The ten series you shouldn’t miss in 2024

It’s possible that the past year has offered us more twists and turns in real life than on screen. But this is no reason to forget the series which managed to entertain us, move us and question us, after a long period of depression marked by Covid-19, then the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike, between the beginning of May and the end of September 2023. Here are our ten favorite television series of the year 2024.

10. “Presumed Innocent” (Apple TV+)

From soap operas to sitcoms, weekly dramas, anthologies or binge on Netflix, series are cultural objects in constant flux. However, in our eyes, the most important criterion for their success remains the same: making people want to see what happens next.

American screenwriter and producer David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, Big Little Lies) has spent four decades refining the recipe for a good TV series and proves it with one of the most addictive productions of the year, based on cliffhangers and of plot twists felt good. Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal), a Chicago prosecutor, is devastated when he learns that one of his colleagues has been murdered. But quickly, the one who spends his time pleading in court is designated as the main suspect… As in many thrillers, the resolution will not necessarily be up to par, but the breathtaking suspense offered by the eight episodes is well worth the detour.

9. “Cult” (Prime Video)

In April 2001, France met the first “lofteurs”, having agreed to be filmed 24 hours a day as part of a revolutionary reality TV show, “Loft Story”. More than two decades later, Matthieu Rumani and Nicolas Slomka deliver their fictionalized version of this major cultural turning point. Rather than offering a repeat of the adventure inside the “Loft”, Worship brilliantly tells the story behind the scenes of production and the multiple moral compromises that led to an irreversible paradigm shift in the history of French television.

8. «Mr. et Mrs. Smith» (Prime Video)

Like the eponymous 2005 film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, this spin-off series relies largely on the explosive alchemy of its stars, in this case the very charismatic Donald Glover (also co-creator) and Maya Erskine, who give their spies a dark and neurotic energy.

With offbeat humor and a certain taste for subversion, Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover manage to take a pre-existing work to make something singular, pushing the parallel between espionage and love life to its climax. All with the most prestigious secondary cast on the small screen: Paul Dano, Alexander Skarsgård, Michaela Coel, Wagner Moura, Parker Posey, Sarah Paulson, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Sharon Horgan…

7. «Slow Horses» (Apple TV+)

For two and a half years, this British thriller, as compact as it is addictive, has been delighting us with each new season. Halfway between office comedy and spy series, Slow Horses follows endearing losers placed in the worst department of MI5 (British intelligence) and tasked with resolving crisis after crisis, while everyone underestimates them.

We will never stop saying it: it is quite simply the most “bingeable” series of the moment, which shines as much for the finesse of its dialogues as the mastery of its action scenes. Not to mention its excellent ensemble cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, etc. So, even if the fourth season – released in September and October 2024 – sometimes fails to get bogged down in its own mythology, we forgive it without problem.

6. «Fargo» (Canal+)

After a long absence (the fourth season was released in 2020), the criminal anthology series inspired by the cinematic universe of the Coen brothers returned with a season 5 more captivating than ever. Still located in a rural region in the north of the United States, between Minnesota and North Dakota, this new part features a mother who is good in all respects (Juno Temple), caught up in an unusual past. Picturesque accents, fascinating villains, crafted monologues and mind-boggling action sequences… Creator, screenwriter and director Noah Hawley delights us, while adding to his usual ingredients a sharp political commentary on Donald Trump’s America.

5. “Hippocrates” (Canal+)

The best French series made its comeback at the end of the year with a highly anxiety-inducing season, further highlighting the tragic deterioration of the French public hospital. In this third part, the Raymond-Poincaré emergency department, traumatized by the pandemic, must face yet another crisis, this time due to bed closures during the summer period. Using nuanced writing, this new masterful trick from Thomas Lilti places us as close as possible to the caregivers, who cling as best they can to their humanity in the face of a dehumanizing system.

4. «The Franchise» (HBO Max)

You may have noticed: even ignoring the stories of elves and dragons, a significant portion of the series on this list have been adapted from already existing intellectual property. In recent years in Hollywood, the observation has become undeniable: it is difficult to find space (and financing) for original ideas. However, franchises (Marvel cinematic universe or MCU, Game of Thronesetc.) who have dominated the industry for a good decade seem to be losing creative and popular momentum. It is this paradox that brilliantly captures The Franchise.

Signed by Jon Brown and produced by none other than Armando Iannucci (In The Loop on the cinema side, Veep or Avenue 5 series side), this satirical series follows the chaotic filming of yet another superhero film. From the cynicism of the producers to the burnout of the technicians, to the Oscar-winning actors who don’t understand what they are doing there, this is perhaps the most accurate portrait of today’s dominant culture. All served by a masterful cast, notably Richard E. Grant as a British theater star who dreams of being canceledor Daniel Brühl in the role of the promising indie director, crushed by the studio machine.

3. «Ripley» (Netflix)

We could talk endlessly about the beauty of its frames and settings, each more breathtaking than the last, or its sublime black and white photography. Rave about its sound design, its dark humor, the assurance of its haunting rhythm… Praise the talent of its actors, notably Andrew Scott in the title role and Maurizio Lombardi as the formidable Inspector Ravini…

Or even applaud the fact that this story of murders, latent homophobia and class tensions manages to distance itself from all the previous adaptations of Patricia Highsmith’s novel. And we would only scratch the surface of the beauty and singularity of this Ripley signed Steven Zaillian (director and author of the mini-series The Night Ofreleased in 2016). A technical delight of great rarity, whose meticulously oppressive atmosphere closes like a vice on the spectator.

2. «Shōgun» (Disney+)

Making a series in 2024 also involves fighting for the increasingly fragmented attention of an audience inundated with “content” of all kinds. Shōguna series without Hollywood stars, mainly in Japanese, about the clash between two rival lords in 1600, defies many of the rules of contemporary TV series. It’s a project of great confidence, one that demands our attention and long-term investment and rewards us with television footage so breathtaking it seems to stop time.

We enter the codified universe of feudal Japan thanks to John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis), a “barbarian” stranded on the shores of Japan at the beginning of the story. But this storyline Trojan horse then allows us to unfold a rich political and emotional fresco, where a multitude of complex characters manage to get along without understanding each other. It is also in this series that we find some of the most beautiful female roles of the year, notably Mariko, a noble and headstrong translator played by Anna Sawai.

1. «Industry» (HBO Max)

It has now been four years since the British series created by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay has amazed us with its intelligence and audacity. Located in an investment bank in the City (London’s financial district), Industry follows the setbacks and power struggles of a group of ambitious young bankers. After a masterful season 2, the two screenwriters push their limits a little further in this third opus with the air of great experimentation: new characters (played by Kit Harrington and Sarah Goldberg), media intrigue, episode devoted to the character of Rishi.

Behind its financial jargon, its sanitized settings and its obsessive electronic music, the series above all offers a fine study of human behavior which recalls the best hours of Mad Men. For three seasons, it has featured some of the best antiheroes and antiheroines on the small screen, addicted to their work, allergic to introspection and incapable of distinguishing between love and cruelty. Like its ambitious characters, Industry is not afraid to try everything. As it continues to gain in narrative and visual scope, we can only wait for one thing: to see what happens next.