Emmy Griffiths
There are some amazing shows coming out in 2021 - and we have put together our top picks
While 2020 saw plenty of TV shows filming schedules interrupted due to worldwide lockdowns, it looks like we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in 2021! With plenty of brand new shows set to air and land on streaming services, check out our top picks here...
WandaVision - Disney+
We reckon this weird Disney+ limited series might be one of 2021's biggest hits. Set inside a TV world, the story follows Avengers' Wanda and Vision as they live a picture-perfect life together... where nothing is at all as it seems.
WATCH: WandaVision is coming to Disney+ in January
Landscapers - NOW TV/Sky
Inspired by true events, Olivia Colman is back on our screens as Susan, a woman who manages to go ten years undetected after murdering her parents and burying them in her back garden. The synopsis reads: "This blackly comic, narratively playful true-crime drama is based on extensive research, hours of interviews and direct access to the accused, who have always protested their innocence of murder."
A Discovery of Witches season two - NOW TV/Sky
After the events on season one, Diana and Matthew find themselves back in Elizabethan times as their friends continue without them in the present day. But so long as there is still witchcraft, monsters and plenty of romance, we're all for the change of period setting!
Matthew and Diana are back - and we can't wait for their next adventure
Conversations with Friends - BBC
Following the massive success that was Normal People, Sally Rooney's second novel is being adapted for a series by the same team behind the romantic tale of Connell and Marianne. This one looks at the friendship between Frances and Bobbi, and their subsequent relationship. Frankly, we can't wait for another sweet story from these master storytellers!
MORE: Normal People fans have mixed response to second series
Death in Paradise season ten - BBC
Everyone's favourite murder mystery series is back, and it's celebrating its tenth season by welcoming back characters including Florence Cassell and DI Richard Poole to the show! Guest stars also include Jason Manford and Kelvin Fletcher - and we can't wait to find out more about their roles!
Ben Miller will return for season ten
Loki - Disney+
Tom Hiddleston returns as Loki in an alternate timeline from the other Loki, who was killed at the hands of Thanos in Infinity War. Having eluded death in the events of End Game, Loki finds himself in a strange new world. Intrigued? So are we.
Sex Education season three - Netflix
After a heartbreaking cliffhanger, fans of this Netflix comedy hit are keen to return to the strange, somewhat American high school in which our favourite characters attend. So will Maeve and Otis finally get it together? Are Eric and Adam officially an item now? How will Jean deal with her baby news? Roll on season three already!
Will our questions be answered in season three?
Line of Duty season six - BBC
After pausing filming early this year due to COVID, it's fair to say that the nation's appetite for AC-12 is at an all-time high. Presumably, this season will see them caring about one thing and one thing only: catching bent coppers.
The Handmaid's Tale season four - Channel 4
Finally we are returning to the world of Gilead (and it's neighbour, Canada!) to check in with June, Emily and Moira. In the season three finale, June is badly hurt after managing to smuggle out dozens of children - and we're pretty sure the repercussions will be severe, while Emily still struggled to find her place in Canada with the help of Moira.
Elisabeth Moss returns for season two
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Disney+
With Steve Rodgers' story now complete, the action continues with his two squabbling best friends, Sam and Bucky. While the trailer doesn't give much away about the storyline, it looks like this superhero team-up might be the best one yet.
The Pembrokeshire Murders - ITV
This three-part series stars The Hobbit star Luke Evans and follows the reopened investigation into the murders of Richard and Helen Thomas and Peter and Gwenda Dixon in the 1980s, and how it centred on a former Bullseye quiz show contestant.
Luke Evans stars
Cobra Kai season three - Netflix
This sleeper hit will be returning for a third season, much to the delight of its passionate fanbase. The show takes place 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, where a now-successful Daniel LaRusso struggles to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of Mr. Miyagi.
Nine Perfect Strangers - Hulu in the US, TBC in the UK
Nicole Kidman continues her pitch-perfect foray into television with another novel adaptation from the author of Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty. The story follows a group of people who meet at a wellness retreat, completely unaware of the truth behind their stay. Melissa McCarthy and Luke Evans are also set to star.
Nicole Kidman is on fire at the moment!
My Name is Lizzie - Channel 4
This upcoming true-crime drama looks at the true story of the murder of Rachel Nickell in 1992, and how the police sent officer Lizzie Jones to go undercover to become sexual bait for their prime suspect.
The Serpent - BBC
The upcoming Jenna Coleman drama is based on real-life events, and the BBC synopsis reads: "The Serpent tells the remarkable story of how the conman and murderer Charles Sobhraj was brought to justice. Posing as a gem dealer, Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc travelled across Thailand, Nepal and India in 1975 and 1976, carrying out a spree of crimes on the Asian ‘Hippie Trail’ and becoming the chief suspects in a series of murders of young Western travellers."
Jenna Coleman stars
It's a Sin - Channel 4
From Years and Years creator Russell T. Davies comes this new five-part drama about a group of gay men living in London, who are hit by the outbreak of the AIDs in the 1980s. Speaking about the series, Channel 4 said: "Ritchie, Roscoe and Colin are young lads, strangers at first, leaving home at 18 and heading off to London in 1981 with hope and ambition and joy… and walking straight into a plague that most of the world ignores.
MORE: 10 most googled shows of 2020 revealed - did you watch them all?
"Year by year, episode by episode, their lives change, as the mystery of a new virus starts as a rumour, then a threat, then a terror, and then something that binds them together in the fight."
The Great - Channel 4
After hearing plenty of buzz about this new series starring Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning, it hasn't aired on UK television yet - until now! The comedy follows Elle as Catherine the Great and Nicholas as her husband, the Emperor. Expect the unexpected with this wacky period drama.
Elle stars as Catherine the Great
Inventing Anna - Netflix
From Shondaland comes this real-life story of how a woman named Anna Delvey managed to con New York's high society by pretending to be a wealthy heiress in a stranger-than-fiction tale.
You season three - Netflix
Hello you. Season three of the hit Netflix show sees Joe settled down with the psychopath mother of his unborn child, Love. Of course, he already has his eye on his next victim, his next-door neighbour. So what will the serial killer get up to next?
The charming serial killer is back in You season three
Intergalatic - NOW TV/Sky
Fan of sci-fi? This upcoming series tells the story of fearless young cop and galactic pilot, Ash Harper, whose promising career is destroyed after being wrongly convicted of a treasonous crime and exiled to a distant prison colony, where there is a mutiny in the works...
Vigil - BBC
Starring Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie, and written by Tom Edge, who has previously penned episodes in shows including The Crown and Strike, the official synopsis for the six-part series reads: "The mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on-board a Trident nuclear submarine bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services.
"DCI Amy Silva leads an investigation on land and at sea into a conspiracy that threatens the very heart of Britain’s nuclear deterrent."
Shaun Evans also stars in this new drama
Temple season two - NOW TV/Sky
In round two of this drama, Daniel is in deeper trouble after his world comes crashing down as Beth wakes from her coma and demands answers. Eve wants to know why her parents have been lying to her, Lee joins forces with a charismatic activist and Anna is desperate to make something positive out of the situation, even if that means luring patients to the bunker for some illegal trials.
The Pursuit of Love - BBC
Lily James is set to play Linda Radlett in the adaptation of the beloved novel. The synopsis reads: "Set in Europe between the two World Wars, the story follows the adventures and misadventures of the charismatic and fearless Linda Radlett... and her best friend and cousin Fanny Logan.
MORE: Downton Abbey star Lily James stuns with incredible 1940s makeover
Are you looking forward to this one?
Grace - ITV
Life on Mars star John Simm will star as detective Roy Grace in the adaptation of Peter James’ bestselling series of novels based on a hard-working police officer who has "given his life to the job". The two-part series, in which both episodes will be feature-length at 120 minutes apiece, will cover the novels Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead.
Time - BBC
In the upcoming prison drama, Sean Bean plays Mark, a convict who befriends prison officer Eric, played by Line of Duty star Stephen Graham. The official synopsis reads: "Mark Cobden is consumed by guilt after accidentally killing an innocent man.
"Accepting his four-year sentence and separated from his family, he meets Eric McNally, a caring prison officer doing his best to protect those in his charge. However when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice; between his principles and his family."
Got to love Stephen in a police drama!
Behind Her Eyes - Netflix
The synopsis for his psychological six-part thriller reads: "Since her husband walked out, Louise has made her son her world, supporting them both with her part-time job in a psychiatrist’s office. Her world is thrown off kilter when she begins an affair with her new boss David and matters take an even stranger turn when she’s drawn into an unlikely friendship with his wife Adele.
"What starts as an unconventional love triangle soon becomes a dark, psychological tale of suspense and twisted revelations, as Louise finds herself caught in a dangerous web of secrets where nothing and no-one is what they seem."
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