2024 TV Preview: Avatar, Echo, Shōgun, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Penguin and 15 More Shows We’re Excited About
We don’t mean to shoo 2023 TV out the door. On the contrary, we’ve devoted much of this month to honoring the best, worst and everything in between that television had to offer this year, which has been a delightful (and occasionally gruesome) stroll down memory lane.
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But with the current calendar year winding down, it’s time to look ahead to 2024’s TV offerings — and there are quite a few that we’re very excited to have on our screens in the new year.
The list below highlights 20 upcoming shows that Team TVLine is highly anticipating, from Netflix’s long-awaited (and, we hope, faithfully executed) Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation to Donald Glover and Maya Erskine’s fresh take on Mr. and Mrs. Smith, coming to Prime Video in February.
Not all of our picks are brand-new series, though. Alongside the rookies like CBS’ Good Wife spinoff Elsbeth and Max’s Batman offshoot The Penguin, you’ll find a handful of existing series whose returns we’re eagerly awaiting, like Paramount+’s Criminal Minds: Evolution and ABC’s Will Trent.
Keep scrolling to see all 20 shows we’re especially excited to watch in 2024, then hit the comments with your own contributions!
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Nickelodeon’s animated series has been owed a proper live-action adaptation ever since M. Night Shyamalan’s 2010 big-screen flop. And based on everything we’ve seen of this lovingly crafted version, from its faithful casting to its stunning visuals, we have a feeling this will finally wash the bad taste out of fans’ mouths. Our confidence is boosted even further by the success of other recent Netflix adaptations, including One Piece and Yu Yu Hakusho. — Andy Swift
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Feb. 22 (all episodes)
Criminal Minds: Evolution (Paramount+)
WHY IT EXCITES US: TVLine’s initial review of the CBS staple’s streaming revival posited, “What if Criminal Minds and a prestige cable drama had a baby?” The answer, of course, came in the form of a slightly grittier, fully engaging spin on a procedural we knew so well, with not a single longtime cast member missing a beat. And now we can’t wait to see what Prentiss, Rossi et al. do next. — Matt Webb Mitovich
SEASON 2 (OR IS IT 17?) PREMIERE DATE: 2024
Crystal Lake (Peacock)
WHY IT EXCITES US: The Friday the 13th franchise has been bogged down for years thanks to some long-running legal battles that stalled any further projects. We’ve been jonesing for an update — anything! — involving the hockey-masked killer, Jason Voorhees, and next year we’ll finally get our wish. As an extra bonus, the Crystal Lake prequel series is in the experienced hands of Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) and the super-buzzy A24 studio. Sign us up for camp, already! — Nick Caruso
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: 2024
Echo (Disney+/Hulu)
WHY IT EXCITES US: After Maya Lopez (played by Alaqua Cox) nearly killed her adoptive father Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) in the live-action Hawkeye series, we’re eager to see the deaf and Indigenous martial artist navigate the fallout from that, while also confronting her past in the upcoming offshoot. And as Disney+’s first Marvel series rated TV-MA — which will also feature Charlie Cox reprising his role as Daredevil — the show looks to be a gloriously brutal affair, and we just love that for Maya. — Keisha Hatchett
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 9/8c (all five episodes)
Elsbeth (CBS)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Carrie Preston’s seemingly-scatterbrained-but-actually-secretly-sharp lawyer was one of the most memorable and fascinating supporting characters on The Good Wife. So we can’t wait to learn more about the puzzle that is Elsbeth Tascioni, and to see what her life looks like now that she has the spotlight in her own series. — Vlada Gelman
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Feb. 29, at 10/9c
Mary & George (Starz)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Based on the scandalous true story of Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, and George Villiers, “a treacherous mother and son who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of King James I,” the historical drama promises to be deliciously twisted and highly entertaining, judging by the teaser trailer. And did we mention that the two main roles are played by the incomparable Julianne Moore and the on-a-roll Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue)? — V.G.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: 2024
Genius: MLK/X (National Geographic)
WHY IT EXCITES US: We’re really looking forward to seeing Chevalier’s Kelvin Harrison Jr. and The Underground Railroad’s Aaron Pierre respectively recontextualize Civil Rights Movement icons Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X as complex human beings in a powerful limited series chronicling their parallel stories. Plus, given the current political climate — resulting in books on Black history being banned across the country — this timely show should be considered essential viewing. — K.H.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, Feb. 1, at 9/8c
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
WHY IT EXCITES US: We were already on board for anything Donald Glover and Maya Erskine did next after Atlanta and PEN15, and they saved us time by starring in the same show, taking over for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a new take on the 2005 married-spies thriller. Glover co-created the new series, which puts a surprising spin on the original story, and the trailer promises lots of fun guest stars (Parker Posey! Alexander Skarsgård! Sarah Paulson!) along with sexy banter and high-octane James Bond action. — Dave Nemetz
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Feb. 2
The New Look (Apple TV+)
WHY IT EXCITES US: In The New Look, fashion isn’t frivolous, and aesthetics aren’t inconsequential — they’re the very things bringing life back to Paris following World War II Nazi occupation. Telling the true story of Christian Dior (played by Secret Invasion’s Ben Mendelsohn), Coco Chanel (The English Patient’s Juliette Binoche) and more style icons, the series chronicles the launch of modern fashion in the wake of global horror. With plenty of high-stakes drama, stunning visuals and a soundtrack produced by Taylor Swift’s partner-in-crime Jack Antonoff, we have high hopes for this one. — Claire Franken
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, Feb. 14
Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)
WHY IT EXCITES US: The first season of Hulu’s take on Liane Moriarty’s novel ended with sufficient closure for Nicole Kidman’s Masha and the titular group of retreat guests; in turn, we admittedly scoffed a bit at the June announcement of its upcoming second season. But the drama has since cast a murderers’ row of Season 2 talent, including Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Christine Baranski (The Good Fight) and Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus). Consider our return trip booked. — Rebecca Iannucci
SEASON 2 PREMIERE DATE: 2024
Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Because we’d watch any combination of Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern and Carol Burnett in a TV show — and this period piece (a haves and have-nots story set during the powder keg year of 1969) gives us all four of ‘em! And did we mention how pretty these first look photos are? — Ryan Schwartz
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Wednesday, March 20
The Penguin (Max)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Colin Farrell’s take on ruthless criminal Oswald Cobblepot was a highlight of 2022’s The Batman film, and we’re eager to see what Farrell will do when The Penguin takes center stage in his own spinoff. Plot details remain scarce, but with The Batman writer-director Matt Reeves on board as an executive producer, and a cast that also includes Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) and Michael Kelly (House of Cards), we hardly need to know what this series is about. — R.I.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: 2024
The Residence (Netflix)
WHY IT EXCITES US: We’ve had a Scandal-sized hole in our hearts since 2018, so the opportunity to return to the White House by way of Shonda Rhimes is too good to pass up. All the better that this upstairs-downstairs mystery stars Uzo Aduba as a quirky detective named Cordelia Cupp. (Come on now!) It also marks the final TV role played by Andre Braugher, who died this year after a brief battle with lung cancer — that is, assuming the part isn’t recast, as only four of the show’s eight episodes were completed prior to his passing. — A.S.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: 2024
Shōgun (FX)
WHY IT EXCITES US: FX brings feudal Japan to vivid life in this limited series — an update on the hit 1980 miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain — about an English sailor who is marooned in a 17th-century Japanese fishing village. The trailer is filled with stunning imagery, from savage acts of violence to grandly staged battle scenes, and Anna Sawai (Pachinko, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) continues her recent hot streak as the translator caught between the white castaway and her Japanese lord. — D.N.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 27 (at midnight ET on Hulu and at 10/9c on FX later that night)
Squid Game (Netflix)
WHY IT EXCITES US: We’d nearly forgotten about this Emmy-winning South Korean thriller, more than two full years after its debut. But then Squid Game: The Challenge rolled around and our anticipation for a second season of its scripted, dramatic sire was stoked anew. What new children’s games will be reimagined with deadly stakes? How might Gi-hun find and take down the game masters? Hwang Dong-hyuk took his time with Season 2, so you have to think it’ll be worth the wait. — M.W.M.
SEASON 2 PREMIERE DATE: 2024
The Traitors (Peacock)
WHY IT EXCITES US: This competition series seemingly came out of nowhere last year, delivering one of the most duplicitous and exciting reality shows we’d seen in a while. And with a dynamite new cast comprised entirely of reality TV stars this time (including Big Brother‘s Janelle Pierzina, Survivor‘s Sandra Diaz-Twine and The Challenge‘s CT Tamburello), we cannot wait to see who the new Traitors are and how it all shakes out. — N.C.
SEASON 2 PREMIERE DATE: Friday, Jan. 12
True Detective: Night Country (HBO)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Just when we thought we were done with the anthology crime series, it casts one of our favorite actresses of all time: Oscar winner Jodie Foster. So we’re hoping for some big Season 1 energy from Night Country (as HBO is calling this go-around), which finds Foster and Kali Reis playing Alaskan police detectives investigating a gruesomely icy set of murders. — Kimberly Roots
SEASON 4 PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Jan. 14, at 9/8c
Washington Black (Hulu)
WHY IT EXCITES US: It’s been too long since Sterling K. Brown was regularly on our screens. So the fact that the This Is Us alum is starring in and executive-producing a historical series based on Esi Edugyan’s award-winning novel? Sign us up! Brown will play a refugee who mentors an 11-year-old plantation escapee; Lucifer’s Tom Ellis and The Resident’s Shaunette Renée Wilson co-star. — K.R.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: 2024
Will Trent (ABC)
WHY IT EXCITES US: We’ll admit, we weren’t expecting much when this seemingly run-of-the-mill crime procedural launched last winter. But ABC’s Karin Slaughter adaptation won us over (and then some), thanks in part to its stellar ensemble (led by Performer of the Year finalist Ramón Rodríguez), some truly impressive character building and, of course, everyone’s favorite chihuahua, Betty. Suffice it to say, that intense Season 1 finale (we’ll refrain from spoiling it for anyone who’s playing catch-up!) has us counting down the days until Season 2. — R.S.
SEASON 2 PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 8/7c
The Woman in the Wall (Showtime)
WHY IT EXCITES US: Stateside TV watchers, have you heard of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries — the religious institutions that housed “fallen women” and held them against their will until the last one closed in 1996? Well, you’re about to, thanks to this psychological thriller starring The Affair’s Ruth Wilson. Who doesn’t love a show that highlights the seedy underbelly of a society, with the added flair of Gone Girl-like suspense? — C.F.
SERIES PREMIERE DATE: Sunday, Jan. 21, at 9/8c (and Friday, Jan. 19, via Paramount+)
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