The new year marks the beginning of a new decade as we enter the 2020s. And with it comes an unprecedented barrage of great new TV series spanning various genres from an ever-widening selection of streaming services and networks.
Whether you’re in the mood for a comedy, sci-fi, drama, thriller, or docuseries, there’s going to be way too much good TV to wade through in 2020. That’s why we’re here. Here are the shows we’re most excited to see in the coming year so you can draw up your shortlist. Enjoy!
Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access, January 23)
Any Trekkie will have this series on their radar next year as a must-watch. Patrick Stewart will reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard who leads his team in the aftermath of the events from Star Trek: Nemesis, including the destruction of the planet Romulus and the death of Data. Taking place 20 years later, now at the end of the 24th century, the series will include lots of new characters as well as others reprising their roles, including Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, Marina Sirtis, and Jonathan Frakes. In addition to starring, Stewart is also an executive producer. The first season will contain 10 episodes.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+, TBA)
Following the events in Avengers: Endgame, this series will tell the story of Sam Wilson (a.k.a. Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Solider) as they deal with the aftermath and their potential new purpose (and powers now that Falcon was given Captain America’s shield!). Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprise their roles for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) series as Disney+ looks to create an expansive Marvel universe across TV and film. The series is slated for release later in the year, and the first season will have just six episodes.
The New Pope (HBO, Canal+, January 13)
This drama serves as a continuation of 2016’s The Young Pope and will see Jude Law reprise his role as Pope Pius XIII and John Malkovich as Pope John Paul III, who is now “the new Pope.” Premiering first on Sky Atlantic on January 10, the series, which was originally going to be considered the second season of The Young Pope, will include nine episodes. Look out for appearances by Sharon Stone and Marilyn Manson as well.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond (AMC, TBA)
If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, you’ll want to tune in to the latest spin-off of the post-apocalyptic horror drama. Set in a different part of the world, fans will get to follow yet another group of survivors as they attempt to live in this new world. The show takes place 10 years after the onset of the apocalypse, and the main protagonists will be two young females, making this a sort of twisted coming-of-age series. These women grew up knowing no other world than this one, which can either make you into a hero or a villain – a Rick Grimes or a Negan – depending on how your group has survived the last decade.
Snowpiercer (TNT, Spring)
The original 2013 sci-fi action film, based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-March Rochette, starred Chris Evans. This upcoming TV series version will be a post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller that serves as a reboot of that film. Passengers travel aboard a giant Snowpiercer train as they try to survive in a world that has become a frozen wasteland. It will star Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Black-ish) and Jennifer Connelly (Alita: Battle Angel).
The Stand (CBS All Access, TBA)
Hailing from Stephen King, this post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy miniseries, which is based on King’s novel of the same name, is the latest interpretation of the King’s tale about a world that has been taken out by a plague in which survivors face a struggle between good and evil. The 108-year-old Mother Abigail must try and save the world with the survivors as they try to fight off the Dark Man, Randall Flagg. This will be the second time the novel is adapted into a miniseries, the first in 1994 for ABC. It will star James Marsden (Dead to Me), Amber Heard (Aquaman), and Greg Kinnear (House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), with Whoopi Goldberg (The View) playing Mother Abigail and Alexander Skarsgard (Big Little Lies) as Flagg.
Lovecraft Country (HBO, TBA)
The latest project from Jordan Peele, this drama horror is based on the Matt Ruff novel of the same name. The story centers around Atticus Black who sets out on a roadtrip with his friend Letitia and his uncle George to find his missing father. Set in the ‘50s, it will see the characters deal with racial terrors in white America along with supernatural forces. Jonathan Majors (White Boy Rick) will star as Black, Jurnee Smollett-Bell (True Blood) as Letitia, and Courtney B. Vance (The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) as George. Tony Goldwyn (Scandal) plays patriarch Samuel who views people as assets and objects, inferior to him. Check out a teaser at around the 28-second mark in the HBO coming soon video above.
Run (HBO, TBA)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who cleaned up at this year’s Emmy Awards for her series Fleabag and Killing Eve, executive produces this comedy thriller about Ruby Dixie, a woman looking to reinvent herself by reconnecting with an old flame, Billy Johnson, who is a successful life guru. Merritt Weaver (Nurse Jackie, Unbelievable) plays Dixie, while Domhnall Gleeson (The Last Jedi, Ex Machina) plays Johnson. Waller-Bridge will star in the series as well as a character named Flick.
Avenue 5 (HBO, January 19)
Another for HBO, this sci-fi comedy is set in space in a Star Trek-esque future. It features a star-studded cast headed up by Hugh Laurie (House, The Night Manager) as the crew’s captain, Josh Gad (Frozen 2) as the clueless billionaire owner of the eponymous starship, Suzy Nakamura (Dr. Ken) as an associate owner of the ship, and Zach Woods (Silicon Valley) as head of customer relations. With the hilarity-filled trailer, and Will Smith among the executive produces, it’s an intriguing new take on this well-worn genre that’s worth a look.
The Outsider (HBO, January 12)
Another Stephen King project, this haunting miniseries is also based on a King novel of the same name about a popular teacher and Little League coach Terry Maitland who is arrested and charged with raping, mutilating, and killing an 11-year-old boy. He maintains his innocence, but the town turns against him as he continues to fight the charges and those who know him try to rectify the conflicting evidence. With Ben Mendelsohn (Spider-Man: Far From Home) playing Detective Ralph Anderson and Jason Bateman (Ozark) playing Maitland, this will be a must-watch whodunit thriller.
Messiah (Netflix, January 1)
Perfect for a New Year’s Day binge, this thriller stars Mehdi Dehbi (Mary Queen of Scots), Tomer Sisley (Rabin, the Last Day), Michelle Monaghan (Mission Impossible – Fallout), and John Ortiz (Kong: Skull Island) and is about the modern world’s reaction to a man who claims to be the eschatological return of Jesus, or Mahdi. He can seemingly grant miracles and thus is able to garner a large following of desperate believers. Is he a cult leader? A con man? A true messiah? Whoever he is, there are plenty of people suspicious of his actions in this apocalyptic new series.
Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer (Amazon Prime Video, January 31)
True crime enthusiasts will be gobbling this one up. It’s a docuseries that features the serial killer’s former girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall and her daughter Molly speaking out for the first time after 40 years of silence. They share their experiences with the charming killer and reveal some new and unsettling details about their life. While there have been plenty of documentaries and movies about the shockingly evil and brutal killer, this one should offer a completely different perspective with never-before-seen family photos and supposedly new details.
