A NEW YEAR means new TV shows, whether you want to hunker down and watch them on TV, or plan on turning to Netflix or Amazon for your small screen needs.
One of the most exciting things is the anticipation when it comes to the shows: will they live up to the hype? Will there be some small shows that blast the rest out of the water?
To help you plan ahead, we’ve put together a guide to the highly-anticipated shows for the coming year. Have any you want to add? Why not tell us in the comments.
I know. I know. We thought it would never happen. Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) seemed destined to forever remain just figures on our old VHS tapes.
But they’re going to be returning to our screens after 14 years – Fox is bringing them back for six episodes, and we can expect new stories, alien abduction, and the Smoking Man. Here’s an interview with creator Chris Carter to set your mind at rest.
When does it air? 24 January in the US
After the critically lauded Jessica Jones and Daredevil comes the third in this Marvel four series deal with Netflix (it will be followed by a miniseries called The Defenders).
It stars Mike Colter as ex-con-turned-crimefighter Cage, a character inspired by Blaxploitation films who has superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. Seeing as critics loved Daredevil, and adored Jessica Jones, the bar is set very high here.
When’s it airing? This year on Netflix, but no exact date pinned down yet.
This is a US series, and the hope is that it’ll be available on Irish TV soon. Set in a near-future Los Angeles, it features a couple who live under a military occupation regime after extraterrestrials invade the USA. You’ll recognise former Lost star Josh Holloway. It’s co-written by Carlton Cuse, one of Lost’s writers.
When’s it airing? It premières in the US in January, but may be picked up here.
This originally aired as a web series back in 2014, and now is set for a TV run in 2016. It comes from the Comedy Central stable, which is also responsible for the Amy Schumer show and Broad City, which bodes very well for the series (plus, Comedy Central often puts clips of its shows on YouTube for you to watch).
This is also a female-centred comedy, created by Jillian Bell and Charlotte Newhouse, about a woman who gets a job babysitting for a ‘woman-child’ who’s under house-arrest.
When’s it airing? 14 January in the US.
This Amazon series is a remake of the Sky 1 show of the same name, and has one of its stars (Ben Chapman), alongside a baldy Billy Zane, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Steve Zahn and Romany Malco.
Here’s the blurb: “When a group of underachieving 40-something friends gather in Belize to celebrate the early retirement of an old friend, a series of wild, comedic events unfold, exposing dark secrets and a web of lies, deception and murder.” Standard.
When’s it airing? 22 January on Amazon Prime. (Note: While you can’t get an Amazon Prime membership – yet – in Ireland, Amazon plans to bring out its series on DVD and Blu-Ray). The original UK series are available on Sky 1 on demand.
This Martin Scorcese and Mick Jagger-produced rock drama series is set in 1970s New York. We follow the likes of Bobby Cannavale (who plays record label president Richie Finestra), Olivia Wilde, Juno Temple and Ray Romano as they navigate the world of sex, drugs and rock n’roll.
HBO series have a decent record of making their way across the water (think The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City), so expect this to hit our screens at some point this year too. Fingers crossed.
When’s it airing? 14 February
This BBC drama is set in the world of newspapers, and is written by Doctor Foster writer Mike Bartlett. Expect some exposes of political corruption, and a pretty troubled newsroom. Nothing like us here at TheJournal.ie, then.
Interestingly, it’s set in today’s world, so we can anticipate some discussion of hacking and how to cope in the digital age (we can definitely fill them in on the latter).
When’s it airing? There will be six 60-minute episodes on BBC One, but the airing date hasn’t been confirmed yet.
This BBC Two drama was written by Irish playwright and director (I Went Down, Endgame) Conor McPherson and made by BBC NI Drama with Cuba Pictures. It’s about a woman and man “locked into a battle driven by vengeance” – a brief encounter that ends in violence.
When’s it airing? All the BBC say is ‘soon’.
This RTE drama takes place in the run-up to the Easter Rising in 1916. We got a sneak peek of what to expect, and found out that rather than concentrating on the main players in the rising, it looks at the lives of everyday men and women.
It begins with the outbreak of World War 1 and follows the cast as they play conflicting roles in the rebellion. It’s written by Colin Teevan, who penned Charlie, and stars Charlie Murphy (Love/Hate) and Brian Gleeson (he of the Gleeson clan) amongst others.
When’s it airing? The first episode in the five-part series airs on RTÉ One on Sunday 3 January.
The is the first post-watershed drama series about teenagers on Irish screens, and will air on TG4.
The Irish-language series (written by London-based Corkonian Mike O’Leary and produced by Ciara Nic Chormaic for Magamedia) is “about five young people in a one-horse town who decide to ride up against oppression and form an indie band”, its director Louise Ní Fhiannactha told us.
When’s it airing? 4 February on TG4
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say