Small screen gems to look forward to in 2019
This epic fantasy series returns for its final season. A gripping cliffhanger saw the Wall brought down by the White Walkers and their undead dragon. So we can expect a living-dead showdown. And Cersei ( Lena Headey) will no doubt try to double-cross Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). “Some main characters will get turned,” teased Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister. Show boss Bryan Cogman says the characters face “a common enemy” in “an emotional, haunting,
bittersweet final season”. Thrilling script in Line of Duty All rise, a new Queen is coming. Olivia Colman succeeds Claire Foy as Elizabeth II in the royal biopic. Oh, and Claire won an Emmy, so no pressure Olivia. Tobias Menzies takes over from Matt Smith as Prince Philip and Helena Bonham Carter replaces Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret. Jason Watkins is PM Harold Macmillan and Erin Doherty, Princess Anne. With the third and fourth series to span 1964-76, expect to see the birth of Prince Edward, and Charles moving
into the public eye. We’re feeling tense already. This new series of the sci- fi horror show will be set in 1985, less than a year after the events of season 2. It’s the final summer of the gang’s childhood as they deal with growing up. Show boss Shawn Levy says they will “deal with forces of evil that are new”. Sounds ominous. We last saw the Mind Flayer towering over the school. But in good news – all the original cast are back, including Winona Ryder, Natalia Dyer, Joe Kerry, Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard.
When: Summer return rumoured. Moving from BBC2 to BBC1 for this final run, the Bafta-winning gangster drama will not go quietly. The last series ended with dangerous Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) becoming MP of Birmingham South, cementing his powerful status. But the world is now in turmoil after the Wall Street crash. When Tommy is approached by a charismatic politician with a bold vision for Britain, he realises his response will affect the nation’s future.
Returning cast includes Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle, Finn Cole, Aidan Gillan and Jack Rowan. Newcomers are Emmett J Scanlan, Sam Claflin and Brian Gleeson. Last time we saw Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), she was not in a good way. Captured by Russians and having had her bipolar medication withheld, she was barely lucid when released. Elsewhere, Elizabeth Keane (Elizabeth Marvel) decided to resign as President, since most of America didn’t trust her.
So, what will happen in the last series? Latest intel reports say it will play out overseas, possibly back where it all began, in Israel.
When: Rumoured to be back in June.