The 50 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2019 - Page 2 of 5

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40. “The Virtues”
Synopsis: A troubled man returns to Ireland to confront the demons of his childhood in the care system.
What You Need To Know: It’s now ten years since Shane Meadows made a feature film (excluding his 2013 Stone Roses documentary), and U.S. fans of the director’s work might be wondering where he went. But Meadows has actually been busy with three excellent sequel miniseries to his big-screen masterpiece “This Is England,” culminating with 2015’s “This Is England ’90.” That series has now wrapped up, but Meadows has reteamed with star Stephen Graham and ever-busy co-writer Jack Thorne (this is the first of three series he has on this list) for this new four-part miniseries. It sounds like it’ll go to even darker places than “This Is England” did, but Meadows and Graham have always brought out the best in each other, so this should be something very special indeed.
Airdate: Channel 4 will air it in the U.K — no U.S. broadcaster has been announced yet, but expect it to land with Hulu, who aired Thorne’s miniseries “National Treasure” and “Kiri.”

39. “See” (Apple)
Synopsis: In a future where humanity has lost the sense of sight, two twins who are able to see are born.
What You Need To Know: As if there weren’t enough TV streaming services to deal with, 2019 will see the goliath of Apple enter the market at last after years of speculation and planning. It’s still unclear exactly how the shows will be unspooling (possibly just arriving on your phone like a U2 album?), but however they end up being rolled out, one of the most high profile is sure to be sci-fi drama “See.” Created by Steven Knight of “Peaky Blinders” fame, and with “Hunger Games” helmer Francis Lawrence as principal director, it’s got an intriguing, “A Quiet Place”-ish premise, and an A-list star in the shape of Jason Momoa, fresh off “Aquaman” (“Blade Runner 2049” breakout Sylvia Hoeks, Alfre Woodard and “Mortal Engines” lead Hera Hilmar also star). Don’t expect the blood and guts of Momoa’s breakout turn in “Game Of Thrones,” though — like all Apple shows, this’ll be PG-13 material at best.
Airdate: Who knows? Filming took place in the fall so we imagine it’ll be in the back half of the year.

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38. “Black Earth Rising” (Netflix)
Synopsis: When her adoptive mother takes on a case prosecuting a war criminal for his role in the Rwandan genocide, young lawyer Kate begins to embroil a conspiracy.
What You Need To Know: “Black Earth Rising” has an advantage here that no other show on this list has, in that we’ve seen the whole thing already, and know it’s terrific — the series aired on the BBC in the UK late this year, but will roll out on Netflix worldwide early in 2019. It comes from Hugo Blick, perhaps the UK’s pre-eminent TV auteur answer to a David Simon or David Milch, and the man behind the two terrific, if underseen shows “The Shadow Line,” with Chiwetel Ejiofor, and “The Honourable Gentlewoman” with Maggie Gyllenhaal. And the quality hasn’t slipped here: it’s again taking on a difficult, thorny subject, in this case, the Rwandan genocide and the West’s colonial influence on the African continent, but does it with nuance, sensitivity, and genuinely exciting plotting. The cast, led by a revelatory Michaela Coel and a near-career-best John Goodman, are terrific across the board too.
Airdate: January 25th

37. “The Loudest Voice In The Room” (Showtime)
Synopsis: The story of Roger Ailes, who turned Fox News into the most influential broadcaster in America, and his eventual downfall.
What You Need To Know: In one of those strange Capote-ish coincidences, 2019 will bring two major projects focused on disgraced, deceased Fox News chief/corpulent sex pest Roger Ailes. Jay Roach is currently directing John Lithgow, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman in a movie take, but we’re arguably more intrigued by this Jason Blum-produced miniseries. For one, Showtime’s take will take place over eight episodes, giving much more time and space to really examine the sweep of Ailes’ career and how his horrible influence broke America. For another, it’s co-written and overseen by “Spotlight” helmer Tom McCarthy, who feels like the perfect choice for the material (though he won’t be directing: “Handmaid’s Tale” veteran Kari Skogland is the principal on that front). And the cast is movie-grade as well, with Russell Crowe taking on his first TV role as Ailes, and Naomi Watts, Seth MacFarlane, Sienna Miller, Simon McBurney and Annabelle Wallis in support.
Airdate: Didn’t start shooting til November, so the series will likely land in the fall.

36. “Snowpiercer” (TNT)
Synopsis: After a new Ice Age hits the planet, the last of humanity live in a train that circles the planet, divided strictly and brutally by class.
What You Need To Know: Bong Joon-Ho’s “Snowpiercer” was one of the best sci-fi movies of recent times, but its complete mishandling by The Weinstein Company (admittedly only the 1245th worst thing Harvey Weinstein has done) meant that it remains mostly unseen by many (and indeed, completely unreleased in some parts of the world). A TV translation had obvious promise, but this has had almost as troubled a passage to the screen as the source material: original showrunner Josh Friedman parted ways with the show soon after it was ordered to series, and “Doctor Strange” helmer Scott Derrickson, who helmed the pilot and considered it his “best work,” refused to return for reshoots due to the ‘extreme’ nature of the changes brought in by “Orphan Black” showrunner Graeme Mason. But maybe those changes will turn out to be the best? We certainly hope so, as the cast, with Jennifer Connelly, “Blindspotting” star Daveed Diggs, “Frances Ha” actress Mickey Sumner and “The Americans” standout Alison Wright, is intriguing.
Airdate: The reshoots took place in the summer, so it shouldn’t be too far off now. Incidentally, while it’ll air on TNT in the U.S, Netflix will air the show in the rest of the world.

35. “Gangs Of London” (Cinemax)
Synopsis: When a London crime boss is assassinated, a power vacuum emerges between the multi-cultural gangs in the city.
What You Need To Know: Having reinvented the action movie with his two “The Raid” movies, Gareth Evans didn’t quite do the same to the horror film with this year’s “Apostle” (though we quite enjoyed nonetheless). His next move, however, looks to maintain his ambition — bringing his trademark bone-crunching fight scenes to the small screen in a sprawling crime drama with “Gangs Of London.” Evans will direct half the episodes, but he’ll be accompanied by some similarly big names, with “The Nun” helmer Corin Hardy and “The Divide” director Xavier Gens also on board. And the large cast will be led by “Peaky Blinders” actor Joe Cole and “Humans” actor Sope Dirisu, with Lucian Msamati, Michelle Fairley, Mark Lewis Jones, Narges Rashidi and Jing Lusi in support. There will, almost certainly, be blood.
Airdate: Filming just got underway, so it’ll be late next year.

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34. “Chernobyl” (HBO)
Synopsis: The true story of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
What You Need To Know: It was nice not to worry about nuclear disasters for a long time, but with the dipshit currently in the White House, it’s back on the forefront of our minds again, which makes this new HBO miniseries well timed in terms of boosting all our anxieties. Telling the story of the worst nuclear disaster in history, one which cost the lives of nearly 50 people, and left its site unable to be safely inhabited by humans for the next 20,000 years, it comes from the seemingly unlikely pen of “Identity Thief” and “The Hangover Part II” writer Craig Mazin. But anyone familiar with Mazin’s Scriptnotes podcast with John August will know of his intelligence and talent, and this feels like it could be something special, especially with “The Last Panthers” director Johan Renck at the helm, and with a dizzying cast that includes Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson, Jessie Buckley, David Dencik, Fares Fares, Ralph Ineson, Barry Keoghan, Adam Nagaitis and Paul Ritter.
Airdate: Should be good to go soon based on filming dates. We bet HBO get it out before the Emmy consideration window closes.

33. “Years & Years” (HBO)
Synopsis: Following a family in the UK from 2019 through to 15 years in the future, against the rise of a dangerous politician.
What You Need To Know: Few people in TV, at least in the UK, are as bulletproof as Russell T. Davies. He created the groundbreaking “Queer As Folk,” he single-handedly revived “Doctor Who,” and most recently, he penned the terrific, and multi-award-nominated, miniseries “A Very English Scandal.” For his next trip, Davies is coming to HBO (who are co-producing with the BBC) for this ambitious-sounding family drama, which sounds like a blend of “Black Mirror” and the final episode of “Six Feet Under,” set against the political madness of the last few years, and the years to come. Rory Kinnear, Jessica Hynes, Anne Reid, and Russell Tovey make up some of the members of the central family, while Emma Thompson, intriguingly, will play a Trump-ish politician.
Airdate: It shot late last year, so this time next year feels like a good bet.

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32.“Transparent” Season 5 (Amazon)
Synopsis: The continuing story, aftermath and evolution of a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that the person they knew as their father Mort (Jeffrey Tambor) is transgender
What You Need To Know: It helped put Amazon on the map, but “Transparent” has been significantly tarnished in the last few years: in part because seasons three and four fell off a bit in quality, but mainly because of the sexual harassment accusations against star Jeffrey Tambor, which saw Tambor eventually depart the series. There was some speculation that the show could be canceled altogether, but a fifth, and final, season will now arrive, with Tambor’s Maura written off, but the rest of the Pfeffermans staying on. Beyond that, details are under wraps, other than that the final episode will be a feature-length musical, with songs from “Difficult People” actress Shakina Nayfack. Can it restore the show to its glory years?
Airdate: The fall, exact date TBD.

31. “I Am The Night” (TNT)
Synopsis: A young woman given away at birth investigates her origins, discovering grim secrets leading to an infamous Hollywood doctor.
What You Need To Know: Patty Jenkins must feel incredibly vindicated. The filmmaker went over a decade after her excellent first feature “Monster” without getting to make a follow-up: when it came, it was “Wonder Woman,” one of the biggest movies of 2017 and a legitimate critical hit. Jenkins likely had her pick of projects to pursue next, so that she picked this six-part TNT miniseries (ahead of the now-filming “Wonder Woman” sequel) suggests it’s pretty potent material. A true-life story that takes in race, sex scandals, and even the Black Dahlia murder, it’ll reteam her with star Chris Pine, who’ll play a disgraced but crusading journalist, with actress India Eisley in the central role, “The Americans” actor Jefferson Mays as the villain of the piece, and Leland Orser as Pine’s editor. The idea of Jenkins being let loose on a Hollywood noir tale of this kind of substance is hugely exciting, and reviews after an early preview a month or two back were extremely promising.
Airdate: Monday, January 28th on TNT.