The 10 TV Shows You Need to Watch and Stream From 2024

Originally announced in 2021 as a project from Glover, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Atlanta writer/producer Francesca Sloane, Waller-Bridge eventually left the project in what Glover called “a divorce in a weird way.” The series, which was set to debut in 2023, was then delayed until 2024 amid then-ongoing Hollywood strikes.

But good marriages take work. Once Mr. & Mrs. Smith finally debuted in Feb. 2024, the series quickly shot up the streaming charts, opening at No. 4 on Nielsen’s Top 10 with around 964 million minutes watched in its first three days of availability. The series balances humor, twists, and valuable lessons to not buy property in Italy without consulting your significant other first. Also, what’s the deal with Paul Dano, the weird neighbor next door? Something is going on with him, right? Whoa! And John Turturro’s in this, too? Your mission, should you choose to accept it—oh, wait, that’s another spy franchise—uh, anyway, watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith. — Bill Bradley

6. A Man on the Inside (Netflix)

Holy forking shirtballs, Michael Schur sure is good at what he does. Reuniting with The Good Place star Ted Danson—along with other familiar faces from Schur-generated shows like Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine—the prolific TV creator turned what could have been the Netflix algorithm version of Only Murders in the Building into its own distinct experience.

Danson plays Charles, a widower who goes undercover in a San Francisco retirement community to help a gumshoe (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) crack the case of a sticky-fingered thief. But faster than you can say, “Cheers,” he’s making friends with his fellow septuagenarians and healing his own lonely heart. In classic Schur tradition, Man on the Inside has a deep empathy for its characters and a light touch with its humor that allows it to tiptoe through sentimental story beats without plunging into the canyon of mawkishness. That skill is on full display in the show’s sixth—and best—episode when the effects of a death in Charles’ circle of new friends ripple outwards and offer viewers a fresh understanding of what it takes to travel through grief and arrive at a good place. — Ethan Alter

5. Palm Royale (Apple TV)

Even the most guilty Apple+ pleasures wear a faint perfume of prestige.

Abe Sylvia’s Palm Royale has all the subtlety of a floral-print pool dress and the tonal consistency of a Juan Esquivel lounge set. But Kristin Wiig’s infiltration of Palm Springs’ most elusive fictional club—and one of its richest families’ estates—unlocks the cutting wit of Alison Janney, a sympathetic turn for Ricky Martin, the slow unraveling of Julia Duffy, and a multilayered performance from Carol Burnett that’s so convincing that she was nominated for an Emmy despite being in a coma or incapacitated for much of the series.

It’s a pulpy mess of thefts, affairs, secrets, and sea strandings, but it also gets some necessary social counterbalance. We’ve seen audiences chafe at this before: Mad Men suggested that maybe being drunk for much of the day and treating women like chattel ruined that whole midcentury modern aesthetic for a bunch of people in this industry.

Palm Royale steals its in-law’s riches at a time when working women couldn’t open bank accounts without a male cosigner and spotlights a gay character when simply being out in Florida was a felony. Beyond Palm Royale’s lush setting, costumes, hair, and performances are some biting commentary about those who’d want to crawl over its walls. — Jason Notte