" for nothing.
But the crux of the series was always its claustrophobic present-day Dubai scenes, propelled by Louis' (Jacob Anderson) desire to get to the honest truth of his curiously obscured memories. The introduction of Armand (Assad Zaman) into Louis' dynamic with Daniel (Eric Bogosian) turned their discussions into a delicious and dangerous game as the trio made their way through a thorny forest of interconnected memories. The Théâtre des Vampires acted as a marvelous backdrop to a season very much about performance (as well as a vehicle for Ben Daniels to go balls to the wall), but what makes the show work time and time again is how precisely it grounds all that theatricality in sincere emotion: How can you overcome self-hatred and learn to embrace your nature? How do you move on from guilt? How do you get your ex out of your head? It feels impossible to think that the same show that gave us dream Lestat (Sam Reid) bitchily mocking Armand also gave us a steely-eyed Claudia (Delainey Hayles) defiantly staring down the crowd who cheered on her murder, and yet its duality is exactly what makes this series unlike anything else on television right now. The season ends on a hurricane, but with rockstar Lestat poised to take the spotlight in Season 3, the next storm is already brewing. -Allison Picurro
Honorable mentions: Baby Reindeer, Elsbeth, Hacks, Masters of the Air, Slow Horses, The Sympathizer, We Are Lady Parts
