Five Shows Premiering in January that We Want to Watch
The new year will bring plenty of new TV shows. Here are five premieres in January that we have our eyes on for at least a trial run.
Although most TV shows are currently undergoing that dreadful new custom known as the winter hiatus, it’s never too early to start planning your post-hiatus TV watching schedule. Well, technically speaking, we’re heading into the perfect time to start planning, since December is almost over. When January rolls around, we’ll need to contend with the returns of shows like How to Get Away with Murder and Supergirl, but also fold in some new shows to fill out the rotation. To that end, we’ve picked out five series premiering next month that we’d like to watch.
Victoria
With Poldark off of our screens, PBS has brought another historical drama from across the pond to fill some time on its Masterpiece block. The official website promises us seven episodes, an example of British miniseries’ odd episode counts at its finest. At least we aren’t dealing with another Sherlock-esque season. Jenna Coleman plays Queen Victoria during her early years as queen. As you can see from the above trailer, the costuming is naturally gorgeous and the hairstyles massive. Rufus Sewell and Tom Hughes help fill out the cast as Lord Melbourne and Prince Albert, respectively.
Victoria premieres on PBS on Jan. 15.
Frontier
This one’s a Netflix show, and we all know that Netflix can be quite weird about dropping trailers for its new series. (We’re looking at you, The OA.) What we do know about Frontier is that it’s a period drama dealing with the North American fur trade of the 1700s. What we also know is that Jason Momoa is involved, which means yours truly will give it a look just to see him get some more lines before we have to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for whatever Aquaman and Justice League do with him.
Frontier premieres on Netflix on Jan. 20.
The Young Pope
We don’t quite know what to make of The Young Pope other than it’s Jude Law playing a young, controversial pope who does some decidedly un-pope-like things in the trailer alone. Presumably, this will lead to things like drama. Additionally, Diane Keaton plays an American nun named Sister Mary. This is an HBO show, so we expect things to get very HBO-like (with all the attendant implications) in this miniseries. If nothing else, the visuals are absolutely gorgeous.
The Young Pope premieres on Jan. 15.
Taboo
Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott teamed up for Taboo, which had us intrigued from the word go. However, then we saw the above trailer and got some more information. FX describes the premise as going a little something like this: James Keziah Delaney (Hardy), believed dead, returns to London in 1814 as the inheritor of his father’s diminished company. However, rebuilding everything will be tougher than it seems. This show’s also a home for a couple of ex-Game of Thrones actors: Oona Chaplin (Talisa Stark) and Jonathan Pryce (The High Sparrow) are both part of the cast.
Taboo premieres Jan. 10.
Riverdale
We all need a show that’s a bit of a trainwreck in our lives. We think Riverdale can fill that niche nicely. (Look, we’ve already called the show “ridiculous“, and this new trailer hasn’t changed our minds.) Anyways, this series puts the Archie Comics characters into a CW-style mash of romance, vaguely unhealthy relationships (Archie has a thing with the suddenly-young Ms. Grundy, who’s still his teacher), and drama. This one comes in the form of the murder of Jason Blossom, Cheryl Blossom’s twin brother. We can hear the horn, but we can look away.
Riverdale premieres Jan. 26 on The CW.
Next: 11 Shows to Watch to Combat Holiday Blues
Additionally, we’re keeping an eye on Fox’s Star, NBC’s Emerald City, and Amazon’s Z: The Beginning of Everything for January. What’s your viewing schedule look like?