Happy New Year! In a very busy newsletter today, I am looking at my most anticipated shows for 2024, the Limited Series race at the upcoming Emmys, For All Mankind, The Curse, The Crown, Fargo, Dr. Death and more!
As we begin 2024, there should be no shortage of TV with the strikes resolved. We may not get back to pre-strike Peak TV but there will be plenty to watch. Here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated Shows of 2024. To be considered for this list, it had to be new or an anthology. So even though I can't wait for a returning show like Abbott Elementary in February, I did not include it on this list.
Honorable Mentions: Ripley (Netflix, TBD), Griselda (Netflix, Jan 25), The Penguin (Max, TBD), Apples Never Fall (Peacock, March), Shogun (FX/Hulu, Feb 27), Sugar (Apple TV+, TBD)
10. Agatha: Darkhold Diaries (Disney+, TBD) - I have enjoyed exactly one Marvel show in the history of Marvel TV shows and that was WandaVision. Some of it was the TV spoofing they were doing. But it was also Kathryn Hahn's portrayal of Agatha. So a spinoff starring Hahn will at least get me to tune in.
9. Death and Other Details (Hulu, January 16) - A murder mystery set in an exotic location certainly gives off The White Lotus vibes. While I would never expect this one to be as good, it has a great cast led by Mandy Patinkin that gives me hope.
8. Masters of the Air (Apple TV+, January 26) - In general, I am not a huge fan of military dramas. But this looks to be sparing no expense and it's set in a time period that I find more interesting than modern day military dramas. So I'm definitely going in with a hopeful and open mind.
7. True Detective: Night Country (HBO, January 14) - For whatever reason, I never watched the first three seasons of True Detective though I know the acclaimed first season kickstarted the trend of movie stars in limited TV shows. With Jodie Foster and the Alaska setting plus a creepy trailer, I'm definitely intrigued by this one.
7. The New Look (Apple TV+, February 14) - I'm not really into the fashion world and there is no trailer for this one but this cast (including Ben Mendelsohn, Juliette Binoche, Glenn Close, John Malkovich and more) and setting (Paris after World War II) makes me interested.
6. Franklin (Apple TV+, TBD) - I don't know too much about this one yet but I love the idea of a series revolving around Ben Franklin and the casting of Michael Douglas as the titular character has me very intrigued.
5. Manhunt (Apple TV+, March 15) - There's not much available on this one yet but I'm definitely intrigued in a show based on the Lincoln assassination and starring Tobias Menzies. I don't know the source material but setting it immediately following the event feels interesting to me.
4. The Regime (HBO, March 3) - This one feels like a winner because Kate Winslet is such a star. When you couple that with a very strong supporting cast, some people behind the scenes who worked on Succession and The Crown, and a premise that feels like a different take on palace intrigue, it seems like HBO could have a buzzy hit on their hands.
3. Feud: Capote vs. the Swans (FX, January 31) - I never know what to expect from Ryan Murphy. Sometimes I love his stuff and sometimes I hate it. I enjoyed the first season of Feud despite the very high camp factor and this cast is so good, I think/hope it will fall on the side of being interesting to me and not too self-indulgent.
2. Palm Royale (Apple TV+, March 20) - No trailer for this one yet, but look at that list of stars: Kristen Wiig! Laura Dern! Allison Janney! Carol Burnett! Ricky Martin?? It's also set in a posh Palm Beach setting and related to high society so I think it'll be fun. I'm very curious to see Wiig in her first series regular role (besides Saturday Night Live of course).
1. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video, February 2) - I've been super excited for this one for awhile. I am hit and miss with spy shows but this looks to be exceptionally done and it already looks like Donald Glover and Maya Erskine have a great chemistry together. Add in a spectacular list of guest stars and I have high hopes this will be a winner.
The Emmys are two weeks from tonight! Here's a look at my predictions & wishes for the Limited Series categories!
Outstanding Limited Series
Will Win: Beef
Should Win: Fleishman is in Trouble
Should Have Been Nominated: The Patient
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
Will Win: Evan Peters, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Should Win: Steven Yeun, Beef
Should Have Been Nominated: Steve Carell, The Patient
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series
Will Win: Ali Wong, Beef
Should Win: Lizzy Caplan, Fleishman is in Trouble
Should Have Been Nominated: Bel Powley, A Small Light
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series
Will Win: Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird
Should Win: Richard Jenkins, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Should Have Been Nominated: Tom Pelphrey, Love & Death
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series
Will/Should Win: Claire Danes, Fleishman is in Trouble
Should Have Been Nominated: Linda Emond, The Patient
After a rough start to the sixth and final season, The Crown returned to form for its final batch of episodes and especially its series finale. The finale cleverly used former Elizabeths Claire Foy and Olivia Colman in a story about Elizabeth contemplating abdicating the throne. Although there is no proof or suspicion that the real Queen Elizabeth ever considered abdicating, the framework gave the series a chance to reflect on what the monarchy means and where it might be headed when Elizabeth is no longer Queen. The fact that this is happening in real life following the Queen's death in 2022 only aided the story. Imelda Staunton was relegated to a background character for so much of her two seasons as the show dove headfirst into the Diana story but when Staunton finally got her chance, she shined as brightly as Foy and Colman. I'm glad the show ended on a more positive note. It would have been a shame to see such a prestigious show go out in the gutter episodes of Diana (despite Elizabeth Debicki's great performance). The last stretch of episodes released in December was true to The Crown and the show we had been watching since 2015.
Dr. Death: I've watched five of the eight episodes so far of the second season of Dr. Death, which is four more than I watched of the first season. Although this show has the feel of a Lifetime movie and could have certainly been a two hour movie instead of an eight episode series, it is elevated somewhat by compelling performances by Mandy Moore, Edgar Ramirez and Luke Kirby. I don't think there's a real vision for Dr. Death aside from appealing to the true crime fans but I have spent worse hours in front of the TV and will probably finish the series since I'm far enough into it.
Fargo: Fargo went to a really odd place this week as the show shifted its focus back to Juno Temple's Dot/Nadine (after she didn't appear in the previous episode). I had mixed reactions to the weirdness. I thought the "Linda" bit at Camp Utopia was a little unnecessarily silly. I felt that way at first about the puppet bit but I actually found myself interested in the show choosing to tell the Dot/Nadine backstory that way. It filled in so many details that we've all wondered about the whole season and I have to admit, it was perhaps more engrossing than flashbacks would have been. The ending of the episode - I don't even know what to say. But it makes me very excited for the final three episodes.
For All Mankind: We're now just two episodes away from the fourth season finale of For All Mankind so I feel pretty comfortable saying this season has been a disappointment. Most seasons of Mankind start out a little slow but then build as their stories gain momentum. This year, it feels like every story fizzles out before it really gets going. The show also thrived in very intense situations and it all feels a little mundane this year. I have always banged the drum for this show but I have been really underwhelmed by the fourth season.
The Curse: I'm really glad I don't have anyone making me write about this show on an episode by episode basis because I feel like I never know what to say after watching an episode. I still feel the same things I did after the first episode - it is all unnerving, Emma Stone is a genius, I wonder where it's all going. That's not a knock on the show though for being repetitive. It's just amazing how a show with so little plot across episodes can feel incredibly dense within one episode. Maybe I'll have more to say as the season winds down... or maybe not...
SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
There's a lot coming later in January but the first week is pretty quiet. After previews in December, NBC has the timeslot premieres on Tuesday for the new season of Night Court and the new Jon Cryer series Extended Family. On Wednesday, BET has the seventh season premiere of Sistas. On Thursday, Netflix drops The Brothers Sun, an action comedy featuring recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh. In a quiet marketplace, it could get some traction. On Sunday, after the final regular season NFL Sunday, FOX has the season premiere of The Great North and the series premiere of Grimsburg, the network's newest animated sitcom. This one features Jon Hamm voicing a grizzly detective. It should at least get sampled well after the NFL games.
FINAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY
The only other show I checked out over the winter holiday season was Extended Family. The new NBC sitcom is a big old miss, which is too bad since it features the likable Jon Cryer, Abigail Spencer and Donald Faison. I just don't know why TV is so incapable of making smart multi-camera sitcoms. It's really a lost art. When's the last time we had a multi-cam sitcom with really good writing? TV used to be full of them!
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