[imagesource:Ed Miller/Netflix]

It’s the time of year again when all the best lists (so far) prop up.

As we approach the halfway point of 2024, it’s time to take a look back at the best TV shows this year has had to offer. 2024 has already had a solid start, with a whole host of comedies, dramas, and limited series grabbing our attention.

While the historical epic Shōgun leaves many floored, Baby Reindeer is a show that sticks with you and never leaves, while you might find conform in the return of familiar shows like We Are Lady Parts and Interview with the Vampire.

From samurai and stalkers to spies and detectives, here are a few of the best TV shows of 2024 so far and where to watch them – starting off with what Mashable reckons is by far the best show of the year.

Shōgun

There’s good TV, there’s great TV, and then there’s TV that’s so excellent it feels unfair. They say Shōgun falls squarely in the latter category. As an “immaculately crafted” historical epic, Shōgun drops us into Japan in 1600 where an embattled Council of Regents ousts the powerful Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) just as an English vessel lands in Japan for the first time. Toranaga brings the vessel’s pilot John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) into his retinue and, with the help of noblewoman Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), attempts to best his enemies as Japan inches closer and closer to civil war.

Shōgun is now streaming on Hulu.

Fantasmas

While comedian Julio Torres’ directorial debut Problemista is already one of the best movies of 2024, his latest TV show, HBO’s Fantasmas, is also one of the year’s standout series.

This surreal comedy chronicles a fictionalised version of Torres on a quest to find a missing golden oyster-shaped earring. His journey spirals into a series of bizarre, cameo-filled vignettes, exploring the inner lives of objects and concepts while introducing a host of peculiar new characters.

Fantasmas is now streaming on Max.

True Detective: Night Country

True Detective returned with a vengeance for its fourth season, now directed by Issa López of Tigers Are Not Afraid. This new instalment of the anthology series takes us to Ennis, Alaska, a small community on the brink of an endless night. But darkness isn’t the only thing the citizens of Ennis have to worry about.

 True Detective: Night Country is now streaming on Max.

Ripley

Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s classic novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, this drama miniseries from Steven Zaillian lures audiences into the seductive world of Thomas Ripley (played by Fleabag’s hot priest Andrew Scott), American social climber turned con man and killer.

Ripley is now streaming on Netflix.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith is anything but a stale remake. Instead, this infinitely enjoyable reimagining of the 2005 film pairs two new spies (Glover and Maya Erskine) together in a fake marriage, which means the lingering question is how long until they catch real feelings for one another?

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is now streaming on Prime Video.

Boy Swallows Universe

Much like its pint-sized protagonist, 13-year-old Eli Bell (played by outstandingly talented youngster Felix Cameron), this Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton’s novel Boy Swallows Universe is one of 2024’s unsung heroes, a dark but genuinely funny tale of suburban crime brimming with magical realism.

Boy Swallows Universe is now streaming on Netflix.

Fallout

In recent years, television has treated us to some exceptional video game adaptations, from Arcane to Castlevania to The Last of Us. In 2024, Fallout joined their esteemed company, offering a first season that was delightfully wild (and packed with nods to the games).

Created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, Fallout introduced us to a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland where rival factions and mutant creatures run amok.

Fallout is now streaming on Prime Video.

Expats

Centred on a trio of expatriates living in Hong Kong, Lulu Wang’s Expats is a sensitive and at times heartbreaking exploration of grief and feeling unmoored. Our three leads are Margaret (Nicole Kidman), a woman whose son Gus has gone missing; Hilary (Sarayu Blue), her neighbour who’s struggling with deciding whether or not to have a child; and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), a directionless college graduate involved in Gus’s disappearance.

Expats is now streaming on Prime Video.

[source:mashable]