We're here to celebrate the best TV shows of 2024 – and what a year it's been.
There have been a number of breakthrough hits this year. Netflix's Baby Reindeer went viral upon its release, and then went on to sweep the Emmys. Surprise rom-com Nobody Wants This absolutely dominated the streaming service's top 10, earning itself an early green light for a second season. And of course there was Supacell, redefining the superhero genre.
We've also seen some highly anticipated returning seasons – The Bear, we're looking at you – but then there's also been more Sherwood over at the BBC and a brand new season of Heartstopper.
With so much to add to your watch list, here's Digital Spy's pick of the best series of 2024.
Black Doves
Netflix has been on an absolute roll this year, and a brand-new spy show – starring Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire – was the cherry on the cake. Joe Barton's brilliant series was full of charm and heart, utilising its Christmas setting to bring some sentiment among the impressive action sequences and set pieces.
Black Doves season two is already on the way, so if you've not yet found out what all the fuss is about then the #1 Netflix show should absolutely be included on your Christmas telly watch lists.
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Mr Loverman
Starring Lennie James as Barrington Walker and Ariyon Bakare as his best friend (and long-time lover) Morris, the BBC's adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo's 2013 best-selling novel landed to a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and captured the hearts of audiences.
Nobody Wants This
Despite its name, the Kristen Bell and Seth Cohen Adam Brody-fronted rom-com had fans begging for a season two after they'd devoured the show's initial 10 episodes. (Thankfully, Netflix was listening because it swiftly confirmed that it will, in fact, be returning.)
Serial singleton Joanne (Bell) and hot rabbi Noah (Brody) hit it off immediately when they met at a mutual friend's dinner party, and their chemistry simmered as they navigated dating and what a possible future together might look like.
The series spoke to previously OC-obsessed millennials across the globe, while also depicting a fairly mature and healthy relationship (at least when measured against the abysmally low bar set by the genre's usual standards).
Rivals
This bonkbuster is as fun as it looks and sounds. With an absolutely stellar cast that includes David Tennant, Emily Atack, Aidan Turner, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson and Nafessa Williams, the Disney original is an adaptation of a Jilly Cooper novel. Oh, and EastEnders' legend Dominic Treadwell-Collins is on board to inject some delectable soapiness.
In case you haven't guessed from the HAIR in the trailers, the story is set (and originally published) in the '80s, for both better and worse, and it's felt through every single layer of the drama.
Pachinko
We didn't think it would be possible, but Soo Hugh's adaptation of Min Jin Lee's novel was just as heart-wrenching the second time around.
Visually it's simply gorgeous to watch, and Pachinko remains one of the best things that Apple TV+ has to offer. The epitome of character-driven television, with something important to say, you don't want to let this one pass you by.
Heartstopper
They weren't lying when they said that Hearstopper's third season was going to grow up along with its characters. And yet despite taking on some more mature themes, the show did so in a way that still encapsulated everything that the Netflix hit has become beloved for.
Nick and Charlie are in love, Elle and Tao are getting more intimate in more ways than one, and the gang are once again providing that safe space that many of us wish we'd had growing up.
Sherwood
James Graham's acclaimed BBC drama came back for a second helping this year, and it did not disappoint.
David Morrissey and Lesley Manville once again lend their acting chops, with the focus now firmly on the dynamic between the Sparrow and Branson families, but the cast as a whole is what makes this drama truly sing.
Baby Reindeer
It would have been hard for you to miss Netflix's limited series Baby Reindeer, as it's been one of the most talked-about new shows of the year. Even saying that feels like an understatement, as the series dominated news headlines and chat shows while also inspiring a lot of internet discourse. It was hardly a surprise that word of mouth pushed it into the chart of most-watched series on Netflix ever, although it's just recently lost its place thanks to Bridgerton.
But at its core, and controversy aside, Baby Reindeer is excellent, uncomfortable television. Its story centres on Richard Gadd's character of Donny, as he grapples with self-loathing, layers of trauma and a stalker who takes over his life.
Eric
Netflix was on a roll at the start of 2024 with this quirky Benedict Cumberbatch-fronted drama – which we awarded five stars in our review – storming into the streamer's trending Top 10 (where it stayed for an impressive five weeks).
From The Split boss's Abi Morgan, the miniseries followed a distressed (and troubled) father in the pursuit of his missing son. Set in a bustling 1980s New York, the show pulled in all manner of complex themes which only added to the richness of its storytelling. Oh, and there was a big blue puppet.
Supacell
With clear influences from such juggernaut shows as Misfits and Top Boy, Rapman's super-powered new series put a unique spin on the fantasy genre.
The series pulls in the vibrancy of South London, and explores a more grounded take of what would happen if a group of normal people suddenly developed powers. To add another layer, each of these gifted characters are Black – which brought a new dimension.
As Digital Spy wrote in our five-star review:
"What makes the show truly special goes beyond just its Blackness, though having the narrative set and filtered through the Black experience is something worth embracing. Diverse representation in the fantasy world is opening up to include stories from marginalised communities, but this is still one of the few occasions where Black characters get to lead the story, adding nuance in allowing new conversations to be had in this space.
"Rapman seems to have developed the perfect formula for exploring a myriad of social issues in a finite amount of time, giving each weight without making it feel tokenistic or forced."
The Bear
The Bear has backed itself into a corner with how good it is, so there was always going to be exceptionally high expectations of its returning third season. But if you're as invested in the characters, and the success of that chaotic kitchen, as we are, then there's lots of enjoyment to be had in once again immersing yourself in that Chicago-based world.
Despite some mixed reviews, the new episodes – which dropped all at once as a boxset – debuted with a strong Rotten Tomatoes score.
Without giving too much away, the story picks up immediately after the events of its tense season-two finale. Carmy is just as anxious, Sydney is still debating her life choices and Cousin Ritchie has a newfound purpose that he'll make sure he's shouting about every once in a while. It's great to be back.
Mr and Mrs Smith
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star as the titular couple in this adaptation of the 2005 espionage movie, but the Prime Video series really does justify its existence.
As Digital Spy said in our glowing review:
"For those fearful this is another bland export of the remake culture, it is not that. While it borrows a jumping-off concept and two protagonist names from the original film, that's really where the similarities end."
Here, two lonely strangers land a job at a mysterious spy agency and a marriage all at the same time and, with new identities and a relationship to contend with, our Mr and Mrs Smith navigate a mission-of-the-week while also developing feelings.
One Day
Already a cultural phenomenon thanks to the original novel by David Nicholls and the Anne Hathaway movie it inspired, Netflix's adaptation of One Day – which spun out into a 14-episode series – had its own moment in 2024. We named it better than the film, and we stand by it.
Making instant stars of its two leads Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod (who was a standout to be celebrated), One Day had a soundtrack that acted as a real hit of nostalgia and clothing straight from a '90s graduate's wardrobe.
But the romantic drama also devastated audiences all over again, thanks to that divisive ending. We will never, ever be over it.
Queenie
It was 2019 and Candice Carty-Williams' book was a staple of every train journey and book club, making its mark on the zeitgeist. It was hardly a surprise, then, when it was announced that Channel 4 would be bringing us an on-screen adaptation. It had felt like only a matter of time.
Sure, the story has predictably brought Bridget Jones comparisons. However, we have argued that the storytelling reaches deeper into the well of female experience than that. Starring Dionne Brown as the titular character, this show is one not to be missed.
Big Mood
Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan and It's a Sin's Lydia West? Sign us up.
Through best friends Maggie and Eddie, Camilla Whitehill's dark comedy pulls in themes of mental health and the complexities of female friendships, while being laugh-out-loud funny for millennials who will hang on every '90s and noughties reference.
What's more, the Channel 4 series – which was years in the making – moves the needle with its depiction of bipolar, still a rarely-explored topic on our screens.
Breathtaking
On paper, many might have feared that they just didn't have the energy for a "COVID drama", but Breathtaking proved itself to be unmissable telly.
ITV's drama saw the horrors unfold through the eyes of Joanne Froggatt's Abbey Henderson, a senior doctor in charge of a hospital team as things slowly started to unravel in the early days of the pandemic.
Jed Mercurio and his creative team, which included co-writers Prasanna Puwanarajah and Rachel Clarke (who wrote the book on which the show is based), drew from real-life accounts and experiences of frontline doctors and nurses. Breathtaking was a hard watch, but an important one; it didn't spare the viewer, just as they had not been spared.
We Are Lady Parts
Nida Manzoor's comedy series, first launched in 2021 with its debut season, revolves around a punk band consisting of Muslim women. The Channel 4 show has been celebrated for pushing against stereotypes of Muslim women, while holding up a lens to the "variety of ways of being" within that community.
This year, We Are Lady Parts' success birthed it a second season – which has been just as well received by critics and audiences alike, and has given it a well-deserved spot on this list.
Shōgun
One of the best series on Disney+, Shōgun boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes John Wick's Hiroyuki Sanada, Peaky Blinders actor Cosmo Jarvis and Pachinko's Anna Sawai.
The show has won widespread critical acclaim, while also generating a positive viewer reaction. Inspired by historical events, the series is an adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name, set against the backdrop of civil war in 1600s Japan.
TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
