Such is the way of television in 2024, if you blink or leave the room for a second, you’ve somehow missed several great TV shows. Now you’re suddenly deleting social media from your phone or avoiding the office kitchen at busy times because spoilers are everywhere.

In what is already proving to be a vintage year for the small screen, we’ve pulled together 10 new shows that have made headlines and wowed audiences this year that you absolutely need to watch as soon as you can. Let’s dive in.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office

Find it now in Apps > ITVX

What it is: Real-life drama starring Toby Jones about the extraordinary miscarriage of justice where system errors led to hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses being wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting.
 

Number of episodes: 4 x 1 hour

Why you should stream it: Few TV shows have ever had the societal impact of this ITV1 drama. Maybe it’s because this scandal has previously felt too big or complex to comprehend. What this drama does so well is it focuses the story on individual cases and the devastating impact it had on their lives. Watching it, you are overcome with emotion – sadness, shock, horror, anger.

It has now been watched by millions of people, including those in power. It’s a credit to the storytellers and its cast, led by Jones, Monica Dolan, Ian Hart, Shaun Dooley and Will Mellor, that not only has this show changed public perception, but it has also genuinely changed lives.

The Traitors series 2

Find it now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

What it is: A group of strangers are sent to a remote Scottish castle to win up to £120,000 by completing challenges. Standing in their way are the “Traitors”, members of the group who “murder” the other players, known as “Faithfuls”. The Faithfuls must root out the Traitors to win the money, or the Traitors will take it all.
 

Number of episodes: 12 x 1 hour (plus series 1: 12 x 1 hour)

Why you should stream it: How do you follow up the most surprising reality hit of 2022, where the art of surprise was so key to its success? What do you do when the players now understand the game and know that the twists are coming? Well, you follow it up with a series that not only surpasses the first but might be one of the greatest reality series in TV history. To say too much more would spoil finding out the twists and turns, but we will say that programme-makers don’t just do the same again. But they do trust that the show’s format will still bring out the best and worst in players. And trust us, it does…

Here We Go series 2

Find it now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

What it is: A mockumentary sitcom that follows the Jessop family as filmed by its youngest son Sam, as they navigate everyday challenges as well as their extended family who drop by as often as they can.
 

Number of episodes: 6 x 30 mins (plus series 1: 6 x 30 mins, pilot x 30 mins and Christmas special x 30mins)
 

Why you should stream it: It’s a special sitcom that can air pre-watershed at 8pm and still be raucously funny. That’s a superpower Here We Go has in spades. It feels at times it belongs to a bygone age of sitcoms where an entire family could conceivably sit around, not be offended by rude language and all laugh together.

But while it’s broad (in the best sense), it’s still deeply clever, it plays around with time – often jumping back and forth in the story – and has some brilliant performances from its peerless cast. Series 2 also features what we think is the funniest moment on TV so far in 2024. Four words: Play Your Cards Right.

Gladiators

Find it now in Apps > BBC iPlayer

What it is: Reboot of the classic 90s competition show hosted by Bradley and Barney Walsh where four contenders must face 16 mighty Gladiators across classic and original action-packed events, before going head-to-head in the Eliminator.
 

Number of episodes: 6 x 1 hour (at the time of writing, but there will be a total of 11 episodes)
 

Why you should stream it: Unlike when Come Dancing had a flashy reboot to become the Strictly we all love, the original Gladiators was already larger than life. Big characters, bigger events, all filmed in a giant arena. It made The X Factor look shy and quiet. So the producers have wisely not meddled too much with what made the iconic series so popular.

Instead, they’ve tweaked it. The Gladiators, for instance, are still built like tanks but are supportive and friendly giants. (Mostly.) The new events capture the magic of the old. And it feels like a proper family entertainment show for all ages. Something we haven’t seen on TV since… well, Gladiators.

True Detective: Night Country

Find it now in On Demand

What it is: In Alaska, the men who operate a research station vanish. To solve the case, detectives Danvers and Navarro must confront the darkness themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.
 

Number of episodes: 6 x 1 hour
 

Why you should stream it: The gamble paid off. If you can really call “casting Jodie Foster” a gamble. But this was the first season of True Detective not written by Nic Pizzolatto, whose singular creative voice has been credited with the success of the show (rather than the traditional writers room model favoured in the US).

But instead of feeling either like a different show badged with the True Detective label, or worse, a paint-by-numbers imitation, Night Country forged its own path. In fact, it’s probably the best season since the first. Foster is unsurprisingly a revelation, but Kali Reis more than matches her performance as the show’s co-lead. Now it’s available as a Box Set, it’s virtually impossible to resist watching it all in one sitting.

One Day

Find it now in Apps > Netflix

What it is: An adaptation of the international bestseller, in which Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. We revisit their lives and relationship on the same day over the course of 20 years.
 

Number of episodes: 14 x 19-38 mins
 

Why you should stream it: This was always going to be better than the 2011 feature film starring Anne Hathaway (which wasn’t as bad as everyone made out). The episodic rhythm of a TV series matches the novel’s structure. But it’s such a beautifully realised version of the novel that doesn’t try to simply mimic the book beat-for-beat as the film did. The writing team, led by Wild Rose’s Nicole Taylor, absolutely nailed the tone, the story and – most crucial – its heart.

But it’s the perfectly cast Leo Woodall as Dex and especially Ambika Mod as Em who makes this so believable a story. They will make you fall in love with them. Will break your heart. Will leave you crying in a crumbled heap on the floor. In your end-of-year list of best TV shows of 2024, this will be right at the top. Perfection.

Trigger Point series 2

Find it now in Apps > ITVX

What it is: Bomb disposal expert (or “expo”) Lana Washington is giving a routine talk, having just returned from secondment, when an explosion rocks the heart of London and marks the start of a new terror campaign that will test her to the limit.
 

Number of episodes: 6 x 1 hour
 

Why you should stream it: The first series of Trigger Point was very good. But it feels like the second series truly stepped into its destiny as a natural successor to the heart-stopping Line Of Duty with some truly shocking narrative gambles and moments that will have you jumping out of your seat. There’s one moment that truly left us on the floor that we promise you won’t see coming. 

Action aside, it’s also refreshing in a series where people regularly put their lives on the line that we see the mental fallout of that job on the person. Equally refreshing is that not everyone gets saved. Vicky McClure plays that so well, even if her character is downright unlikeable at times. Here’s hoping for a series 3.

Big Boys series 2

Find it now in Apps > Channel 4

What it is: Jack Rooke’s semi-autobiographical comedy about two mismatched boys who strike up an unlikely friendship when they're thrown together at university.
 

Number of episodes: 6 x 30 mins (plus series 1: 6 x 30 mins)
 

Why you should stream it: Series 1 of Big Boys was an absolute revelation and was one of the best comedies of 2022 as Jack (Dylan Llewellyn) and Danny (Jon Pointing) each went through their own coming-of-age story as the boys learnt to accept who they were, helping each other on the way. Now in their second year of university, Rooke’s “difficult second album” is somehow even better than the first, showing that a person’s growth isn’t always linear.

There are so many memorable laugh-out-loud moments, but it’s the scenes that pull on your heartstrings that elevate this show into one for the ages. One scene on the park bench will break your heart and might be the cleverest scene in a comedy since that moment in Fleabag when the Hot Priest notices Fleabag looking to the camera.

Mr & Mrs Smith

Find it now in Apps > Prime Video

What is it: Two strangers land jobs with a spy agency that offers them a life of espionage, wealth and travel. The catch: they must act as a married couple.
 

Number of episodes: 8 x 42-63 minutes
 

Why you should stream it: Unexpectedly brilliant. That’s how we would dub Mr & Mrs Smith, the TV show based on the “Brangelina” movie from 2005. After Phoebe Waller-Bridge left the project, there was some doubt about rebooting a film that largely relied on putting the world’s two sexiest people in a movie to see what happened. Did the actual story have legs? Well, it turns out it had more legs than an octopus farm. After all, let’s not forget it was being co-created by Donald Glover and his producer from Atlanta, Francesca Sloane. Really, we should have known how good it was going to be.

The result is a funny, surprisingly relatable Mission: Impossible-style marriage drama with a tweaked premise (that makes much more sense!), and it’s a constant joy to watch. Glover is great, as is Maya Erskine – and together, they are flawless. Roll on season 2.

Fool Me Once

Find it now in Apps > Netflix

What is it: Maya is trying to come to terms with the murder of her husband. But when she installs a nanny-cam to keep an eye on her young daughter, she is shocked to see someone standing in her house: her husband.
 

Number of episodes: 8 x 35-55 minutes
 

Why you should stream it: If you asked people what they were watching at the start of 2024, then Fool Me Once would have been the most common wide-eyed reply. It was a series that pivoted and twisted and pulled you in, right from the start. So, if you haven’t seen it, now is the time to find out what all the fuss was about. Believe us, there is a lot of fuss to get through.

Michelle Keegan is the emotional heart of the show, putting in an impressive central performance that moves from grieving widow to determined woman who will stop at nothing to find the truth. It also features Joanna Lumley saying a brilliantly rude line that has now become rather iconic (one we sadly can’t repeat here). Once again, Harlan Coben manages to deliver a series you won’t be able to put down.

 

Binged the lot already? Here are 10 more TV shows to add to your watchlist

The Tourist

Find it now in Apps > BBC iPlayer
 

Sexy Beast

Find it now on Paramount+
 

Expats

Find it now in Apps > Prime Video
 

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Find it now in On Demand
 

Marvel Studios’ Echo

Find it now in Apps > Disney+
 

Griselda

Find it now in Apps > Netflix
 

Truelove

Find it now in Apps > Channel 4
 

The Artful Dodger

Find it now in Apps > Disney+
 

Ted

Find it now in On Demand
 

Genius

Find it now in Apps > Disney+