The biggest shows coming to HBO, Disney+, Netflix and more
There’s no shortage of TV networks and streaming services competing for your hard-earned cash. And as a result there are plenty of upcoming TV shows to gorge on over the coming months.
Last year our emotions were put through the emotional wringer by The Last of Us, we got some anger management courtesy of Beef and were privileged to witness the incredible finales of both Succession and Happy Valley.
Already in 2024 we’ve seen the arrivals of some brilliant shows including Masters of the Air, True Detective: Night Country, Shogun, Fallout and the last ever season of the evergreen (and ever-grouchy) Curb Your Enthusiasm. But there’s plenty more to look forward to, so much so that 2024 is already shaping up to be a vintage year of small screen entertainment.
Those About to Die – Season 1 (Amazon Prime Video)
From writer Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) and director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), this historical epic aims to whisk us back to ancient Rome’s bloody gladiatorial games in eye-poppingly over-the-top style. The Circus Maximus’s chariot races and Colosseum’s fighting bouts are the corrupt ruling class’s way of keeping the downtrodden plebs from uprising, but even the games themselves have become a microcosm of the Empire’s internal power struggles between feuding factions. Anthony Hopkins and Iwan Rheon star.
Release date: 19 July 2024
Time Bandits – Season 1 (Apple TV+)
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A new reimagining of the 1981 Terry Gilliam movie, Time Bandits is a similarly family-friendly and fantastical tale from Iain Morris, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi – aka the minds behind The Inbetweeners and Flight of the Conchords.
A motley bunch of thieves and an 11-year-old boy called Kevin embark on a rescue mission. Hopping through several centuries of history, they witness world-shaking events – from the Trojan War through to the Harlem Renaissance. Lisa Kudrow stars as the band’s leader Penelope, and the creators have hinted that we can expect a few more familiar faces to pop up throughout the 10-episode series.
Release date: 24 July 2024
Terminator Zero – Season 1 (Netflix)
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Wanna feel really old? Then think about the fact there hasn’t been a truly impressive Terminator film or series since 1990. No, think about it, really: one of the iconic movie properties, and there have only been two films in the series that are considered great.
We’re hopeful that this long-time trend for Terminator mediocrity ends with the arrival of this eight-episode anime series, made by Netflix in collaboration with Japanese animation studio Production IG. They’re the folks behind Ghost in the Shell, and Terminator Zero features some similarly moody visuals.
Set in both 1997 Japan (where a new AI system has been set up to compete with SkyNet) and 2022 (where humanity’s remnants are battling it out with SkyNet for control of the planet), it also features a star-studded voice cast including Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Ann Dowd and Andre Holland.
Release date: 29 August 2024
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Season 2 (Amazon Prime Video)
The most expensive TV series ever made was a damp squib, you say? What are you Tolkien about?
We’ll admit that the first season of this epic Middle-Earth adventure was a mixed bag, pulling off the rare trick of both upsetting hardened fans of the ‘lore’ and putting off newcomers with its slow pace. That being said, there was much to admire in its grand sweep of a story, magnificent visuals and nods towards the world-shaping events to come.
And you can expect more of all of the above in this second season, which sees Sauron becoming ever bolder and more aggressive in his attempts to create the Rings of Power – the tools that he will use to bend the peoples of Middle-Earth completely to his evil will.
Release date: 29 August 2024
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – Season 2 (Sky/Now)
Like one of the zombies that gave the show its name, The Walking Dead really does refuse to expire. The main show may have ended after a staggering 11 seasons, but several spin-offs have kept the franchise fires burning.
This one (the best by some measure) centres on Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon, the crossbow-wielding biker who swiftly grew into a fan favourite. After a six-part first season in which Daryl travelled across France in an effort to find a way back to the States, this second season (subtitled ‘The Book of Carol’) focusses on old friend Carol (Melissa McBride) and her attempts to track him down.
Release date: August 2024
Twilight of the Gods – Season 1 (Netflix)
Norse mythology gets the Zack Snyder treatment in thi– hey, hang on, where are you going?!
But seriously, if the teaser trailer is anything to go by, this animated series looks set to bring the exploits of gods, demons and some puny mortals to the screen in visceral, blood-drenched style. Typical Zack Snyder stuff, come to think of it. Snyder himself will direct the first and last of the eight episodes, which tell the story of human King Leif and his fierce warrior love Sigrid as they seek vengeance on the god Thor. Voice actors include Rahul Kohli, Paterson Joseph and Peter Stormare.
Release date: 19 September 2024
The Legend of Vox Machina – Season 3 (Amazon Prime Video)
A Kickstarter-funded adult animated show, you say? Based on characters from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that had been previously dramatised in a web series?! If nothing else, The Legend of Vox Machina has provided further proof that geek/nerd/gaming culture has gone full-on mainstream. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that it’s nigh-on impossible to be considered uncool these days, even if you’re spending your evenings moonlighting as an elven mage named Tasfariel.
Thankfully, this series is also a brilliant showcase for eye-catching animation, a sharp gag-filled script and a compelling, high-stakes story as a party of eight adventurers embarks on a quest to save the world. This long-awaited third season sees the loveable band of fantasy misfits reuniting to take on the twin threats of the Chroma Conclave and the Cinder King.
Release date: 3 October 2024
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft – Season 1 (Netflix)
Picking up where the events of Crystal Dynamics’ recent Tomb Raider game trilogy left off, this animated series sees the world’s best-known relic hunter (not called Indiana, at least) embarking on an all-new adventure. When a priceless ancient Chinese artefact is half-inched from her private collection, Lara Croft (Hayley Attwell) must pursue the thief across the globe. She will, we have it on good authority, end up raiding some tombs along the way, as well as catch up from some old friends and confront her deepest fears. Pretty standard stuff for her, all being told, but exciting for us.
Release date: 10 October 2024
Like a Dragon: Yakuza – Season 1 (Amazon Prime Video)
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Sega’s long-running Yakuza game series, which follows the lives of Japanese gangsters living in the midst of a neon-lit entertainment district of Tokyo, has often felt cinematic. These games have been richly packed with high-drama plots, compelling characters, bone-breaking action sequences and breath-taking visuals. So it’s not all that surprising to see them coming to the small screen in a new form: a live-action TV series.
At present we don’t know a huge amount about the show, other than that it’ll centre around fan favourite character Kazuma Kiryu (played by Ryoma Takeuchi), be set across two time periods (1995 and 2005) and consist of six episodes.
Release date: 25 October 2024
The Penguin (Max)
Colin Farrell’s portrayal of The Penguin was a stand out in 2022’s The Batman. Donned in latex and with a generic ‘New Yoik’ accent, we saw a glimpse of what this version of The Penguin can be in the Batmaniverse, but wasn’t fully explored in the movie.
It’s good news then that The Penguin will be coming to streaming service Max as a standalone, eight-part TV series. Set a week after the events of The Batman, the TV show explores the Penguin’s rise to power in Gotham’s underworld.
Release date: Autumn 2024
Yellowstone – Season 5b (Paramount+)
Get ready to cry, cowboy. It’s the final half-season of this much-loved series about the machinations of the Duttons, a family of Montana ranchers who don’t shy away from using the dark arts of blackmail, extortion and murder in their efforts to stay top of the tree. Or highest in the saddle, to use a more setting-appropriate term.
Series talisman Kevin Costner, who plays patriarch John Dutton, will not be returning due to an apparent fall-out with the showrunners, but fans of the show (of which there are many millions) will probably get over his omission fairly quickly. After all, there are plenty of other beloved characters to catch up with, and a lot of storylines that need to be resolved over the final few episodes.
Release date: 11 November 2024
M. Son of the Century (Now TV, Sky)
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There’s no shortage of wartime epics out there from the American and British perspective. Band of Brothers, Catch-22, The Man in the High Castle, The Pacific, we could go on. The eight-part M. Son of the Century, though, will show Italy’s wartime role in a TV drama format. Based on the novel by Antonio Scurati, directed by BAFTA-winner Joe Wright (Darkest Hour, Atonement, Cyrano) and written by Stefano Bises (Gomorrah), M. Son of the Century charts the rise of fascism in Italy, and with it Mussolini’s grasp on power.
Release date: TBA