If Peak TV officially plateaued last year, then 2024 has been a window into what the medium’s future might look like: fewer shows, potentially fewer streaming services, and a return to cable-style bundles. But even as the industry continues to contract, there’s still great television to be had if you know where to look, whether it’s a historical epic set in feudal Japan, a psychological thriller shot in stunning black-and-white, or a travel series where an iconic comedian is roasted by locals at every stop. These are the best shows of the year so far.
10. Manhunt
Prime Video might’ve been the first streamer to corner the Dad TV market, but Apple TV+ recently joined the party by releasing several historical dramas that scratch the itch. For my money, the best of the bunch is Manhunt. Based on James L. Swanson’s 2007 bestseller, the seven-episode miniseries largely takes place in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle, pulling double Dad TV duty on Apple’s Masters of the Air), who is pursued across the country by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Tobias Menzies). The Dad TV lovers of the world will revel at the show’s historical detail, as well as a deep bench of That Guys (Matt Walsh, Patton Oswalt, Glenn Morshower, Josh Stewart, Larry Pine) filling out the roster. All told, Manhunt is a bit of everything: a dogged detective drama, a taut conspiracy thriller, and a tragic reminder that progress in America is so often met with violent resistance.
9. Conan O’Brien Must Go
I’ve long wondered whether Conan O’Brien, after decades as a late-night host beloved by everyone not named Jay Leno, was being held back by his original medium. Time and again, Conan proved he was at his best making off-the-cuff banter in remote segments or travel specials, rather than staying in the studio. Thankfully, with the Max travel series Conan O’Brien Must Go, the comedian is completely untethered from late-night, and the results are exactly what fellow Con-acolytes would expect: hilarious, spontaneous, self-deprecating chaos. Following Conan across Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland while he meets with fans of his podcast, the series settles into a familiar rhythm as its host plays the part of a goofy tourist and invites the locals to ridicule him for it. (You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Conan learn the tango.) It doesn’t matter what country he’s visiting or what situation he’s found himself in: If someone’s in need of a laugh, Conan O’Brien is still the way to go.
8. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
On paper, a small-screen adaptation of Mr. & Mrs. Smith seems doomed to fail; pity anyone tasked with matching the star power (and accompanying tabloid fodder) of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. But the Prime Video series, created by Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane, charts its own course by reimagining the titular spies as servants to the gig economy. Once John and Jane Smith (Glover and Maya Erskine) agree to pose as a married couple for a mysterious, faceless organization, Mr. & Mrs. Smith adopts a case-of-the-week format in which the missions reflect their relationship’s evolution from a convenient cover into something more authentic. (One highlight: when the duo protects a billionaire, played by Ron Perlman, who behaves like a pouty toddler.) Fun, clever, and sexy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith offers the best of both worlds: a throwback procedural with the kind of lavish production values that have defined the streaming era. It’s since been announced that Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s second season will likely introduce a new couple (actors TBD). Finding worthy replacements for Glover and Erskine will be a tall order, but so far, the show has successfully filled the Americans void in my heart.
7. The Sympathizer
When a filmmaker of Park Chan-wook’s stature cocreates an HBO miniseries, you pay attention. The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name, follows a character known only as the Captain (Hoa Xuande), a communist double agent embedded with a South Vietnamese general (Toan Le) who flees to Los Angeles after the fall of Saigon. Like some of Park’s best work (The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave, AMC’s The Little Drummer Girl), The Sympathizer excels when its protagonist’s loyalties and sense of identity are blurred, particularly in the Captain’s encounters with Robert Downey Jr., who plays five different characters embodying American imperialism. (While Downey clearly relishes taking on several roles at once, it’s also a clever meta-commentary on Hollywood’s propensity to treat Asian American actors as interchangeable.) The Captain might struggle to come to terms with who he really is, but under Park’s dynamic direction, the same can’t be said for The Sympathizer: a winning synthesis of style and substance.
The Ringer’s Streaming Guide
There’s a lot of TV out there. We want to help: Every week, we’ll tell you the best and most urgent shows to stream so you can stay on top of the ever-expanding heap of Peak TV.
6. Hacks
Across its first two seasons, it felt like Hacks had run its natural course with legendary stand-up Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and up-and-coming comedy writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder): The former mined her personal life for career-best material, and the latter gained some invaluable experience before going it alone. But in Hacks’ third (and best) season, the Max dramedy found the perfect way to reunite these creative soulmates once more. With Deborah having an outside shot at becoming a late-night host, she and Ava work together to make that dream happen. As a result, what was once a prickly partnership across the generational divide morphs into something endearing: a genuine friendship among peers. And then, well, the finale happens, setting the stage for a fourth season in which, to paraphrase Logan Roy, Ava is finally a killer in Deborah’s eyes. Deborah and Ava’s relationship may be back on shaky ground, but as the characters venture into the world of late-night, Hacks has firmly established itself as can’t-miss TV.
5. Fallout
Honestly, no one’s more surprised about this than me. While The Last of Us proved that video-game adaptations can succeed, here was another postapocalyptic franchise with the added challenge of turning an open-world concept into a streamlined narrative fit for TV. But against all odds, Prime Video’s Fallout doesn’t just stand on its own: The series has become the new gold standard for video-game adaptations. Set 219 years after Earth has been decimated by nuclear war, Fallout introduces viewers to Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), a young woman who has spent her entire life in a Vault—a technologically advanced underground bunker—before venturing out to the surface to rescue her kidnapped father. In her travels, Lucy crosses paths with irradiated animals, mutated bounty hunters, opportunistic cannibals, and organ harvesters, which Fallout plays for grim laughs above all else. The real monsters of Fallout, however, are the corporate forces that have continually sought to maximize profits at the expense of humanity’s future. (Did I mention this show streams on Amazon?) On the whole, I’ve loved what we’ve seen from Fallout so far; here’s hoping it keeps leveling up in Season 2.
4. Expats
Full disclosure: As a former Hong Kong expat, I was always going to be drawn to Prime Video’s Expats. Created by Lulu Wang, and based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates, the six-episode miniseries concerns three Americans living abroad—Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo)—who are united by a traumatic event. A more conventional series might have prioritized giving answers to Expats’ inciting incident, but Wang is interested in the existential malaise and sense of displacement that arises from it. Expats’ greatest feat, however, is a feature-length episode that focuses on the “helpers”—live-in, do-it-all maids for the show’s wealthy Westerners—existing on the margins, but who are the real heartbeat of the story. Amid these intertwining arcs, Expats delivers an authentic, multifaceted portrait of Hong Kong and the people who call it home—if only temporarily.
3. Tokyo Vice
It was recently announced that some upcoming “Max Originals” will be rebranded as HBO shows—the subtext being that, when it comes to prestige TV, Warner Bros. should never have messed with a good thing. Case in point: A Tokyo-set crime drama executive-produced by my biological father, Michael Mann, somehow fell under the radar. Based on journalist Jake Adelstein’s memoir of the same name, Tokyo Vice follows a fictionalized version of the author (played by Ansel Elgort) as he becomes the first foreign reporter to work for one of Japan’s biggest newspapers in the late ’90s. From there, the show homes in on the ever-evolving relationship between journalists, police, and the yakuza. At its best, Tokyo Vice feels like the Japanese equivalent of The Wire, constantly expanding its purview while exploring the city’s interconnected systems of power. The rival yakuza syndicates, especially, are caught in a fascinating struggle between tradition and modernity at the turn of the century. Sadly, Max has pulled the plug on Tokyo Vice after two seasons, though creator J.T. Rogers is holding out hope that the series can find a new home. I’d love nothing more than to see Tokyo Vice continue its story. If not, its legacy is already assured as one of the best shows of the 2020s.
2. Ripley
Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley has been subject to numerous adaptations, including the Matt Damon–led feature film that resonates as both a stylish psychological thriller and overt vacation porn. It’s to writer-director Steven Zaillian’s immense credit, then, that Netflix’s Ripley feels like the definitive interpretation of Highsmith’s text. Starring Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, the eight-episode miniseries sees the infamous con man weasel his way into the life of Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), the charming heir to an American shipping fortune who would rather galavant around Italy. (Who can blame him, really?) Without spoiling too much, things take a darker turn as the duplicitous Ripley tries to keep all his lies straight, whether he’s drawing the suspicious eye of Dickie’s girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning), or the local authorities. But the real MVP of Ripley is Robert Elswit’s gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, which makes every frame of the series look like a moving painting. Being one of the best-looking shows ever made would’ve been enough for Ripley to make the cut—that it’s also an engrossing character study anchored by an Emmy-worthy performance is the icing on the cake.
1. Shogun
Setting aside its actual prequel series, television didn’t have an heir apparent to Game of Thrones: a sprawling, big-budget drama that emerged into a genuine cultural phenomenon. Turns out, a true Thrones successor wouldn’t be found in a fantasy realm like Middle-earth, but in 17th-century Japan. Based on James Clavell’s bestselling novel of the same name, FX’s Shogun centers on John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor who inadvertently arrives on Japan’s shores. Soon, Blackthorne becomes a valuable pawn for Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a powerful daimyo whose growing influence could lead his political rivals to war against him. While Shogun spares no expense as a sweeping historical epic, the show’s best moments are often its most understated, particularly when Blackthorne’s translator, Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), finds clever ways to speak her mind within Japan’s rigid rules of decorum. The show was originally intended to be a miniseries, but FX has since announced that Shogun will return for two more seasons. Hopefully, unlike Thrones, cocreators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks won’t stumble if they leave the source material behind. Whatever’s in store for the future, Shogun is the best show of the year so far, and it’s hard to imagine anything dethroning it. For anyone who disagrees, I assume it’s proper for you to commit seppuku at once.
