The form of television is in kind of a weird place at the end of 2024, still shaking off the production delays of the pandemic and strikes and trying to figure out how to compete with the diminishing attention spans of the viewer. What can we learn about where TV is going by looking at the last 12 months?
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2025 
Maybe it’s that creators still matter. Steven Zaillian, Scott Frank, Mike Schur, Monica Beletzky, Issa Lopez—having a confident voice behind a show is something that comes through in the final product. It feels increasingly difficult for even the great programs to overcome the bloated amount of shows that are out there, but here are 20 shows that are worth digging through the rubble to find.
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20. “Evil”
We didn’t deserve Evil. One of the best shows of the 2020s came to an end with its fourth and brief fifth season on Paramount+ this year, despite efforts to get it picked up by Netflix or a competitor. For now, it looks like we’re done with this stunning dissection of what the title means in an era of viral hoaxes, insurrections, and social addiction. Funny, moving, and sometimes terrifying, Evil was unlike anything else in its era, a show that will only grow in esteem in the years after its too-early cancellation. – Brian Tallerico

19. “Lioness”
Taylor Sheridan may have some of the most popular television shows on the air right now, but there’s a reason they’re seldom in the Emmy conversations: they’re more entertaining than brilliant (and some are kind of honestly mid). But “Lioness,” his spy thriller about undercover CIA operations fighting the war on terror by employing female operatives known as Lionesses is really hitting its stride. For one Zoe Saldaña (who may very well earn an Oscar nomination for “Emilia Perez” next year) is excellent in it, and the show does some of what Sheridan does best: creating lean and mean action sequences that remind one of Michael Mann, sharp, witty dialogue, and balancing the professional with the human and the difficult price of the job while trying to maintain a family. Sure, its politics are kind of awful sometimes (this season makes a dig at trans people for no good reason), but his shows have always been defiantly anti-progressive (which is why the shows are so popular in middle America). Still, there’s also an absolutely terrific supporting cast around Saldana. Not only heavyweights like Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Kelly but great under-the-radar actors who always seem to really pop in his shows like Laysla De Oliveira, Genesis Rodrigue, LaMonica Garrett, Thad Luckinbill, Jill Wagner and more. – Rodrigo Perez

18. “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
There was no reason to think that a Prime Video adaptation of the movie that gave us Brangelina would be as thoroughly entertaining as this clever, sexy, fun genre mash-up. The main reason it works so well is the undeniable chemistry and charm of Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as the title characters, a pair of spies forced to live undercover as a couple. Glover co-created the show with Francesca Sloane, and it was one of the most purely entertaining of 2024. – BT

17. “Under the Bridge”
For this Hulu venture, Quinn Shepard adapted the book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey, a very personal account of an investigation into a horrible murder that rocked a corner of British Columbia. Riley Keough plays Godfrey, coming home and finding herself a part of the investigation into the death of Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta), who was murdered after a horrible bullying incident with some of her peers. Keough joins dramatic force with Lily Gladstone as a local cop and Archie Panjabi as the victim’s mother to tell an emotionally powerful true story of a tragic loss. – BT

16. “Manhunt”
The brilliant Monica Beletsky adapted the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” and turned what could have been a dry history lesson into a riveting study of political upheaval that feels timelier than ever in late 2024. It’s the story of the days after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln that follows two essential tracks: the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and the discussion over what to do as a country to heal. It’s a smart, riveting piece of dramatic filmmaking, anchored by career-best work from Tobias Menzies. – BT

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