The craze for content on over-the-top platforms only increased in the year 2024, as audiences were hooked by an array of shows that featured compelling stories and thrilling screenplays.
The 10 shows listed below were among the top OTT releases that captivated the hearts, minds and imaginations of critics and audiences this year. Shogun emerged as the clear king of television streaming, followed by Slow Horses, The Penguin, Nobody Wants This and many others.
1. Shogun
Set towards the beginning of the Edo period, Shogun takes inspiration from Akira Kurusowa's style of filmmaking (Photo source: Disney+ website)
Set towards the beginning of the Edo period, Shogun takes inspiration from Akira Kurusowa's style of filmmaking (Photo source: Disney+ website)
Shogun immediately enchanted audiences with its premiere receiving nine million views, breaking viewership records and debuting at the top of the streaming charts. The historical fiction epic, based on James Clawell's 1975 novel of the same name, was brought to life by industry veteran Hiroyuki Sanada and was the first Japanese-language series to win an Emmy for 'Outstanding Drama Series'.
Set towards the beginning of the Edo period, Shogun takes inspiration from Akira Kurusowa's style of filmmaking and portrayal of epic stories. The screenplay and settings change according to the character's inner turmoil instead of the other way around, similar to Kurosawa's filmmaking style.
The show is available to watch on Disney+ Hotstar.
2. Slow Horses
The show is headlined by veteran actor Gary Oldman. (Photo source: x/@AppleTV)
The show is headlined by veteran actor Gary Oldman. (Photo source: x/@AppleTV)
Slow Horses was slow to catch on with viewers, but the British spy thriller dawdled into critical stardom, with the its latest fourth season having a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100% and receiving numerous Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
The show is headlined by veteran actor Gary Oldman, who is well known for fully disappearing behind his roles to the point of unrecognisable perfection.
Oldman plays the dishevelled Jackson Lamb, the head of a team of MI5 outcasts who were disgraced from service but not fired, due to their screw-ups as they navigate espionage in the modern age.
The show is available to watch on Apple TV.
3. Fallout
Fallout, available on Amazon Prime, embraced the black comedy that it's source material had perfected. (Photo source: X/@falloutonprime)
Fallout, available on Amazon Prime, embraced the black comedy that it's source material had perfected. (Photo source: X/@falloutonprime)
Fallout broke the long standing curse of poor video game adaptations by doing the one thing that many of its peers shied away from: embracing its source material.
Steered by Westworld's Jonathan Nolan, the retro futuristic send-up of cold war paranoia and corporate greed drew in viewers irrespective of whether or not they had played the role-playing video game it was based on.
Fallout embraced the black comedy that it's source material had perfected while breaking new ground for video game adaptations in the television space.
The show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
4. The Boys
The show is available to watch on Amazon Prime. (Photo source: X/@TheBoysTV)
The show is available to watch on Amazon Prime. (Photo source: X/@TheBoysTV)
The Boys had more than 55 million viewers tune in on Amazon Prime, despite its somewhat polarised audience reaction.
This came as a result of the show deciding to dig its heels firmly into the ground and injected a fresh dose of political satire into its veins, relentlessly and unsubtly taking aim at US politics.
The show stuck closer to its edgy and sardonic comic book source material while continuing to poke fun at spandex-spangled superheroes and their various complexes.
The show is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
5. The Penguin
Audiences welcomed the layered character study of Oswald Cobb, a narcissistic and ambitious mid-level gangster. (Photo source: X/@TheBatman)
Audiences welcomed the layered character study of Oswald Cobb, a narcissistic and ambitious mid-level gangster. (Photo source: X/@TheBatman)
The Penguin was a surprise hit from showrunner Lauren LeFranc, proving that audiences would be more than happy to watch an adaptation of an iconic comic book villain if the character is approached with the same passion that fans that grew up with them had.
A spin-off of 2021's The Batman directed by Matt Reeves, the show takes place after the film ends depicting the Machiavellian power struggles between Gotham's criminal class.
Audiences welcomed the layered character study of Oswald Cobb, a narcissistic and ambitious mid-level gangster who uses his guile and ruthlessness to take over Gotham's underworld.
The show is available to watch on JioCinema.
6. Nobody Wants This
The show is available to watch on Netflix. (Photo source: Netflix Website)
The show is available to watch on Netflix. (Photo source: Netflix Website)
Nobody Wants This emerged as a fan favourite among critics and audiences, with it's down-to-earth and unlikely romance between Kristen Bell's hot-headed intimacy podcaster and Adam Brody's rebellious rabbi.
Audiences connected with the focus on slice-of-life, eschewing grand gestures, exotic locales and tumultuous conflict for smaller, more relatable moments of shared vulnerability and growth. It reminded viewers of what makes a relationship work: showing up and working on it earnestly.
The show is available to watch on Netflix.
7. X-Men '97
The animated show debuted on Disney+ following on from where it had left off back in 1997. (Photo source: Disney+ Website)
The animated show debuted on Disney+ following on from where it had left off back in 1997. (Photo source: Disney+ Website)
X-Men '97 embraces vintage iconography from the nineties with its glossy and vibrant comic book colour palate and headbands, crazy hair and fashion choices that defined the late nineties.
The animated show debuted on Disney+ following on from where it had left off back in 1997. Created by Beau Demayo, the show stuck close to established comic book canon, adopting the iconic costumes from Chris Claremont and John Byrne seminal run, and adapting iconic storylines from the 1980s and 1990s comics such as 'Fatal Attractions' and 'Lifedeath'.
The show is available to watch on Disney+ Hotstar.
8. 3 Body Problem
The Netflix adaptation of the Hugo Award-winning Chinese novel garnered critical acclaim (Photo source: X/@3body)
The Netflix adaptation of the Hugo Award-winning Chinese novel garnered critical acclaim (Photo source: X/@3body)
3 Body Problem topped the viewership charts shortly after its debut. The show adapted Liu Cixin's heady hard science fiction saga about earth's scientists investigating and communicating with an extra-terrestrial civilisation that may not have humanity's best interests at heart.
The Netflix adaptation of the Hugo Award-winning Chinese novel garnered critical acclaim with many Emmy nominations for performances and storytelling.
The show explores complex scientific and philosophical themes while balancing it with an exploration of its characters and their interpersonal relationships.
The show is available to watch on Netflix.
9. Sugar
The show has all the hallmarks of a neo noire detective drama, executed with finesse. (Photo source: Apple website)
The show has all the hallmarks of a neo noire detective drama, executed with finesse. (Photo source: Apple website)
Sugar oozes style and charm with its confident and alluring cinematography that netted the show an Emmy nomination.
A modern update of the classic noire detective stories from Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler, helmed by Fernando Meirelles of 'City Of God' fame, Colin Farrell plays the enigmatic, John Sugar, a hypercompetent private eye, with a very shocking secret.
The show has all the hallmarks of a neo noire detective drama, executed with finesse but decides to pull the rug from under the viewers with an unexpected plot twist.
The show is available to watch on Apple TV.
10. The Bear
The show logged 5.4 million views on it's first day of streaming. (Photo source: X/@TheBearFX)
The show logged 5.4 million views on it's first day of streaming. (Photo source: X/@TheBearFX)
The Bear returned with its third season following the critically-acclaimed previous seasons. This time, the showmakers decided to pump the breaks on the nail biting culinary drama, and instead opted to focus on the characters' past traumas and triumphs as they all attempt to repair the relationships that were strained in their race to bring their fledgling restaurant into critical limelight.
The season's meditative tone polarised some viewers as it attempts to explore the physical and emotional cost of ambition and cycles of abuse. It still logged record-breaking viewership on Hulu with 5.4 million views on it's first day of streaming.
The show is available to watch on Disney+ Hotstar.
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