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The 16 most thrilling new TV shows to watch this season

From hotly anticipated fashion stories brought to life to the most talked about new series, these are the must-watch shows to tune into

10 of the most captivating new indie films to watch this autumn

As the temperatures continue to plummet, there’s nothing better than curling up and losing yourself in a brilliant new series – and this latest crop of new TV shows in 2024 might just be the best yet. From Kate Winslet fronting a series about a crumbling authoritarian regime to the story of Christian Dior’s New Look and Sofia Vergara taking on the role of legendary cartel boss Griselda Blanco, here’s our pick of the must-see new TV shows to catch over the coming weeks.

Expats

Following on from the success of her crucially acclaimed coming-of-age film The Farewell, Lulu Wang is back with her first ever TV series Expats. An adaptation of Janice Y K Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates, the show centres around an earth-shattering family tragedy and stars Nicole Kidman and American Hustle’s Jack Huston. 

As well as starring in the show, Kidman also executive produces and was actually the one to first snap up the rights to The Expatriates via her production company, Blossom Films. After watching The Farewell, she knew that Wang was the right person to direct. Telling the story of three female protagonists – Kidman’s Margaret, whose family life is shattered by a tragic loss; her neighbour Hilary, played by the Indian American actor Sarayu Blue; and free-spirited Korean American Columbia grad Mercy, played by newcomer Ji-young Yoo – it’s set to be a moving watch. 

Amazon Prime, 26 January

The New Look

Fashion fans are eagerly awaiting this new TV show, which tells the origin story of Christian Dior. Ben Mendelsohn stars as the debonair designer, as the show charts his life in Paris after the Second World War and the creation of his much-lauded fashion line, which went on to be known as ‘The New Look’. 

Monsieur Dior isn’t the only famous fashion face to appear in the series. Alongside him you’ll find Coco Chanel (played by Oscar winner Juliet Binoche) – the show explores Dior’s rivalry with his fellow designer – Glenn Close as Carmel Snow, the formidable editor-in-chief of the American edition of Harper’s Bazaar, and Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams as his sister Catherine Dior, with whom he had a close relationship. Hitting the small screens on Valentine’s Day, it’s set to be unmissable viewing for all fashion lovers. 

Apple TV, 14 February

Feud: Capote vs The Swans

It’s been seven long years since Ryan Murphy’s crucially acclaimed docudrama Feud hit our screens, but now the much-awaited second season is set to debut later this month. While the first series tackled the rivalry between Hollywood stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, played by Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon respectively, this second instalment documents the bitter fallout between author Truman Capote his coterie of socialites, known as his ‘swans’. 

As you might expect from a Murphy production, there’s a brilliant cast attached, including Naomi Watts as the glamorous Babe Paley, one of Capote’s closest friends and the wife of CBS founder William S Pale, and The White Lotus’s Tom Hollander as Capote himself. Meanwhile, Chloë Sevigny plays CZ Guest, a cover girl and muse to Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí, Calista Flockhart takes on the role of Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister, and Demi Moore plays former showgirl Ann Woodward. Make sure you tune in, as this is one of the new tv shows in 2024 everyone is going to be talking about. 

Disney +, date TBC but airs in US on 31 January

True Detective: Night Country

Much-lauded anthology series True Detective has featured its fair share of headline grabbing stars over the years, with everyone from Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to Colin Farrell and Mahershala Ali stepping into roles. But this latest and fourth instalment marks the first time the series has been headed up by a woman, and sees Jodie Foster taking on the mantle of the detective. 

Foster plays Detective Elizabeth Danvers, who’s drafted in to solve a mystery in the fictional mining town of Ennis, Alaska. There, all the scientists from a nearby research station have gone missing, leaving behind no clues apart from a severed tongue. Joined by a troupe of other fine actors, including Fiona Shaw and Christopher Eccleston, Foster must figure out what’s going on in the melancholy, frozen land – which has more a touch of the Scandi Noir about it – before it’s too late. 

Sky Atlantic, airing now

Griselda

Expect Sofía Vergara as you’ve never seen her before in this new Netflix series, which sees her transform into the infamous cartel queen Griselda Blanco. Created by the team behind the popular Narcos TV show, Vergara takes on the role of La Jefa (‘The Boss’), the savvy and ambitious Colombian businesswoman who rose from obscurity to become ‘The Godmother’ of the underworld. 

Griselda tells the story of a devoted mother who went on to found one of the most profitable cartels in history. The show follows her as she flees from Medellín to Miami with her three young sons and a kilo of cocaine, and charts her rise and fall as the ruthless boss of a booming drug empire. According to creator Eric Newman, “Griselda is an antihero of the highest order” and the show promises to be “thrilling, emotional, funny, scary, and tragic”. 

Netflix, 25 January

The Regime

When it comes to the best TV shows of 2024, The Regime is already one of the most hotly anticipated of the year. Kate Winslet stars as the Chancellor, the dictator of a fictional European country, who suddenly finds her position threatened by domestic turmoil. The show follows the story of one year within the walls of its palace.

Winslet isn’t the only big name attached to this new TV show – she’s also joined by Hugh Grant, Andrea Risborough and Matthias Schoenaerts. While further details about the show remain firmly under wraps, it’s being brought to us from the executive producers of Succession and directed by Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs, so you know it’s going to be a must-watch. 

Sky Atlantic, coming soon 

Palm Royale

If you’re looking for a healthy dose of sunshine-soaked fun and frivolity to add to your viewing schedules this spring, this new comedy TV show from Apple might just hit the spot. An adaptation of the novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel, it tells the story of Maxine Simmons (played by Kristen Wiig), a woman who is forced to reconstruct her identity in the 1960s after being dismissed by her husband and her entire social circle. 

Her main ambition? To cross the line between the have and have-nots and secure her seat at America’s most exclusive and fashionable table: Palm Beach high society. Comic queen Wiig is joined by a roster of other brilliant names, including Laura Dern and Allison Janney, making this a must-add to your spring watch list. 

Apple TV, 20 March

Constellation

This latest Apple TV release is one space-based twisty thriller to add to your list. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Noomi Rapace plays Jo, an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space, only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. She’s left with no choice but to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel in an attempt to recover all that she has lost. 

While details for this eight-part series remain fairly sparse, we do know that Rapace’s character will be joined by Breaking Bad’s Jonathan Banks and Doctor Foster’s Clare-Hope Ashitey. Described as an “action-packed space adventure and an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology”, it’s set to be full of gripping twists and turns. 

Apple TV, 21 February

Masters of the Air

This glossy-looking Second World War drama from Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman – the executive producers behind Band of Brothers – is one of the most hotly-anticipated 2024 TV shows, and with good reason. Few new shows have been able to rival Band of Brothers for its moving depiction of war, so there are high hopes for this series. 

The show is an adaptation of Donald L Miller’s book of the same name, which centres around the men of the 100th Bomb Group who were based in Norfolk and who conducted bombing raids over Nazi Germany. As with Band of Brothers, Spielberg and his team have assembled an impressive cast of young acting talent, including Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Ncuti Gatwa, Callum Turner and Jude Law’s son, Raff Law. 

Apple TV, 25 January

The Gentlemen

This spin-off series of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen film has been created, co-written and directed by the famed British director himself, so we’re expecting big things. The show is headed up by The White Lotus’ Theo James as Eddie Halstead, who inherits a large estate only to find out that it’s the front for a major drug empire. Meanwhile, Skins star Kaya Scodelario plays opposite him as the female lead Susie Glass. 

The crime caper has everything you’d expect from a Ritchie romp, including plenty of punchy one-liners and raucous fight scenes. It also features a brilliant all-British cast, including Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones and Ray Winstone. The only sadness about this new TV show? That Hugh Grant hasn’t reprised his role from the original film. Here’s hoping for at least a cameo somewhere.

Netflix, March

This Town

This major new BBC drama series comes from Steven Knight, the man behind Peaky Blinders, so expectations are sky high already. Filmed on location in Birmingham and set in 1981, This Town tells the story of a band’s formation against a backdrop of violence and chaos, exploring how creative genius can emerge from a time of madness. 

Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery leads a cast of exciting rising British talent, which includes My Policeman’s David Dawson and the four young leads: Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose and Eve Austin. Supremely stylish, the series has been co-produced with Mercury Studios (part of the Universal Music Group), who will bring in a range of high-profile musical artists to help lay the backdrop for Knight’s story. Mercury-nominated musician and poet Kate Tempest, meanwhile, has written the songs that will be performed by the band.

BBC One, spring

The Way

The 14 Most Unmissable New Tv Shows In 2024 - The GlossaryPin

Is there no end to Michael Sheen’s talents? The chameleonic actor is set to take the theatre world by storm when he portrays NHS founder Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan in Nye at the National Theatre in February, and now he’s co-written, directed and stars in a new BBC show too. The Way brings together some of Wales’s finest acting talent for a political thriller that follows the Driscoll family as they’re caught up in a civil uprising. 

The three-part drama tells the story of an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their home town. As tensions begin to boil over, the Driscolls are forced to flee, pursued by Hogwood, a mercenary played by Luke Evans. Will they be overwhelmed by their memories of the past, or will they lay their ghosts to rest and take the risk of an unknown future? 

BBC One, February

One Day

Absolutely everyone read David Nicholls’ bestselling novel One Day when it was first released in 2009, and then those same people hot-footed it to the cinema when the film adaptation starring Anne Hathaway came out in 2011. Now Netflix is tackling its own version of the epic love story, which spans 18 years. 

This is Going to Hurt’s Ambika Mod takes on the role of Emma Morley while The White Lotus’ Leo Woodall plays Dexter Mayhew, the two friends who go their separate ways after spending graduation night together. The will-they-won’t-they saga follows them as their lives continue to be intertwined over decades, and the pair find themselves meeting up every year on 15 July. Coming to Netflix at the beginning of February, it’s the perfect Valentine’s Day watch. 

Netflix, 8 February

Cristóbel Balenciaga

You wait for ages for a great new fashion TV series to come along, and then suddenly two appear at once. While The New Look revolves around Christian Dior’s empire, this beautifully shot Disney+ series has been inspired by the life and legacy of the iconic Spanish fashion designer Cristóbel Balenciaga.

Acclaimed Spanish actor Alberto San Juan plays Balenciaga, an enigmatic and extraordinarily talented man who defied the social conventions of the time and revolutionised the world of fashion. The six-part drama series begins as the designer presents his first Parisian haute couture collection in 1937 and explores his rivalry with his fellow designers Chanel, Dior and Givenchy, who at the time were the benchmark of haute couture. The show reveals how Balenciaga set about defining his style and went on to become one of the most important designers of all time. 

Disney+, 19 January

Criminal Record

Both Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo are known for being two of the UK’s most exciting acting talents, and this new Apple TV+ drama brings them together for the first time to explosive effect. Capaldi plays Daniel Hegarty, a grizzled Met Police veteran who clashes with younger newcomer Detective June Lenker, played by Cush Jumbo, over a cold murder case. 

With the pair at war with each other, what follows is a gripping police drama full of twists and turns, which explores reports of institutional racism, sexism and malpractice in London’s police force. Early episodes have already received rave reviews, mainly for the two leads, who are both on career-best form.

Apple TV+, airing now

Mr & Mrs Smith

It’s been almost 20 years since the Mr & Mrs Smith film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was released, where the duo sparked up a romance on set. Now the action-comedy is getting a TV reboot courtesy of Amazon Prime, with Donald Glover and Maya Erskine taking on the lead roles as the titular married couple, whose fake relationship is put to the test over a series of high-stakes missions. 

Expect plenty of thrilling action scenes as well as moments of real tenderness as the two leads start to develop genuine feelings for each other. The show also features a star-studded supporting cast, which includes Michaela Coel, Sharon Horgan, Paul Dano, Alexander Skarsgård and Sarah Paulson. 

Amazon Prime, 2 February

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