Yahoo News The 100% rated TV series of 2024 from Pachinko to Heartstopper
These titles had critics in agreement that they were the year's must-sees.
It's no easy task impressing critics across the board, but an exclusive list of TV shows have achieved 100% positive ratings in 2024.
According to reviews site Rotten Tomatoes, critics all agreed that these 2024 titles were the crème de la crème of viewing over the past year, but did your favourites make the cut?
It was a strong year for TV shows, especially returning series which managed to win the accolade of a 100% rating on the site.
Here's your end-of-year watch list for the best viewing from 2024, as judged by the critics.
Slow Horses S4 (Apple TV+)
Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden spy series Slow Horses has been a huge hit for Apple TV+ since it firsrt burst onto screens in 2022, so it's no surprise that the latest season four was well received.
But a shock twist in the series opener and a poignant scene in the finale made sure viewers were not disappointed in the latest intrigue from Lamb's crew of hapless agents.
The show, based on Mick Herron's series of novels Slough House, has been renewed for fifth and sixth seasons, so there's still plenty more to look forward to next year and beyond.
At The Independent, Nick Hilton called it "one of the most consistent, and consistently enjoyable, shows on TV".
Slow Horses S4 is streaming on Apple TV+.
Pachinko S2 (Apple TV+)
Apple brought another novel adaptation to the 100% rated TV list this year with the second season of Min Jin Lee's saga Pachinko.
The multi-generational epic is told in three languages - Korean, Japanese and English - but despite a potentially complicated leap back and forth through time, it has remained gripping throughout two seasons.
Wowing both viewers and critics alike, the show won plenty of praise with The Telegraph's Keith Watson writing "this is sophisticated storytelling with an uncanny ability to pierce both head and heart with its acute insights into the human condition".
Pachinko S2 is streaming on Apple TV+.
Arcane: League of Legends S2 (Netflix)
Emmy award-winning Arcane has been labelled both the best video game adaptation ever, and one of the best Netflix series ever made, so season two certainly had a lot to live up to.
Fans were not left disappointed by its return this year, which matched season one in both achieving a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the animated series about two sisters embroiled in a war between two cities — one wealthy and utopian, the other oppressed and poor - wasn't all great news for audiences as the story was only ever planned to last two seasons, meaning it's already over.
Arcane is quitting while it's ahead, as Mashable wrote "Season 2 measures up in every conceivable way and then some...Brutal, gorgeous, and absolutely devastating".
Arcane is streaming on Netflix.
Heartstopper S3 (Netflix)
Netflix's adaptation of Alice Oseman's LGBTQ+ romantic coming-of-age graphic novels has been a hit with viewers since its season one launch in 2022, so a third season this year was highly anticipated.
The love affair continued for fans, as it did for Charlie and Nick who danced around whether to open up on the strength of their feelings while university applications loomed.
Heartstopper continued to attract a big-name supporting adult cast, with Jonathan Bailey, Hayley Atwell and Eddie Marsan all joining the ranks. There are high hopes for a season four to close the story.
In glowing reviews, Collider wrote of the latest instalment: "With its third entry, Heartstopper pushes itself into a new, more exciting chapter, embodying the coming-of-age genre like few other shows on television."
Heartstopper S3 is streaming on Netflix.
Matlock (Sky)
Most of 2024's TV hits have been returning series, so Matlock is a rare newcomer to the 100% rated list and squeezed in at the last second with a November launch on Sky.
It stars Kathy Bates as the title character, Matty, who revives her career in her 70s at a law firm where her comforting charm sees her outclass younger colleagues in solving cases in this cosy legal drama that challenges ageism.
The Telegraph's Keith Watson wrote: "This is nostalgia-hued TV that’s not trying to be gritty, right down to a nod to the old Columbo trick...of replaying how Matty put the clues together with a reprise. Playing on the invisibility of her age is the ace up Matty’s sleeve, too, as she cannily ramps up the dithering old lady stereotypes while remaining sharp as a tack."
Matlock is streaming on NOW with a Sky Entertainment Membership.
Girls5eva S3 (Netflix)
Meredith Scardino's comedy about a reunited girl group, exec produced by Tina Fey and with a cast including Busy Philipps, was rescued by Netflix this year after being cancelled two seasons in at Peacock.
It seems Netflix's punt has paid off, as season three achieved a 100% rating for its comeback, making it even more successful than the Girls5eva comeback in the show. Surely, the musical comedy has done enough to secure a reunion for season four?
Girls5eva S3 is streaming on Netflix.
Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos (Sky)
The only factual show (and non-series) making the 100% rated list this year is Sky's two-part documentary about David Chase, the creator of one of the great TV shows of all time, The Sopranos.
Although the New Jersey mob family epic might have finished in 2007, appetite is clearly still strong for all things Sopranos-related. As well as covering the development of the drama series, it also looks back over Chase's own life and features especially poignant scenes about leading man James Gandolfini, who died in 2013. Of course, there's also a discussion about what exactly happened in that infamous final scene.
Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall wrote: "No documentary, even at close to three hours, can capture everything. But Wise Guy is a strong celebration of the series, and a fascinating psychoanalysis of the man who dreamed it up."
Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos is streaming on NOW with a Sky Entertainment Membership.
Colin From Accounts S2 (BBC)
Offbeat rom-com Colin from Accounts reunited us with Gordon and Ashley this year, who in season two are now living together as a couple but desperately trying to regain ownership of Colin, the dog that brought them together.
The sitcom, written by and starring real-life couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, proved it was more than just a one-season wonder, keeping critics and fans laughing.
The Telegraph's Jasper Rees wrote: "This second series surges joyfully towards a nuptial climax which is certain to leave Colinophiles hankering for a third."
Colin From Accounts S2 is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Supacell (Netflix)
Netflix churns out a dizzying number of series each month, never mind each year, but new twist on the superhero genre Supacell rose above the flash-in-the-pan successes of many of the streaming giant's titles to be one worth remembering.
Starring Tosin Cole, it follows a group of unconnected Black residents of South London as one by one, they begin to discover they have superhero powers. But with each character choosing to use their abilities in a different way, few agree to work together as they face being targeted by police, gang violence and prejudice in their communities.
The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg wrote: "From the slang-driven scripts — turn your captioning on — to the rousing, hip hop-infused soundtrack to the immaculate cinematography, Supacell has the feeling of a story that could only spring from this location and these characters, rather than a series that acknowledges London exclusively for token globalism."
Supacell is streaming on Netflix.
Such Brave Girls (BBC)
The BBC brought us another top-rated comedy in 2024 - Such Brave Girls, which follows sisters Josie and Billie and their nightmarish mum Deb as they struggle to get out of debt and away from stifling jobs and bad boyfriends.
Written by and starring Kat Sadler as Josie, it also features her real-life sister Lizzie Davidson as screen sister Billie and is directed by The Inbetweeners and Friday Night Dinner star Simon Bird.
Such Brave Girls has already been confirmed for a season two, which BBC comedy commissioner Jon Petrie called "a no brainer", and the critics agree.
The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg wrote that "this could, if it’s successful, be the most quotably cruel show since Succession," adding that it features "an ensemble awash in corrosive chemistry".
Such Brave Girls is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
