277 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2024 (Page 3)

At a time when a wife’s fate lives and dies with her husband, things can get tricky for widows as they’re left between the cracks of her and her dead husband’s family. In neo-Confucian Joseon, widows were expected to maintain their chastity after their husband’s death, but Knight Flower portrays a widow that pretends to be so, while moonlighting as a vigilante at night. That being said, the drama takes a more comedic tone to this idea, critiquing how ridiculous these standards end up being without losing sight of the implications these supposed virtues have. These themes are all tied together through Lee Hanee and Lee Jong-won’s equally dynamic performances, balancing the romantic chemistry with action and humor.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Kim Sang-joong, Lee Ha-nee, Lee Jong-won, Lee Ki-woo, Park Se-hyun

Director: Jang Tae-yoo

In a TV age where dark comedies and slick satires are all the rage, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is refreshingly light, good-hearted fun. Its humor leans on the surreal, silly, and slapstick, but it doesn’t necessarily sacrifice smarts for a laugh. Here, the legendary robber is reimagined as a reluctant criminal who is more interested in knitting and doing his friends good, a rather sweet fool who unwittingly stands at the opposite end of toxic masculinity. There are jokes about equal pay and light commentaries on class inequality (Turpin and his so-called Essex Gang want to only rob the inordinately wealthy), and you’d think it was all too much, but the show achieves a confident, balanced tone that’s hard to question.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy

Actor: Ellie White, Hugh Bonneville, Marc Wootton, Mark Heap, Michael Fielding, Noel Fielding, Samuel Leakey

Rating: TV-14

Succession, whether that be of family assets or of job titles, is always a tricky situation to navigate– often, those choosing a successor would have to check in with the possible choices next in line in order to make sure there are no resentment, otherwise, it could drive the hillside horror present in The Bequeathed. From passive-aggressive co-workers to mourning relatives, Yoon Seo-ha is having a terrible time dealing with the succession situation, both being resented by a superstitious half-brother for the land and resentful of a co-worker who got promoted before her. It’s so easy to suspect potential rivals, especially when murder strikes those around you, but The Bequeathed also recognizes something scarier– the fear of what you could do with that resentment.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Hyun Bong-sik, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Byung-eun, Park Hee-soon, Park Sung-hoon, Ryu Kyung-soo

Director: Min Hong-nam

Rating: TV-MA

How far would you go to please the one you love? You might indulge your spouse with a white lie every now and then like the men in Swathi Shetty’s life each time she asks about her cooking, but Killer Soup takes it a whole step further when she asks Umesh to impersonate her similar-looking husband. And, as the lies pile up, and the cover-ups escalate, it’s delicious to see the lovers dig themselves into a deeper hole, even if they manage to throw off other people from the scent temporarily. While the story gets slightly convoluted later on due to many subplots, Killer Soup proves to at least be tastier than Swathi’s paya soup with its delightfully twisted lovers.

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Actor: Konkona Sen Sharma, Lal, Manoj Bajpayee, Nassar, Sayaji Shinde

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Dark Matter may be a sci-fi series, the latest in Apple TV+’s ever-growing roster of the genre, but it’s tonally closer to the sexy, psychological thrillers that used to be so rampant in the early aughts. In the first few episodes, at least, it’s more invested in Jason’s relationship with his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and doubles as an interrogation of their marriage. Are they really happier together or do they secretly wish they could go back in time to reset their fates? Eventually, the series hews closer to its sci-fi foundations as Jason embarks on a nerve-racking journey to find Daniela and their son, Charlie (Oakes Fegley) amid infinite realities. It’s at this point where the show becomes truly exciting to watch: we see different (sometimes apocalyptic and other times utopic) versions of their life in Chicago and begin to wonder if a happy ending is still in the realm of possibilities or not.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Alice Braga, Dayo Okeniyi, Jennifer Connelly, Jimmi Simpson, Joel Edgerton, Oakes Fegley

Rating: TV-MA

Every now and then, you get a romantic comedy that feels just right. The romance isn’t overdone, the comedy isn’t used as a crutch, and there’s no desperate need to lean into cliches. Instead, you have pure chemistry, which in turn fuels an endearing awkwardness and a natural sort of love. That’s what happens in the Australian half-hour sitcom Colin From Accounts—despite the premise and the familiarness of the genre, everything just seems to fall right into place. Dyer and Brammall’s riffs feel so natural and intimate, I could listen to them flirt with each other all day and only get mildly annoyed. Like most romcoms, there’s a bit of raunchiness and sweetness to be found here, but what I find most impressive is its ability to generate endless laugh-out-loud moments. I won’t be surprised if this turns out to be people’s new favorite comfort show.

Genre: Comedy

Regardless of age, most viewers would be familiar with the way alcoholic drinks are portrayed in the media as a gateway to uncontrollable debauchery and addiction, but rarely has the art of mixing them been depicted. Bartender: Glass of God mixes cocktails in a refreshing way, portraying the bar not just as a glamorous place for adults to have fun and meet people, but as a place to feel human, to be truly seen as a person at a certain point in time and to be treated with compassion just through a simple beverage. With bar culture around the world having been slowly closing down, Bartender: Glass of God remembers the artistry and care behind each drink.

Genre: Animation, Drama

Actor: Eriko Matsui, Haruka Shiraishi, Hiroki Touchi, Makoto Furukawa, Naoya Uchida, Ryoko Shiraishi, Takuma Terashima, Yoshino Nanjo

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

This series is fascinating and incredibly easy to root for. The premise itself comes from a well-intentioned place, and is an idea that can even justify filming as a TV show. The presentation packs a layer of dissonance between its often, dare I say, adorable tone and the gravity of the situation that these people are potentially in. It's not something that I'd say adds to or takes away from the show, but it is something that's always in the back of your mind when the interview bits get a little too dumb and funny. The idea of prisoners governing themselves reads like a recipe for disaster, so the tension is always there. But when you see a good chunk of them taking it seriously, it's all you need to want to see the show through.

Genre: Reality

Actor: Eric Higgins

Rating: TV-MA

The first few minutes of The Tourist make it seem like a straight action thriller. It’s cool and gritty, with Jamie Dornan ably playing the role of strong but likable leading man. Then ever so subtly, it shifts its tone into something more playful and wholesome, then shifts back to dangerous territory. The back-and-forth feels jarring at first, almost like we’re seeing the show discover what it should be in real time. But eventually, it settles into a comfortable and confident rhythm, one that’s difficult not to watch. The funny bits are care of silly townie humor and that dry Australian wit, while most of the high-intensity action is thanks to Dornan (though he delivers amusing zingers too, especially when paired with Shalom Brune-Franklin). The Tourist seems designed to reel in broad viewers with different tastes, and it does just that thanks to its strong performances and nicely balanced tone.

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Actor: Conor MacNeill, Danielle Macdonald, Diarmaid Murtagh, Francis Magee, Greg Larsen, Jamie Dornan, Mark McKenna, Nessa Matthews, Olwen Fouéré, Victoria Haralabidou

Rating: TV-MA

At a certain age, it can feel like starting over again isn’t possible, especially when all signs discourage you from ever trying again. Dr. Yehya of The Last Round knows this better than most– quitting kickboxing wasn’t an option, but a requirement, with his age and near misses and personal issues taking him out of the arena and into a low point in his life. But despite this, and despite day-to-day difficulties, The Last Round also portrays him getting back up, pursuing his dream one more time. It’s a familiar story, one we’ve seen in many sports shows, but with Ahmed Al-Sakka in the ring, and the careful characterization of the whole team that gets him there, The Last Round knocks our socks out.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama

Actor: Ahmed El Sakka, Ashraf Abdel Baky, Asmaa Abu ElYazeed, Hanan Motawie, Roshdy El Shamy

Director: Mariam Ahmady