GLUED TO THE TUBE
Television’s renaissance continues in 2020, and we have a handy guide on what to watch
Baby, it’s cold outside. So for the next few months, the wisest move might be to hunker down indoors with the TV clicker close at hand. As we enter a new decade, it seems that there is more TV than ever before, but here are a handful of shows and specials we’re most excited to see. All dates are subject to change.
THE OUTSIDER ALREADY AIRING (HBO CANADA, CRAVE)
The past few years have been a boon for Stephen King fans, and HBO continues that tradition with the small-screen adaptation of his supernatural thriller The Outsider. Jason Bateman plays Terry Maitland, a man accused of the brutal murder of a young boy even though he was caught on camera in a different town when the killing occurred.
THE NEW POPE, SEASON 2 JAN. 13 (CRAVE)
Film greats Jude Law and John Malkovich follow up 2017’s The Young Pope with The New Pope, a new limited-series instalment that dives into the inner workings of the Vatican, while exploring the complexities inherent in faith today.
SEX EDUCATION, SEASON 2 JAN. 17 (NETFLIX)
Virgin teenager Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield), who became a sex know-it-all thanks to his mother Jean’s (Gillian Anderson) work as a sex therapist, must master his newly discovered below-the-belt urges in order to progress with his girlfriend Ola.
9-1-1: LONE STAR JAN. 19 (FOX, CTV)
The spinoff of the hit drama 9-1-1, features Rob Lowe as Owen Strand, the lone 9/11 survivor of his New York firehouse. After a tragedy at an Austin fire station, Strand and his son depart to Texas to help the firefighting team start anew. Liv Tyler co-stars.
AVENUE 5 JAN. 19
(HBO CANADA, CRAVE)
Set 40 years in the future when travelling the solar system is no longer the stuff of sci-fi fantasy, but a booming industry, Hugh Laurie stars as Ryan Clark, the confident and suave captain of Avenue 5, a space cruise ship with luxury amenities like gourmet buffets, a spa, an observation deck and yoga classes. Created by Veep’s Armando Iannucci.
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, SEASON 10 JAN. 19
(HBO CANADA, CRAVE)
Larry David once again plays a fictionalized version of himself when Curb Your Enthusiasm returns. “As I’ve said many times, when one has the opportunity to annoy someone, one should do so,” David said when the season 10 renewal was announced almost exactly two years ago.
STAR TREK: PICARD JAN. 23 (CTV SCI-FI CHANNEL, CRAVE)
Nearly 20 years after he last played the character in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, Sir Patrick Stewart returns as the venerable Jean-Luc Picard in this new chapter that finds the former Starfleet captain lured out of retirement after a young girl comes to him for help.
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, SEASON 3 JAN. 24 (NETFLIX)
The new season follows Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) as she recovers from defeating the Dark Lord, who, as it turned out (spoiler alert!) was her father all along. That’s bound to leave some trauma.
TED BUNDY: FALLING FOR A KILLER JAN. 31 (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO)
The new true-crime doc is anchored by the story of Ted Bundy’s longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall and her daughter Molly, who, after nearly 40 years of silence, reveal unsettling new details about the notorious serial killer and the inconceivable pull he had on women. They are joined by survivors of Bundy’s attacks — some of whom are stepping forward for the first time.
LAMP LIFE JAN. 31 (DISNEY+)
After making a big comeback in Toy Story 4, this animated short tells the story of what happened to Bo Peep after the events of Toy Story 2.
KATY KEENE FEB. 6 (THE CW, W NETWORK)
Billed as Sex and the City meets The Devil Wears Prada, this Riverdale spinoff features Lucy Hale as a fashion designer chasing her dreams in New York City. Hale says this won’t be a dark show like Riverdale or its other offshoot, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. “Katy Keene is much brighter,” Hale told W. “It’s about four friends optimistically trying to make their dreams come true in New York City.”
INTERROGATION FEB. 6 (CBS ALL ACCESS)
A twist on the true-crime format, Interrogation lets viewers watch all 10 episodes leading up to the finale in any order. The series, which stars Peter Sarsgaard, Kyle Gallner, David Strathairn and Vincent D’Onofrio, is based on a case in which a young man was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother.
TOMMY FEB. 6 (CBS, GLOBAL)
Multiple Emmy Award winner Edie Falco stars as a former high-ranking NYPD officer who becomes the first female chief of police for Los Angeles. A true blue New Yorker, Abigail “Tommy” Thomas (Falco) uses her brutal honesty and hardball tactics to keep outside issues from hindering law enforcement in her new hometown.
HOMELAND, SEASON 8 FEB. 9 (CRAVE)
Nearly two years after it was last on the air, Homeland returns for its final season. The terrorism drama finds Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), who is still recovering from months of brutal confinement in a Russian jail, being conscripted by Saul (Mandy Patinkin), now a national security adviser, to help broker peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
KIDDING, SEASON 2 FEB. 9 (CRAVE)
Jim Carrey reprises his Golden Globe-nominated performance as revered children’s television host Jeff Pickles whose life is imploding around him. Pop star Ariana Grande makes a cameo in the new season.
HUNTERS FEB. 21 (AMAZON PRIME VIDEO)
Executive produced by Academy Award-winner Jordan Peele and led by legendary Academy Award-winner Al Pacino, Hunters follows a ruthless band of Nazi hunters living in 1977 New York City. The Hunters, as they’re known, have uncovered a plot by a group of high-ranking Nazi officials to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S. The eclectic team of Hunters sets out to thwart their new genocidal plans. Logan Lerman and Lena Olin co-star.
RATCHED TBD (NETFLIX)
The villainous Nurse Ratched from Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gets her own origin story thanks to Ryan Murphy and Sarah Paulson. The series begins in 1947 and will follow Ratched’s metamorphosis into the monstrous tyrant she became in Kesey’s novel and the 1975 film adaptation. Sharon Stone, Finn Wittrock, Jon Jon Briones, Charlie Carver, Judy Davis, Harriet Harris, Cynthia Nixon, Hunter Parrish, Amanda Plummer and Corey Stoll also join the cast. “(A) true murderers’ row of talent,” Murphy wrote on Instagram.
WANDAVISION TBD (DISNEY+)
Perhaps the most intriguingly bizarre of Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ titles, the show features Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany returning to their roles as Scarlet Witch and Vision in a miniseries inspired by the Dick Van Dyke Show. “This is a series that Marvel fans have never seen before,” writer Jac Schaeffer teases. “It’s half classic sitcom and half, full MCU spectacular.” As a bonus for Marvel fans, WandaVision, which is due out later this year, will tie in directly with 2021’s theatrical release, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER FALL (DISNEY+)
The series will follow the continuing adventures of the Marvel heroes played by Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan but, as studio president Kevin Feige says, in a way that allows for a “much deeper dive into both of their pasts and both of their presents post (Avengers) Endgame in a way that is cool.” Daniel Brühl returns as the villainous Baron Zemo, with Emily Van Camp back as Sharon Carter. Wyatt Russell is set to join the cast as John Walker, who in the comics is a hero that goes by the name U.S. Agent.
THE MANDALORIAN, SEASON 2 FALL (DISNEY+)
Since the end of the live-action Star Wars series last month, rumours have swirled that well-known characters from the Skywalker Saga feature films will make appearances during the show’s second season. Just as long as there is more Baby Yoda.
TAYLOR SWIFT: MISS AMERICANA TBD (NETFLIX)
Set for its worldwide première on Jan. 23 at the Sundance Film Festival, the new documentary is billed as “a raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life.” Lana Wilson (After Tiller, The Departure) directs.