Which are the best series of 2024? The Moviepilot team has selected the top 20 of the first half of the year on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and more.
While the European Football Championship and fresh episodes of The Boys and House of the Dragon are dominating the summer’s TV schedule, the 2024 series year has reached its turning point. That’s right, half a year is already behind us and with it hundreds of series launches that hardly anyone can keep track of. But luckily there are top lists to help you choose your next binge.
Streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon, as well as domestic TV programs, once again had countless new series to offer in the first six months of the year. Which ones were really worth your time? And which highlights should be on every series fan’s watchlist? We have selected the 20 best series of the first half of 2024 for you
How did the list of the 20 best series of 2024 come about?
As with the year-end top lists (here you can find the top 25 series of 2023 and the top 25 films of 2023), the Moviepilot team created individual lists with personal top 10s from the first half of the year. A total of 44 different series were nominated. As always, there were a few rules when evaluating the lists:
The prerequisite for the series was a German streaming or TV launch between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024.
On the top 10 lists, each place was assigned a fixed number of points from 1 (10th place) to 10 (1st place).
All points were added together for the final ranking. In the event of a tie, the number of entries counted first, then the number of first places
The best series 2024 on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and more – ranked 20 to 11
A few series favorites from the Moviepilot editorial team missed out on making it into the top 10. But we don’t want to withhold them from you. These titles occupy places 20 to 11 by a narrow margin:
20th place: The Sympathizer (Sky)
19th place: Hazbin Hotel (Amazon)
18th place: Two in one day (Netflix)
17th place: Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix)
16th place: Ripley (Netflix)
15th place: 3 Body Problem (Netflix)
14th place: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (Magenta TV)
13th place: Doctor Who, season 14 (Disney+)
12th place: Evil, season 4 (Paramount+)
11th place: Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (Disney+)
The best series of 2024 – 10th place: Avatar
If we were to rank the best cabbages in series, Netflix’s Avatar: Lord of the Elements would naturally take first place. The live-action adaptation of one of the best animated series of all time once again inspires as an epic fantasy story of the (last) airbender Aang, who must stand up to the tyranny of the Fire Nation with his allies Katara and Sokka. Despite minor weaknesses, the impressive element-taming, the exciting characters and clever changes are convincing. The anticipation for the next 2 seasons is already certain.
The best series of 2024 – 9th place: Masters of the Air
With Masters of the Air, producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg deliver a spiritual successor to the successful war series Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Here we follow the stories of several American bomber pilots who fight out the Second World War in intense aerial battles. The ruthlessness of war is just as moving as the personal fates of the 100th Bombardment Group.
The best series of 2024 – 8th place: Reindeer Baby
The British mini-series Reindeer Baby is probably Netflix’s biggest surprise success this year. Amateur comedian and bartender Donny Dunn gives a depressed woman named Martha a cup of tea – with disastrous consequences. Over seven episodes, a rousing mix of bitter humor, psychological horror about a toxic stalker-victim relationship and some devastating revelations unfolds. Reindeer Baby really gets to you, especially because series creator and lead actor Richard Gadd uses it to autobiographically process his own trauma
The best series of 2024 – 7th place: Bridgerton, season 3
The Netflix success story of the historical Regency romance Bridgerton continues with season 3. After two seasons in the background, this season finally focuses on fan favorite Penelope, who wants to find her own identity and happiness between wallflower and hardened gossip columnist. Even if part 1 is a little too conflict-free, the second half of season 3 manages to turn things around with devastating ultimatums, plenty of spicy love scenes and unexpected twists, proving once again why this Netflix series is so popular
The best series of 2024 – 6th place: Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Whoever expected Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith to be a classic remake of the 2005 action comedy of the same name was in for a huge surprise. With their case-of-the-week missions, the agent work of the super spies living in a sham marriage provides the backdrop for a somewhat different portrait of a marriage.
When Mr. Smith (Donald Glover) and Mrs. Smith (Maya Erskine) reach a new stage in their relationship – from romantic dates to family planning to couples therapy – in the midst of car chases, shootouts and contract killings in each episode, it’s refreshingly funny and honestly told.
The best series of 2024 – 5th place: Interview with the Vampire, season 2
Do we really need another movie adaptation of Anne Rice’s vampire classic? The horror series Interview with the Vampire answers this with a clear “yes”. With clever changes and a stronger focus on the underlying queerness of the story of Lestat de Lioncourt and Louie du Pointe du Lac, season 1 delivered a sensual, bloody and toxic marriage parable.
In season 2, Louis and his vampire daughter Claudia are now trying to make a fresh start in France. The second part also knows how to inspire with blood-soaked intrigues and exciting new bloodsuckers, while the storyline around the titular interview offers exciting twists about romanticized memories, repressed traumas and unreliable narrative perspectives
The best series of 2024 – 4th place: House of the Dragon, season 2
House of the Dragon has impressively shown that there are still many exciting stories to discover in the fantasy universe created by George R.R. Martin. The Targaryen family’s war of succession proves to be an intense and intimate family drama that always prioritizes complex character work over bloody show values. Even though season 2 is only a few episodes old, it is once again one of the best series entertainment of the year.
Whether you’re a sworn Team Black loyalist or Team Green unexpectedly elicits sympathy: every collateral damage of the dragon dance is damn painful and brings Westeros a little closer to an impending inferno of flames. And by the time the Targaryens’ winged beasts take to the skies at the halfway point of season 2 and stage the most violent dragon battle in the GoT franchise to date, House of the Dragon is already guaranteed a place on the year’s best list.
The best series of 2024 – 3rd place: True Detective Night Country
As a kind of new beginning for the fantastic crime anthology True Detective, the 4th season developed by Issa Lopéz takes us to the harshest corners of Alaska and sends the new lead actresses Jodie Foster and Kali Reis straight into a frosty horror nightmare as a mismatched investigative duo.
Night Country (the season’s additional title) unleashes an atmosphere of desolation and eternal darkness that makes us question reality right from the start. Are supernatural forces possibly at work here or are we losing our minds along with the wonderfully rugged characters? With this ambivalence, season 4 creates one of the best crime mysteries of the year.
The best series of 2024 – 2nd place: Shogun
Don’t be put off by the many subtitles in Shogun, otherwise you’ll miss out on an absolute adventure masterpiece. Based on James Clavell’s literary classic, we follow the English navigator John Blackthorne to Japan in the year 1600 – into complex intrigues, tragic and comic cultural misunderstandings and a visually stunning production. Only one series could top this stunning series highlight in 2024
The best series of 2024 – 1st place: Fallout
Following The Last of Us as one of the best video game adaptations ever from last year, Amazon delivers a new prime example with Fallout, which captivates gamers and non-gamers alike. Whether it’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland or underground bunkers, the vibrant world of Fallout invites you to stare and explore with its unique retro charm, clever ideas and wicked humor.
