7 most popular TV shows not returning in 2024

Although 2024 is going to be a great year for TV overall, we're going to be missing at least a few of the biggest TV and streaming shows this year.

Most of these delays are a result of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers not making deals with the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, which caused the writers' and actors' strikes and production delays. The writers' strike ended in the fall of 2023, which started the process of getting these TV shows ready for production. The end of the actors' strike in November 2023 cleared the way for production to start. Unfortunately, those months lost mean that more than a handful of your favorite shows will not return with new seasons until 2025.

We shared a list of seven great TV shows that will not be back for new seasons in 2024. The biggest of all those shows might be Stranger Things season 5, so that's where we'll start!

Stranger Things season 5

Unfortunately, we know Stranger Things season 5 isn't coming to Netflix this year short of a miracle. Production on Stranger Things season 5 was rumored to be starting in late 2023 after the actors' strike ended. Netflix confirmed that production officially started on season 5 in early January 2024. We know Netflix is not going to rush this season, and David Harbour confirmed they'll be shooting the final season for the better part of a year. That means no Stranger Things season 5 in 2024.

It's disappointing, for sure, that fans will have to wait another year to see what happens to the group of heroes from Hawkins, but it will surely be worth the wait when Stranger Things season 5 eventually hits Netflix in 2025.

At the end of the fourth season, things are in a weird place for Eleven, Mike, Will, Max, Lucas, Dustin, Hopper, Joyce, Nancy, Steve, and the rest of this great group of characters. Hawkins is under attack after Vecna's plan at least somewhat worked. We know Vecna is gone for now, but he'll back.

Netflix also confirmed the main cast of Stranger Things season 5 in a new photo shared on social media. Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Cara Buono, Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Linda Hamilton, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, and Amybeth McNulty are in the cast for season 5.

Stay tuned for more news about the fifth and final season of the Netflix original series. Stranger Things might not be the most popular show on Netflix, but it's definitely one of the streamer's top shows!

Continue to the next slide for the rest of the shows not returning in 2024!

The Last of Us season 2

The Last of Us was one of the most popular shows of 2023. It's based on the video game franchise of the same name and stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Elle, an unlikely duo taking on the fungal zombie apocalypse together. Unfortunately, we're not going to see The Last of Us season 2 on HBO or MAX in 2024, but we do have some good news to share about the new season.

Production on The Last of Us season 2 is scheduled to begin in February 2023, according to Deadline, which is super exciting. The updates for season 2 have also started to trickle in, as well. Kaitlyn Dever, best known for Booksmart, No One Will Save You, Unbelievable, and Dopesick, will star as Abby in season 2, along with Beef star Young Mazino, who will play Jesse.

HBO announced season 2 almost a year ago, but bcause of the writers' and actors' strikes, production was not able to start in 2023. It's still unclear how delayed the season was. It's possible we could have seen The Last of Us in 2024 had the strikes not happened, but this is one of the biggest shows on TV with a ton of moving parts.

Production on season 1 took more than one year to complete. Those familiar with the video games know season 2 is going to be big, so it's possible we could see production wrapping around this time next year. Hopefully, they'll be able to streamline season 2 production, but we'll just have to wait and see. As of right now, we're expecting a fall/winter 2025 release for The Last of Us season 2.

Wednesday season 2

Wednesday season 2 is one of the most highly anticipated series of a Netflix show in a long time. There have only been a few hits about as big or bigger than Wednesday's first season, and it's a short list that includes Squid Game, Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Money Heist, and a few more.

Unfortunately, Wednesday season 2 is not coming to Netflix in 2024. Had the actors' and writers' strikes not happened, there's a chance we could have seen the new season sometime in 2024, but it was always going to be a while for Wednesday season 2. After its premiere in November 2022, Netflix waited about three months to announce the renewal. On the pre-production side, things didn't really get rolling until the spring of 2023, but then, the writers went on strike in May, and that delayed things. Production was going to start in the fall of 2023, which could have possibly set up a 2024 release, but that didn't happen.

According to reports, production is starting on Wednesday season 2 in the spring of 2024 in Ireland. The show is moving filming locations from Romania to Ireland to the same studios where Vikings: Valhalla was filmed.

We don't know what to expect in Wednesday season 2, but we do know it's going to be 2025 until we see Jenna Ortega, Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Fred Armisen, Luis Guzmán, and the rest of this great cast in season 2. I can't wait for Thing!

Euphoria season 3

There's going to be a big gap between seasons of Euphoria. The second season of the hit HBO series ended in February 2022. Unfortunately, HBO already confirmed what fans were expecting. Euphoria season 3 will not premiere until 2025, according to Variety. It's going to be another full year without a new episode of Euphoria.

There were rumors production on season 3 was starting in December 2023, but it doesn't look like that happened as far as we can tell. We'll be sure to share more information about when Euphoria season 3 starts filming as soon as we find out. When Euphoria starts filming, we'll have a much clearer picture of what HBO plans to do and when the studio will release the new episodes of the series.

Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Alexis Demie, Hunter Schafer, Maude Apatow, Sydney Sweeney, Eric Dane, Storm Reid, Dominic Fike, Colman Domingo, Javon Walton, Austin Abrams and Nika King are all expected to return for season 3. Barbie Ferreira, who starred in the first two season, left the series after season 2. Angus Cloud, who starred as Fez, a fan favorite character, died in July 2023.

As for what season 3 of Euphoria looks like, that's also unclear. We'll see what's next for Rue (Zendaya), Nate (Elordi), and the rest of these kids. At the end of the season, Ashtray (Walton) is shot and wounded by police after they raid the apartment. Fez (Cloud) gets arrested.

The White Lotus season 3

The White Lotus is one of the best shows on TV since its premiere on HBO in July 2021. The second season, which was even more successful than the first, aired in the fall of 2022. We didn't get a new season in 2023, and it looks like we won't get a new season in 2024 without another miracle.

The White Lotus season 3 is set in Thailand. Of course, we'll see another zany group of individuals "enjoying" the spoils of The White Lotus resort. The cast and crew start filming in February 2024, which is a good sign for an early 2025 release date. HBO just confirmed most of the cast for the new season.

Natasha Rothwell, as of right now, is the only returning cast member so far. Rothwell starred as Belinda in the first season and will be back in season 3. The rest of the main cast includes Carrie Coon, Jason Isaacs, Leslie Bibb, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, and Dom Hetrakul. According to Deadline, this is not the full cast. More deals are being worked out to bring others to Thailand for season 3.

In November, Casey Bloys, the HBO CEO, confirmed that the new season will "likely" be released in 2025. I hope there's a chance we could see this one in 2024, but it's okay if we have to wait until 2025! I just can't wait to see what Mike White and the team are cooking up.

The Wheel of Time season 3

The Wheel of Time is the only Amazon show on the list, and that's a good sign that 2024 is going to be a big year for Amazon Prime Video. In 2024, fans are expecting to see new seasons of The Boys and The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, two of Amazon's most popular shows.

There's a chance that we could see The Wheel of Time season 3 in 2024. Production was not interrupted by the writers' and actors' strikes like many of the shows on this list. It's simply a huge series with lots of moving parts and effects. Plus, Amazon already has a big fantasy show coming in 2024 with Rings of Power season 2 coming sometime soon. It seems likely that we'll see Amazon stagger releases of Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time to keep fans subscribed and waiting for the next new fantasy show. To help things out, Amazon is also developing a God of War series and a Fourth Wing series. They're carving out quite the fantasy niche on Prime Video.

It's hard to tell where The Wheel of Time season 3 is in terms of production right now. We know the cast and crew wrapped in the Czech Republic and other parts of Europe in October 2023. Based on rumors, there were still weeks or months left of production for the cast and crew filming in South Africa. Because we haven't heard that season 3 is officially done filming, we'll assume production is still happening.

For The Wheel of Time season 3, they're adapting stories and arcs from The Shadow Rising, the fourth book of Robert Jordan's book series.

And Just Like That season 3

And Just Like That season 3 is also delayed until 2025 at MAX, but that's a little bit easier to take for Sex and the City and And Just Like That fans than it is for fans of some of the other shows on the list. And Just Like That premiered in February 2022. And, I guess we should just be grateful that season 2 and season 3 even happened at all!

The first season of the Sex and the City continuation was so successful and there was so much more story to tell that HBO renewed it for a second season, which premiered in June 2023. Later in the summer, HBO announced the show would return for a third season coming in 2025.

We probably would have seen And Just Like That season 3 sometime in 2024 if not for the writers' and actors' strikes, but that's just how it's going to be in the entertainment industry for a while.

At the time of publishing, it's unclear when And Just Like That season 3 will be filmed. Deadline reported that the writers returned to work on season 3 after the writers' strike ended in the fall of 2023. HBO confirmed in November during Bloys' presentation that And Just Like That would not return in 2024.

We'll share more information about the third season as we find out! Stay tuned!