THE HOTTEST Box-fresh TV
From murder to missing people line-up is packed full of drama
AFTER a year that felt like the plot of a dystopian thriller, we turned to telly as our saviour. We goggled at Tiger King, gawped at the sex scenes in Normal People, shouted at Quiz and argued conspiracy theories in The Undoing.
Whatever we’ve been watching, escapism has been the order of the day.
Drawing a line under 2020, it’s time to look ahead to months of exciting telly.
Hit shows are returning, including the BBC’s Line Of Duty, and Killing Eve, as well as ITV’s Unforgotten, The Bay and Marcella, and C4’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
Here’s our round-up of the brand new dramas you won’t want to miss in 2021…
IT’S A SIN, C4, later this month
Doctor Who’s Russell T Davies penned this 1980s Aids crisis drama, with an allstar cast including Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Shaun Dooley, Tracy Ann Oberman and Neil Patrick Harris.
The five-part series follows the lives of a group of 18-year-old gay men, Ritchie, Roscoe and Colin, who leave home and move into a London flat.
It explores how their dreams evolve in the shadow of HIV.
BLOODLANDS, BBC1, late February/early March
James Nesbitt plays moody detective Tom Brannick in this thrilling original crime drama.
When a car containing a possible suicide note is pulled out of Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough, Brannick quickly connects it to an infamous cold case with huge personal significance.
Produced by Jed Mercurio, the brains behind Line of Duty and Bodyguard, expect edge-of-seat suspense.
THE PURSUIT OF LOVE, BBC1, summer
This period rom-com with Lily James might ring a bell as it hit the headlines when she and her married co-star, Dominic West, were spotted kissing.
Adapted from Nancy Mitford’s inter-war years novel, it follows leading lady Linda’s ( James) hunt for a husband.
It’s narrated by Linda’s cousin Fanny, played by Emily Beecham, and also stars Fleabag’s Andrew Scott.
THE PEMBROKESHIRE MURDERS, ITV, this month
Feeding our appetite for true crime drama, this grisly series is based on Welsh serial killer John Cooper.
Film star and singer Luke Evans plays detective Steve Wilkins, while Keith Allen plays Cooper, convicted of two double murders in 1985 and 1989.
Luke says: “The series is not just about the crimes, it’s about the people that find this man and the unbelievable twists, which are just mind-boggling.”
VIGIL, BBC1, spring
A Scottish fishingg trawler has mysteriously disappeared.ared. There’s been a death on board a Trident nuclear submarine. And the whole sorry affair means the policeolice are at loggerheads with thee Navy and British security services. es.
This has a top-classass cast, including Suranne Jonesones as DCI Amy Silva, leadingng an
IT’S A SIN Stephen Fry is part rt of AIDS drama’s star cast t investigation on land and at sea into a massive nuclear conspiracy. Watch out also for Martin Compston, Rose Leslie, Shaun Evans and Anjli Mohindra.
RIDLEY ROAD, BBC1, autumn
Based on Jo Bloom’s novel, newcomer Aggi O’Casey plays young Jewish woman Vivien Epstein who goes undercover within a fascist organisation in the 60s.
Set in London’s east end, this nail-biter aalsoso featureseatues Tamzina OOuthwaite.
LANDSCAPERS, LANDSCAPE Sky Atlantic, late 2021
Olivia ColmanColm stars in this darkly ccomic thriller inspired by the real Mansfield Mansfiel murders. The Oscar- winner plays mmild- mannered Susan, whowh along with her
husband, Christopher, killed her parents and buried them in their back garden in 1998. It is partly based on interviews with the killers, who still protest their innocence.
THE GREAT, C4, this month
Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult play Catherine the Great and Emperor Peter in this lavish comedy drama.
The satire follows the rise of Catherine from outsider to longest reigning female ruler in Russia’s history.
She arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the temperamental Peter, but it’s not what she’d hoped. Catherine resolves to kill Peter, beat the church and baffle the military. What could be simpler?
DEVILS, Sky Atlantic, February
McDreamy fans rejoice – Patrick Dempsey is back on screen as a CEO in this big-business thriller.
Alessandro Borghi plays Massimo Ruggeri, head of trading at one of the world’s biggest investment banks.
But in a scandal involving his wife, his mentor Dominic Morgan (Dempsey) withdraws his support.
Expect, death, politics, mind games, sharp suits and lots of cash. THE DROWNING, C5, winter How far would you go to find your missing child? It’s the question that looms over this psychological drama. Jill Halfpenny plays Jodie, whose son vanished eight years ago.
Jodie has been trying to rebuild her life but when she catches sight of teen Daniel (Cody Molko), she’s convinced it’s her son and it sends her on a dangerous path to the edge of reason.
TOO CLOSE, ITV, spring
Emily Watson and Denise Gough take the lead in this psychological miniseries set to get the nation talking.
The twisted tale follows the relationship between forensic psychiatrist Dr Emma Robertson (Watson) who is assigned to work with Connie Mortensen (Gough), a woman accused of a terrible crime who claims she remembers nothing.
The expert and her patient become too close, their sessions complex mind games. But is Connie a killer?
TIME, BBC1, autumn
This prison thriller from Jimmy McGovern should see him deliver his usual gritty, visceral drama.
Sean Bean and Stephen Graham lead the three-parter, looking at guilt forgiveness, and punishment through the eyes of two very different men.
Bean plays a teacher who killed a man by accident, while Stephen plays a prison officer – but quite frankly, we’d watch these two doing nothing.
FINDING ALICE, ITV, this month
Where would British drama be without a turn from Keeley Hawes? She plays a woman who discovers a heap of secrets about her husband after he dies falling down the stairs.
In glorious casting, Alice’s parents are played by Joanna Lumley and Nigel Havers, and her in-laws by Gemma Jones and Kenneth Cranham.
VIEWPOINT, ITV, spring
Friendship, trust and community are the focus this curtain-twitching thriller about police surveillance.
Noel Clarke plays DC Martin King, who sets up an observation post in the home of secret voyeur Zoe (Alexandra Roach), opposite the house of a missing teacher and her boyfriend.
GRACE, ITV, spring
Life on Mars star John Simm headlines this detective drama, adapted from Peter James’s Roy Grace novels.
Simm plays troubled, unorthodox Brighton detective Roy fixated on the disappearance of his wife.
Start the first Monday of the year with some great inspiration from SlimmingWorldSlimmingWorld with your very own wallchart inside today’s paper.
this handy glossy chart is perfect to keep in your kitchen and will help you to stay on track all year round.
and if you love the wallchart, then make sure you don’t miss out on more fabulous Slimming World recipes with two recipe magazines inside your paper this weekend.
On Saturday, we are bringing you a mag dedicated to quick and easy meals, ideal for those days where time is not on your sideside. From pizza-topped chicken to cheeseburger pasta, you’ll find amazing dishes you can make without having to spend hours in the kitchen.
Inside the final mag on Sunday, you’ll find recipes for meals which will boost your mood and keep your spirits high throughout 2021.
With recipes for a veggie korma, smoky black bean and beet burgers, plus a coffee and walnut rice pudding, you’ll be spoilt for choice.