Top 24 shows of 2024 you don’t want to miss
House of the Dragon, True Detective, Shogun, Boy Swallows Universe, The Last Anniversary and Fake - 2024 will be the golden year for good shows. Here are 24 not to miss.
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From the second instalment of mega-franchise House of The Dragon, Jodie Foster in True Detective, and Shogun to Boy Swallows Universe, The Last Anniversary and Fake – there are 24 good reasons to watch TV in 2024, as LISA WOOLFORD explains.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
Binge
Season 2 promises even more dragon warfare, as Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower’s (Olivia Cooke) forces go head-to-head — or rather, dragon to dragon. The recently released trailer shows Daemon Targaryen (The Crown’s Matt Smith) suiting up in his impressive armour, knights on horseback, soldiers burning alive and several of the main cast riding their dragons into battle. The only downside is that talented Aussie actor Milly Alcock is reportedly not reprising her role as the Young Princess Rhaenyra.
BOY SWALLOWS UNIVERSE
January 11, Netflix
Based on Trent Dalton’s best-selling book this eight-part limited drama is set in 1980s Brisbane amid drug-dealers and criminals. Like its literary inspiration, the struggles of Eli Bell will tug on people’s heartstrings. The cast is incredible – Simon Baker plays absent dad Robert Bell while Felix Cameron is young Eli, Zac Burgess older Eli, Travis Fimmel is stepdad Lyle Orlik and Phoebe Tonkin is Dalton’s beloved mum Frankie Bell.
TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY
January 15, Binge
Mega-star Jodie Foster’s on a very cold case in this fourth iteration of the anthology crime drama. Her detective Liz Danvers is joined by Evangeline Navarro (former pro boxer turned actor Kali Reis) investigating how the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska have disappeared without a trace. There’s an almost paranormal edge as Danvers and Navarro are forced deeper and deeper down a bizarre rabbit hole to get answers.
DANCE LIFE
January 19, Prime Video
This five-part doco series gives a sneak peek behind the curtain of the Southern Hemisphere’s leading dance academy — Sydney’s Brent Street — following a group of students in their final year. They’re the best students from around Australia and desperate to work with self-confessed “hard-ass” choreographer Cassie Bartho who has performed with the likes of Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and Katy Perry.
HIGH COUNTRY
Binge
Leah Purcell stars in this eight-part mystery thriller set and filmed in Victoria’s high country. Purcell is Andie Whitford, a detective who is transferred to the small town of Brokenridge. Once there she’s confronted by a baffling mystery of five missing persons who have vanished. Also stars Ian McElhinney, Aaron Pedersen, and Sarah Wiseman.
MASTERS OF THE AIR
January 26, AppleTV+
This spiritual sequel to 2001’s Band of Brothers has been more than a decade in the making. Based on Donald L. Miller’s book, the nine-part series, which stars Austin Butler as Major Gale Cleven and Saltburn’s Barry Keogh as Lt. Curtis Biddick, will tell the incredible true story of the American Eight air force who conducted perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany.
PROSPER
January 18, Stan
Richard Roxburgh is Cal Quinn, founder of U Star — one of the fastest growing megachurches in the world — alongside Rebecca Gibney as Abi Quinn, his wife and worship leader. From the outside the family looks to have it all as they head into a lucrative American expansion. But behind closed doors, the Quinns are protecting shameful secrets. All episodes of this razor-sharp drama drop at once.
FIVE BLIND DATES
February, Prime Video
The Family Law’s Shuang Hu stars in this heartwarming rom-com as 20-something Lia. Faced with her failing traditional Chinese tea shop inherited from her grandma, and the prospect of attending her older sister’s wedding alone, she’s gifted a “prophecy” – the fate of her shop and her love life are intertwined, and the secret lies in one of her next five dates. Under pressure, Lia agrees to be set up with five different suitors.
HOW TO MAKE GRAVY
Binge
We might be in for a bit of a wait for this one – this screen adaptation of Paul Kelly’s iconic song may not drop until the lead-up to next Christmas (surely it would be on gravy day itself – the 21st of December). It’s a stellar cast with Daniel Henshall, Hugo Weaving, with Brenton Thwaites, Damon Herriman and Kate Mulvany. The exact story hasn’t been unveiled as yet; but the lyrics tells the tale of a prisoner called Joe who writes to his brother Dan.
SHOGUN
February, Disney+
Hiroyuki Sanada headlines this ambitious feudal Japan Epic, which brings James Clavell’s 1975 novel to life. The 10-episode limited series is set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war and follows Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Sanada), who must fight for his life after his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him. It also stars Cosmo Jarvis as English captain John Blackthorne and Anna Sawaii as translator Toda Mariko
LADIES IN BLACK
ABC
It was a book, and then a movie and now a six-part drama series. Renowned American actor Debi Mazar joins Aussie stars Miranda Otto and Jessica De Gouw as the beloved women from Goodes Department store flinging open their shop doors to the fabulous 60s. This story takes place in 1961, six months after the events of the original story. Expect a celebration of beauty, ambition and friendships, and gorgeous high fashion.
THE OFFICE AUSTRALIA
Prime Video
Step aside David Brent and Michael Scott, Hannah Howard is the new incompetent boss in the Australian adaptation of the iconic franchise. There are high hopes for Felicity Ward as the first-ever female lead of the popular mockumentary. Her character Howard is the – presumably awful – managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her “work family” together.
RFDS
Seven
Thankfully we don’t have to wait for two years for the next instalment of this quality Australian drama on the lives of the Royal Flying Doctor Service team. Justine Clarke returns along with Stephen Peacocke, Rob Collins, Emma Hamilton, Ash Ricardo, Thomas Weatherall, Rodney Afif, Sofia Nolan, Ash Hodgkinson and Jack Scott.
THE LAST ANNIVERSARY
Binge
It’s an absolute banging cast for this adaptation of Aussie author Liane Moriarty’s novel, with Nicole Kidman as one of the producers. The Clearing actor Teresa Palmer, Good Omens star Miranda Richardson and Danielle Macdonald from The Tourist star in the six-episode limited series which has just started filming. It follows Sophie (Palmer), who unexpectedly inherits the house of an aunt of an ex-boyfriend on Scribbly Gum Island, home of the famously unsolved Munro Baby mystery.
FISK
ABC
This’ll be the third-helping of the award-winning comedy, created by Kitty Flanagan and her sister Penny, which has garnered a global cult following after it blew up on Netflix. Probate lawyer Helen Tudor-Fisk (Flanagan), with her penchant for brown suits and straight-talking, is far from perfect, but that’s half her charm. Marty Sheargold will be back as her boss Ray Gruber, as will Julia Zemiro as Ray’s sister Roz, who has temporarily lost her legal licence, and Aaron Chen as their paralegal, receptionist and IT person George.
MORNING WARS
AppleTV+
What’s next for The Morning Show? For a series that literally began its third season in space it seems the possibilities are endless. That season wrapped up with a Succession-style company merger orchestrated by Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston), and Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) deciding to turn herself in to the feds for her decision to delete her brother’s involvement in the January 6 insurrection. And the big question hanging over the fourth season is just how Bradley will fare – could she face jail time? Or will writers employ one of their preferred ploys of a good-old time jump.
FAKE
Paramount+
Starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham, and inspired by Stephanie Wood’s best-selling book, this eight-part series follows Birdie Bell (Keddie), a magazine features writer who thinks she has found “the one” when she meets successful grazier Joe Burt (Wenham) on a dating app. But as cracks start to form in Joe’s stories, Birdie soon discovers her boyfriend isn’t all he’s led her to believe.
HUMAN ERROR
Nine
Inspired by actual events, this new six-part drama series follows Detective Holly O’Rourke (Leeanna Walsman) and her homicide team as a seemingly open-and-shut murder investigation threatens to destroy her career, her family, and her faith in justice. Cast also includes Stephen Peacocke, Steve Bisley, Matt Day and Rahel Romahn.
THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ
Stan
Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel is the lead in this adaptation of the globally best-selling novel by Heather Morris. Inspired by a true story, Lale (Jonah Hauer-King) arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, and was charged to ink identification numbers on to fellow prisoners’ arms. He meets Gita (Anna Próchniak) and it’s love at first sight. Around 60 years later, Lale (Keitel) meets novice writer Heather Morris (Melanie Lynskey) and finds the courage to share his story.
THE TWELVE
Binge
Award-winning British-Australian actor Frances O’Connor joined a cavalcade of stars for the second season of the gritty courtroom drama, which swept the Logies this year. O’Connor will play Meredith Nelson-Moore SC alongside Sam Neill who’s reprising his Logie-winning role as Brett Colby, SC who is in WA to take on a high profile murder case. The second series will follow a similar premise as the first with a controversial murder case at the centre of the storyline, but with a new batch of jurors – including Tasma Walton – at the backbone.
MASTERCHEF
Ten
It will be a bittersweet 16th season of the beloved cooking show without Jock Zonfrillo – who died suddenly on the eve of this year’s series launch in May – at the helm. It’s a smart move by production to have Jamie Oliver kick off the series. The UK uber chef will feature across two weeks, the longest ever appearance from a guest chef in MasterChef’s history. He joins Andy Allen plus the three new judges, Poh Ling Yeow, restaurateur Jean-Christophe Novelli and food critic Sofia Levin. Plus there’ll be a second serving of the superb Dessert Masters with Melissa Leong and pastry whiz Amaury Guichon.
DREAM HOME
Seven
Replacing House Rules, this new reno show hosted by Seven’s prize recruit Dr Chris Brown follows six suburban homes transformed by their owners – six pairs of everyday Aussies will battle it out room by room. A trio of yet-to-be named expert judges will score. The winning couple receives the home of the dreams and a life-changing prize.
READY STEADY COOK
Ten
Exuberant chef Miguel Maestre will host this new incantation of the much-loved cooking show – which originally ran in the afternoons on the network for seven years. This revamped edition promises a dynamic duo setup: members of the public will be paired with renowned chefs. It’s being planned the notoriously tricky Friday night slot.
THE NEWSREADER
ABC
The critically-acclaimed drama series created by Michael Lucas returns with its third instalment which will go behind all the news and events from 1989. We’d expect Anna Torv and Sam Reid would be back as Helen and Dale, even though the golden couple is no more and their characters went their separate ways at the end of Season two. William McInnes, Steve Peacocke, Marg Downey and Michelle Lim Davidson will reprise their roles.
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Originally published as Top 24 shows of 2024 you don’t want to miss
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