The Best UK TV Shows of 2024
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What was your favourite British TV show this year? From Doctor Who to Wolf Hall, Slow Horses to Baby Reindeer and more.

It’s a dicey time for the British TV industry. The BBC may not currently be facing the hostility of the previous government, but its output is being winnowed down by cuts; the chunk taken out industry-wide by Covid-19 has never really been put back; the pockets of the once-shiny new streamers are less deep than they used to be, and more desperate for returns on investment; and the majority freelance workforce that make the shows we love are seriously struggling for security and a future. The model needs to change.

Despite all that gloom, 2024 has still seen some amazing work come to screen. We’ve had tense crime series, globetrotting thrillers, glitzy entertainment shows, heartfelt comedy, imaginative sci-fi and brilliant period drama. We’ve had shows so good they explain why clever, creative people choose unstable careers and crazy hours to make them. Join us in celebrating the most entertaining UK TV series of the year

  1. Inside No. 9
  2. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
  3. Doctor Who Series 14
  4. Slow Horses Series 4
  5. Baby Reindeer
  6. KAOS
  7. Supacell
  8. Alma’s Not Normal Series 2
  9. Rivals
  10. We Are Lady Parts Series 2
  11. One Day
  12. Mr Bates vs the Post Office
  13. Blue Lights Series 2
  14. Big Boys Series 2
  15. Taskmaster Series 17 & 18
  16. Shardlake
  17. Day of the Jackal
  18. Passenger
  19. Ludwig
  20. Until I Kill You
  21. The Red King
  22. The Traitors Series 2
  23. Red Eye
  24. Renegade Nell
  25. Gladiators

Agree? Disagree? Any omissions?

  • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    5 days ago

    Not sure Doctor Who deserves to be at number 3? It was very shiny with all that Disney money but it wasn’t very good.

    As for the model needing to change - the UK TV production industry seems to be doing very well at the moment? UK tax incentives are causing a lot of US investment in UK productions and the US industry is less competitive due to arguably over generous terms and conditions for staff. However the UK may be too far in the other direction?

    What does definitely need to change is the BBC - in the age of streaming it needs to do less and focus on quality. It’s budget is stretched too thin and the TV license has been eroded by inflation for years, and is increasingly toxic. Young people in particular do not see or understand what the License Fee offers them.

    A different funding model for the BBC and focusing more on original content is a must. I personally think Sport is a waste of public money - the BBC can’t be all things to all people, and should be focusing on news, current affairs and creative output (drama, comedy etc). It should be projecting a unique British voice in the creative arts, not spending millions broadcasting sporting events that are commercial interests and belong to someone else.

    Unfortunately the BBC seems too concerned with trying to keep the license fee justified and try and tick boxes to show it does something for everyone at some point. But broadcast TV is slowly dying and younger generations are almost entirely online with YouTube etc. The BBC needs to stop flogging a dead horse and pivot to being a brand primarily associated with quality and trustworthy news rather than try to be all things to all people.