Netflix

This is according to the screenwriter behind The Crown, Peter Morgan, whose lavish retelling of the early years of the reign of Elizabeth II, commissioned by Netflix, has won widespread acclaim.    

Morgan, speaking at an RTS early evening event, The Crown: Deconstructing The Coronation, predicted a paradigm shift as streaming, rather than broadcasting becomes the norm.    

“It really isn’t like television anymore. It’s absolutely overwhelming. It’s partly the way in which we make it is not like television.

There are many people wanting to see the back of 2016, and what better way to start the beginning of the year than getting stuck into a new television series. 

Here are some of the best picks for the new year.

The show follows the talented Baudelaire orphans Violet, Klaus and Sunny on a series of pretty awful and mysterious encounters with Count Olaf, who is insistent on stealing their inherited fortune. Neil Patrick Harris stars as the terrifying Olaf in Netflix's adaptation of Daniel Handler's international best-selling children's novel, with Patrick Warburton, Joan Cusack and Alfre Woodard also co-starring.

A large broadcasting symposium will be held in New York at the beginning of next month, but the state of TV drama, the rise of Netflix or the impact of mega-mergers on the media landscape are unlikely to be mentioned.

This symposium, called by the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), is devoted entirely to the growing threat that broadcasters around the world face from cybercrime and the hacking of their networks.

It’s rare for Yorkshire town Whitby to make the national press – unless, of course, there’s been a flood – but wherever Jeremy Clarkson goes, the world follows. Amazon’s impending launch of The Grand Tour is one of the most globally anticipated series of all time.

Jay Marine, vice-president of Amazon Prime Video Europe, says: “It is a huge TV moment, not only for us but for UK TV generally.”

Is Netflix set on “world domination”? That was one of the themes in this intriguing encounter between the company’s Chief Content Officer, Ted Sarandos, and Francine Stock, presenter of Radio 4’s The Film Programme. Since a huge expansion across the globe in January, only China, North Korea, Crimea and Syria remain outside the streaming service’s worldwide reach. 

Comedian Hugh Dennis aired the thoughts of many trying to navigate the new television landscape when he introduced this session. In a video diary shown to conference delegates, he was seen stuck inside a room for a month. His task was to watch all the content available to modern audiences. 

“Watching telly used to be so easy,” he complained. “Four channels, maybe five – everyone watched the same thing in the same place at the same time, unless your family was at the cutting edge of technology and had a VCR.” 

Robozuna will premiere on CITV early in 2018, before being made available on the SVoD service across the world. 

The show follows 14-year-old Ariston and his robot sidekick Mangle as they battle evil robot centurions to free a nation from the tyrannical empire.

Steve Green, Executive Vice President of Kids Content and Distribution for ITV Studios Global Entertainment said the show combines "cinematic production values" with "warm and relatable characters and action-packed storylines, as well as a rich and diverse play pattern".

When the latest project from multiple Oscar nominees Peter Morgan (The Queen) and Stephen Daldry (The Reader) reaches audiences in November, it won’t be in cinemas.

Morgan has created and written The Crown, an extended biopic on the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Daldry is the executive producer and has directed an episode of the show. The series begins with Elizabeth’s marriage in 1947 and aims to recount the story of her life until the present day.