The Greatest Dancer

BBC One

 

Alesha Dixon and Diversity’s Jordan Banjo are set to present Syco Entertainment’s latest talent show The Greatest Dancer for BBC One.

Airing on Saturday nights, the series will see singer Cheryl, Glee star Matthew Morrison and Strictly professional Oti Mabuse searching for the nation’s most talented dancers. The power lies with the studio audience who vote to decide whether the act should go through the next round. Those who win at least 75% of the audience vote will go through to the call backs.

Dark Mon£y

BBC One

Babou Ceesay (Our Loved Boy) and Jill Halfpenny (Three Girls) lead BBC One’s upcoming four-part drama, Dark Mon£y, about the effects of sexual assault.

Centred on The Mensah family from North London, Dark Mon£y follows Isaac, the youngest child, who reveals that he was abused by a well-known filmmaker. The family reluctantly accepts a large pay-off, which unexpectedly leads to dark consequences for the working-class family.

A Confession

ITV

Martin Freeman (Sherlock) and Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter) star in new ITV drama A Confession. Based on true events, Freeman will play detective Steve Fulcher who lost his career when he breached police protocol to catch a killer.

The series follows the real-life investigation into the disappearance of Sian O’Callaghan, a 22 year old woman from Swindon and the subsequent arrest of serial killer Christopher Halliwell.

Temple

Sky One

Inspired by the hit Norwegian series Valkyrien, Temple stars Mark Strong (The Kingsmen) as Daniel, a gifted doctor with an illegal clinic hidden beneath Temple tube station in London.

While offering medical help outside the system, Daniel tries to manage his dysfunctional team, and his own troubled personal life.

Brassic

Sky One

Sky’s edgy new comedy, written by Joe Gilgun (This is England) and Danny Brocklehurst (Shameless),  is centred around a group of working class northerners.

Brassic follows Vinnie (Joe Gilgun) a young man from Lancashire with bipolar disorder and his incredibly smart best friend Dylan (Damien Molony), as well as mates Cardi, Ash, Tommo and JJ.

Having mostly scammed their way through life thus far, the group suddenly find themselves on the brink of adulthood and having to deal with the consequences.

The Central Park Five

Netflix

Written and directed by Ava DuVernay, The Central Park Five exposes the failings of the criminal justice system during an historical case.

Based on one of the most infamous crimes of the 1980s, the documentary is a deep dive into the racially charged firestorm that followed the sexual assault of Trisha Meili in 1989.  Five black teenagers were arrested for the assault, only to be proven innocent after serving 13 years in prison.

Jinn

Netflix

Netflix’s first Arabic-language series, Jinn, will air next year. Set in Jordan, in the ancient city of Petra, the teen drama follows a group of friends who are tested when they unknowingly summon a supernatural creature into their midst.

The six-part series follows rebellious Mira who meets Keras, the jinn (a mythological creature) tasked with guarding vigilante jinns, and learns to love again following the death of her mother.

Sex Education

Netflix

Another coming-of-age drama coming to Netflix in the new year, this time from the UK, Sex Education stars Gillian Anderson and follows a group of teenagers as they fumble through their first sexual encounters.

Otis Thompson (Asa Butterfield) is a virgin, but due to having sex therapist mum, who is shamelessly open with her son, he knows a lot more than the average teen. Thompson teams up with the street-smart Maeve to open an underground therapy clinic for their school mates.

Brexit: The Uncivil War

Channel 4

 

Brexit: The Uncivil War, created by Coalition writer James Graham, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Dominic Cummings, the lead strategist for the Vote Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum. Joining him is Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game) who will play Craig Oliver, David Cameron’s former director of communications.

Based on first-hand accounts from individuals from both the Leave and Remain camps, the political drama aims to expose exactly how the Brexit vote was won.

Moon Landing Live

Channel 4

Channel 4 will commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing with several short films and two documentaries, as well as online digital content.

The multi-platform television event will recreate a viewing experience similar to what viewers had in 1969, using news archives, testimonies and exclusive footage from NASA.

Noughts + Crosses

BBC One

The much-anticipated adaption of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts + Crosses stars Peaky Blinders’ actor Jack Rowan and newcomer Masali Baduza.

The series is set in a dystopian world where citizens are divided by the colour of their skin and the black ruling class enjoy a privileged life. Childhood friends Callum and Sephy must fight for their blossoming love despite their clashing identities.

Big Little Lies

HBO

Big Little Lies is returning for a second season with Meryl Streep joining Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Zoe Kravitz.

Based on the novel of the same name, the female-led series ended its first season with a murder and will continue to delve deep into the hectic lives of five mothers whose lives aren’t as perfect as it seems.

Fleabag

BBC Three

Also returning for a second season is Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s dark sitcom Fleabag about a broken woman with a dysfunctional family and a failing business. 

Sherlock’s Andrew Scott will join the cast, which includes Waller-Bridge, Olivia Colman and Hugh Skinner. The BBC drama’s first season revealed Fleabag’s (Waller-Bridge) deep rooted issues and the myriad ways she filled the void. “We can’t go back to pretending she’s fine again,” said producer Lydia Hampson on the upcoming series. 

Englistan

BBC Two

New BBC drama Englistan, created by Four Lions actor Riz Ahmed, follows three generations of a British Pakistani family over four turbulent decades.

Over nine episodes the stories of the Latifs - Jamal and Fatima, their children Ashraf, Razia and Asim, and their grandchildren Zahed, Naseem and Ayesha - will all unfold as they try to assimilate and follow their dreams. The series will cover various political movements, economic booms and busts and the family’s personal soul-searching attempts.

Good Omens

Amazon Prime / BBC Two

 

David Tennant and Michael Sheen star in Good Omens, an adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s fantasy novel.

Co-produced with the BBC, the series is set in 2018 as the world prepares for a looming apocalypse. Tennant will play Crowley, a demon who teams up with Aziraphale the angel (Sheen) to try and stop the end of the world.

Cleaning Up

ITV

ITV’s newest drama Cleaning Up stars Sheridan Smith as Sam, a single mother and office cleaning lady who gets caught up in the world of gambling and insider trading.

The six-part drama follows Sam as she attempts to take advantage of her access to powerful stock market information to fight for custody of her two daughters.

Game of Thrones

Sky

The hit fantasy series Game of Thrones is returning for its eighth season for the final battle of Westeros and the fight against the White Walkers.

Set to return in April, the series will pick up from where it left off, following the White Walkers march towards the south and the revelation of Jon Snow’s true identity.

Gentleman Jack

BBC One

Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones) and Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster) lead Sally Wainwright’s upcoming BBC period drama Gentleman Jack based on the life of one of the most remarkable women of the 19^th century.

Jones will play Regency landowner Anne Lister, who made the first recorded ascent of Mount Perdu in the 19^th century, studied brain surgery in Paris and married another women in 1834.

Dancing on Ice

ITV

Looking for a dance show to replace Strictly Come Dancing? Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are returning to host ITV’S Dancing on Ice with a celebrity-packed line-up in January.

World Champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Diversity’s Ashley Banjo and choreographer Jason Gardiner will be judging the celebs’ skills and crowning 2019’s ice skating champion.

Gold Digger

BBC

Gold Digger, BBC’s domestic noir drama, stars Julia Ormond (Sabrina) and Ben Barnes (The Punisher) and follows a romantic relationship between an older woman and a man 26 years her junior.

Written by Marnie Dickens (Thirteen), the six-part series tells the story of 60-year-old Julia Day (Ormond) who falls in love with 34-year-old Benjamin (Barnes), to the detriment of her already damaged family.

Catastrophe

Channel 4

Channel 4’s sharp and witty comedy Catastrophe is returning for its fourth and final season, following the struggles of accidental parents Rob (Rob Delaney) and Sharon (Sharon Horgan).

Following on from Rob’s (Delaney) relapse into alcoholism, creator Sharon Horgan revealed that the upcoming series will explore the reality of sex in long-term relationships, and will also reflect on Carrie Fisher’s death, who played Delaney’s mother in the sitcom.

Our Planet

Netflix

 

David Attenborough’s newest nature documentary, Our Planet, is coming to Netflix and will “take viewers on a spectacular journey of discovery showcasing the beauty and fragility of our natural world,” according to Attenborough.

Filmed over four years in 50 different countries, the series delves into the world of animal habitats across the globe, from the Arctic wilderness to the jungles of South America.

Beecham House

ITV

Tom Bateman (Jekyll and Hyde), Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey), Gregory Fitoussi (Mr Selfridge) are set to lead ITV’s period drama Beecham House.

Set in India on the cusp of the 19^th century, just before the British ruled Delhi, the series follows John Beecham (Bateman), an enigmatic former soldier as he tries to escape his troubled past in pursuit of a quiet family life.

Flack

UKTV

Set in the fast-paced world of celebrity PR, where bizarre situations can occur, new drama Flack will air on W and stars Academy Award winner Anna Paquin (True Blood).

It follows an American PR executive (Paquin) in London protecting wayward celebrity clients from going viral for all the wrong reason, while also dealing with her own personal flaws.

The cast also includes Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Lydia Wilson (Black Mirror), Rebecca Benson (Game of Thrones) and Arinze Kene (Crazyhead).

Stranger Things

Netflix

 

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Will (Noah Schnapp) are all back this summer for the third season of supernatural hit Stranger Things.

After surviving the demodogs and saving Will, Hawkins and its residents face another mysterious threat when newcomer Robin (Maya Thurman-Hawke) uncovers a dark secret.