The new year is fast arriving, and with it new television. After the year we’ve had, we deserve every last second. 2023 was plagued with months-long strikes by both the Writer Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) reportedly stalled negotiations, which delayed the premiere of countless shows, like Abbott Elementary and The Boys. Thankfully, writers and actors have returned to set with brand new contracts in hand, and they’re all hard at work cooking up new seasons of your favorite shows and working on some new ones, and the TV shows of 2024 we’re looking forward to are just the beginning.
It’s still unclear how the strikes will affect the coming year of television, but there are a handful of highly anticipated shows, both new and old, that we know for a fact will air in 2024 like The Umbrella Academy, Love is Blind, Law & Order: SVU. Other series fans might have hoped would get new seasons in 2024 — The Last Of Us, The White Lotus, The Bear — will likely be delayed. Let’s not dwell on what we lost, and instead focus on what we have to look forward to. Get ready to set your DVRs and sign back up for those streaming services, because these 2024 TV shows are not to be missed.
Echo
The MCU will keep expanding in 2024, starting with Echo, a new show that puts Maya Lopez, aka deaf superhero Echo, front and center. Maya made her first MCU debut in Hawkeye where she was out for revenge on Hawkeye/Ronin (Jeremy Renner) after he killed her father (Zahn McClarnon) during his post-snap, worldwide massacring spree. That show ended with Maya learning that her father had been betrayed by Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), a man she considered family. In Echo, Maya will continue to face her past by leaving New York and traveling to her hometown in Oklahoma. Along the way, she’ll be haunted by ghosts of her life in the big city, namely Wilson Fisk (D’Onofrio is confirmed to return in the series) and even Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), though it’s unclear how he will fit into the series.
It’s no secret that Native American representation in Hollywood is abysmal, which makes Echo so exciting for both the MCU and television in general. Native stories deserve to be told with the same big budget production and fanfare as stories about white characters, and that alone is a reason to be excited for Echo. (It doesn’t hurt that it also looks amazing!)
When: January 10
Where: Disney+
Expats
Nicole Kidman is marking her return to television in Expats, a miniseries adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel The Expatriates. Unlike in her two previous television roles in Big Little Lies and The Undoing, Kidman isn’t playing a woman caught up in a murder thanks to her troubled marriage. Instead, she’s playing Margaret, a mother of three who suffers a tragedy while living in Hong Kong. She is just one of the three protagonists, all expats living in the city, whose paths cross amid personal struggles and life-altering events. In addition to Margaret, there’s Hilary (Sarayu Blue), a housewife who is desperate to have a child, and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), a recent Columbia University grad searching for her future.
This alone sounds like the makings of an excellent television show, but to make things even better, there’s a twist. That tragedy that Margaret suffers? Her youngest child, G, went missing a year ago… while Mercy was supposed to be watching him! Add in the fact that the show was adapted and created by Lulu Wang, who directed the devastatingly beautiful The Farewell (2019), plus a well deserved leading role for consistent scene-stealer Sarayu Blue, and you’ve got yourself some can’t-miss television.
When: January 26
Where: Prime Video
Vanderpump Rules Season 11
“It’s all happening.” The iconic forearm tattoo of Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay has never been more applicable than during the show’s explosive 10th season and gifted the world with the absolute mess that was “Scandoval.” After TMZ reported this year that Tom Sandoval, one of the original cast members, had been cheating on his long-time partner and castmate, Ariana Madix, with another cast member, Rachel (formerly known as Raquel) Leviss, what followed was total chaos and some of the messiest and most enthralling reality television in recent history. There were lies. Revelations. Tears. And a restraining order. All because of the man James Kennedy deemed “a worm with a mustache” — my new favorite insult.
Vanderpump Rules was the most-watched cable series in 2023 and, thanks to Scandoval, has even more fans ready and rabid for the drama to return. Heading into Season 11, Bravo has promised to throw us right back into the mayhem. Ariana and Tom are still living together despite loathing each other. Tom, who no longer has a mustache or a relationship with Rachel, is now single and attempting to mingle. Ariana has a new (extremely hot) beau. And there may be a new love triangle on the horizon.
But many questions remain. Is there any redemption for Tom Sandoval? Will Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney’s sandwich shop ever open? Is Rachel going to make an appearance? Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer.
When: January 30
Where: Bravo, Peacock (next day)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine star in this reimagining of the 2005 sexy thriller starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. In the original film, Pitt and Jolie played a married couple who discover that they’re actually both spies at rival agencies, sparking an infamous, home-destroying battle of the wills. In the new show, however, Erskine and Glover’s characters are two people hired at a mysterious spy agency who are told they have to live together as a married couple. Super secret spy missions will, no doubt, ensue. And while their union doesn’t start off particularly romantic, it wouldn’t be a surprise if these two spies get a little too close for comfort.
Most of the plot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith is being kept under wraps — they are spies, after all — but we do know that the show will also star Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, and John Turturro, so we should be ready for anything. It’s also unclear how this show will be connected to the film, if at all. It seems incredibly unlikely that Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie would appear, but fingers crossed for an Adam Brody cameo!
When: February 2
Where: Prime Video
Abbott Elementary Season 3
The WGA strike of 2023 was 100% necessary, but the AMPTP’s refusal to negotiate, thus elongating the strike, took many things away from TV fans, like a full season of Abbott Elementary. Season 3 of the beloved sitcom was supposed to premiere in the fall, but was pushed back to 2024 instead. All’s well that ends well though as fans will soon be reunited with their favorite teachers — Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson), Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams), Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter), Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), Mr. Johnson, and, of course, Ava Coleman (Janelle James).
No show of the past two years has been as healing as the award-winning Abbott Elementary, which somehow manages to balance outlandish humor, like Principal Coleman’s doomsday prep, critiquing white savior liberals like Jacob, and genuine romance. On that last point, Janine and Gregory shippers will definitely want to tune in to see the aftermath of their kiss in Season 2 and Janine’s decision to work on herself before entering into a relationship. Is that… jealousy I spy ahead? Find out when the show returns with a special one hour premiere!
When: February 7
Where: ABC, Hulu (next day)
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Fourteen years after M. Night Shyamalan’s underwhelming (and, uh, very white) The Last Airbender, the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series is getting another live-action adaptation, this time as a series on Netflix with actual Asian actors! Like the animated series, the new Netflix series will follow Aang (Gordon Cormier), a young Avatar who is destined to keep the peace between four nations— Water, Earth, Fire, and Air.
First up? He’s got to master the art of bending the four elements before he can confront Fire Nation, led by Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim), which has gone to war with the other nations and upset the balance. No pressure. Through it all, he’ll rely on his new friends Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley), and, of course, be transported via rides on Appa, his trusty sky bison. The show also stars Elizabeth Yu, fresh off her scene-stealing turn in May December, as the Fire Nation’s Azula. Aside from an A-list Asian cast, fans can expect elaborate sets to take them directly into the world of Avatar. Unfortunately, Appa remains CGI.
When: February 22
Network: Netflix
The Regime
If you’re worried about how you’re going to get your royal drama fix after The Crown ends, worry no longer! Granted, The Regime isn’t actually about the British Royal Family, but it’ll still be full of palace scandal and turmoil. After all, the show was helmed by Jessica Hobbs (who directed a handful of episodes of The Crown) and Stephen Frears, director of The Queen (2006), so fans can rest assured that the royal commentary will be on point, even if it’s not based on real events.
Set in a fictional European autocracy, The Regime follows The Chancellor (Kate Winslet), a woman who, based on the trailer, claims to be fighting for the freedom of her “people” while bathing in a golden bathtub. Not much else has been confirmed about the show, save for the fact that it will co-star Martha Plimpton, Andrea Riseborough, Guillaume Gallienne, and Hugh Grant. But, really, who cares about the details when you have Kate Winslet playing a dictator and yelling “Fuck them all!”?
When: Likely Spring
Where: HBO, Max
Fallout
Did you really think we’d get through this list without at least one show about a post-apocalyptic world full of creatures that want to kill the surviving humans? In 2024? No way. This year’s new dystopian future is brought to you by Fallout, the television adaptation of the popular video game franchise that takes place in the aftermath of a nuclear war where some survivors, known as Vault Dwellers, have only known underground bunkers. The show will follow Lucy (Ella Purnell, best known for playing Teen Jackie on Yellowjackets), a young Vault Dweller who decides to leave her sheltered life and go above ground and live in the extremely dangerous remains of Los Angeles, which has been ravaged by mutant monsters and various other oddities of life post-nuclear fallout. The series will also star Walton Goggins as The Ghoul, Aaron Moten as Maximus, and Kyle MacLachlan as Overseer Hank.
Now, you might think that you’ve reached your sad apocalyptic television limit, but don’t worry, this isn’t another The Last of Us. If the trailer is anything to go by, Fallout will take a cue from the video game and mix the doom and gloom with outlandish dark comedy. Which, frankly, is a welcome change for the end of the world.
When: April 12
Where: Prime Video
Bridgerton Season 3
Ladies and gentlemen of the ton, rejoice, for Lady Whistledown is back, and she’s ready to take part in her own romantic scandal in the newest Bridgerton season. The regency romance’s third season is all about Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and her longtime crush, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). But the road from friends to lovers could prove tricky for the pair, especially as Penelope continues her secret side gig writing the Lady Whistledown gossip papers. Now that Eloise (Claudia Jessie) knows Penelope’s secret, she might not be that fond of her former BFF cozying up to her brother.
Meanwhile, the Bridgerton family will be back in full force, with Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and his Season 2 love Kate (Simone Ashley) returning, along with fan favorites, Benedict (Luke Thompson), and, of course, Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell), who will no doubt be there to push Colin into making a match. And let us not forget, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and her confidante Lady Dashbury (Adjoa Andoh).
But before you go planning your year around Bridgerton’s obsession-worthy scenes of *ahem* the birds and the bees, know that this season will be split into two parts, with four new episodes dropping in May and the remaining four coming in June. Here’s hoping there’s plenty of romance in both parts of the season.
When: May 16 (Part 1), June 13 (Part 2)
Where: Netflix
House Of The Dragon Season 2
Buckle up, because the incestuous, violent, fire-breathing Targaryens are back in Season 2 of House Of The Dragon. The Game of Thrones spinoff might take place almost two centuries before Daenerys Targaryen became the Mother of Dragons on GoT, but not much changes in Westeros as the country is still plagued by power struggles, warring families, and, of course, dragons! Season 1 ended with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her very creepy uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), gearing up to challenge the new King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) for the Iron Throne. But if the Targaryens think that Alicient Hightower (Olivia Cooke), Rhaenyra’s childhood friend-turned-stepmother, is going to give up her son’s position on the Iron Throne without a fight, they’ve got a rude awakening ahead.
Fans can expect more backstabbing, scheming, and dragon riding and slaying as the show sets the stage for the long awaited Dance of the Dragons, the famous battle that GoT fans know eventually lead to the Targryens losing their grip on the Iron Throne.
When: Early summer
Where: HBO, Max
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