The Best Shows You Missed in 2024: Your Catch-Up Guide

Every year produces shows that deserve massive audiences but get lost in the noise of prestige dramas, franchise content, and algorithmic churn. The year 2024 was no different, delivering several outstanding series that flew under the radar despite critical acclaim. If you are looking for something genuinely great that your friends probably have not told you about yet, this list is for you.

How We Selected: We researched options using full-season viewing, critical analysis, and production quality assessment. Central to our evaluation were production values, thematic depth, pacing consistency. Our editorial team made all selections independently of brand relationships.

English Teacher (FX / Hulu)

Brian Jordan Alvarez created and stars in this comedy about a gay English teacher at an Austin, Texas high school navigating the impossible demands of modern education. The show captures the specific absurdities of teaching in a politically polarized environment with humor that is sharp without being cynical. Alvarez is magnetic in the lead role, and the ensemble of teachers and students creates a workplace comedy that feels bracingly contemporary. The first season earned a rare perfect score from multiple critics and immediate renewal.

Pachinko Season 2 (Apple TV Plus)

The adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s multigenerational novel continued its second season with the same visual ambition and emotional depth that made the first season one of the best shows nobody watched. The story spans from 1930s Korea under Japanese occupation to 1989 Osaka, following four generations of a Korean family. Lee Min-ho, Minha Kim, and Youn Yuh-jung deliver performances that communicate decades of history through personal experience. The show’s trilingual storytelling in Korean, Japanese, and English is a remarkable achievement.

Bad Sisters Season 2 (Apple TV Plus)

The Garvey sisters returned for a second season that proved the first was not a fluke. Sharon Horgan’s Irish dark comedy thriller introduced a new crisis for the family while deepening the dynamics established in Season 1. The ensemble, including Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson, has become one of television’s most compelling family units. The show’s tonal balance between genuine menace, emotional drama, and dark Irish humor remains unlike anything else on television.

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)

Eddie Redmayne stars as a modern-day assassin in this reimagining of Frederick Forsyth’s classic thriller. Lashana Lynch plays the MI6 agent pursuing him across Europe, and the cat-and-mouse dynamic between them drives ten episodes of tightly plotted espionage. The show demonstrates that the procedural thriller can still feel fresh when the craft is high enough, with Redmayne’s chameleon-like transformations and Lynch’s determined pursuit creating genuine tension in every episode.

Industry Season 3 (Max)

HBO’s drama about young bankers in London expanded its scope in a third season that earned some of the best reviews of any show in 2024. The trading floor dynamics became more complex, the personal stakes higher, and the show’s commentary on how finance shapes global power more pointed. Kit Harington joined the cast and delivered his best post-Game of Thrones performance. Industry remains one of television’s best-kept secrets, a show that everyone who watches it loves but not enough people have started.

Slow Horses Season 4 (Apple TV Plus)

Gary Oldman’s MI5 thriller continued to be the most consistently excellent spy series on television with a fourth season adapting Mick Herron’s Spook Street. Oldman’s Jackson Lamb remains one of the great television characters, a disgraced intelligence officer whose slovenly exterior conceals razor-sharp instincts. Each season adapts a different Herron novel, giving the show fresh storylines while deepening the ensemble dynamics. The British espionage atmosphere is thick enough to cut, and the plotting never insults the audience’s intelligence.

Disclaimer (Apple TV Plus)

Alfonso Cuaron directed every episode of this seven-part psychological thriller starring Cate Blanchett as a journalist whose carefully constructed public persona begins to unravel. Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Lesley Manville round out a cast that Cuaron directs with the meticulous visual storytelling that defines his feature work. The show’s use of unreliable perspective and shifting timelines creates a puzzle that keeps viewers engaged through its final revelation.

Why These Shows Flew Under the Radar

Several factors conspire against excellent shows finding audiences. Apple TV Plus, despite producing consistently outstanding content, has a smaller subscriber base than Netflix or Max. FX shows on Hulu compete against the platform’s much larger general library for visibility. And the sheer volume of content released weekly makes it impossible for any viewer to track everything worth watching.

The good news is that streaming means these shows are not gone. Unlike broadcast television, where a missed season might disappear forever, every show on this list is available right now and waiting for you to discover it.

For more picks, check out our guides to the best shows of 2025 so far and the best limited series streaming in 2025.