The 30 Best TV Shows of 2024

Trends come and go—it’s kind of their whole thing—but recent TV trends continued in 2024. Streamers dominated both critically and with viewers, millions more cut the cord, the broadcast networks stayed afloat as best they can on procedurals and sports, basic cable was a total non-factor outside of FX, and Apple TV+ remained adamantly opposed to promoting the shows it spends enormous amounts of money on. The TV schedule rebounded after the concurrent strikes of 2023, with network shows restoring full seasons and the return of streaming shows that already take too long between seasons even without two strikes holding up production. To note that the TV landscape is vastly different than it was in, say, 1980 is an even bigger understatement than “Joe Rogan should not be the Newsradio cast member with the most successful career in 2024.” And yet, despite all that seismic change, the past and present often rhyme; who would have guessed that the most acclaimed TV show of 2024 would be a prestige miniseries based on the same James Clavell novel that inspired the hottest miniseries of 1980? Or that Columbo would be one of the biggest influences on this year’s crop of new network dramas? TV as an industry is still dealing with a very uncertain future; it’ll survive, of course, but cable’s inevitable collapse is deep into its endgame, and although most of the major streaming services have started to turn a profit, they’re spending less on content while simultaneously raising rates and cracking down on password sharing—quick fixes that aren’t consumer-friendly and don’t seem conducive to sustainable growth. (Even I have had to make decisions about what streamers to cancel due to the constantly rising costs, and I write about this stuff as an actual job.) It’s hard to tell what that future will look like, though, as major media companies like Comcast look to ditch their basic cable networks and the major streamers start to bundle up with each other to retain subscribers. And with Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery trying to launch a joint sports streamer bringing all their licensed sports programming under a single service—it should have already launched but is being held up by legal wrangling—the final end of the cable era seems to finally be upon us.

The ground’s unsteady and the winds ever-shifting, but throughout that turmoil and uncertainty the people who actually make TV shows made some pretty great ones this year. From modern takes on old-fashioned staples like the miniseries and detective show, to a continued revival of the sitcom, to maybe the first good TV show based on a videogame ever made, 2024 had something for everybody to watch—and more than any one person could ever hope to keep track of. And although it might require a half-dozen different subscriptions to watch all of the best TV shows of 2024, but is that all that much worse than a single $200 subscription with 300 channels, 285 of which you never watched?

We might not know what TV will look like in even a year’s time, but we can look back on the year that’s about to end and give a round of applause to all the shows that kept us glued to the TV (or computer monitor, or [shudder] smart phone screen). Here are Paste‘s picks for the best TV shows of 2024, as chosen by a panel of over 20 Paste editors and TV writers.

Note: To be eligible for voting, each show had to air the majority of its episodes between January 1st and November 30th.

30. Pretty Little Liars: Summer School

Created by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Lindsay Calhoon Bring
Network: Max

Picking up six months after the recapture of last season’s mysterious “A” Archie Waters following his grand escape in the final moments of Episode 10, Max’s Pretty Little Liars: Summer School welcomes us back to the sleepy town of Millwood, where our favorite Little Liars are now facing a fate worse than death: summer school. Turns out, being stalked and tortured by a masked madman for the majority of your sophomore year of high school will cause your grades to slip (who would’ve thought?), so Imogen (Bailee Madison), Tabby (Chandler Kinney), Noa (Maia Reficco), Mouse (Malia Pyles), and Faran (Zaria) are forced to do morning summer school sessions if they want to move on to junior year. But, of course, it wouldn’t be Millwood without something going bump in the night: Bloody Rose Waters—a mythological bastardization of Archie’s real-life mother—has been seen stalking around town, and has her sights set once again on these poor final girls. As they attempt to balance summer school with new jobs, new flings, and an even more rock-solid friendship between the five of them, these Liars are ready to face the new horrors head on, together. Colored by summertime horror homages and an absolutely killer soundtrack, Summer School is a teen drama dream you can’t miss. —Anna Govert

29. We Were the Lucky Ones

Developed by: Erica Lipez
Network: Hulu

Based on the bestselling novel by Georgia Hunter, We Were the Lucky Ones is a story about World War II, and specifically a story about the persecution of Jews, but one that is very different from many that have come before it. Rightly or wrongly it’s almost a given, nowadays, that shows and movies that touch on the Holocaust do so by way of talking about its most recognizably horrific elements: the camps, the gas chambers, the scores of mass graves. And while those sorts of stories are, and will always be, both important and deeply necessary, We Were the Lucky Ones’ sprawling scope and setting help convey the breadth of not just the war, but the varied experiences of those who lived through it.

The series is told through the lens of a single Polish family split apart at the start of the war and spread across countries and continents. As they fight to survive and find their way back to one another, they must confront the best and worst of the human experience, from heroism and kindness to horror and betrayal. Yet, in another surprising twist, We Were the Lucky Ones is not nearly as bleak as its subject matter might suggest (though you will likely cry more than once). Instead, it leans into the small, seemingly miraculous moments of community and hope that light up the overhanging darkness, repeatedly reminding viewers that faith, like love, is both a choice and a gift. —Lacy Baugher Milas

28. My Lady Jane

Created by: Gemma Burgess
Network: Amazon Prime

If you’ve never heard of Lady Jane Grey, who briefly held the English throne between the reigns of Edward VI and “Bloody” Mary I, that’s to be expected. After all, Jane was only Queen for nine days in 1553 before she was deposed by her cousin, the aforementioned “Bloody” Mary, and later executed in 1554 alongside her husband, Lord Guildford Dudley. At the time, she was only a teenager, likely only 16 or 17 years old. Lady Jane’s chapter in the history books may be short (probably more like a paragraph), but Prime Video’s My Lady Jane—based on the YA novel of the same name—elevates the titular heroine (Emily Bader) into a smart and spunky teen far more interested in science than romance, who is swiftly married off by her scheming mother Frances (Anna Chancellor) to the first nobleman’s son who will have her: Lord Guildford Dudley (Edward Bluemel). But Guildford is hiding a secret of his own, one that expands the world of the series into something magical.

Overall, My Lady Jane is a fun and fast-paced fantasy filled with romance, intrigue, and magic in equal measure. While it can be a bit uneven in both its tone and execution, it never fails to entertain, and even occasionally delight with its clever and whimsical approach to history. The real Jane Grey’s story may have ended with the fall of an ax, but My Lady Jane gives her the chance to live again. And this time, we’re all rooting for her. —Lauren Thoman

27. House of the Dragon

Created by: Ryan Condal, George R.R. Martin
Network: HBO (streaming on Max)

The story picks up right where it left off, after King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) ascended the throne with the help of his mother, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), and her allies, pushing the realm closer to civil war as Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her followers find themselves on the back foot. Queen Rhaenyra is grieving the loss of her son after yet another accidental escalation between the two factions, and Westeros waits with bated breath as a cataclysmic war between dragons becomes increasingly likely. This series feels ripped from a previous era of big-budget indulgence. The cast is massive, the sets and costumes look expensive, and there’s a whole flight of CGI dragons that probably took an unreasonable number of hours to render. The narrative may feel constrained by the work it’s adapting, but its characters are complex enough to make this tale more than just royalty-oriented reality TV. House of the Dragon may come across like a diminished scion of a once proud house, but honestly, I’ll take whatever reminders of former glory I can get. —Elijah Gonzalez

26. The Acolyte

Created by: Leslye Headland
Network: Disney+

Set 100 years before the rise of The Empire during the High Republic era, The Acolyte follows the thriving Jedi Order as their own are hunted by a mysterious assassin. Tasked with hunting down this figure is Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) and his team consisting of Yord (Charlie Barnett), Jecki (Dafne Keen), and his former student Osha (Amandla Stenberg). As the Jedi continue to chase this assassin, a dark secret and a shameful past continue to haunt them as this figure threatens to bring their actions to light. In Star Wars’ first proper mystery thriller, duality reigns supreme and guides the franchise into a new era for this galaxy far, far away. —Anna Govert

25. Slow Horses

Created by: Will Smith
Network: Apple TV+

The fourth season of Apple TV+’s (finally properly recognized) Slow Horses adapts Spook Street, the fourth novel in Herron’s series about Slough House, the dumping ground of MI5 that is home to the service’s biggest screw-ups. At the center of the story are River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and his grandfather, David (Jonathan Pryce), who was once a high-ranking member of the intelligence service but is now living with dementia, which causes him to appear increasingly paranoid. When a car bomb goes off in a crowded shopping center, it naturally puts everyone on edge, but things get worse after it’s discovered the perpetrator was using an MI5-created identity. It eventually comes out that David once crossed paths with the group responsible for the attack, and his ability to identify its leader (played by a deliciously evil Hugo Weaving) puts a target on his back and River in the emotional crosshairs as he tries to protect his grandfather. However, because of David’s failing memory and disoriented state, River is largely on his own. Which is to say, it’s only a matter of time before Jackson Lamb’s (Gary Oldman) slow horses find themselves embroiled in yet another operation far beyond their pay grade and with the potential for far-reaching consequences. —Kaitlin Thomas

24. Pachinko

Created by: Soo Hugh
Network: Apple TV+

There’s such an overabundance of TV these days that you would be forgiven for missing one of 2022’s most compelling dramas, Pachinko, a decades-spanning historical epic centered on a Korean immigrant family living in Japan. Jumping between pre-World War II (1915-1930) and the late ‘80s, the first season of this Korean/Japanese language series followed Sunja (Yu-na and Kim Min-ha) as she did her best to protect her family from hardship, while convincing performances and Kogonada’s poetic direction swept us up in this intergenerational tale.

Thankfully, the series is back for a second season that not only matches but surpasses its predecessor with grandiose imagery and heartbreaking familial drama that hits deep. To put it bluntly, it’s one of the best shows of the year. Unflinching in its depiction of history, but not heavy-handed; warm in its portrayal of family, but not overly idealized. Its complicated characters are bolstered by great performances, and its thoughtful look at the past is elevated by evocative camera work and set design that places us in these moments. There’s so much TV these days that it can be hard to make time for it all, but you owe it to yourself to take a risk on this stirring historical drama. —Elijah Gonzalez

23. Baby Reindeer 

Created by: Richard Gadd
Network: Netflix

Based on Richard Gadd’s real-life experience with his own real-life stalker, Netflix’s Baby Reindeer catalogs the very beginnings of a nightmare, and how quickly one single person can turn your life upside down. The series follows comedian and bartender Donny (Gadd) as a woman he offered a single free drink to one night becomes so enraptured by him that she begins to stalk him. She shows up to his sets to laugh louder than everyone else, she hangs around his place of work to learn more about his life, and she sends thousands upon thousands of emails, all without end for years. As Donny’s life continues to spiral out of his control, Martha (Jessica Gunning) becomes the one person responsible for all the chaos, destruction, and turmoil he faces on a daily basis, with the police and those around him unable to understand the depth of this experience. It’s a terrifying, heartbreaking, and maddening watch that will stay with you long after the credits roll on the final episode. —Anna Govert

22. X-Men ’97

Created by: Beau DeMayo
Network: Disney+

Nearly 30 years after that infamous cliffhanger, X-Men ’97 has finally arrived, and with it the weight of anticipation and expectation from an entire generation of adults who grew up watching the now-iconic X-Men: The Animated Series, alongside a slew of new fans just waiting to discover this classic team. X-Men ‘97 aims to thread a very tight needle, picking up the story of a series that ended a full 27 years ago but being innovative enough to write a new chapter that is true to that beloved saga, while also being interesting enough that it’s actually worth telling in the first place. Picking up a few months after the death of Charles Xavier, the premiere of X-Men ‘97 is a true love letter to the original series, with plenty of homages to that first adventure that introduced fans to these characters and their world. That original series had an outsized influence on everything Marvel would become all these years later, and this is a fitting tribute to the series that started it all. The X-Men animated series was Marvel at its best, and X-Men ’97 is thankfully more of the same. —Trent Moore

21. Mr. & Mrs. Smith 

Created by: Francesca Sloane, Donald Glover
Network: Prime Video

Helmed by Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane of Atlanta, Prime’s eight-episode Mr. & Mrs. Smith take arrives less as a follow-up or even a remake of the 2005 film (staring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt) and more as a full-fledged expansion of its thin—though undeniably clever—basic concept. Whereas the movie hinged on the premise of an embittered couple discovering their partner belongs to a rival spy firm, the show centers on the relationship dynamic of two strangers-turned-spies-turned-spouses. John (Glover) and Jane Smith (Maya Erksine) are matched by a mysterious agency that requires that they forfeit everything from their past lives in exchange for a day job with killer perks—namely, a swanky Brooklyn brownstone, new sets of passports, and an armory that would make the NRA swoon.

Each episode (with a couple of notable exceptions) is framed around a high-risk mission the pair must complete or face the cryptic consequences. Too bad the only thing more formidable than international espionage is domestic marriage. The show works precisely because, even as it maintains its foothold in that same wobbly genre mashup, it pins down a style that manages to pay homage to its originator while also cultivating a distinct tone that heightens, rather than mitigates, each of its generic components. In a TV landscape filled with rip-offs and repeats, Mr. & Mrs. Smith forms its own (secret) identity. —Michael Savio

20. The Traitors

In Peacock’s The Traitors, a varying group of contestants—many “Faithful” and a few hand-selected “Traitors”—come together in Alan Cumming’s incredible Scotland castle to vie for a cash prize that they have to earn along the way through physically and intellectually challenging competitions. And all the while, the Faithfuls desperately try to banish the Traitors at their daily roundtables before the Traitors meet at the witching hour to decide which Faithful they would like to “murder” next. The show is effortlessly entertaining and has been a smashing success, with the first season of the hit reality competition series bringing together 10 celebrities and 10 “regular” folks to battle it out for the cash prize. The second season already dips into the “all-star” game with an entirely celebrity cast that doesn’t work nearly as well, but this series is still a juicy good time filled with pitch-perfect reality competition drama. —Jay Snow

19. Under the Bridge 

Developed by: Quinn Shepard
Network: Hulu

Based on the novel of the same name written by the late Rebecca Godfrey, Hulu’s Under the Bridge tells the harrowing true story of the brutal murder of Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta), a 14-year-old who became the undeserving target of something more horrifying than anything that goes bump in the night: teenage girls. Through multiple timelines, the series catalogs Reena’s life and death, the relationship she shared with a group of wayward girls—Josephine (Chloe Guidry), Kelly (Izzy G.), and Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow)—and the efforts of both author Rebecca (Riley Keough) and officer Cam (Lily Gladstone) to bring the perpetrators of this truly disturbing crime to justice. In an era where convicted killers in TV adaptations become meme fodder for social media managers and satirical takes on the genre don’t feel that far removed from reality, Under the Bridge respectfully weaves this tragic tale, elevating it above all other true crime series. Instantly gripping and filled with phenomenal performance both from the marquee names and the stellar young cast, Under the Bridge is a true crime dramatization tour de force. —Anna Govert

18. Arcane

Created by: Christian Linke, Alex Yee
Network: Netflix

In the first season of Arcane, showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee accomplished the difficult task of adapting League of Legends, a multiplayer game most known for making people hate their teammates and themselves, into a story full of compelling, complicated characters, while Fortiche Production’s painstakingly rendered animation brought this steampunk fantasy world to life. And at least through the first six episodes (out of nine) we were provided for review, this second season both reinforces the series’ place as one of the most visually impressive things on television and delivers a flurry of narrative blows that will leave you gasping for air.

The story picks up immediately where things left off; Jinx (Ella Purnell) just sent a magic missile through the window of a Piltover council room, killing several of the city’s leaders and leaving the upper crust more enthused than ever to viciously oppress the undercity of Zaun. Both sides gear up for war as a backroom manipulator attempts to squash any hope of peace. Here, more than ever, the series isn’t afraid to take its protagonists to some dark places. It all leads to tragic duels, heartfelt attempts at reconciliation, and shattering flashbacks that land with as much impact as Vi’s gauntlets—seriously, I wasn’t expecting to be so thoroughly undone by these unfulfilled dreams of change and familial reunions, which are consistently elevated by Fortiche’s deft visual craft. While we’re still waiting on the last three episodes to see if everything coalesces, at least so far, this series hasn’t lost an ounce of its magic. —Elijah Gonzalez

17. The Boys

Developed by: Eric Kripke
Network: Prime Video

In Year 4 of Prime Video’s hit superhero send-up The Boys, we see the stakes continue to ratchet up, as the powerful supe Homelander becomes more openly unhinged and the fraying mess of The Seven (basically a top-tier superhero team, like the Justice League or The Avengers of this universe) continues to burn out and fall apart around him. We’ve been slouching toward a potential political coup with supes possibly taking over the world, and Season 4 picks up those threads and doesn’t shy away from telling the story fans have seen them plant the seeds for over the first three seasons. It’s a wild ride, arguably the show’s wildest yet, which is saying something. Fans will love it; Season 4 is simply phenomenal. The Boys has been one of the best shows on television for years now, and continues to cement its place in the pantheon with its deft blend of drama, gore, political commentary, and surrealism. The series is a pressure cooker that only gets hotter and tighter as it goes on. The best news of all? It’s already been renewed for a fifth (and final) season, so we know there’s even more incredible superhero f—kery to come. —Trent Moore

16. Only Murders in the Building

Created by: Steve Martin & John Hoffman
Network: Hulu

Picking up in the immediate aftermath of Season 3—quite literally, as Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) put the finishing touches on the third season of their podcast, wrapping up the murder of Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd)—Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building finds our favorite trio headed for Hollywood. Paramount (the Pictures!) is fast-tracking a movie based on the trio’s podcast, carting them out to L.A. to meet Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, and Zach Galifianakis (playing themselves), who are preparing to play Charles, Mabel, and Oliver, respectively. But while in L.A., Charles worries about Sazz (Jane Lynch), whom he hasn’t seen since she disappeared from the wrap party in the Season 3 finale. Despite receiving texts from his stunt double with various excuses, the trio quickly realize that there’s much more to this mystery than a simple disappearing act. As they band together once more to solve this deeply personal murder, they find themselves questioning their role in the larger story, and how the promise of even further notoriety will change their lives forever. —Anna Govert

15. Interview with the Vampire 

Developed by: Rolin Jones
Network: AMC

Based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name, Season 2 of this AMC series picks up right where the first left off: Vampire Louis de Pont du Lac (Jacob Anderson) is still attempting to tell his life story (for the second time) to reporter Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Now joined by his longtime vampire lover Armand (Assad Zaman)—who spent most of last season pretending to be Louis’ manservant—he recounts his journey to Europe alongside Claudia (Delainey Hayles, admirably taking over the role from Bailey Bass) on a search for other vampires like them. Having (sort of) killed and abandoned their maker Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), the pair fear they only have each other in the world, and their initial trek across a continent torn apart by the horrors of war and human cruelty is a bleak one. Interview with the Vampire’s second outing is ambitious, layered, and feels like nothing so much as a natural extension of its first. A mix of high-camp melodrama and thorny philosophical questions about memory and the stories our lives inevitably become, Interview with the Vampire remains the best sort of genre series—one that’s not just a cracklingly good story in its own right, but one that still manages to reflect genuine truths about the human experience of the world we live in now. May it be immortal. —Lacy Baugher Milas

14. Agatha All Along

Created by: Jac Schaeffer
Network: Disney+

Since the debut of WandaVision in 2021, Disney+’s Marvel television experiment has been chasing that same high. Unfortunately for them, each subsequent series has failed in increasingly worse ways to capture that lightning-in-a-bottle show’s magic, from the scattershot Loki to the woefully dull Echo. And even though Agatha All Along doesn’t quite fill WandaVision’s big shoes, it gets pretty damn close. From the very first episode, Agatha’s stakes are immediately clear and compelling, foregoing the twisted multiversal threats we’ve grown accustomed to from recent Marvel romps in favor of a more personal journey. While Agatha is absolutely an arrogant, eccentric jerk, she also has shades of a sympathetic loner under her sweeping coats, and that layered take on this now-iconic character makes her someone you can’t help but root for despite her ultimately selfish aims. And the connections Agatha forms while on the road are just as rewarding, especially since her history with each member of the coven offers various challenges in every episode.

However, perhaps the most surprising aspect of this series is how queer it is. Agatha All Along isn’t gay in the way Natalie Portman (wrongfully) exclaimed that Thor: Love and Thunder was “so gay,” or the way that Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel is gay to me, but actually, honest-to-God gay. After years of only scraps of queer-coding and small, almost-laughable inclusions in various projects, it feels surreal to see so much queerness baked into this series’ DNA, with nearly all the main characters being some flavor of queer (spoken and otherwise). Overall, Agatha All Along is a surprising win for a battered Disney+ TV pipeline that’s still bent, but no longer fully broken. After years of MCU disappointments on both the big and small screens, who knew that the project capable of breathing new life into a tired cinematic universe would be Agatha All Along. —Anna Govert

13. Somebody Somewhere

Created by: Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen
Network: HBO

HBO’s understated gem Somebody Somewhere picks up where it left off, using small moments to ask big questions and solidifying its place as one of modern TV’s best-kept secrets, continuing to deliver laughter and tears with little stylistic or tonal difference from the last time around. Created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, the show retains the lo-fi, unfussy dramedy vibe in which executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass specialize. Somebody Somewhere may center itself on the minutia of quotidian life, in a place far away filled by people we can recognize but perhaps never know. But its quiet meditations unspool beyond the borders of its frame, letting everybody, everywhere into its beating heart. —Michael Savio

12. Say Nothing

Created by: Josh Zetumer
Network: FX (streaming on Hulu)

Say Nothing, FX’s powerful new drama about the decades of violence in Northern Ireland between the ‘60s and ‘90s, might sympathize with the Catholic side of The Troubles more than the Protestant, but it’s not naive enough to ignore how conflicts like this punish and dehumanize all sides, even those who don’t take a side. Based on the real life story of Catholic sisters Dolours and Marian Price—raised in Belfast in a staunchly pro-IRA family that believed dying for the cause was the greatest honor, active participants in the struggle in their late teens and 20s in the ’70s, and hunger-striking prisoners of the United Kingdom’s penal system after masterminding the bombing of The Old Bailey in 1973—Say Nothing can’t help but make the IRA’s paramilitary campaign against the British seem cool and exciting when they’re robbing banks to fund their actions or scurrying through the back alleys of Belfast to escape British soldiers. And the fundamental goal of the IRA—to earn equality for the large perpetual underclass of an oppressive system—is a noble one, which the show never forgets or disagrees with. But this is a show whose very first episode starts with the IRA abducting and murdering a widower with 10 young children, merely on suspicions of her helping the British. Perhaps its strongest episode is a tense study of two members who become informants for the British, and the emotional (and, yes, physical) damage that leads to. Say Nothing is less interested in justifying or celebrating any causes than in examining the scars they leave on everybody involved, and so the IRA doesn’t come off as heroes here, even if their cause is just and certain individual members cut heroic figures.

At the center of it all, throughout all of the show’s time periods (it spends most of its time in the early ‘70s before speeding through the ‘80s and ‘90s in later episodes, with frequent cutaways to interviews Dolours gave in the early ‘00s), are the Price sisters, primarily Dolours, the older of the two, and a fiery orator in the name of freedom. Lola Petticrew is tremendous as Dolours, powerfully capturing the steely resolve and righteous indignation of a young revolutionary, and, later, the shock and confusion of an adult suffering from PTSD from those actions. Hazel Doupe matches her step by step in the less flashy role of the quieter but more committed Marian, who was most recently arrested in 2009 for assisting an IRA shooting of two British soldiers. There’s no shortage of media about The Troubles—Dolours Price was even married to Stephen Rea, the star of The Crying Game, for 20 years—but few explore the conflict as deeply and personally, or with such an unrelenting eye for the humanity of those involved, as Say Nothing.—Garrett Martin

11. Abbott Elementary 

Created by: Quinta Brunson
Network: ABC

Now in its fourth season, Abbott Elementary’s writing remains as sharp as ever, seamlessly blending laugh-out-loud moments with earnest and heartfelt interactions. With a season-long arc focused on gentrification, the series promises to deliver fresh narratives while preserving its charm. Fans can look forward to memorable storylines and new dynamics, including a highly anticipated crossover with FXX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. (Which Paste successfully predicted last year!) Abbott Elementary remains funny and feel-good, cementing its place at the top of sitcoms, and indeed, all currently airing shows, regardless of genre. As the characters continue to evolve and navigate new experiences and dynamics, Abbott becomes an increasingly rewarding viewing experience for viewers who have followed its journey over the past three years, making it a joy to attend class each week.—Joshua Harris

10. The Penguin

Created by: Lauren LeFranc
Network: HBO

In the 2022 film The Batman, director Matt Reeves and actor Colin Farrell gave Caped Crusader’s long-time foil the Penguin a much-needed makeover. Portrayed as a mid-level crime boss who goes by Oz Cobb, this take on the bad guy seems like he would fit in as well in The Sopranos as in a noir comic book film. Picking up where the movie left off with an unrecognizable Farrell as the lead, The Penguin is a dark and engrossing eight-episode series from HBO that hones in on a part of Gotham City which is usually glossed over. Over the course of this first season, one of the series’ greatest tricks is that despite all of Oz’s dastardly deeds, there’s still a part of you that believes the Penguin’s lies because he is so damn charming. Maybe he is just a guy from the bottom who has to break some rules along the way to work his way up? But then, near the end of the season, Oz does something so heinous, so unconscionable, that you finally understand what he really is: a remorseless sociopath. Through these kinds of shocking moments, The Penguin delivers a version of this character like nothing Batman fans have seen. —Terry Terrones 

9. Fantasmas

Created by: Julio Torres
Network: HBO (streaming on Max)

HBO’s Fantasmas is a sketch comedy show that went to art school, a quirky romp that’s not always laugh-out-loud funny but consistently imaginative and beautifully cinematic. The series wraps around and connects most of its disparate sketches through a loose ongoing narrative. Creator/writer/director Julio Torres stars as Julio, who works as a “Julio.” What does a “Julio” do? Basically, he utilizes the gifts of free-association synesthesia granted to him as a child after being struck by lightning on the toilet (he never had to go to gym class after that). He says he sees the world differently from everyone else, though who knows what counts as “normal” in this semi-dystopian alternate reality; even when Julio’s absent, the other characters operate in a similar register of German expressionism by way of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse by way of The People’s Joker. Sketch comedies by their nature tend towards inconsistency, and Fantasmas is no exception, but its strong style and vision provide a high baseline of entertainment even when the jokes are hit-or-miss and the connecting narrative doesn’t come together as satisfyingly as it could. It’s like nothing else currently on television, and it’s fun to live in Torres’ mind for these six half-hours. —Reuben Baron

8. Shrinking

Created by: Bill Lawrence & Jason Segel & Brett Goldstein
Network: Apple TV+

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Apple TV+ has some of the best shows you’re probably not watching. While the streamer has had several breakout hits like Ted Lasso, Severance, and Slow Horses, the average viewer is likely unaware of just how vast the streamer’s library of genuinely excellent originals has become in recent years. So, it’s probably even odds whether you’ve even heard of Shrinking, the streamer’s other hilariously heartfelt comedy about hope, healing, and the family you make along the way. Therefore, allow me to fill you in: Shrinking is one part delicate, emotionally honest exploration of grief, one part surprisingly realistic family drama, and one part love letter to the mental health industry. Its humor is often uncomfortably honest, its characters can sometimes be embarrassingly cringe-y, and its dialogue is peppered with every flavor of therapy speak. But it also has an absolutely enormous heart, walking a delicate balance between hard truths and twee platitudes. If there is such a thing as “feel-good” television anymore, well, this is probably it. The lessons of Shrinking are simple: Choose each other, especially when it’s hard. Listen always. Apologize when you know you’ve done something wrong. Be present for the people who matter to you. Genuinely hilarious but also deeply affirming, Shrinking isn’t a show for cynics, despite what its biting banter might seem to want you to believe. And maybe we’ve never needed it and its transcendent power of faith in ourselves, writ large, more than we do right now. —Lacy Baugher Milas

7. True Detective: Night Country 

Created by: Issa López
Network: HBO

After a five-year break from this series, we finally have the next season of True Detective, titled Night Country. It’s the first time the series creator Nic Pizzolatto isn’t handling the script, with Issa López acting as the showrunner, director, and lead writer. We follow Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis), detectives in Ennis, Alaska who find themselves sucked into an intertwined pair of unsolved deaths. The first is a cold case where a local indigenous woman, Annie K, was murdered after protesting against the local mine, while in the second, a group of scientists from a nearby research station were found frozen in the ice amidst perplexing circumstances. As the duo start digging, they’re forced to face elements of their own pasts as they unearth hidden truths about their community. Through its cast of compelling and flawed characters, supernatural undertones, and chilling setting, it convincingly conveys the frigid dread of endless arctic nights and the ghosts that haunt this tundra. —Elijah Gonzalez

6. The Bear

Created by: Christopher Storer
Network: FX (streaming on Hulu)

At the beginning of The Bear’s third season, we start with the past. Pinpointing the exact roots of passion and pain, as we watch some of the most impactful moments of Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) journey that made him the exceptional chef and messed-up person he is today. From Episode 2 onwards, the tension is immediately cracked up to 11 as our beloved crew deals with the repercussions of last year’s “catastrophic” finale that shattered hearts like a bulldozer. Claire (Molly Gordon) is gone, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Carmy are fuming at each other, and the rest of the team stands between them, trying to cool things down. This has always been the constant back-and-forth status quo, and we get a big portion of it once again, but it’s clear that the characters are evolving, taking a shot at bettering themselves in their own individual ways.

Season 3 serves as a time for self-reflection and processing all the heavy stuff (grief, break-up, divorce), a sort of recovery to heal from the mistakes. To do that, however (not just for Carmy, but for everyone), creator Christopher Storer needs to focus on each character individually and give them enough screen time to break them down, layer to layer. And he does just that—going all in on all our favorite figures, further building arcs that pay off in the most rewarding ways. This outing is the pinnacle of Storer’s work, a loving dedication to food, restaurants, the city of Chicago, and most importantly, the people who fill it with life. So enjoy every bite. —Akos Peterbencze

5. English Teacher

Created by: Brian Jordan Alvarez
Network: FX (streaming on Hulu)

Set in the decidedly blue city of Austin, which is itself in the decidedly red state of Texas, creator Brian Jordan Alvarez’s titular English teacher Evan Marquez tries to navigate the murky waters of being an out, gay educator in a post-”woke” world in FX’s latest comedy series English Teacher. Unsurprisingly, he often finds himself trapped between 2024’s highly specific rock (students who try to goad you into saying something problematic so they can secretly record you and go viral on Tik Tok) and hard place (their Republican parents who fear their kids will catch “gay” like one could catch Coronavirus). But even though English Teacher’s conflicts are taken straight from the headlines, it rarely looks for resolution in the directions one expects. English Teacher has charmed me enough to hope that, if the series is granted the time and space it needs, it can begin to quench today’s TV comedy drought. —Casey Epstein-Gross

4. Fallout

Created by: Graham Wagner, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Network: Prime Video

Helmed by Lisa Joy and Jonathon Nolan, the co-creators of HBO’s Westworld, Fallout is an eight-part series based on the videogame franchise of the same name. Within it, we follow the exploits of Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), a Vault Dweller forced to leave the safety of her subterranean bunker, Vault 33, and journey into what’s left of Los Angeles 219 years after the bombs fell. She’s searching for her father (Kyle MacLachlan), who was abducted by raiders, and her only means of locating the kidnapper is a dangerous quest that involves delivering an item that could change the balance of power in the Wasteland.

But of course, she’s not the only one after this prize. Maximus (Aaron Moten) is in on the hunt, a squire in the band of feudal-cosplaying assholes known as the Brotherhood of Steel. He wants to use this opportunity to become anointed as a knight and nab the T-60 power armor and respect that comes with it. The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) is also in the scrum, a gunslinger who has been around since The Great War thanks to mutations caused by nuclear radiation. As Lucy leaves her sheltered life behind to save her dad, she faces harsh truths about the state of the world outside her bubble. Through its excellent emulation of the franchise’s vibes and a strong understanding of its underlying ideas, the Fallout TV series doesn’t only imitate the games, but meaningfully expands on them in a way that radiates confidence. —Elijah Gonzalez

3. Hacks

Created by: Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky
Network: Max

We’ve waited two long years for Hacks Season 3, but thankfully this new run of episodes more than makes up for lost time. At the end of the last season, Deborah (Jean Smart) fired Ava (Hannah Einbinder) on the heels of the special’s success, urging her to be a “shark” and pursue her own work. Fast forward a year later, and Deborah’s on top of the world. She’s cut off Ava in the meantime, not answering any of her texts until the pair unwittingly bump into each other at Just For Laughs Montreal. Ava is, ostensibly, doing well without Deborah. But the moment the two cross paths again, it’s clear that they miss each other. Ava finds her way back on Deborah’s payroll as they push for the latter to achieve her dream of hosting a late-night talk show, and we’re off to the races. Smart and Einbinder’s chemistry, and the writers’ keen plotting, make Deborah and Ava the most compelling pairing on television. Meticulously plotted and boasting some of the show’s best jokes, Season 3 of Hacks will have you panting for the next series as the final credits roll. —Clare Martin

2. What We Do in the Shadows

Created by: Jemaine Clement
Network: FX (streaming on Hulu)

There’s no reality in which I’ll ever be ok with not checking in on the latest stupid misadventures of Staten Island’s most ineffectual vampires in FX’s What We Do in the Shadows. For six seasons, this mockumentary series spin-off of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s 2014 cinematic comedy of the same name has consistently earned its place as the go-to comedy antidote from everything serious that plagues us whiney humans. It remains impossible to not laugh at Laszlo’s (Matt Berry) outlandish undulating elocution; Nadja’s (Natasia Demetriou) perpetual exasperation with her roomies; Nandor’s (Kayvan Novak) eternal fussiness; and Colin Robinson’s (Mark Proksch) gleefully beige existence. However, I also can’t fault showrunner Paul Simms and the show’s incredibly talented cast for wanting to go out on top. Based on the three episodes provided for review, this sixth and final season seems to be structured as an opportunity for the vamps to address their lack of forward momentum at conquering the New World, while also helping their former Familiar/current human pal Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) with his next steps in life.

Of course, the writers continue to throw quality jokes at the audience at a breakneck speed, with plenty being situational. But even more of the comedy now comes from our learned history of these vampires with their quirks and triggers fully established and exploitable by new characters and the show’s expanded ensemble of recurring characters. Plus, Matt Berry remains a national treasure for how he continues to wring maximum sexual innuendo and comedic flare from even the most mundane word pairings. Jack Shack, anyone? —Tara Bennett

1. Shōgun

Created by: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks
Network: FX

Set during a time of political upheaval when Japan’s powerful Taiko has died and left behind a child who isn’t yet old enough to rule, Shōgun is an ambitious adaptation of James Clavell’s popular novel of the same name. Though a Council of Regents has been established to ostensibly hold power until the heir comes of age, competing factions—led by aging war hero Lord Yoshii Toranaga (the great Hiroyuki Sanada), former right hand to the Taiko, and the scheming Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira), who has plans of his own—are already on the brink of shattering the tenuous peace. So when a mysterious ship arrives, Toranaga sees an opportunity in both the ship and its leader, the English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who becomes an unwilling but invaluable element of Toranaga’s plans as their fates become increasingly intertwined.

Each element of the show’s world, from its gorgeous costumes to the detailed rituals it frequently depicts, is treated with meticulous care and obvious respect. The breathtaking landscapes and bloody battle sequences are undoubtedly some of the best you’ll see on television, and its international cast is truly next level, led by Sanada’s magnetic and quietly emotional performance at its center. The result is a genuinely remarkable achievement, the sort of epic, sweeping saga many might have wondered if television as a medium was still capable of creating. A bold, ambitious update of a classic that finds genuine humanity in its tangled, sprawling tale of politics and betrayal, Shōgun certainly aims high—and more than hits its target. —Lacy Baugher Milas

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