BY Eric Rezsnyak
As 2023 comes to a close, we’re not only looking back at the great pop culture that was released this year (you HAVE listened to our Best of 2023 episodes, haven’t you?), we’re also looking forward to the movies, music, TV series, and more scheduled to come out in 2024.
Below find the 10 TV series the crew at the Great Pop Culture Debate are most excited about going into 2024, plus a few honorable mentions. Did we miss your most anticipated upcoming show? Drop it in the comments so we can make sure to be on the lookout for it!
10. Constellation (Apple TV+, February 21)
Apple TV+ has become the premiere destination for engrossing sci-fi TV shows, and this new 8-part mini-series looks to be the next buzzy entry. Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Prometheus) stars as an astronaut who returns to Earth after a space accident to find that key parts of her life appear to be missing. The series is described as a “conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama,” and truly, what’s more 2024 than that? Also starring Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul).
9. Mary & George (Starz, Release TBD)
Initially slated for AMC, which seems to be in full-on collapse, this steamy period piece created by Killing Eve‘s D.C. Moore will now air on Starz in the United States. Julianne Moore stars as Mary Villiers, the Countess of Buckingham, who in 17th Century England was shrewd — and ruthless — enough to pimp out her beautiful son, George (Nicholas Galitzine, Red, White & Royal Blue), to the obviously gay King James I. Expect court intrigue, scheming, murder, fabulous costumes, and lots of sex. We’re so in.
8. Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX/Hulu, January 31)
It’s hard to believe that we haven’t had a season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series Feud since 2017’s Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford outing — which was excellent! — but now it’s back and it looks rich, it looks fabulous, and it looks BITCHY. Tom Hollander plays author and notorious gossip Truman Capote, but the real draw here are the Swans, the elite women who ran the New York social scene of the 1960s. When Capote releases an excerpt from an upcoming book spilling the T the “swans” have confided in him over the years, all hell breaks loose. JUICY! The cast for the Swans is impeccable: Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, Calista Flockhart, Chloe Sevigny, and Molly Ringwald. My gay heart cannot take it. If you like the Real Housewives, get a load of these REAL housewives.
7. True Detective: Night Country (HBO, January 14)
HBO’s crime anthology returns for the first time since 2019, with Jodie Foster taking the lead and the setting moved to a part of Alaska where the sun basically never rises. The trailer for Night Country looks intense, with flickers of the supernatural elements that intrigued people in Season 1, and which the series has arguably never successfully recaptured. But we have faith in in Jodie, so we will Foster this behavior.
6. Curb Your Enthusiasm Final Season (HBO, February 4)
In December HBO announced that Larry David’s long-running sitcom — the first episode aired way back in 2000, meaning that it will have aired for nearly a quarter century! — would be coming to a close with Season 12. The final episodes are reportedly something of a homecoming, so expect to see familiar faces from the series past — including some of whom who have been fully cancelled due to bad behavior/being married to an actual crazy person peddling anti-vax conspiracies — as well as Vince Vaughn and Tracey Ullman.
5. Bridgerton Season 3 (Netflix, May 16)
Dear Readers, I submit to you that while Bridgerton Season 2 was mostly a snooze — even with total fox Jonathan Bailey taking the lead — we remain betrothed to the series, in large part to the delightful Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington/Lady Whistledown. So it is very good news indeed that Season 3 will focus on Penelope and her Bridgerton of choice, Colin (Luke Newton). Hopefully lessons were learned from Season 2’s too-thin plot, and we can get things back on track for many happy returns for this frothy period drama. Note that Season 3 will release in two parts: Part 1 debuts on May 16, Part 2 on June 13.
4. The Acolyte (Disney+, Release TBD)
Details are still scarce on this new live action Star Wars project. Here’s what we know: it’s the first live-action property set during the High Republic, centuries before the events of Episode 1, when the Jedi Order was at its peak. Expect more projects in that time frame in the future, as it is the current focus of the Star Wars publishing arm. Amanda Stenberg (The Hate U Give) stars as a former padawan who reunites with her former Jedi master to investigate a crime, and things spiral quickly out of control. The cast also includes Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Dafne Keen (Logan, His Dark Materials), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).
3. Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+, Release TBD)
This one will be interesting. Marvel has been slowly incorporating the heroes formerly licensed to Netflix — specifically Charlie Cox’s Daredevil — into the MCU, going back to a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and bringing Vincent D’onofrio’s Kingpin into the Hawkeye TV series, and DD hooking up with Jen Walters in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. We’ll reportedly see more of the same in the upcoming Echo show. Born Again was supposed to be the big bow for the Daredevil property in the MCU, but after roughly half of the 12-episode series was shot in 2023, the project was put in full creative overhaul, bringing in new showrunners and writers. What will this all mean for Born Again‘s release date and quality? We’ll have to see, but we’re hoping for the best.
2. Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix, February 22)
Fans of the Nickelodeon original anime — which is now nearly 20 years old! — have reason to be uneasy about a live-action adaptation, given M. Night Shyamalan’s abomination of a film from the 2010s. But Netflix has earned some grace with its excellent live-action One Piece, so here’s hoping they can do justice to this beloved property. As in the original, the world is thrown into chaos when the Fire Nation attacks. The only thing that can bring balance is the reluctant Avatar Aang, who must put his fears aside and gain elemental mastery. It’s a lot more interesting than I’m making it sound, and the trailer looks promising!
1. House of the Dragon Season 2 (HBO, Summer 2024)
The Dance of the Dragons kicks off in earnest as Season 2 debuts this summer. When last we left this Game of Thrones prequel in 2022, the battle lines between the Targaryen factions led by Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), each with their legitimate claim to the thrown, and even more legitimate grievances. Expect more drama, more fighting, and more dragon-on-dragon action as the Westerosi civil war explodes this summer.
Don’t miss our other Top 10 Lists, including Most Anticipated Movies, Albums, and Games of 2024. Click here for more!
Honorable Mentions:
The Regime (HBO Max, March 3)
Palm Royale (Apple TV+, March 20)
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai Season 2 (HBO Max, Release TBD)
The Penguin (HBO Max, Release TBD)
X-Men ’97 (Disney+, Release TBD)
The Sympathizer (HBO Max, Release TBD)
The Perfect Couple (Netflix, Release TBD)
Alien (FX, Release TBD)
Disclaimer (Apple TV+, Release TBD)
Dark Matter (Apple TV+, Release TBD)
Click here for more Top 10 lists!
