• Netflix has produced some of the most captivating and divisive shows of 2024.
• It hooked viewers with a mystery in "Fool Me Once," and stoked controversy with "Baby Reindeer."
• Here are the nine most talked-about shows on Netflix in 2024.

2024 has been a huge year for Netflix, with the streamer's shows sparking huge conversations.

Here are the nine most talked-about shows on Netflix in 2024.

"Fool Me Once"

Harlan Coben's binge-worthy thrillers, with their twist-filled storylines, are a constant favorite among Netflix subscribers, and "Fool Me Once" was no different.

Released in January, the series followed ex-soldier Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan), who spots her dead husband on a nanny cam inside her house. As she tries to find the truth, she reexamines her time in the military, as well her sister's murder, which took place before her husband's death.

Audiences couldn't get enough, and flocked to social media to unpack the story's plot holes and identify filming locations.

According to Netflix, it was one of the streamer's most-watched shows of all time, racking up 98 million views.

"American Nightmare"

In 2024, Netflix released several buzzy docuseries, starting with "American Nightmare."

The three-part series examines the kidnapping of Denise Huskins, which police in Vallejo, California claimed she faked with her boyfriend.

The show charts how the media hounded Huskins and her partner, Aaron Quinn, as a result of the accusations, and also details her horrific kidnapping.

It got subscribers making comparisons to "Gone Girl," and talking about how the media sometimes portrays victims.

"Baby Reindeer"

"Baby Reindeer" is arguably the most talked about show of the year. The show follows Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd), an aspiring comedian, who is stalked by an older woman called Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), after he serves her at the pub where he works.

The semi-autobiographical drama was partly based on Gadd's experiences of stalking and sexual assault. The show was presented as a true story, which turned audiences into armchair detectives as they searched for the real people the characters were based on.

From there, the real story only got more twisted as a woman named Fiona Harvey came forward as the person Scott is based on. She is suing Netflix for defamation, and the case goes to trial in 2025.

"The Man with 1000 Kids"

The streamer continued to explore unbelievable true stories with "The Man with 1000 Kids." It followed families from different countries who discovered they used the same sperm donor, a Dutchman named Jonathan Jacob Meijer.

The series highlighted the risks of prolific sperm donors, and Meijer's insistence that what he did wasn't wrong. Many viewers were particularly shocked at the allegation that Meijer mixed his sperm with another donor's, something he denied.

Meijer said that the number of children he's fathered is actually 550, and has threatened to sue Netflix for defamation.

"Dancing For the Devil"

"Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult" exposed the darker side of fun dance videos on TikTok. Its main focus is Melanie Wilking, a content creator and dancer, who claims that Miranda Derrick, her sister, was brainwashed by a cult-like organization called the Shekinah Church.

The religious group is run by pastor Robert Shinn, who also runs a talent management company for content creators and dancers. In the docuseries, Wilking claimed its members cut ties with their loved ones after joining the church.

In a statement on social media, Derrick denied that Shekinah was the reason for her family troubles, which only fueled further discussion. In 2022, Shinn has denied the accusations of abuse made against both himself, and Shekinah church.

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" was bound to cause controversy after the families of victims accused its creator, Ryan Murphy, of not contacting them before using their stories in season one: "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story." Murphy said he contacted them but they didn't reply.

The second season of the "Monster" anthology series tells of how the brothers murdered their parents, alleging they experienced years of abuse. It caused uproar over the depiction of the Menendez brothers, including a moment that suggested the siblings were in a sexual relationship.

However, it also ignited sympathy for their case and opened up the possibility that the pair could be released from prison.

"Nobody Wants This"

Most of the other entries on this list got viewers talking because of controversies, murder, and mayhem. But subscribers flocked to watch "Nobody Wants This" partly because it's so wholesome.

The rom-com follows Joanne (Kristen Bell), a sex-positive podcaster, and Noah (Adam Brody), a rabbi, as they navigate their vastly different lives while dating.

Viewers were particularly enamored by Noah's emotional support of Joanne. But the moment when he kisses her while holding her face had everyone swooning.

"The Perfect Couple"

"The Perfect Couple" follows Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson), as she prepares to marry her boyfriend Benji Winbury (Billy Howle) at his family's lavish home on Nantucket.

When her best friend is found dead on the morning of the wedding, Sacks' life is turned upside down.

Aside from Nicole Kidman's frosty performance as Greer Winbury, the family's steely matriarch, the murder mystery's opening sequence surprised viewers because of its fun, flashmob-style dance to Meghan Trainor's "Criminals."

"Black Doves"

"Black Doves" didn't spark controversy, nor did it dive into a horrifying true crime story. But it did feature Keira Knightley as Helen Webb, a badass spy out to avenge her lover's death, which was enough to grab viewers' attention.

Some noticed that it's the latest in a string of spy shows set in London, following "Slow Horses," "The Agency," and "The Day of the Jackal."

But "Black Doves" stands out largely because of Knightley's ferocious performance and her killer outfit choices as a spy masquerading as the wife of a UK government minister.

• Dr. Michael Roizen is a longevity expert who claims to have reversed his age by 20 years.
• There are a few bare minimum things you can do to live longer, he said.
• These include getting vaccinated, playing brain-training games, and eating salmon.

It can be tough to find the time to take care of our health. But a doctor who claims to have reversed his age by 20 years said that focusing on six basics could help us stay healthy for longer.

Dr. Michael Roizen, 78, the chief wellness officer at Cleveland Clinic, told Business Insider his "biological age" is 57.6, based on the health of his organs and his risk of chronic disease. (There's no agreed definition of biological age or how it can be measured).

Roizen is all about finding lifestyle changes that can help people live healthily for as long as possible. But he said "there are small things and easy things to do that make a big difference" to longevity, even if people can't overhaul their lifestyles.

Below are the six things he thinks everyone should do to live longer.

Walk more

Roizen tries to do 10,000 steps a day as part of his weekly workout routine, and thinks that everyone should "try to walk a little more."

To add movement to his commute, for instance, he parks his car as far away from his work as possible and walks the rest of the way.

Walking fewer than 10,000 steps — a somewhat arbitrary number with its origins in marketing — still has benefits. One 2023 study by researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, found that people who walked 75 minutes or less a week had a lower risk of dying from any cause or developing cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Eat avocado, salmon, and olive oil

BI previously reported on the seven foods Roizen eats for longevity. But just eating three of these — avocado, salmon, and olive oil — will still merit health benefits, he said. Studies have linked all three to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Have strong relationships

Nurturing friendships is a "fun" way to boost your health and longevity, Roizen said. Plus, "it's always better to do things with other people," he said.

Rose Anne Kenny, professor of aging and lead researcher on The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing at Trinity College Dublin, said that having strong social connections is just as important for longevity as a healthy diet and getting enough exercise, BI previously reported.

Play speed of processing games

Roizen recommended playing speed of processing games, which are brain-training games that research suggests might help improve how quickly your brain works. Roizen recommended two: Double Decision and Freeze Frame.

Referencing a 2017 study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, Roizen said that practicing these games could reduce the risk of dementia. The study found that older adults who played 10 sessions of these games over an initial six-week period, and then did top-up sessions 11 and 35 months later, had a 29% lower risk of dementia after 10 years.

Roizen recommended playing these games for two hours a week for five weeks to try to replicate the study results.

Take a multivitamin

Research is mixed on whether taking multivitamins is beneficial for longevity.

Roizen cited studies that found that the risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia were reduced in people who took multivitamins for years.

But, recent research has suggested that these findings aren't necessarily indicative that multivitamins are as effective outside study conditions. For example, a large study on over 390,000 people published in JAMA Network Open earlier this year concluded that taking a multivitamin wasn't linked to longevity. And the US Preventive Services Task Force doesn't recommend the general public take multivitamins because there's not enough evidence to show that it has any benefit.

Roizen said that he takes a multivitamin anyway to keep the overall levels of vitamins in his body stable.

Get your flu shot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone aged six months and above should get a flu vaccine every season.

But Roizen also takes it for the potential healthy aging benefits. A 2022 review of studies published in Ageing Research Reviews suggested that vaccinating older people against the flu could also help prevent dementia, possibly because it decreases inflammation in the brain.

• The top researcher for a major study on guaranteed basic income says the findings are "nuanced."
• The study, backed by Sam Altman, gave $1,000 a month to 1,000 low-income participants.
• Elizabeth Rhodes says while the study showed benefits, it's not a quick fix for economic insecurity.

The lead researcher for Sam Altman's basic-income study says guaranteed no-strings payments are not a silver bullet for issues facing lower-income Americans.

Elizabeth Rhodes, the research director for the Basic Income Project at Open Research, told Business Insider that while basic-income payments are "beneficial in many ways," the programs also have "clear limitations."

Universal basic income, or UBI, typically refers to making recurring cash payments to all adults in a population, regardless of their wealth or employment status, and with no restrictions on how they spend the money.

Rhodes headed up one of the largest studies in the space, which focused specifically on those on low incomes rather than making universal payments to adults across all economic demographics.

The three-year experiment, backed by OpenAI boss Altman, provided 1,000 low-income participants with $1,000 a month without any stipulations for how they could spend it. The study aimed to explore how unconditional cash payments influence various aspects of recipients' lives.

The initial findings, released in July, found that recipients put the bulk of their extra spending toward basic needs such as rent, transportation, and food. They also worked less on average but remained engaged in the workforce and were more deliberate in their job searches compared with a control group.

But Rhodes says the research reinforced how difficult it is to solve complex issues such as poverty or economic insecurity, and that there is "a lot more work to do."

The Altman-backed study is still reporting results. New findings released in December showed recipients valued work more after receiving the recurring monthly payments — a result that may challenge one of the main arguments against basic income payments. Participants also reported significant reductions in stress, mental distress, and food insecurity during the first year, though those effects faded by the second and third years of the program.

"Poverty and economic insecurity are incredibly difficult problems to solve," Rhodes said. "The findings that we've had thus far are quite nuanced."

She added: "There's not a clear through line in terms of, this helps everyone, or this does that. It reinforced to me the idea that these are really difficult problems that, maybe, there isn't a singular solution."

UBI and Silcion Valley

Universal basic income has garnered significant support within Silicon Valley.

The programs have long been a passion project for high-profile tech leaders, including Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla chief Elon Musk. Some argue advancements in AI, which could pose a threat to some worker's job security, have made the conversion more urgent.

Like many of his tech contemporaries, Altman has long supported UBI and even suggested an idea that involves sharing compute of a future iteration of an OpenAI GPT model, something he referred to as "universal basic compute."

Rhodes first applied for the lead researcher job in 2016 after seeing a blog post from Altman, then the president of Y Combinator, in which he announced his plan to support a study of universal basic income. At the time, she was just finishing up her Ph.D. and had never heard of Altman or Y Combinator.

"I started working on this with Sam in 2016 and at that time, so I was finishing up graduate school in social work and political science, and very outside the California Bay Area community," she said. "There was not much going on in this space, in the US. Basic income or cash transfers were still somewhat of a fringe idea."

The global interest in the study's results was somewhat surprising, Rhodes said, as the team never saw the experiment as a policy suggestion.

"It was never designed to be a policy referendum on UBI or any specific policy. It was an opportunity to really ask the sort of big, open-ended questions, you know, what happens when you give people unconditional cash to better understand the lived experiences of lower-income Americans and the challenges they were facing," she said.

All hail the return of Feathers McGraw, a villain of silent malevolence equal to Hannibal Lecter

At least 72 people were aboard at time of crash

Long before her marriage to Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker counted Robert Downey Jr. as her great love — but, unsurprisingly, their relationship was not an easy one. Two child stars moving in together at 18 after a few weeks of dating — what could possibly go wrong? Let’s find out …

How it Began

Both just 18 — they’re now 59, with birthdays 10 days apart — Parker and Downey Jr. met on the set of teen movie Firstborn way back in 1984.  Acting since childhood and well-known faces on the Brat Pack scene of the era, things got serious fast: they moved in together in Los Angeles after just a few weeks of dating.

How Long it Lasted

Parker was basically a saint: she stayed with Downey Jr., through his well-documented substance abuse issues, for seven whole years. While the romance included iconic 1980s outfits, great film roles and glamorous parties, it was also seven years of heartache, addiction, fear and stress, with the clean-living Sex and the City star telling the New Yorker in 2023 that the relationship made her “feel like a parent at the age off 22.”

How it Ended

The pair split in 1991, with Parker realizing she couldn’t help her charming and charismatic but deeply troubled love anymore. She moved back to New York, where she went on to date the late John F. Kennedy Jr. before settling down with Broderick a few years later, in 1997. This was around the time Downey Jr., who said he had been addicted to drugs since being given them by his father at the age of eight, hit rock bottom. He eventually served 12 months in prison after repeatedly missing court-ordered drug tests, but has now been sober since 2003 and has been married to Susan Downey since 2005.

Robert Downey Jr. Recreates Intimate Wedding Photo With Wife 18 Years Later

What They Said About Each Other

Both parties are probably grateful that their relationship pre-dated social media and the explosion of the internet in general, since we can only imagine the amount of discussion it would generate now, but when they were together, they regularly stepped out at red carpet events. Many years on from their split — and with Downey Jr. now maintaining a life of sobriety and enjoying major critical and commercial success in movies like Iron Man and Oppenheimer — she has spoken about their relationship in a number of interviews, and it’s clear it was a hugely challenging time for them both.

What They Say Now

As recently as 2023, Parker opened up to the New Yorker about the couple’s era-defining but doomed relationship. “People around him would be dismissive of me, but I had given him stability and tried to create a steady heartbeat that allowed him to show up on time,” she said. “That made me angry and embarrassed me.”

Why Sarah Jessica Parker Felt 'Angry' During Robert Downey Jr. Romance

In 2020, she told People that she thought the relationship had actually influenced her own parenting (she and Broderick share twin daughters Tabitha and Loretta and son James).  “Maybe it taught me a little bit about being a parent too, because the things that I ended up caring about, and the way I cared for Downey, were things that might be more suitable for a parent at a certain point,” she said.

Further back, in a podcast interview in 2016, Parker revealed that she had been constantly scared that Downey Jr. would die if she left him. Speaking on “WTF with Marc Maron,” she said: “You love this person, and you’re afraid they’re going to die if you aren’t there to shore up their base every single solitary day. … I just didn’t want him to die. The biggest, hardest choices about those kinds of relationships are feeling brave enough to leave, even if you think they’re going to die.”

Meanwhile, Downey Jr. told Parade magazine in 2008 that he had happy memories of their time together, despite everything they went through. “I liked to drink, and I had a drug problem, and that didn’t jibe with Sarah Jessica, because it is the furthest thing from what she is,” he said. “She provided me a home and understanding. She tried to help me. She was so miffed when I didn’t get my act together. Private stuff aside, we were able to spend some time together and it was really cool. I was in love with Sarah Jessica, and love clearly was not enough.”

Key Relationship Takeaways

The former couple actually met up in 2015 to get closure on their tumultuous relationship — and, by all accounts, it went well.

Speaking during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show in 2016, Downey Jr said: “You know, the funny thing too is you always have a perception of somebody that you spent a big chunk of your life with and I think it’s typical… that the further you get away from that in your new relationship, you sub-intentionally taint your perception of the person. Seeing her I was like, ‘She’s so great and so cool and so funny and so in command’. I got to meet her kids and I saw the way she and Matthew live and I respect both of them so much.”

Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick’s Son Shares Pics from Family Trip

Parker, too, also spoke to Stern about their reunion in 2016. “It was really nice. It was surprisingly not weird. Fundamentally, we’re sort of the same,” she said. “The difference is he has a family and a wife and obviously his career is a massive thing. But I think his true nature was completely familiar. I always felt very affectionate toward him, I thought it ended well in a way. I never didn’t care about his well-being and I never felt resentment or bitterness.”

Yup, despite everything they went through together, these two are now about as mature and measured as it gets, with incredible careers to be proud of too. What a journey.

As 2024 comes to a close, everyday music lovers and celebrities alike get excited to discover who their top artist of the year was on Spotify Wrapped — and the stars are spilling all their music listening secrets with Us.

“Taylor Swift was my top artist. I’m a Swiftie. I’m a fan of hers since day one. I love her,” Jimmy Fallon told Us Weekly exclusively at iHeartRadio’s Z100 Jingle Ball in New York City on December 13. “It was Taylor Swift, it was Chappell Roan and then it got to like, [The] Carpenters?”

After clarifying that he was talking about the sibling duo Karen and Richard Carpenter and not Sabrina Carpenter, one of 2024’s top pop stars, Fallon explained the divergence in his music taste.

“I took a real curve on my playlist,” he said. “I let my daughters use my Spotify as well, so you can see where dad hopped in. And then The Beatles, and then Paul McCartney and John Lennon, yeah. But it’s a good mix and it’s an honest mix. I didn’t make it up.”

Jimmy Fallon Reveals His ‘Honest’ Spotify Wrapped List: 'I Am a Swiftie'

Check out the exclusive video above and keep scrolling for more stars’ top artists of the year — including Teddy Swims, Jessica Capshaw and more:

Jimmy Fallon

“Taylor Swift was my top artist. I am a Swiftie. I’m a fan of hers since day one,” Fallon told Us. “I love her. It was Taylor Swift, it was Chappell Roan, and then it got to like, [The] Carpenters?”

And no, the Tonight Show host wasn’t talking about 2024 pop queen Sabrina Carpenter.

“No. THE Carpenters,” he clarified. “Yeah. I mean, I took a real curve on my playlist. You showed my age. Yeah. I let my daughters use my Spotify as well so you can see where dad hopped in. And then The Beatles, and then Paul McCartney and John Lennon, yeah. But it’s a good mix and it’s an honest mix. I didn’t make it up.”

Kelly Bensimon

While the RHONY alum told Us she loves music, the truth is, she said, “I love me more.”

Bensimon took the opportunity to plug her new podcast rather than share her top artist.

“I’m on Spotify with ‘I Do, Part 2,’ my new podcast with iHeartRadio,” she told Us. “I’ve had so many amazing listeners who are also looking for love and really celebrating that second chapter in their life.”

Ashley Iaconetti

The Bachelor alum admittedly doesn’t use Spotify — “I just like to stick to what I’ve known since I was a sophomore in high school,” she told Us — but she took a guess as to what her top artists would be.

“It’s gotta be Taylor [Swift],” Iaconetti told Us. “Of course it’s gonna be Taylor. I think it’s probably been like that for the past 10 years.”

Yet, as a mother of two kids under 3 (son Dawson, 2, and son Hayden, 17 months, whom she shares with Jared Haibon), Iaconetti admits some of her childrens’ favorite songs make their way into her playlists as well.

“You’ll probably find some kids — not kids’ songs because Dawson really doesn’t listen to kids’ songs — but we get him into certain things, like, he’s been really into NSYNC, he’s been into Backstreet Boys, very into Jonas Brothers, loves Jonas Brothers, so those would be up there as well,” she shared.

Sabrina Carpenter Reveals She Was on Her Own Spotify Wrapped

Jessica Capshaw

“I’ll give you one guess,” the Grey’s Anatomy actress prompted Us when asked who her top artist was. Sure enough, just like Us, it was Swift.

“It was Taylor, then Gracie [Abrams] and then Sabrina [Carpenter],” Capshaw revealed. “Truly, on the day that that came out, my kids were like, ‘What’s your Wrapped?!’”

Teddy Swims

For the “Lose Control” singer, his top artist was a no-brainer — and, funny enough, it was one of his fellow Best New Artist Grammy nominees.

“Benson Boone,” Swims — who was nominated for his first Grammy award this year alongside Boone — “Easy. Yeah, easy, dude. The amount of time I have him, I haven’t even shown him my Spotify Wrapped, so it’s going to be rough. But yeah, Benson Boone all the way.”

Myles Smith

The British singer-songwriter is keeping things in the U.K. when it comes to his top artists of the year.

“I think [my top artist] could have been Central C,” he told Us. “I love what [he’s] doing, I think he’s another great U.K. act that’s breaking boundaries in America.”

Smith added three more British musicians to his list as well.

“Adele every year is in my top five. She’s never not going to be in my top five,” he added. “Big Ed [Sheeran] fan. He was in my top five. I think Artemas was in my top five as well. So yeah. A diverse array.”

Gracie and Clyde Lawrence

While the sibling duo — who comprise the pop group Lawrence — initially joked that their top artists were “ourselves and ourselves,” they went on to share their personal musical acts of the year.

“I recently got in a big John Mayer phase music listening wise,” Clyde shared. “He was one of my top artists of the year this year as he has been in some other years past.”

Gracie shares her brother’s love of Mayer, but her tastes this year leaned more female-focused.

“I think Sabrina Carpenter was in there. I think Ella Fitzgerald was in there,” she told Us. “I have an eclectic [mix]. It’s mostly women, and it’s many different eras, like, different genres. I don’t know. Maybe some Paramore is in there. I can’t be hemmed in.”

The Best Albums of 2024: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and More

Meghan King

The RHOC alum’s top artist of the year is a House duo.

“I think maybe Sofi Tukker,” she told Us. “I saw them, like, three times last year, so that would make sense.”

Isabel LaRosa

The 20-year-old singer-songwriter admitted to Us that her top artist was Artemas — but by accident.

“My top artist was Artemas because I listen to his song ‘Good Girl,’ and I would fall asleep on planes to it,” she revealed. “I was like, ‘Wait, I didn’t remember listening to this song,’ and then I was like, ‘Oh, because I would put it on and then I would fall asleep on a plane.’”

While she didn’t intend to crown the British singer-songwriter her top artist on Spotify Wrapped, she still appreciates him as an artist.

“He’s great,” LaRosa said. “I feel like we’re in a similar lane and he’s a very cool artist.”

Mckenna Grace

The singer and Ghostbusters actress shares a similar conundrum with LaRosa.

“You know what? My top artists were Cigarettes After Sex and Deftones because I sleep to both of those artists,” Grace told Us. “That’s my music that I turn on at night and I’ll fall asleep to.”

Chris Olsen and Ryan Trainor

Like many celebs, Olsen’s Spotify Wrapped was dominated by Swiftie-mania.

“My top artist was Taylor Swift again,” the media personality told Us. The second was Billie Eilish, though. I think it was almost, it was probably close with the two.”

As Olsen shared his answer, his friend and tourmate shook his head in embarrassment at his own top artist lineup.

“I’m laughing at mine,” Trainor told Us. “Like, Drake and Yeat. I gotta go.”

Mark Ambor

While he admitted that he hasn’t done his Spotify Wrapped quite yet, he predicted that his top artists would be Coldplay or Royel Otis.

“I want to see them so bad,” he told Us of the latter. “Their song ‘Oysters in My Pocket,’ I’m, like, obsessed with it. So good.”

Alex Warren

Lucky for Warren, he got to see many of his top artists of the year at iHeartRadio’s Z100 Jingle Ball — but the singer at the very top of his list was Noah Kahan.

“I know, I’m sorry. Basic bitch,” he joked to Us. “Quite literally, every car ride, I don’t listen to a lot of music, but I’ll listen to Noah, Benson [Boone], Teddy [Swims], those guys. Mark, too, I listen to Mark’s music a lot. Mark Ambor.”

Erin Lichy

When it comes to music, the RHONY star likes to stick to the classics.

“I don’t check [my Spotify Wrapped] because I’m the worst. I don’t have time,” she revealed to Us before guessing who she thought her top artist would be. “Well, my kids use my Spotify, so probably their music, but I’m really into classic rock. Again, I go through phases, so I’m on a Tracy Chapman kick.”

Dasha

The country pop singer is just like other girls — and she’s not ashamed of it.

“I actually didn’t do mine. I think I ran out of time,” she told Us. “I would guess it’s Sabrina [Carpenter], Chappell [Roan] and Gracie [Abrams], like every girl ever in the U.S. right now, so I’m one of them.”