Top 10 Best TV Shows of 2024

9=. The Traitors S2

The reality TV genre really needed The Traitors. This genius format has completely reinvigorated the genre and the second BBC series showed exactly why. Just like the first run, it's a beautiful feat of casting, instantly creating an entire ensemble of memorable characters. By the time Harry betrayed Mollie to win the money for himself in the finale, we'd already had hours and hours of truly exquisite drama.

The memorable moments came thick and fast. We got Jaz proving to be a Cassandra-like sleuth nobody ever listened to, Paul embracing the villainy of being a traitor a little too much, and Diane revealing that Ross was her secret son in an exquisite moment of camp before being carried around in a coffin as part of a fake funeral. Telly doesn't get much better than this.

9=. One Day

15 years after we all wept buckets at David Nicholls' original novel and 13 years after the quite dismal Anne Hathaway film version, One Day was back this year to emotionally terrorise us all over again. In the Netflix adaptation, Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod play the two central characters who we meet on a single day each year.

This was the sort of old-fashioned romance tale that was always going to be catnip in the Netflix world. It duly became one of the streamer's most-watched shows and you could hear the echoes of anguished weeping all over the world.

4=. Arcane S2

Wait, number four already? Yep, in our vote, five films tied with enough votes to finish the poll in fourth place. Remember that point we made at the start about fractured audiences? Well here we go, starting with Arcane.

Set in the same universe as the game League of Legends, this stunning steampunk animated series came to an end this year with its second season. Fans are disappointed that they won't be getting more of the show, but its second run proved to be an undeniably impressive send-off for something so innovative.

Elle Farrell-Kingsley chose this as her favourite show of 2024, writing: "Excellent animation, great to see a game adaptation do well, and it's a welcome return after roughly three years of a break."

4=. Alex Rider S3

Anthony Horowitz's teen spy book series had an unsuccessful movie adaptation back in the early 2000s, but it's found a far more enjoyable home in recent years on the small screen. Otto Farrant is excellent as Alex and the show's longer format has enabled enough room to adapt Horowitz's novels in the right way.

It's a real shame that this show hasn't managed to accumulate more viewers, but it has been buried in the depths of Prime Video. Fortunately, Naomi Johnson — one of our Local Reviewers— chose this as her favourite TV show of 2024. She wrote: "It's the adaptation and bringing to life of one of my favourite book series ever, with a brilliant cast and a great plotline."

4=. The Day of the Jackal 

More than 50 years after Frederick Forsyth's novel was adapted for the big screen, the story has now made its way to our television sets via a new Sky adaptation. It's a glossy and intense series, starring Eddie Redmayne as the shadowy assassin of the title and Lashana Lynch as the MI6 agent looking into his murderous exploits.

Redmayne and the series as a whole have both received nominations at the Golden Globes and the reviews were strong. If you haven't caught up with this one yet, it's a great way to pass the cold winter nights.

4=. Slow Horses S4

It's fascinating to see the way that Slow Horses has very gradually built its viewership over its four seasons. Naturally, it takes viewers a while to find shows when they're on Apple TV Plus — nobody's most frequently watched streaming service — and this one is a deliberately low-key take on the world of spies. After all, it tells the story of a department staffed by those who've failed in loftier espionage services.

But thanks to Gary Oldman's lead performance and the intelligent writing by Will Smith — the British comedian, not the awards show slap-dealer — Slow Horses has become one of the most beloved shows on British telly. For the Voice Managing Editor Tom Inniss, the latest season was the show of the year. He said: "I think the way they've brought the books to life, with the same dry and sardonic sense of wit, is great. The changes they made from the source material enhanced rather than detracted."

4=. House of the Dragon S2

The world of Game of Thrones returned to our screens this year for another gripping entry in the prequel series, telling the story of those dragon-loving Targaryens. In this second season, the familial civil war had truly begun, with much of the show focusing on each side trying to amass as many formidable dragon-riders as possible. Oh, and Matt Smith was going mad around a load of ghosts in a castle.

It's true that the finale proved to be more of a tease than the all-out battle we had hoped, but there was a lot of political and personal intrigue in this season. And next time, surely, the dragon fire will start to flow. How much of Westeros will be left unburned?

3. Bridgerton S3

Fan-favourite characters Colin and Penelope stepped into the spotlight for the third season of Bridgerton, presenting the best romance the show has delivered to date —  and some of the show's sexiest scenes too. Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton have great chemistry and we all adored watching them discover their love for each other.

It was a big year in general for Bridgerton fans on Voice too, as we got the chance to interview Eloise Bridgerton actor Claudia Jessie for our Kick Some Class series. Take a look at our Claudia Jessie interview here and you can even watch it on YouTube.

2. Sherwood S2

In Sherwood, a Nottinghamshire mining town provides a perfect backdrop for the sort of elegantly-plotted crime drama that British TV does so well. The show's second series, which aired this year, didn't do anything to diminish the acclaim that greeted its first instalment, with David Morrissey back as DCS Ian St Clair.

Our charity's director Diana Walton chose the new series as her best TV show of the year, writing that it's a "compelling" story. She added: "Moving, tragic, funny, dramatic, surprising. Writer James Graham is almost a 21st century Shakespeare in his prolific output, great writing, and range of themes."

1. Baby Reindeer

No other TV show this year has made an impact like comedian Richard Gadd's intense and introspective dramatisation of his own experiences with an alleged stalker. Gadd laid his own life bare in the course of a harrowing story that started dark and only got bleaker as it spooled back into past traumas. It might have a Christmas character in the title, but don't try to watch it with your family in the next week or so.

Baby Reindeer topped three of our voters' lists on its way to the summit of our list, with Voice Contributor Elisha Pearce saying it "keeps you hooked and engaged the entire time" while fellow contributor Kaitlin Jefferys called it "very addictive and well made". 

Tom Beasley, our Voice Editor, also had it at number one. He wrote: "It's very rare in our fragmented world of television to find a show that absolutely everybody has seen. That, however, was what greeted Richard Gadd's horrific, hilarious Baby Reindeer. It had a tone weird enough to bamboozle everybody, while telling a potent and important story, and that should be treasured."