TAGGED AS: streaming, television, TV
December was a little slow on TV and streaming, even if there were a few standout shows, and it looks like January will be similar. As a result, the responses to our social media polls were fairly spread out, so much so that we actually have two ties on the list this month, the first of which happened at the very top. Marvel’s Disney+ series Echo and HBO’s latest installment of True Detective both garnered a lot of attention, and they were followed by Peacock’s comedy prequel series Ted and Apple TV+’s war drama Masters of the Air. Then, in the fifth spot, we had our second tie, between Prime Video’s Expats and Netflix’s Griselda.
Disagree with the results? Have your say in the comments.
No. 1 (tied)
Echo: Season 1 (2024) (Disney+)
#1 on YouTube, #2 on Facebook, Instagram, and X
Premieres: Tuesday, January 9
Whether or not you believe in superhero fatigue or, more specifically, Marvel burnout, fans just can’t get enough of the MCU, at least according to our polls. This spin-off of Hawkeye starring Alaqua Cox as the titular deaf hero not only finds her squaring off against Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin but also promises a glimpse of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil, which may account for the high anticipation behind the series.
How to Watch: by subscription on Disney+
No. 1 (tied)
#1 on Facebook and X, #2 on YouTube, #3 on Instagram
Premieres: Sunday, January 14
Of course, if you are suffering from superhero fatigue, you can always wait five days after Echo premieres and catch the latest season of HBO’s crime drama anthology series True Detective, which matched Echo in our polls. Written and directed by Issa López (Tigers Are Not Afraid), this season stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as a pair of cops in Alaska investigating the suspicious deaths of a number of scientists, and so far, it has earned rave reviews. Viewers are clearly ready for a return to the style of the Emmy-winning first season, and it looks like we just might have gotten what we hoped for.
How to Watch: by subscription on HBO and Max
No. 3
Ted: Season 1 (2024) (Peacock)
#1 on Instagram, #3 on Facebook and YouTube, #4 on X
Premieres: Thursday, January 11
If you wanted more of Seth MacFarlane’s vulgar teddy bear Ted but less of Mark Wahlberg, then Peacock has heard your cries. This prequel series is set in the 1990s and focuses on the budding friendship between Ted and John Bennett (Wahlberg as a grown-up in the films, but played here by Max Burkholder) in the Bennett family home in Massachusetts. Ted was better received than Ted 2, so here’s hoping the series follows the example of the original film.
How to Watch: by subscription on Peacock
No. 4
Masters of the Air: Limited Series (2024) (Apple TV+)
#3 on X, #4 on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Premieres: Friday, January 26
Those who have been waiting for another companion piece to the iconic miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific should be thrilled about Masters of the Air. Apple TV+ picks up where HBO left off, with the focus this time on the US Air Force’s military campaigns in World War II, specifically the “Bloody Hundredth” bombers who suffered mass casualties. Like the series that preceded it, Masters of the Air features an expansive cast led by Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, and Ncuti Gatwa, and if it’s anything like the others, it should be a big hit.
How to Watch: by subscription on Apple TV+
No. 5 (tied)
Expats: Limited Series (2024) (Prime Video)
#5 on X and YouTube
Premieres: Friday, January 26
We haven’t seen much of writer-director Lulu Wang since her breakout film, 2019’s The Farewell, became a surprise hit, but she’s back in a big way this year with a limited series on Prime Video. Based on a novel by Janice Y.K. Lee, Expats follows the interconnected lives of a number of expatriates living in Hong Kong. If Wang’s name isn’t enough to get you to tune in, maybe its cast — which includes Nicole Kidman and Jack Huston — will be.
How to Watch: by subscription on Prime Video
No. 5 (tied)
Griselda: Season 1 (2024) (Netflix)
#5 on Facebook and Instagram
Premieres: Thursday, January 25
Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara produces and stars in this Netflix crime drama that tells the real-life story of Griselda Blanco, the notorious Colombian drug lord alternatively known as the “Black Widow” and “Cocaine Grandmother.” Blanco was active for decades, beginning in the 1970s, and while we won’t tell you where she ultimately ended up, the series dramatizes her early years as she balances her family life with her cartel business.
How to Watch: by subscription on Netflix
Thumbnail image by Chuck Zlotnick/©Marvel Studios
