Returning favourites, final outings and so much more!
As we welcome in a new year it's time to look ahead to the telly we're going to be enjoying over the next 12 months, including which shows we'll be welcoming back, which we'll be saying goodbye to and which new shows we're going to fall in love with.
Here are 24 TV shows to look forward to in 2024...
1. Alice & Jack
Channel 4
Created and written by Victor Levin, new Channel 4 drama Alice & Jack is described as a love story for the ages, promising to show love in all its unexpected, technicolour, kaleidoscopic beauty.
Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson star as Alice and Jack who when they first meet, are bound by a connection so powerful it seems nothing can break it. But will their path lead them to a place of happiness and togetherness? Or will life and their own emotional complexities get in the way?
It also stars Aisling Bea, Aimee Lou Wood and Sunil Patel in supporting roles.
2. Alma's Not Normal
BBC Two
In 2021, Sophie Willan burst onto our screens as the star, writer, creator and executive producer of Alma's Not Normal, a BBC Two comedy about Boltonian wild-child, Alma Nuthall and her family of eccentric, unruly women. And now it's returning for its second series!
Set in her home town of Bolton, Sophie plays Alma, whose tumultuous childhood has led to continual chaos. Following a break-up, she embarks on a new beginning and wants to finally get herself sorted.
With a rebellious streak a mile wide and no qualifications to boot, Alma decides to explore the role of an escort to support her dreams of being a star. Many adventures and misadventures ensue as she navigates the past she’s had and the future she wants.
Meanwhile, she is trying to get her family back together but has her work cut out as she tries to fix the strained relationships between her drug-addicted mum Lin, played by Siobhan Finneran and her vampish Grandma, Joan played by Lorraine Ashbourne. And then there's best friend Leanne, played by Jayde Adams.
3. Big Boys
January on Channel 4
Following a successful first series in 2022, Big Boys, Jack Rooke's Channel 4 comedy about a dweeby, sheltered, closeted boy from Watford called Jack and a typically loud and proud lad called Danny who become best mates, is thankfully returning for a brand new series.
Dylan Llewellyn and Jon Pointing return as Jack and Danny who this series, together with the whole gang, find themselves in their second year at Brent University 2014, where alongside dealing with virginity hang-ups, drug experimentation (both legal and otherwise) and Jack’s obsession with Alison Hammond, this time round their degrees actually count!
Meanwhile, Jack’s family continue to navigate their lives after his Dad’s passing, beginning just as much of a new chapter as the gang at university. And Danny gets to revisit his past as he learns how to better deal with his mental health issues.
Starring alongside series regulars Camille Coduri, Katy Wix, Izuka Hoyle, Olisa Odele, Harriet Webb and Annette Badland are Marc Warren as Danny's dad Dennis, Louisa Harland as Kerry and Madelyn Smedley as fresher Sally.
4. Big Mood
Channel 4
Written and created by Camilla Whitehill, Channel 4's brand new comedy Big Mood is described as a vivacious and rebellious portrayal of female friendship when infiltrated by the complexities of a serious mental illness.
The six-part series stars Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West as best friends Maggie and Eddie who have lived in each other’s pockets for ten years, through thick, thin, and multiple challenging eyebrow trends.
But with the rest of their lives looming, careers hanging in the balance, and Maggie’s bipolar disorder making an unwelcome return to form, Eddie begins to question whether this friendship is really in their best interests.
It's a pivotal point in both their lives, bringing to the surface those all-important questions... Could sleeping with your former History teacher be the key to happiness? Is a basement Rat Hotel a functional alternative to pest control? With their twenties behind them, Maggie and Eddie’s relationship faces the future, can it survive?
The ensemble cast also includes Niamh Cusack, Eamon Farren, Luke Fetherston, Kate Fleetwood, Rob Gilbert, Rebecca Lowman, Sally Phillips, Ukweli Roach and Amalia Vitale. As well as Olu Adaeze, Max Bennett, Skylar Betteridge, David Bedella, Tim Downie, Ron Donachie, Sarah Durham, Lara Grace Ilori, Neil Edmond, Amy Gledhill, Maddie Grace Jepson, Tom Rhys Harries, Layla-Belle Matthews, Simon Meacock, David Mumeni, David Newman, Freya Parker, Shuna Snow, Sid Sagar, Stephen Sobal, Lottie Tolhurst, Isobel Thom and Robin Weaver.
5. Blue Lights
BBC One
Following the huge success of its first series, it's no surprise that BBC One's Belfast-based drama Blue Lights will be back for six more episodes.
Written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, the first series followed three new PSNI probationary recruits as they navigated their way through their first few months in a uniquely dangerous place to be a response police officer.
This authentic, gripping and darkly funny drama about ordinary people doing an extraordinary job stars Siân Brooke, Martin McCann, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Joanne Crawford, Andi Osho, and Hannah McClean who are all set to reprise their roles for series two.
6. Boarders
Early spring on BBC Three
Written and created by Daniel Lawrence Taylor, BBC Three's new coming-of-age comedy drama Boarders, follows the lives of five underprivileged black students from inner-city London who win scholarships to an elite boarding school.
Stepping out of the urban metropolis, the show's leads will experience the highs and lows of boarding school, learning about themselves, their identity and what life on the other side is like, which they discover is nothing like life in zone three.
Led by a cast of young rising talent, Boarders stars Josh Tedeku, Jodie Campbell, Myles Kamwendo alongside Sekou Diaby and Aruna Jalloh, both making their screen debuts.
Daniel Lawrence Taylor will also appear on screen as Gus, a mentor figure to St Gilbert’s five newest students with Derek Riddell playing headmaster Bernard and Niky Wardley as Chair of the Board, Carol Watlington-Geese.
7. Criminal Record
Wednesday 10th January on Apple TV+
Apple TV+'s new eight-part London crime thriller Criminal Record, from Paul Rutman, follows two detectives caught in a tug-of-war over a historic murder conviction.
It promises to be a powerful, character-driven thriller set in the heart of contemporary London with Peter Capaldi playing Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty and Cush Jumbo starring as Detective Sergeant June Lenker.
An anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives into a confrontation over an old murder case, one a young woman in the early stages of her career, the other a well-connected man determined to protect his legacy.
The series touches on issues of race, institutional failure, and the quest to find common ground in a polarized Britain.
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Sky Comedy
Sadly all good things must come to an end and this year, it's time to say goodbye to Curb Your Enthusiasm which will end after its upcoming twelfth season. For one final time, Larry David will play an over-the-top version of himself.
Once again, Curb Your Enthusiasm has been shot without a script with cast members given scene outlines to improvise lines as they go as the series
Curb Your Enthusiasm continues to prove how seemingly trivial details of one's day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events. And this final season has once again it has been shot without a script with cast members given scene outlines to improvise lines as they go as the series
9. Doctor Who
May on BBC One
Christmas Day 2023 saw Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson's first proper outing as the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday in The Church on Ruby Road, but the good news is that there's plenty more to come with a full series confirmed for May.
With the whole universe at the Doctor's fingertips, the new series will see him and Ruby face new monsters as they head off in the TARDIS for many out-of-this-world adventures.
Starring alongside Ncuti and Millie will be Jinkx Monsoon as the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet, Jonathan Groff in a mysterious key role, Indira Varma as the Duchess, and Lenny Rush as Morris as well as Bonnie Langford and Yasmin Finney who will return as Mel Bush and Rose Noble.
10. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
BBC Three
Based on Holly Jackson's bestselling novel of the same name, BBC Three's new drama, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is being described as a compulsive teen crime thriller and has been adapted by Poppy Cogan.
Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. Case closed. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But Pippa Fitz-Amobi - our insatiably smart, slightly square heroine, isn't so sure and she’s determined to prove it.
But if Sal Singh isn’t a murderer and the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pippa from the truth?
It stars Emma Myers in the lead role of Pip Fitz-Amobi alongside Raiko Gohara as Zack, Yali Topol Margalith as Lauren, Jude Collie as Connor and newcomer Zain Iqbal as Ravi.
11. Inside No.9
Spring on BBC Two
Another series coming to an end in 2024 is Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's superb anthology series Inside No.9 which is suitably ending after its ninth series.
With filming underway, the upcoming series will feature a guest cast including Dorothy Atkinson, Mark Bonnar, Charlie Cooper, Philippa Dunne, Siobhan Finneran, Joel Fry, Katherine Kelly, Matthew Kelly, Eddie Marsan, Vinette Robinson, Adrian Scarborough, Hayley Squires, Susan Wokoma and more.
Once again, the series will feature six new stand-alone stories, each being set in a different location, the style and tone changing each week as viewers are invited into the extraordinary world of Shearsmith and Pemberton’s storytelling.
12. Lost Boys & Fairies
BBC One
Launching this year on BBC One is new drama Lost Boys & Fairies which follows Gabriel and his partner Andy, played by Sion Daniel Young and Fra Fee, as they adopt their first child.
But Gabriel has a history and he will need to embark upon a journey of self-discovery and attempt to repair his relationship with his dad before he can truly begin to parent 7-year-old Jake.
Created and written by Daf James, Lost Boys & Fairies promises to be a tender, glittering story of singer and artiste extraordinaire Gabriel, Andy and their adoption journey and will also star Elizabeth Berrington, Sharon D Clarke, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Arwel Gruffydd, Shaheen Jafargholi, Mali Ann Rees, William Thomas, Gwyneth Keyworth and Gwawr Loader.
13. Love Is Blind UK
Netflix
After five US seasons, Love Is Blind, the hit Netflix dating show in which a group of singles choose someone to marry without ever meeting them is coming to the UK and will be hosted by husband-and-wife presenting duo Emma Willis and Matt Willis.
After choosing who they wish to marry, the newly engaged couples will move in together, plan their wedding, and find out if their physical connection matches the strong emotional bond developed in the Pods.
When their wedding day arrives, will real-world realities and external factors push them apart, or will they marry the person they fell blindly in love with? The less conventional approach to modern dating attempts to uncover whether looks, race, or age do matter, or if love really is blind.
14. Mandy
BBC Two
The nation’s hero of the zero-hours economy is back as once again Diane Morgan returns to write, direct and star in the third series of hit BBC Two comedy Mandy alongside faces old and new, famous and not famous, tall and short.
As ever, Mandy will be joined by her friend, mentor and nail clinician Lola, played by Michelle Greenidge, as she navigates her way through the turbulence of her quest for the ultimate aspirational lifestyle, one where she breeds prize-winning Doberman pinchers and has a magic eye picture on every wall.
Joining the cast for series three are Paul Ready, Beverley Callard, Nathan Foad and Robbie Gee. Returning cast members include Tom Basden, Mark Silcox, Roger Sloman, Alistair Green, Michael Spicer, Jackie Clune and Yuriko Kotani.
15. Nightsleeper
BBC One
Alexandra Roach and Joe Cole lead BBC One's new six-part real-time thriller Nightsleeper about the hacking of a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London, and a government agency’s frantic efforts to intervene in the rapidly escalating events onboard.
Can two people who’ve never met, one on the train and one not, work together to save the lives of its disparate group of passengers as the Heart of Britain overnight service hurtles towards what might quite literally be its final destination?
Alexandra plays Abby Aysgarth, the Acting Technical Director at the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, who’s finally about to take a well-earned holiday when she receives a phone call that will change everything - the UK railway network is under attack.
Joe Cole plays Joe Roag, an off-duty cop onboard and hoping for a quiet night. However, over the next six rollercoaster hours, Joe’s about to get anything but, as he and Abby battle both their own distrust and the unpredictable behaviour of the person or persons now in control, desperate to try and stop the Heart of Britain from reaching the end of the line, in more ways than one…
Nightsleeper also stars Alex Ferns, Sharon Small, James Cosmo, David Threlfall, Daniel Cahill, Lois Chimimba, Gabriel Howell, Katie Leung, Leah MacRae, Ruth Madeley, Adam Mitchell, Pamela Nomvete, Scott Reid, Sharon Rooney and Parth Thakerar.
16. One Day
Thursday 8th February on Netflix
Adapted by Nicole Taylor, Netflix's new 14-part romantic drama One Day is a decades-spanning love story, based on the worldwide bestseller by David Nicholls, that tells the story of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, played by Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall.
On 15th July 1988, the night of their graduation, Emma and Dexter speak for the very first time and the next morning, they go their separate ways but where will they be on this one ordinary day the next year, and the year after that, and every year that follows?
Each episode finds Dex and Em, one year older, on this one particular date, as they grow and change, move together and apart, experience joy and heartbreak.
17. Passenger
ITVX
ITVX's new six-part darkly comic thriller Passenger has been written by actor Andrew Buchan in his debut as a screenwriter and stars Wunmi Mosaku as Former Met Police Detective Riya Ajunwa, David Threlfall as Jim Bracknell and Rowan Robinson as local girl Katie Wells.
The drama is about a close-knit community who are unwilling to face their fears of change, of outsiders and of the unknown. Set in the fictional small Northern town of Chadder Vale, Former Met Police Detective Riya Ajunwa investigates a series of strange and inexplicable crimes that have the townsfolk spinning on an axis.
Riya arrived in decaying Chadder Vale five years ago and has since been searching for that ‘one big crime’, the challenge that will make her feel alive again. Then one night local girl Katie Wells mysteriously disappears. The town barely has time to register her absence before she reappears the next day, apparently safe and sound. The townsfolk ask few questions and normal life resumes. But for Riya, a relative outsider to the Chadder Vale way of life, none of this sits right.
As a series of strange happenings and increasingly shocking crimes start unfolding within the town, the residents resort to short-sighted theories and blame outside influences such as the fracking site and its manager Jim Bracknell. As things become stranger, so the people push back on Riya’s absurd notion that something is not right with this town. But what are they so afraid of?
Passenger also stars Daniel Ryan as Derek Jackson, Rowan Robinson as Katie Wells, Barry Sloane as Eddie Wells, Natalie Gavin as Joanne Wells, Nico Mirallegro as Kane Jackson, Hubert Hanowicz as Jakub Makowski, Jack James Ryan as John Trowbridge, Matilda Freeman as Lilly Wells, Shervin Alenabi as Mehmet Shah, Ella Bruccoleri as Ali Day and Arian Nik as Nish Chowdry.
18. Queenie
Channel 4
Based on the bestselling novel by Candice Carty-Williams, Channel 4's new 8-part drama Queenie stars Dionne Brown as Queenie Jenkins, a twenty-five-year-old Jamaican British woman living in South London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither.
After a messy break-up from her long-term boyfriend Tom, played by Jon Pointing, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places and begins to realise she has to face the past head-on before she can rebuild.
Samuel Adewunmi will play Frank, a man with his own van and grand plans in life. He’s from ends, is invested in his community and he’s known Queenie since her High School days.
Bellah makes her screen debut as Kyazike, Queenie’s longest-serving best friend from school.
Elsewhere, Sally Phillips plays Gina, the hard-bitten Editor at Queenie’s work The Daily Read, Tilly Keeper plays Queenie’s colleague Darcy, Elisha Applebaum plays Queenie’s best friend from university Cassandra and Mim Shaikh plays our resident wideboy Adi.
For Queenie’s family, Llewella Gideon will play Grandma Veronica, Michelle Greenidge plays Aunty Maggie and Cristale De’Abreu makes her TV debut as Queenie’s little cousin Diana.
19. The Red King
Alibi
Described as a character-driven mystery-thriller, Alibi's newest drama for 2024, The Red King, combines the powerful story of a knotty police investigation with chilling, atmospheric folk-horror.
Written by Toby Whithouse, the six-part drama stars Anjli Mohindra as smart, capable and by the book Grace Narayan, who finds herself being forced into a ‘punishment posting’ on the small, antiquated island of St. Jory.
Confronted by the forgotten and unsolved case of missing teenage boy Cai, Grace quickly discovers that she must overcome scarce evidence, extraordinary local characters, and the island’s eerie past devotion to a pagan called the Red King and the cult of the True Way in order to uncover the truth.
The Red King also stars Adjoa Andoh as Lady Heather Nancarrow, Marc Warren as Dr Ian Prideaux, Mark Lewis Jones as Gruffudd Prosser, Sam Swainsbury as Father Douglas Carrisford, Jill Halfpenny as Ann Fletcher and Lu Corfield as Lowri Bain.
20. Renegade Nell
Disney+
Sally Wainwright's new drama Renegade Nell launches on Disney+ this year and promises to be a swashbuckling action and fantasy adventure.
The eight-part drama stars Louisa Harland star as Nell, a quick-witted and courageous young woman who finds herself framed for murder and unexpectedly becomes the most notorious highwaywoman in 18th Century England.
Set in England in 1705, Nell Jackson is framed for murder and on the run with her two younger sisters Roxy and George, played by newcomers Bo Bragason and Florence Keen, and turns her hand to highway robbery to survive.
Aided by her superpowered sidekick, a plucky little sprite called Billy Blind, played by Nick Mohammed, Nell realises that fate has put her on the wrong side of the law for a reason, a reason much bigger than she could have ever imagined: to defeat a magical plot against the Queen of England.
21. The Responder
BBC One
Written and created by ex-police officer Tony Schumacher, BBC One's hit drama The Responder, is returning for a second series as Martin Freeman's character Chris, attempts to rebuild his life, and his relationships, desperate to avoid the corruption that nearly sucked him under.
As he tries to be a better police officer, a better man, and most importantly, a better father to his daughter Tilly, he still has to deal with the relentless trauma of being a night response officer. Chris wants a day job. Chris needs a day job. But is he prepared to risk everything to get one?
Also returning is Adelayo Adedayo as Rachel who is putting her life back together. Still fuming at the way Chris broke her dreams of being a police officer and dragged her down with him into the dirt, she's now desperately trying to take control of a life and a career that sometimes feels like it’s slipping away.
But after working with a succession of ‘normal’ coppers, Rachel is starting to realise she’s got more in common with Chris than she’d ever want to admit.
22. Things You Should Have Done
BBC Three
From the unique comedy mind of Lucia Keskin comes Things You Should Have Done, one of BBC Three's most exciting new comedies for 2024 which promises to be a hilarious, offbeat, dysfunctional family sitcom.
Lucia plays Chi, a self-confessed ‘stay-at-home-daughter living a simple life. She eats crisps, makes weird vlogs and watches sitcoms. And that's all that she's done for 20 years to be fair.
But when her parents, who she is so dependent on, unexpectedly die, Chi is suddenly forced to fend for herself. Chi will inherit the house on condition she completes a list of 'Things You Should Have Done’ left by her parents (everything from ‘Pet a dog’ to ‘Get a job’).
Meanwhile, Chi’s highly-strung Auntie Karen played by Selin Hizli, wants nothing to do with her dependent pest of a niece, but very much wants the house she feels is rightfully hers!
In each episode, Chi tackles something from the list and is unleashed on the locals of Ramsgate, who bring something new to Chi’s understanding of life but leave wishing they’d never met her.
23. This Town
Spring on BBC One
Steven Knight's new six-part drama for BBC One, This Town, tells the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn into an explosive and iconic music scene and is led by an exciting cast of rising talent as its four young leads, Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose and Eve Austin.
Set in a world of family ties, teenage kicks and the exhilarating music of a generation, This Town tells the story of a band’s formation against a backdrop of violence, capturing how creative genius can emerge from a time of madness.
Both a high-octane thriller and a family saga, This Town opens in 1981 at a moment of huge social tensions and unrest. Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers.
The songs performed by the band in the series have been written by acclaimed producer Dan Carey and BRIT and Mercury nominated musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest.
24. The Way
BBC One
James Graham's new three-part drama The Way promises to be an ambitious, powerful and surprising drama which taps into the social and political chaos of today’s world by imagining a civil uprising which begins in a small industrial town.
Directed by Michael Sheen, it tells the story of The Driscolls, an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their home town. Fleeing unrest, they're forced to escape the country they’ve always called home and the certainties of their old lives. 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?
The Way stars Steffan Rhodri, Mali Harries, Sophie Melville, Callum Scott Howells and Michael Sheen as the Driscoll family with Maja Laskowska playing a young woman caught up in the family’s escape.
Luke Evans also stars as Hogwood, a mercenary in pursuit of the Driscolls, with Tom Cullen, Danny Sapani, Mark Lewis Jones, Paul Rhys, Erin Richards, Aneurin Barnard, Catherine Ayers, Patrick Baladi, Georgia Tennant, Jonathan Nefydd and Matthew Aubrey all playing key roles across the series. And making his screen debut as Rhys, the Driscolls' 4-year-old grandson, will be child actor Teilo James Le Masurier.