The year 2024 has arrived with new TV shows coming out over the coming weeks. Here are five standout shows from January and February to start the year right.

Echo - Disney+/Hulu January 9

Starting the year off with a Marvel show might seem crazy, looking at their track record as of late, but Echo might be good. It's a new show that is a self-contained product, a part of Marvel and Disney’s new “Marvel Spotlight” series where you don’t have to have any prior knowledge of any movies or shows to enjoy a story fully. The series follows Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) returning to her hometown and reconnecting with her Native American roots. The series looks like an action-packed street-level crime story with some gritty fight scenes that actually look good. It’s the kind of more mature, self-contained story that fans and critics alike have been asking for. Since we are still in this superhero era despite several box office failures, it would be nice if Echo could be good enough to inspire more of these types of shows.

True Detective Night Country - HBO/Max - January 14

The True Detective renaissance is upon us. The series that altered prestige TV, ushering in a wave of big-screen actors finding their way to the small screen in tailor-made prestige vehicles, is back. The anthology series is now in the hands of Issa Lopez, who serves as showrunner, writer, and director, with Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins executive producing. It’s the first season without series creator Nic Pizzolatto writing or directing, but he is still on board producing.

Night Country seems like a return to the best of the series, focusing on its star lead, Jodie Foster, as she investigates the disappearance of several men at a research station in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska. The twist crime thriller is the first big HBO Sunday night show in what seems like forever that will hopefully live up to the hype.

Masters of The Air - Apple TV+ - January 26

Masters of the Air is a war drama from Steven Speilberg, who brought us Band of Brothers 20 years ago. The series stars Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Anthony Boyle, and more, with a directors list including Cay Joji Fukunaga. Masters of the Air follows the United States 100th Bomb Group during World War II after the unit sustains heavy casualties during conflicts in the war. It is described as a companion piece to Band of Brothers and its sequel series, The Pacific, and will surely hit a similar note, developing relationships with the unit it is following while learning and experiencing the harrowing events of the war. If there is one thing we know for sure about Apple TV+, no expense was spared. It's an expensive-looking series with real stars
and gifted filmmakers tackling an important historical moment.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Season 1 - Teaser Trailer | Prime Video - February 2

Despite a minor backlash to a series reimagining a film whose popularity and cultural importance hinges on the drama surrounding its stars while they made the film and not the film itself, Mr. and Mrs Smith looks good on paper. Donald Glover, the creator of the series, doesn’t miss. Atlanta is one of the best shows of all time. Last year’s Swarm, which he co-created with Houston native Janine Nabers, was really good. The show will follow Glover and Maya Erskine, a couple of spies tasked with impersonating a married couple. The series also features Paul Dano, Michaela Coel, and John Turturro. I have a great cast with a creator with a good track record. It’s not trying to be the movie whose intellectual property it’s using; it could have easily been called something else, but that’s just how things are made these days.


Shogun - FX/Hulu - February 27

This year  is starting off with another big historical drama, Shogun, which is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell and takes place in the 17th century with Japan on the cusp of Civil War. The series follows an Englishman named John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) who has washed up on Japan's shores, Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a powerful Daiymo fighting off his political rivals, and Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai), a dishonored woman set to prove her worth. The story is a fictionalized retelling of actual historical events. It’s a big-budget show that FX has been working to adapt for a long time and has the potential to be one of the best shows of 2024. If nothing else, it is another chance to see the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada (John Wick Chapter 4, The Last Samurai) sword in hand, entirely in his element.