5 of the most talked about TV series this year
Both streamers and broadcast networks will release another bumper crop of shows throughout 2024, meaning viewers will have a stacked calendar ahead of them.
Several hit shows from yesteryears are returning for subsequent seasons, including FX's "The Bear" and Netflix's "Bridgerton" (whose third season debuted on May 14, 2024). But audiences will also have new miniseries and first-season premieres to anticipate. Adaptations of books and video games are picking up steam, along with several intriguing original series.
To highlight just a few of the many exciting series of the year, Stacker analyzed articles from Vulture, GQ, and other publications to create a shortlist of five of the most talked about new TV shows in 2024.
Ripley
In April, Andrew Scott debuted as the villainous Tom Ripley in Netflix's black-and-white adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley." Critics have raved about the series, with Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall calling it "one of the best shows of the year."
In a departure from his role in "All of Us Strangers," "Ripley" sees Scott play a cool and calculating antihero, who, it seems, is attracting all kinds of attention both on-screen and out in the real world. Though "Ripley" is far from the first adaptation of Highsmith's novel, there's plenty of online buzz surrounding the new miniseries and Scott's starring role.
Academy Award-winner Steven Zaillian co-writes and directs the show's eight episodes, which launched on Netflix on April 4. Dakota Fanning and Johnny Flynn co-star—plus, John Malkovich, who played Ripley in the 2002 film "Ripley's Game," makes at least one appearance in the miniseries.
Fallout
Hot on the heels of 2023's runaway success "The Last of Us," "Fallout" is the next video game adaptation to shake up the TV landscape. Based on the massively popular Bethesda title of the same name, "Fallout" is set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles ravaged by nuclear war.
The series sees "Westworld" creators Lisa Joy and Jonathon Nolan team up again to positive early critical reviews. The cast includes Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, Moises Arias, and a feisty canine companion, CX404. Geneva Robertson-Dworet, known for penning the "Captain Marvel" script, and Graham Wagner of "Portlandia," are executive producers.
All 10 episodes dropped on Prime Video on April 10 and the series essentially took over the streaming world. In its debut week, viewers spent 2.9 billion minutes watching "Fallout," making it the highest viewership ever for an Amazon show in a single week by Nielsen standards. In its second week, it brought in an additional 2.6 billion minutes, marking the first time any non-Netflix streaming show saw two consecutive weeks of more than 2 billion minutes of viewership. Amazon reported the series brought in 65 million viewers in its first 16 days. Unsurprisingly, it's been renewed for a second season, so expect to hear more about "Fallout" in the years to come.
The Sympathizer
With scripts based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, studio A24 producing, and Sandra Oh and Robert Downey Jr. starring, it's no surprise that "The Sympathizer" is one of the buzziest shows of 2024.
The limited series is based on the 2015 debut novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and launched on HBO on April 14. Newcomer Vietnamese Australian actor Hoa Xuande stars as the unnamed protagonist, a Vietnamese communist spy at the center of a tangled web of secrets, lies, and code that only intensifies after the Vietnam War ends. Xuande was chosen for the role after an intensive eight-month audition process, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Screen legends Kieu Chinh and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen also play major roles in "The Sympathizer," while directors include South Korean hitmaker Park Chan-wook ("Oldboy"). Like its source material, "The Sympathizer" has some seriously dark and violent subjects to cover, though there is comedic flair as well. The series has received strong reviews from critics, but some have mixed feelings about what's been referred to by Salon as the "beautiful confusion" it intentionally creates.
Dune: Prophecy
"Dune: Part Two," the second installment of Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic, hit theaters this March, but that's not the only "Dune" release expected in 2024. Formerly titled "Dune: The Sisterhood," "Dune: Prophecy" focuses on the mysterious order of the Bene Gesserit thousands of years before the events of Frank Herbert's "Dune" novel, the basis for Villeneuve's films.
Though there are few concrete details about the series thus far, Emily Watson and Olivia Williams star as Valya and Tula Harkonnen, founders of the Bene Gesserit and ancestors to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen of "Dune." Reportedly, filming started in 2022. Though Warner Bros. hasn't set an official premiere date, we should see the series on HBO sometime this fall. The first trailer launched on May 15, 2024, racking in 2.3 million views by May 17.
Black Doves
Get ready for a tense, London-set spy thriller starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw. The forthcoming Netflix series "Black Doves" follows Helen (Knightley), a politician's wife and undercover spy who joins forces with fellow spy and friend Sam (Whishaw) to solve the assassination of her lover.
The rest of the stacked cast includes Sarah Lancashire and "Warrior" star Andrew Koji. Luther Ford from "The Crown," Tracey Ullman, and Adeel Akhtar will also appear. Though Netflix has yet to announce a release date, the series does take place during the holiday season, leading some sources to speculate that a Christmas-adjacent premiere could be in the cards.
Additional writing by Jaimie Etkin and Eliza Siegel. Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.
