Series to Have Watched: 2024

Series to Have Watched: 2024


By DQ
December 12, 2024

Ones to Watch

DQ looks back over the past year of television to pick out the shows that were worth tuning in for, from a Post Office scandal and a Welsh crime drama to a stellar spy thriller and a stalker series that proved to be the surprise hit of the year.

Baby Reindeer
From: UK
Original broadcaster: Netflix
Producer: Clerkenwell Films
Starring: Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau and Tom Goodman-Hill
They say: Baby Reindeer follows struggling comedian Donny Dunn (Gadd)’s warped relationship with his female stalker (Gunning) and the impact it has on him as he is forced to face a deeply buried trauma.
We say: Based on Gadd’s Edinburgh Fringe one-man play, this was the surprise hit of the year, with superlative performances across the board in a compelling, darkly comedic drama that is bound to add more awards to the haul of Emmys the series received earlier this year.
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Cleddau (The One That Got Away)
From: Wales
Original broadcaster: S4C
Producer: Blacklight TV
Distributor: Banijay Rights
Starring: Elen Rhys, Richard Harrington
They say: A psychologically driven thriller that sees DI Ffion Lloyd (Rhys) partnering up with her ex-lover DS Rick Walters (Harrington) to find out who is responsible for murdering a nurse in a Welsh coastal town.
We say: Continuing the trend for stellar crime dramas from Wales, this one comes with a twist – the cold case isn’t the murder investigation at hand but the relationship between the two lead detectives on the trail of a potential copycat killer within a small-town community.
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Cross
From: US
Original broadcaster: Prime Video
Producers: Amazon MGM Studios, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television
Starring: Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Juanita Jennings, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Jennifer Wigmore, Eloise Mumford and Ryan Eggold
They say: A crime thriller that follows decorated DC homicide detective and forensic psychologic Alex Cross as he tracks a sadistic killer leaving bodies across the city.
We say: As the titular Cross, Hodge’s performance elevates this tense series based on James Patterson’s literary detective. The plot follows a grisly serialised criminal investigation through Cross’s forensic expertise while also exploring the character’s grief-stricken past.
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Eric
From: UK
Original broadcaster: Netflix
Producer: Sister
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffman and McKinley Belcher III
They say: An emotional thriller that follows Cumberbatch’s Vincent, a father who starts a desperate search for his nine-year-old son Edgar after he goes missing on his way to school.
We say: Set in 1980s New York, Abi Morgan’s drama stands out as a unique proposition thanks to the title character, a giant blue puppet called Eric, who serves as a spiritual guide for Vincent on his search for Edgar. Belcher also puts in a standout performance as the detective on the case.
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Mr Bates vs the Post Office
From: UK
Original broadcaster: ITV
Producers: ITV Studios, Little Gem
Distributor: ITV Studios
Starring: Toby Jones, Monica Dolan, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Lia Williams, Alex Jennings, Ian Hart, Katherine Kelly, Shaun Dooley, Will Mellor, Clare Calbraith, Lesley Nicol, Amit Shah and Adam James
They say: Detailing one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, the fact-based drama explores how hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system.
We say: ITV’s biggest new drama in more than a decade, beating the launch of Downton Abbey, made waves for all the right reasons, putting the struggle of the Post Office workers’ fight for justice in the national spotlight amid an ongoing public inquiry and the battle for compensation. The four-part drama also contained a number of powerful performances in a series that was powerful, horrifying and heartbreaking.
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One Day
From: UK
Original broadcaster: Netflix
Producer: Drama Republic
Starring: Ambika Mod, Leo Woodall, Eleanor Tomlinson, Essie Davis, Tim McInnerny, Amber Grappy, Jonny Weldon, Joely Richardson and Toby Stephens
They say: The story of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, who speak for the very first time on July 15, 1988, the night of their graduation. The next morning, they go their separate ways – and each episode then catches up with them both on the same day one year later as they grow and change, move together and apart, and experience joy and heartbreak.
We say: This superior adaptation of David Nicholls’ novel in the wake of the 2011 feature film confirmed Mod’s star status and proved to be the year’s best love story.
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Ripley
From: US
Original broadcaster: Netflix
Producers: Showtime and Endemol Shine in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights
Starring: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn, Eliot Sumner, Maurizio Lombardi, Margherita Buy, John Malkovich, Kenneth Lonergan and Ann Cusack
They say: Tom Ripley (Scott) is a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York when he is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.
We say: Written and directed by Steven Zaillian, this adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr Ripley is a captivating black-and-white series boosted by Scott’s performance and the exquisite cinematography that captured locations across Italy.
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Rivals
From: UK
Original broadcasters: Disney+, Hulu (US)
Producer: Happy Prince
Starring: David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner, Bella Maclean, Nafessa Williams, Katherine Parkinson, Claire Rushbrook, Emily Atack, Danny Dyer and Victoria Smurfit
They say: Set against the backdrop of the drama, excess and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, Rivals delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986.
We say: This eight-part “bonkbuster” brings Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name to the screen with a series that is packed full of love, sex, humour, all the excesses of the time period and a dazzling soundtrack to match. A second season is coming.
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Shogun
From: Japan, US
Original broadcaster: Disney+
Producer: FX Productions
Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano, Takehiro Hira, Tommy Bastow, Fumi Nikaido, Yuki Kura and Hiroto Kanai
They say: When John Blackthorne (Jarvis), an English navigator, is shipwrecked in Japan in 1600, he becomes embroiled in the power struggle between Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Sanada), a warlord seeking to consolidate his power, and rival regents. With the help of Toda Mariko (Sawai), a noblewoman and translator, Blackthorne navigates the complex political landscape and cultural conflicts of feudal Japan.
We say: The first non-English-language series to be named best drama at the Emmys, Shogun won a record-breaking 18 awards across the two ceremonies in September, recognising Sanada, Sawai, director Frederick EO Toye and numerous creative departments including production design, costume design, cinematography and prosthetic makeup.
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The Day of the Jackal
From: UK
Original broadcasters: Sky, Peacock (US)
Producer: Carnival Films
Distributor: NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch, Úrsula Corberó, Charles Dance, Richard Dormer, Chukwudi Iwuji, Lia Williams, Khalid Abdalla, Eleanor Matsuura, Jonjo O’Neill and Sule Rimi
They say: An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal (Redmayne) makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lynch) who starts to track him down in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.
We say: The biggest new UK series to ever launch on Sky across the UK, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Ireland is a slick and suspenseful spy show inspired by Frederik Forsyth’s novel of the same name and the 1973 Fred Zinnemann film adaptation.
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Wolf Hall: The Mirror & The Light
From: UK
Original broadcasters: BBC (UK), Masterpiece PBS (US)
Producers: Playground, New Pictures
Distributor: BBC Studios
Starring: Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Jonathan Pryce, Kate Phillips, Lilit Lesser, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Timothy Spall, Harry Melling, Harriet Walter, Alex Jennings, Charlie Rowe, Tom Mothersdale, Karim Kadjar, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Ellie de Lange, Hannah Khalique-Brown and Lydia Leonard
They say: This sequel to Wolf Hall traces the final four years of Thomas Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Cromwell is as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a diplomat and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age.
We say: A decade in the making, the adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels set in the court of King Henry VIII is still the benchmark for historical dramas. The six-parter picks up where the original Bafta-winning 2015 series left off, packed with exquisite locations, costume design, writing, direction and performances.
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