The 12 Most Anticipated TV Shows of Winter 2023-2024
Photos Courtesy of Apple TV+, Netflix, and Disney+ TV Lists list
Despite having secured a deal, we are going to be feeling the effects of the writers’ and actors’ strikes for a long, long time. And those effects became abundantly clear when scouring premiere calendars and studio-issued slate lists; winter TV is quite a bit more barren than usual. But that isn’t to say there won’t be anything good on TV—quite the opposite actually. Premiering between December 1st, 2023 and March 30th, 2024 are some of the most anticipated shows of the year, starting with the long-awaited Percy Jackson adaptation from Disney+ in December, all the way to Netflix’s Avatar in February, and Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss’ latest series 3 Body Problem in March.
Below, we’ve rounded up our picks for the most anticipated series, events, and even awards shows that are essential viewing this winter TV season.
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie
Network: Peacock
Premiere Date: December 8
Status: Special
After the massive success of Suits on Netflix this year, it’s no surprise that beloved series from USA’s Blue Sky era continue to find themselves on the receiving end of film continuations. Following in the footsteps of the plethora of Psych movies on Peacock, the iconic Monk is returning for what the trailer dubs his “first movie” in this special. The film follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) as he’s called out of retirement to solve one last case, but in a post-COVID world, the most interesting aspect of revisiting this character will be how he handled the pandemic and its greater impact on his mental health as a chronic germophobe. With a stacked returning cast and a familiar energy present in the trailer, this continuation film is sure to be a delightful return to Mr. Monk’s sphere for any and all fans of the original series. —Anna Govert
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: December 20
Status: New Series
A proper adaptation of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been a long, long time coming. The two films created in the early 2010s were fun (that Medusa scene will always be iconic), but they weren’t Percy Jackson, not really. But now, the novels are finally being adapted in the way they were always meant to be: as a (hopefully) long-running TV series, where each season will cover a different book. Starring Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri as our lead trio of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, and also featuring the final performance of the late, great Lance Reddick, the series’ stacked cast alone makes this a worthwhile watch, but the plot sounds incredible as well: when Percy learns that he is a Half-Blood (the son of both a God and a human), he is sent to Camp Half-Blood to meet his fellow demigods, and eventually embark on the journey of a lifetime to retrieve Zeus’ (Lance Reddick) lost lightning bolt. —Anna Govert
Doctor Who Christmas Special
Network: BBC (Streaming on Disney+)
Premiere Date: December 25
Status: Special
In the first Christmas special from Doctor Who since 2017, Ncuti Gatwa takes up the mantle of the Doctor in his debut episode. Titled “The Church on Ruby Road,” not much is known about the special at the moment, but the first Doctor Who holiday outing in six years is sure to deliver on the same timey-wimey shenanigans we know and love from BBC production. The special will air in the US on Disney+, following in the footsteps of the three specials airing at the end of November and the beginning of December to officially usher in the age of the Fifteenth Doctor as David Tennett returns to pass the baton. —Anna Govert
Echo
Network: Disney+
Premiere Date: January 10
Status: New Series
Given the sheer volume of MCU shows and movies over the last few years, it’s hard to blame anyone who feels overcome by Marvel fatigue. However, even as someone admittedly worn down by this barrage of spandex-clad crusaders, Echo seems like it could offer something different. It’s the first project under the new “Marvel Spotlight” brand, which apparently aims to tell more grounded one-off stories that aren’t as tightly coupled to an overarching cinematic universe. The series follows Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), a deaf indigenous woman attempting to reconnect with her community, as she grapples with her violent past and ties to the crime boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). It’s a rare Disney property to receive a TV-MA rating, and while being more graphic obviously doesn’t automatically make a story more compelling, the trailer indicates that Maya’s struggles against her simmering rage and tendency to solve problems with violence could be a central conflict that makes smart use of this mature content. —Elijah Gonzalez
True Detective: Night Country
Network: HBO (Streaming on Max)
Premiere Date: January 14
Status: Returning Series
It will have been 5 years since the last installment of HBO’s True Detective once the new one airs, but that doesn’t mean fans have forgotten about the thrilling crime series. This new season stars Jodie Foster and Keli Reis as two small town Alaskan detectives. Like the first installment, opposites unwillingly attract, as the two are forced to put their heads together to uncover the mysterious disappearance of eight missing researchers. The first trailer hints at the return of the occult and almost supernatural aspects that graced the first (and best) season of the series, and we can only hope that this installment will deliver. This is the first season not to be written by Nic Pizzolatto, who turned over writing and showrunning duties to Issa López. López is best known for directing 2017’s Tigers Are Not Afraid, so a darker take on True Detective might be awaiting us. —Kaiya Shunyata
The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards
Network: Fox
Premiere Date: January 15 at 8pm ET
Status: Awards Show
Usually airing in September, the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards were delayed to January in the midst of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. But with the strikes now over and settled, the ceremonies will take place in January. After a long and hard battle, it will be delightful to celebrate all the TV we loved this year with the writers and actors responsible for it in attendance. —Anna Govert
Death and Other Details
Network: Hulu
Premiere Date: January 16
Status: New Series
In the last couple of years, Hollywood has seen a resurgence of murder mysteries. From Only Murders in the Building to Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot films, sleuthing has become all the rage. Potentially hoping to capture the same audience as the beloved Only Murders is Hulu’s upcoming Death and Other Details. The series follows Imogene Scott (Violett Beane), a restless woman in her 20’s who finds herself poised as the prime suspect in a mystery set aboard a lavishly-restored Mediterranean ocean liner. But, she’s not the only one—as it turns out, everyone from the crew members to the other guests are suspects. A mystery ala Knives Out begins to unravel, with Imogene at the center, along with her (unfortunate) partner in mystery solving, Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin), who is hailed as “the world’s greatest detective.” With an ensemble cast consisting of Beane, Patinkin, and Rahul Kohli, this seems like a surefire hit. —Kaiya Shunyata
Expats
Network: Prime Video
Premiere Date: January 26
Status: New Series
While we haven’t received a trailer for Expats, an adaptation of Janice Y. K. Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates, we do know that the six-episode limited series is coming to Prime Video and that it’s being written and directed by Lulu Wang. It’s set in Hong Kong in 2014 and follows three American women who cross paths after a tragedy, played by Nicole Kidman, Ji-young Yoo, and Sarayu Blue, respectively. Wang’s involvement is one of the most exciting aspects of this project, as she helmed the excellent film The Farewell, a sharply written dramedy that thoughtfully explored a moral dilemma brought on by cultural differences between a young Chinese-American woman and the rest of her family. Hopefully, Expats will prove similarly incisive. —Elijah Gonzalez
Masters of the Air
Network: Apple TV+
Premiere Date: January 26
Status: Limited Series
Masters of the Air is a World War II miniseries that’s being billed as a companion piece to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, a connection evident with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks returning as producers. As implied by its title, the series follows members of the Air Force, specifically the 100th Bombardment Group, who were nicknamed the “Bloody Hundredth” due to the dangerous missions they were assigned during the war. The show reportedly cost north of $200 million to produce, and this hefty price tag comes across in grandiose dogfights shown in its trailer. With some exciting names attached, such as director Cary Fukunaga of True Detective fame, it will be interesting to see if this war drama can live up to the reputation of the acclaimed properties that precede it and appropriately capture the mass tragedy of this conflict. —Elijah Gonzalez
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Network: Netflix
Premiere Date: February 22
Status: New Series
In a time of reboots and remakes, a streaming service trying their hand at an Avatar: The Last Airbender live action adaptation has been iminent. The upcoming Netflix series has thankfully cast an age and culturally-appropriate group of actors to play these iconic characters, which leads me to believe that there was a certain amount of care taken here when adapting such an iconic work of art. The series will follow Aang (Gordon Cormier), a young Avatar who, with the help of his friends, must stop the invasion of the famed and feared Fire Nation. To do so, he will have to learn to master the elements of water, earth, fire, and air, proving himself as an Avatar. We can only hope Netflix’s turn is better than the unfortunate flop that was M. Night Shyamalan’s film adaptation. Hopefully, with more episodes and a bigger budget, this new version is able to live up to its animated predecessor. —Kaiya Shunyata
Nolly
Network: PBS
Premiere Date: March 17
Status: New Series
Nolly is a three-episode miniseries about the rise and fall of British TV star Noele Gordon, who led an ultra-popular soap opera called Crossroads until she was unceremoniously fired in the ‘80s. This short, biographical story met a positive reception when it aired in the UK earlier this year and was praised for its comedy and vivid depiction of its chosen period. Additionally, Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Nolly, was commended for her suitably big performance that captured the larger-than-life presence of this performer. While I’m curious how this tale will play for those unfamiliar with the history of this showbiz power struggle here in the States, the positive buzz has me eager to find out. —Elijah Gonzalez
3 Body Problem
Network: Netflix
Premiere Date: March 21
Status: New Series
Somehow, after the unmitigated disaster of Game of Thrones Season 8, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were given the greenlight to adapt another beloved book series. Based on the novel by Liu Cixin titled The Three-Body Problem, the series follows an astrophysicist who, after seeing her father brutally murdered during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, is conscripted by the military and sent to a secret and remote base. There, decisions she makes in the 1960s ripple through time, clashing with the stories of other characters in the present. The first trailer gave us a glimpse at some familiar faces including John Bradley, Liam Cunningham, and Jonathan Pryce. Fingers crossed that this adaptation is more satisfying than the creative duo’s last. —Kaiya Shunyata
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