559 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2024 (Page 16)

As one grows older, only then do they realize the benefits of youth. It’s all there in the title, but unlike other transformation stories where the protagonist reincarnates into a different, younger persona, Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again is much more mundane as they turn into their younger selves, but still keep to their calm, small town suburban lifestyle. It’s less exuberant than other stories– there’s no mystery to solve, no conspiracy to uncover– but it’s just so funny to see everyone around them react to the youth they attained, like make them enter their district’s sports team. But as the show progresses, and they continue their day-to-day lives, the show reveals itself as the celebration of the simple, small town life that once wasn’t a guarantee due to the war, the good life that many forgo for the city.

Genre: Animation, Comedy

Actor: Mamiko Noto, Nao Toyama, Shin-ichiro Miki, Shiori Mikami

It’s not easy to stand out in the crime genre, but Catch Me a Killer does a pretty good job of it. It’s set in South Africa, where dynamics like race and gender are slightly different than in the US or UK. It’s also based on actual crimes solved by Micki Pistorius (Charlotte Hope), a chain-smoking read-headed profiler who helps develop the South African police’s investigation processes. But setting and character quirks aside, what makes the show unique is its hero’s philosophy: Pistorius believes that each killer, no matter how demented and harmful, deserves to be understood. “Is there something wrong with me, that I don’t hate them?” she asks in an early episode. Do murderers deserve empathy? It’s a question that follows her in every case she takes, in every corner of the country, and it’s also one that she finds increasingly hard to answer. Catch Me a Killer is a mostly straightforward procedural, but it often dabbles in the existential, making it a thought-provoking and soul-stirring watch.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: Charlotte Hope, Donna Cormack Thomson, Ivan Zimmermann, Lemogang Tsipa, Sean Cameron Michael, Steven John Ward, Waldemar Schultz

A parody of the true crime industry, Based on a True Story is as dark as a comedy can go. It follows Ava and Nate (Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina), a couple who, in an attempt to save their marriage and bank accounts, partner up with serial killer Matt (Tom Bateman) to create a podcast about Matt’s killing sprees. It proves to be a hit in murder-obsessed America, but Ava and Nate soon realize that their success comes with a bloody price. Based on a True Story is the type of show that has a lot of fun trying on different hats—all at once, it's a satire, thriller, horror, and romance—and though it’s not always successful at balancing them out, there’s something addictive about watching it try. Even when the constant tonal shifts and murky morals threaten to tear the show down, you can't bring yourself to look away. This is mostly thanks to Cuoco and Messina, whose dynamic chemistry and live-wire performances all but prove their status as sitcom veterans. Bateman is also effectively terrifying, able to maintain his killer guise amidst ever-shifting genre backgrounds. Often, the show treads the fine line between making light of and shedding light on violence in modern-day America. But the risk pays off, making it a killer watch for anyone willing to give it a try.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alex Alomar Akpobome, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Chris Messina, Kaley Cuoco, Li Jun Li, Liana Liberato, Natalia Dyer, Priscilla Quintana, Tom Bateman

Rating: TV-MA

With its slice-of-life approach, A Sign of Affection immediately tugs at the heartstrings with its sweet romance between a deaf university student and a multilingual traveller from manga duo Suu Morishita. The anime adaptation sees the world in Yuki’s eyes, with delicately lined shapes and pink-tinted watercolor paired with Sumire Morohoshi’s sweet voice, and it’s lovely to see the unjaded, kind way she interprets the world. The series does have some of the familiar romance tropes, like love triangles, wingman friends, and the glowy, bokeh lighting, but it’s sort of the point in this charming show. A Sign of Affection likens the careful, hesitant way of falling in love with the way Yuki interacts with the world, or rather, the reactions abled people have to her disability.

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama

Actor: Kaede Hondo, Nao Toyama, Ryota Osaka, Sumire Morohoshi, Takeo Otsuka, Tasuku Hatanaka, Yu Miyazaki

It wasn’t until recently that Chinese science fiction has become popular, as plenty of the stories can now take flight through non-traditional internet channels and the translation work of Asian Americans like Ken Liu. 3 Body Problem by Liu Cixin is one of those translations, and with the Game of Thrones showrunners along with Alexander Woo, Netflix has created their own take on the ambitious, innovative sci-fi novel. It doesn’t quite match up, but the show is able to take the novel’s unique blend of abstract theoretical physics with intriguing mystery and meditations on how scientific exploration is driven and stopped by religion and politics. The multiple storylines and times that can get confusing, but ultimately, the show is still able to sustain its tension through great world building and intimate drama. With the source material fully completed, we’re hoping that the showrunners don't run into the same snafus that plagued Game of Thrones’ ending, but so far, Netflix’s take on the 3 Body Problem is a decent introduction to Liu’s sci-fi masterpiece.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Alex Sharp, Ben Schnetzer, Benedict Wong, Eiza González, Jess Hong, John Bradley, Jonathan Pryce, Jovan Adepo, Liam Cunningham, Marlo Kelly, Rosalind Chao, Saamer Usmani, Sea Shimooka, Zine Tseng

Rating: TV-MA

The show has an easy to follow format with the curated version of events, especially with the premise always guiding the experience. The sudden changes in footage quality and music both service the atmosphere by turning the mundane uncomfortable and chilling (though I am generally ambivalent to films with a lot of gimmicks). Still, the show seems more interesting as a whole than in its tiny details. It’s effective at high tension developments and confrontations, utilizing the drama from various power dynamics, but it’s also passable in other regards. In the grand scheme of things, it can be a tedious, overwhelming watch.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Anahí Allue, Bárbara López, Belinda, Costanza Andrade, Diego Boneta, Fernando Cuautle, Jorge Zárate, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Roberto Duarte, Zuria Vega

Director: Humberto Hinojosa

It wants to be a big sleek show. It gives you lots of backstories to explain how things work and set up precedents, and a lot of its runtime is allotted to the process. There are tense and cathartic bits you may not expect, but once you realize it's essentially a heist show albeit more refreshing and gritty than others, what more do you really expect? Character dynamics can feel like a bonus to what you're really here for if you like the heist show format, so unless the hope for a grand ending is enough, it might be a tough sell to see it through the end.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: Eiko Koike, Etsushi Toyokawa, Go Ayano, Izumi Matsuoka, Kazuki Kitamura, Kōji Yamamoto, Pierre Taki, Shota Sometani, Takayuki Yamada

Rating: TV-MA

Many in this docuseries acknowledge that the developments to this case feel very much “like a movie.” Maybe that’s why the filmmakers leaned into that presentation style with the twists, phone conversation voiceovers, and jumping timelines. It’s a decent storytelling choice, but it also feels like the shock factor and media hullabaloo is the focus of the film sometimes. Much of the runtime is dedicated to the role of the media, which served as a tremendously unhelpful distraction to the investigation; thus giving the series a sense of focus on the one hand, but also weighing the series down with too much details and fluff cinema.

Genre: Crime, Documentary

Actor: Massimo Bossetti

Rating: TV-MA

With the show transporting us straight into its colorful alien world without context, The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy may not be the best animated sci-fi comedy out there, but it’s fairly entertaining once you get into it. It’s a strange amalgamation of genres, as the workplace issues and medical technobabble are made much more colorful, wacky, and fun with its alien sci-fi, but the show mostly works through the empathizable characters, led here by the comedic personalities of Stephanie Hsu and Keke Palmer. The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy is not quite out of this world, but if you’re a fan of American animated sitcoms, this might be right up your alley.

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Keke Palmer, Kieran Culkin, Maya Rudolph, Sam Smith, Stephanie Hsu

Rating: TV-MA

With morally grey characters, an excellent cast, and family inheritance intrigue, The Impossible Heir seemed like a unique Korean drama that isn’t afraid to get cutthroat, especially with those suspicious shots of blood splatters in the trailer. There’s some of that here– Lee Jae-wook plays Han Tae-oh with a cold, straightforward determination, even outright declaring he would use Kang In-ha, with Lee Jun-young matching Jae-wook’s intensity. However, part of the drama feels undercut by a love triangle that, as a concept, isn’t a terrible idea, but was just hastily introduced in the first two episodes. The Impossible Heir has excellent tension with its reluctant allyship, family mystery, and the likely betrayal already, but it just feels like it could be better without the romance.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Hong Su-zu, Lee Hwang-eui, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Jun-young