Like almost every year in recent memory, 2024 has been a great year for worthwhile television series.
Indeed, over the last 12 months, mainstream audiences have delighted at the numerous TV series that arrived on their household screens, from renowned HBO drama series to fan-favorite cable sitcoms.
Not only that, but this past year has also boasted a remarkable number of brand-new TV series, including dark and gritty superhero spinoffs (The Penguin), child-friendly space operas (Skeleton Crew), and moody historical dramas (Shōgun). Sadly, with the sheer number of fantastic TV shows that have arrived over the course of 2024, it’s only natural to assume some series passed under viewers’ radar. From historical spy dramas to surrealist fantasy comedies, here are some of the most underrated TV series of 2024 you probably missed watching.
For the past five decades, Americans have seen dozens upon dozens of portrayals of the Vietnam War, from Francis Ford Coppola’s nightmarish Apocalypse Now to Stanley Kubrick’s heady Full Metal Jacket. As many different Vietnam War films and TV shows as there’s been over the years, few have actually captured the perspective of the Vietnamese soldiers and civilians embroiled in the conflict. Enter: The Sympathizer, HBO’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. At once a fast-paced espionage thriller, The Sympathizer also does a wonderful job focusing on an integral aspect of the Vietnam War – namely, what average South Vietnamese refugees experienced as they relocated to 1970s America.
Fresh off his momentous directorial debut with A24’s Problemista, Julio Torres returned with his equally surreal HBO comedy series, Fantasmas. A testament to Torres’ limitless imagination, Fantasmas unfolds as a meandering absurdist series reminiscent of Monty Python, Mr. Show, Charlie Kaufman, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Smart, funny, and unwaveringly creative in its segueing storylines, Fantasmas has everything you can possibly imagine in its brisk 30-minute episodes, from surprisingly realistic caricatures of ALF to quirky personifications of letters from the alphabet.
For the past four decades, writer Carl Hiassen has cultivated a well-earned reputation for his grandiose, often hilarious mystery novels, including such best-selling novels as Razor Girl, Sick Puppy, and Tourist Season. More recently, Hiassen’s Bad Monkey provides the basis for the stunning Apple TV+ series of the same name. A romping comedic mystery in the same vein as The Big Lebowski, Bad Monkey’s laugh-out-loud humor and agreeable performances make it a crime series you don’t want to miss.
Personally speaking, we’ll never understand the logic behind Amazon’s decision to cancel My Lady Jane after a single season. (A decision that led to widespread outcry among fans of the series, including none other than Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin.) As it is, My Lady Jane is a wonderful reimagining of the historical Lady Jane Grey’s life and nine-day reign as Queen of England. Filtered through a magical realist lens that blends fantasy, drama, history, and romance, My Lady Jane is a sensational medieval epic we simply can’t recommend enough.
The fact that Netflix renewed Black Doves even before its official premiere should tell viewers all they need to know about this riveting action thriller. Led by a brilliant Keira Knightley and equally austere Ben Whishaw, Black Doves uses its espionage-heavy premise to deliver true chills and thrills throughout. Layering elements of a whodunit mystery on top of a John le Carré-esque spy story, Black Doves’ complex, intelligent, sometimes challenging narrative keeps audiences thoroughly engaged from start to finish.
With how much time has passed since the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln, it’s easy to forget the sheer anarchy that swept across the U.S. in the days following the Great Emancipator’s murder. Thankfully, a series like Manhunt accurately displays the chaos and panic that characterized the infamous assassination, including the subsequent manhunt to catch the killers responsible. Finding a new way to tell a historically accurate story, history comes alive with this wholly underappreciated Apple TV+ thriller, appealing to casual viewers and Civil War buffs alike.
Redeeming themselves for the panned final season of Game of Thrones, showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss joined Alexander Woo in adapting Liu Cixin’s sci-fi series, Remembrance of Earth’s Past. Retaining many of the core themes and narrative storylines of its source material, 3 Body Problem offers a tantalizing portrayal of Earth’s past, present, and future. Dovetailing Spielbergian science fiction with elements of a mystery series, the inaugural season of 3 Body Problem spells out an intriguing Netflix series we can’t wait to see more of in the years ahead.
