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?