This year’s next big things
From True Detective and Succession to Spielberg’s new war drama and a Squid Game reality series, James Croot welcomes this year’s appointment viewing.
Plenty of new shows have already dropped since the start of the year but there’s only been one everybody has been talking about – the video game-inspired The Last of Us. Only three episodes in and Neon’s critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic drama has already provoked plenty of watercooler chat on Tuesday mornings, the day after the debut of each instalment.
But its success got us thinking at Stuff to Watch, what are likely to be the other attention-grabbing shows of 2023? And when – and where – are they likely to screen? Below is what we’ve managed to suss out – and predict – so far.
Best Interests (TBC)
Bad Sisters’ Sharon Horgan and Staged’s Michael Sheen team up for this four-part BBC drama about a couple whose daughter’s life-threatening condition draws them into a legal battle with her doctors over the right to end her pain early.
Created by His Dark Materials and Enola Holmes’ screenwriter Jack Thorne, it promises it will be ‘‘compelling and thought-provoking’’.
Extrapolations (March 17, Apple TV+)
Meryl Streep, Sienna Miller, Kit Harington, Daveed Diggs, Edward Norton, Diane Lane, Tahar Rahim, Matthew Rhys, Gemma Chan, Eiza Gonzalez, Forest Whitaker and Marion Cotillard.
Yes, Contagion writer Scott Z Burns has surely assembled the ensemble of the year for his eightpart near-future set drama in which the chaotic effects of climate change have become embedded into our everyday lives.
Each episode focuses on different characters, but the stories are interwoven and all ‘‘explore the intimate, life-altering choices that must be made when the planet is changing faster than the population’’.
Fifteen-Love (TBC, Prime Video)
Set in the world of professional tennis, this provocative drama looks at the relationship between teenage prodigy Justine Pearce (Ella Lily Hyland) and her maverick coach Glenn Lapthorn (Poldark’s Aidan Turner).
Five years after her own career is cut short by a devastating wrist injury, she is back working as a therapist at her old tennis academy. Reencountering Glenn leads to Jessica making an explosive allegation.
The Last Thing He Told Me (April 14, Apple TV+)
This highly anticipated seven-part drama is based on the critically-acclaimed, best-selling novel 2021 by Laura Dave.
Jennifer Garner plays Hannah, a woman who is forced to forge a close relationship with her 16-year-old step-daughter Bailey (Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Angourie Rice) to find the truth about why her husband Owen (Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has mysteriously disappeared.
The Mandalorian (March 1, Disney+)
After a seemingly interminable wait Pedro Pascal’s masked bounty hunter is back for a third, eightpart season of this mega-popular Star Wars Universe TV series.
As the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history, ‘‘Din Djarin’’ and his pint-sized companion Grogu will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies.
Masters of the Air (TBC, Apple TV+)
Following in the footsteps of the extremely popular Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg bring together another extremely impressive ensemble for this World War II tale focusing on the exploits of the US Army’s Eighth Air Force.
The 10-part drama’s cast includes Elvis’ Austin Butler, The Capture’s Callum Turner, The Banshees of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan and Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (TBC, Netflix)
This six-part prequel to the hit period drama will focus on the eponymous royal’s rise to prominence and power.
As well as Golda Rosheuvel, Adjoa Andoh’s Lady Danbury and Ruth Gemmell’s Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton will also play prominent roles (with India Amarteifio, Arsema Thomas and Connie Jenkins-Greig essaying younger versions of the trio).
Squid Game: The Challenge (TBC, Netflix)
While global audiences eagerly await the return of the hit Korean drama that captured the world’s attention in late 2021, here’s a chance to see real-life competitors take on some of the show’s dangerous tests.
The Challenge sees 456 players hoping to be the one to take home US$4.56 million.
Production started last week in the UK and a small number of contestants apparently required medical assistance after the first day’s filming in less-than-tropical conditions.
Succession (March 27, Neon)
In season 4 of everyone’s favourite scabrous black comedy, the Roy kids plot against family patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) as he tries to push through the sale of Waystar Royco to tech entrepreneur Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard).
As well as the usual twists and turns in the struggle for power, the recent trailer also suggests eldest sibling Connor (Alan Ruck) ties the knot with Willa (Justine Lupe) and the hapless and ambitious Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) settles into Logan’s inner circle.
Secret Invasion (TBC, Disney+)
This six-part series is likely to be key to Phase V of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Focusing in on Samuel L Jackson’s former Shield director Nick Fury’s involvement in the infiltration of Earth by shapeshifting aliens the Skrulls, the storyline features the return of characters played by Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman and Don Cheadle and also introduces new ones essayed by top talent such as Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman and Kingsley Ben-Adir.
True Detective (TBC, Neon)
More than four years after the Mahershala Alistarring third edition of this once appointmentviewing crime anthology series unspooled, it is headed back to our screens with a juicy new premise.
Set in Ennis, Alaska, detective duo Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) are forced to confront their own pasts when they investigate the disappearance of the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station. John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston and Fiona Shaw also feature.
Yellowjackets (March 27, Neon)
Fresh from her Emmy nomination first time out, New Zealand’s Melanie Lynskey is back playing Shauna Sadecki (nee Shipman) in the sophomore season of this hit thriller.
Switching between 1996 and 2021, its tale of the events leading up to, and the fallout from, a 1996 plane crash in the Canadian wilderness involving a girls’ high school football team ended its initial 10-episode run with viewers having more questions than answers.
Joining the already impressive troupe (that includes Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis) are The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy’s Elijah Wood, Kiwi Simone Kessell and Lynskey’s husband Jason Ritter (Parenthood).