The 20 best TV shows of 2024 (so far)

Gutting romances! Bloody epics! Cinematic feasts! Here are the series that have most wowed The A.V. Club this year.

By Tim Lowery, Saloni Gajjar, Matt Schimkowitz, Emma Keates, Mary Kate Carr, William Hughes, Cindy White | June 20, 2024 | 3:00pm

TV Lists Lucia Aniello

Clockwise from bottom left: Anjana Vasan in We Are Lady Parts (Photo: Saima Khalid/WWTV/Peacock/Channel 4), Julio Torres in Fantasmas (Photo: Monica Lek/HBO), Sarayu Blue in Expats (Photo: Atsushi Nishijima/Prime Video), Jacob Anderson in Interview With The Vampire (Photo: Larry Horricks/AMC), Andrew Scott in Ripley (Photo: Netflix), and X-Men ’97 (Image: Marvel Studios)

The year is almost halfway over, people. Which means that at The A.V. Club, we’re sounding off on the best pop culture 2024 has gifted us to date—and, specifically here, the TV shows that have most impressed, be they bold doses of nostalgia (X-Men ’97), cinematic stunners (Ripley), or sweeping historical epics (Shōgun, the series that, it’s worth noting, received the most points in our staff-wide poll). To be included in this list, a show simply has to have started a new season between January and mid-June (hence the absences of House Of The Dragon and about-to-return AVC favorite The Bear). Here are our 20 favorite series of the year (so far), in alphabetical order.

Abbott Elementary season 3

Janine Plays Barb and Melissa Perfectly - Abbott Elementary

Let’s thank the powers that be for , which remained in top form , reinstating our hope in primetime network comedies. With its latest episodes, AE challenges itself and its characters to grow without compromising on its wholesome humor. The show’s strength is its ensemble and, my gosh, Abbott season three utilizes each cast member wonderfully, wether ot was making Jacob (Chris Perfetti) and Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter) roommates or granting Ava (Janelle James) some ever-so-slight growth as a principal. And, best of all, the after a long buildup in such a sweet way. (Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to see how that pans out, as season four airs this year as well.) [Saloni Gajjar]

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