AARP Hearing Center
AARP’s Favorite Streaming Shows of 2024 (So Far)
‘Masters of the Air,’ ‘Hacks’ and ‘Ripley’ lead our list of shows
AARP (Apple TV+/Courtesy Everett Collection, 2; Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection; HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection, 2)
Many of the pay TV networks and streaming services rolled out a steady buffet of new shows this year, boasting stars including Ewan McGregor as a Russian aristocrat just after the Bolshevik Revolution in A Gentleman in Moscow and Andrew Scott as the latest iteration of the grifter Tom Ripley in Ripley. We’ve also seen the long-awaited return of familiar faces such as Larry David in the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Jean Smart as a Joan Rivers–style comedian in the bold and intriguing third season of Hacks. Here are AARP’s picks for the best streaming shows of the year so far.
More Ways to Benefit
- Related Benefit 1
- Related Benefit 2
- Related Benefit 3
- Related Benefit 4
- Related Benefit 5
Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in "Baby Reindeer."
Ed Miller/Netflix
Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Netflix’s latest surprise hit is not for everyone. It begins in familiar quirky comedy land, with an aspiring comedian/bartender (Richard Gadd) being stalked by a woman (Jessica Gunning) who claims to have a high-paid, glamorous legal career. But midway through the series, which Gadd adapted from his supposedly fact-based stage play, the show takes a shockingly dark, squirm-inducing turn — as Gadd’s Donny finally confronts traumatic episodes of sexual abuse from his past that have crippled his relationships. We also learn more about his stalker, a walking avatar of the phrase “hurt people hurt people.” (A woman who claims she’s the model for the character filed a defamation lawsuit; Netflix disputes her claims.) The show can be hard to watch but harder to look away from, right up until the note-perfect final scene.
Hugh Sachs and Golda Rosheuvel in "Bridgerton."
LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX
Bridgerton (Netflix)
In its third season, Shonda Rhimes’ deliberately anachronistic period romance series still boasts many, many elaborate balls where a racially diverse cast dons elaborate costumes to dance to orchestral versions of 21st-century pop tunes — then doffs them for raunchy hookups (including a particularly steamy one in a carriage). This time, the focus is on Nicola Coughlan as curvy Penelope (the secret author of Lady Whistledown’s gossipy newsletters), who finally catches the eye of her longtime crush, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
John Johnson/HBO
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO/Max)
Larry David, 76, says the 12th really, truly is the final season of his HBO comedy (spread out over 24 years). He milks a lot of characteristically awkward laughs from his final swings around the golf course with his celeb buddies — including Richard Lewis, who died in February at age 76. The season focuses on David’s obnoxious girlfriend (Tracey Ullman, 64) and an escalating legal issue that culminates in a courtroom scene that echoes the widely criticized one in the 1998 Seinfeld series finale.
Where to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm
Fleur Geffrier and Tomohisa Yamashita in "Drops of God."
Apple TV+
Drops of God (Apple TV+)
Apple’s newest multilingual series is a savvy heir to Succession with a Bravo-style reality competition twist. When renowned French wine expert Alexandre Léger dies, his will sets up an elaborate wine-tasting competition for his prized cellar, worth $148 million. The competitors are his long-estranged daughter (Fleur Geffrier) and his master-taster protégé (Tomohisa Yamashita). French screenwriter Quoc Dang Tran, best known for the Netflix hit Call My Agent!, has created a full-bodied winner, an absorbing drama that lingers long on the palate.
Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Beau Gadsdon in "A Gentleman in Moscow."
Ben Blackall/Paramount+/Showtime
A Gentleman in Moscow (Showtime/Paramount+)
Ewan McGregor, 53, shines as a Russian count who’s spared death after the Bolshevik Revolution despite his dandyish hauteur because he wrote a poem beloved by young revolutionaries. After many of his friends and relatives either fled Russia or were shot dead, he’s confined to a kind of purgatory in the attic of the four-star Metropol hotel, where he charms a young film actress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and maintains a kind of come-what-may equanimity that allows him to carry on. The show, based on a novel by Amor Towles, offers a leisurely tour through a bygone era that shifts nimbly between humor and tragedy.
Where to watch A Gentleman in Moscow
Jean Smart in "Hacks."
Jake Giles Netter/Max
Hacks (Max)
Jean Smart, 72, is back and sassy as ever. This sharp-tongued comedy ups the ante in its third season with Smart’s character, Deborah Vance, on a career upswing thanks to her Gen Z writer (Hannah Einbinder).
Their codependency — and love for the generation gap between Boomer and Gen Z — gives an authentic edge to the punchlines as each proves willing to blow up personal and romantic relationships to pursue professional goals. The comeback success of Vance allows her to maneuver for a plum job she’s long coveted: host of a late-night talk show. Who said Hollywood is ageist? Smart has one of the best roles on TV.
Adrian Rawlins, Amelia Gething and Tom Victor in "Mary & George."
Courtesy STARZ
Mary & George (Starz)
This miniseries unearths a particularly randy period in Jacobean England when King James I (Tony Curran, 54) snubbed the ladies of his court to seek out the company of men. In steps a minor gentleman’s crafty widow (Julianne Moore, 63), who conspires to thrust her hunky second son, George (Nicholas Galitzine), into the king’s bedchamber. Of course, the upstarts make a series of missteps in their quest for power and love. This is more than just a sexy romp. Like the 2018 Oscar-winning The Favourite, Mary & George maintains a firm grasp on history even as it jolts our image of it.
Nate Mann and Austin Butler in "Masters of the Air."
Apple TV+
Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
Masters of the Air, the latest World War II miniseries from Tom Hanks, 67, and Steven Spielberg, 77, follows the path blazed by Band of Brothers and The Pacific. This is old-fashioned visual storytelling, and the aerial combat sequences are easily the best part of the show. Back on the ground, we get some fine performances from Austin Butler and Callum Turner as pilots with contrasting personalities who end up in a POW camp.
Where to watch Masters of the Air
Essie Davis and Leo Woodall in "One Day."
Netflix
One Day (Netflix)
This may be the best British rom-com since Notting Hill. David Nicholls’ best-selling novel One Day inspired a meh 2011 film with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, but the series’ pacing seems better in half-hour episodes that suit the plot. Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod sparkle as a couple who meet on the night of their college graduation in 1988 but never quite follow through on their obvious attraction. The pattern repeats as we check in on them on the same summer day over the course of 20 years, producing scenes that are compulsively bingeable without overstaying their welcome.
Andrew Scott in "Ripley."
Philippe Antonello/NETFLIX
Ripley (Netflix)
Andrew Scott is a sly and reserved presence as Tom Ripley, the sociopathic antihero of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel, who connives and kills his way into luxe living in 1960s Italy — filmed in pristine black and white by There Will Be Blood cinematographer Robert Elswit, 74. Steven Zaillian, 71, an Oscar winner for his Schindler’s List screenplay, wrote and directed all eight episodes of this adaptation, and his attention to detail shines in every frame. Dakota Fanning makes a memorable impression as the expat girlfriend of Tom’s first victim who comes this close to being a target herself.
Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. in "The Sympathizer."
Hopper Stone/HBO
The Sympathizer (Max)
Could newly minted Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr., 59, add an Emmy to his mantel this year? The Oppenheimer star turns in not one showy performance but four in this miniseries set during the 1975 fall of Saigon and the period just afterward. The hero is a half-Vietnamese, half-French double agent (played by the dynamic Hoa Xuande) whose divided loyalties compound his feelings of alienation both in the U.S. and back home in Vietnam. The first three episodes are directed with cinematic flair by showrunner Park Chan-wook, 60, giving the series a stylish look to match its intriguing story.
Where to watch The Sympathizer
Lior Ashkenazi and Robin Weigert in "We Were the Lucky Ones."
Vlad Cioplea/Hulu
We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)
Joey King, a young actress best known for The Kissing Booth trilogy of teenage rom-coms, is astonishing in this grim but gripping miniseries about a Jewish family in Poland whom we meet in 1937. The Nazis and the onset of war scatter the five siblings as far as South America, Africa, Western Europe and the Soviet Union. Each episode is named for a different destination of a sibling, following their tenacious efforts to survive and find nuggets of hope in a world consumed in darkness.
Where to watch We Were the Lucky Ones
AARP Membership
Join AARP for only $15 per year with automatic renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
More From AARP
Top 10 Network TV Shows to Watch in 2024
Who says streaming platforms have all the good stuff?Top Films of 2023: AARP's Must-See List
Film and TV critic Tim Appelo shares his top movies of the yearAARP’s Favorite TV Shows of 2023
10 series that captured the attention of TV critic Tim Appelo