Last year's inaugural list went really, really, well so I'm making this a permanent yearly feature. And there's plenty to write about this time around, with a slew of new streaming services offering all sorts of ambitious content. As always, it's difficult to predict exactly when some of these projects are going to premiere, since the gap between announcements and actual availability is way shorter for series than it is for theatrical films. I've actually started keeping my own calendar of premiere dates for upcoming shows to avoid anything slipping through the cracks. All the series listed below are new, but returning shows I'm looking forward to include "Westworld" and "Venture Bros."
To keep things interesting this year, I'm picking one show per network. Notable omissions are notable.
"Star Trek: Picard" - It took me a while to warm up to the idea of a series built around an aged Captain Picard, but after the Comic Con trailer, and all the announcements about returning "Next Generation" cast members, I'm ready to give it a go. I've missed this set of characters since the film series ended inauspiciously with "Nemesis." I'm secretly hoping that an evil Wesley Crusher might be in the mix somewhere down the line. I'm also happily awaiting the return of "Star Trek: Discovery" and keeping an open mind about the "Star Trek: Lower Decks" animated series.
"Brave New World" - I'm interested in this one mostly for its cast. Alden Ehrenreich is set to star as John the Savage, with Harry Lloyd and Jessica Brown Findley in supporting roles, and Demi Moore recurring. I expect this to be more action-oriented genre fare than thoughtful dystopian drama, considering the recent credits of the producers, but it could still be fun. The development history of the project is pretty interesting, with the original plans being for it to be a series for Syfy. Then it was going to be on the USA Network. Now it seems poised to be one of the first originals on NBC Universal's new Peacock streaming service.
"Devs" - Alex Garland's latest sci-fi project is a miniseries for FX starring Sonoya Mizuno and a sinister Nick Offerman. It's being billed as a techno thriller with some sci-fi elements, in the same vein as Garland's "Ex Machina." Garland has discussed determinism and AI being major themes. My hope is that this will be something similar to "The Circle," but with a brain and maybe some nice action sequences. This was supposed to be a 2019 title, but it was pushed back to 2020, apparently to give the production more time. My guess is that they were also looking to avoid competition from a very crowded winter season.
"The Undoing" - A couple of interesting projects are percolating over at HBO, but the one that I think has the best prospects is a miniseries based on the novel "You Should Have Known," starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. The plot involves a psychiatrist who learns her husband may be a murderer. Susanne Bier is directing and David E. Kelley is scripting, putting this right in line with HBO's recent spate of female-led prestige melodramas, like "Big Little Lies" and "Sharp Objects." Frankly, all of Kidman and Grant's best roles lately have been in television projects, so I'm sure they'll both knock it out of the park again in this one.
"Cowboy Bebop" - The closer and closer this one comes to actually getting made, the more intrigued I am by it. I like the idea of John Cho leading a multi-racial cast playing space bounty hunters. I like that the Netflix show is probably not going to resemble the anime much. I love "Cowboy Bebop" to pieces, but there's no way we're ever getting a continuation, and there's no reason why a live action riff on the material shouldn't be made. "Bebop" is all about jazz, after all, and jazz is all about putting your own spin on what came before. And I respect Netflix for actually getting the project made, after years of a Hollywood version being bounced around other studios.
"The Wheel of Time" - I write this entry for my old friend K, who spent most of our high school years with his nose buried on one of these books. Honestly, I'd written off Amazon Prime for a while, but they're coming off a very strong year, and have several very ambitious projects in the works. This is one of them, based on a fourteen-book epic fantasy series with a very dedicated fanbase. The Sony produced adaptation will star Rosamund Pike and began production a few months ago. There's a good chance that we won't see this before the end of the year, but we'll definitely see it before that "Lord of the Rings" series.
"Penny Dreadful: City of Angels" - Again, I was wary of this one, especially after the original "Penny Dreadful" ended with that exasperating third season. Still, hope springs eternal, I suppose. It helps that this series is an entirely different animal, with a totally different location, time period, cast, and premise. Instead of Victorian monsters, City of Angels will be set in 1938 and use Mexican-American folklore for its supernatural elements. So far there's only one returning actor, Rory Kinnear, who will be in a different role.
Happy watching!
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