10. “Little Fires Everywhere” (Hulu)
Synopsis: The intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives, exploring the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
What You Need To Know: Based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 novel of the same name, Hulu’s eight-part, 1990s-set miniseries stars Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson (“When They See Us,” “The Affair”), and Rosemarie DeWitt (“Your Sister’s Sister”). Nzingha Stewart (Netflix’s “Tall Girl”) directs. Witherspoon also produces the series through her production shingle Hello Sunshine. After the strangely anticlimactic disappointment that was AppleTV+’s “The Morning Show,” we’re hoping that this next Witherspoon project actually meets everyone’s fairly high expectations.
Airdate: March 18.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7gBZU4ksC4
9. “Fargo” Season 4 (FX)
Synopsis: Set in Kansas City in the 1950s, the upcoming fourth installment of FX’s “Fargo” will focus on the conflict between two feuding crime syndicates: one Italian, one African-American.
What You Need To Know: It feels like forever since the last season of FX’s anthological Coen Brothers pastiche. Creator and showrunner Noah Hawley has been otherwise engaged for the last few years, working on his second FX show, “Legion,” as well as that Natalie Portman astronaut movie that fell off the face of the Earth at the end of 2019. But “Fargo” returns in 2020 with the tantalizing proposition of Chris Rock playing the head of an organized crime family opposite Timothy Olyphant playing a character called Dick ‘Deafy’ Wickware. Also starring in Season 4 are Jessie Buckley, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Whishaw, and Uzo Aduba.
Airdate: TBD 2020.
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1214937821141536768
8. “Succession” Season 3 (HBO)
Synopsis: The uber-rich Roy family must deal with the fallout of Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) going rogue on his father Logan (Brian Cox).
What You Need To Know: “Succession” was one of the best — and buzziest — shows of 2019, and for good reason. Season 2 built on the already-excellent first season with a run full of intrigue, comedy, and truly repulsive behavior. For a show about awful people, “Succession” is always a ton of fun to watch, and it’s never easy waiting a full week — let alone a year — for the next episode to air. Perhaps the closest thing we currently have to a real water-cooler series, Adam McKay and Jesse Armstrong’s critical juggernaut is one of the best shows currently on TV. Season 4 is right up there with the most anticipated shows of 2020.
Airdate: Likely late summer 2020, as was the case with the first two seasons.
7. “We Are Who We Are” (HBO)
Synopsis: A coming-of-age story about two American 14-year-olds living in Italy. The series focuses on friendship, first love and all the unknowns of being a teenager.
What You Need To Know: Written, directed, and produced by “Call Me By Your Name” and “Suspiria” filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, this eight-episode HBO miniseries about American teens in Italy stars a cast of unknown actors, as well as Chloë Sevigny, Kid Cudi, and, for some reason, Francesca Scorsese. In recent years Guadagnino has demonstrated his capacity to work well in all sorts of genres, from romance to body-horror to outright comedy. But there does seem to be a “coming-of-age” theme stretching across most of his work, so we’ll be interested to see what he does with a show that explicitly bills itself as such.
Airdate: TBD 2020.
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1151897701862088704
6. “Cortes” (Amazon)
Synopsis: The story of legendary conqueror Hernan Cortes, who led a rebellious expedition to the heart of King Montezuma II’s Aztec empire, connecting two civilizations for the first time and changing the course of history.
What You Need To Know: Amazon’s upcoming four-hour epic about famed Spanish explorer Herman Cortes comes from the minds of Steven Spielberg and his “Schindler’s List” writer Steven Zaillian. The series, written by Zaillian, is based on a Dalton Trumbo script from 1965, which was originally intended to star Kirk Douglas in the title role. Trumbo’s project never materialized, and now Spielberg and co. have adapted his script into a limited series to star Javier Bardem. The series will be directed by Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallegos, who together helmed 2018’s acclaimed Columbian film “Birds of Passage.” It’s hard to imagine a more qualified group of people coming together to make this particular series. Suffice it to say that we are very excited about this one.
Airdate: TBD 2020
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/978656905450041344
5. “Small Axe” (BBC)
Synopsis: A look at the lives of a group of friends and their families living in West London from 1968 to 2014.
What You Need To Know: 2020 is really looking to be the year of prestige, Oscar-winning filmmakers making their TV debuts. Steve McQueen, director of such landmark films as “12 Years a Slave” and “Shame,” creates and directs the BBC’s “Small Axe,” a six-part, multi-generational anthology series set within London’s West Indian community. He has assembled an impressive cast led by heavyweights John Boyega (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) and Letitia Wright (“Black Panther”). McQueen is coming off a mild disappointment in “Widows,” so it will be all the more interesting to see what he does with his follow-up.
Airdate: It’s shot, in the can and first-look photos were revealed fall 2019, so likely coming by Spring or Summer.
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1214945094844813312
4. “Hunters” (Amazon)
Synopsis: A diverse band of Nazi hunters living in 1977 New York City discovers that hundreds of high-ranking Nazi officials are living among us and conspiring to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S. The plan is to wipe them out before they begin.
What You Need To Know: It’s never been a more appropriate time for what seems to essentially be “Al Pacino: Nazi Hunter” by Jordan Peele. But not even a package that enticing could have fully prepared us for the majesty that is this teaser (“This is not murder. This is mitzvah” is already iconic). Also starring Carol Kane, Dylan Baker, Saul Rubinek, Lena Olin and Percy Jackson himself Logan Lerman, “Hunters” seems primed to break out as a timely thriller about opposition to fascism and antisemitism.
Airdate: February 21
3. “The Eddy” (Netflix)
Synopsis: The story is set in contemporary multicultural Paris and revolves around a club, its owner, the house band and the volatile city that surrounds them.
What You Need To Know: “The Eddy” sees “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle teaming up with prolific British writer Jack Thorne (“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Wonder”) and returning to his musical roots. Andre Holland (notable for, among other things, his fantastic performance on Steven Soderbergh’s masterpiece “The Knick”) stars as Elliot Udo, a celebrated jazz pianist from New York City who now resides in Paris and owns a failing jazz club. The show explores Elliot’s relationship with the lead singer of his club’s house band, as well as his 15-year-old daughter. With a remarkable supporting cast including Joanna Kulig, Amandla Stenberg, and Tahar Rahim, “The Eddy” is sure to make a splash when it hits Netflix.
Airdate: TBD 2020
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1217089067864797186
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/903635070996512768
2. “Devs” (FX)
Synopsis: A young computer engineer investigates the secretive development division of her employer, a cutting-edge tech company based in San Francisco, which she believes is behind the disappearance of her boyfriend.
What You Need To Know: If you liked “Ex Machina,” this is the series for you. From Alex Garland, director of that film (and of the overlooked “Annihilation,”) “Devs” will undoubtedly explore the relationship between humanity and technology in new and exciting ways. During the New York Comic-Con panel for the show, Garland said as much: “[The idea for ‘Devs’] started with two things. One was getting my head around this principle of determinism, which basically says everything that happens in the world is based on cause and effect… That has all kinds of implications for us: It takes away free will. And if you had a computer powerful enough, you could predict the future and understand the past.” This is very much in keeping with the themes explored in Garland’s previous work. There’s been a lot of secrecy surrounding “Devs”, and we’re excited to finally see it.
Airdate: Spring 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cLuA04e2Q0
1. “The Underground Railroad” (Amazon)
Synopsis: In an alternate America, a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia, boards the underground train, embarking on a harrowing trip, state by state, as she seeks true freedom while being hunted by a notorious slave catcher.
What You Need To Know: The arrival of any new Barry Jenkins project is always going to be a major event. The lauded filmmaker is on an unparalleled roll, coming off of the acclaimed and award-winning features “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Jenkins is set to direct all seven episodes of Amazon’s alternate-reality racial drama, and he has assembled an incredibly enticing cast including William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place,”) Joel Edgerton (“The King,”) and Damon Herriman (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”). The prospect of Jenkins bringing his unique cinematic perspective to episodic television for the first time is sure to excite viewers everywhere, not least members of the Television Academy. For all these reasons and more, “The Underground Railroad” is our most anticipated series of 2020.
Airdate: TBD 2020 and it’s unclear if it’s coming this year, but Brad Pitt recently teased it (his Plan B Pictures company is producing) on a recent Marc Maron podcast, so hopefully that means before the year is over.
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/846433451733479425
Honorable Mention: 2020
Now for the regularly scheduled 2020 Honorable Mention list, most of everything we considered for the main list that we just don’t have time for. OK, what didn’t “make” the list, aka got cut for time and space and sanity? Well, glad you asked cause there’s still a lot of good shit to mention. “Never Have I Ever” is Mindy Kaling-made and starring Netflix comedy we should all an eye on as well as the Netflix comedy “Black Excellence” created by and starring Kenya Barris, which also stars Rashida Jones. Also big in 2020, if it indeed arrives this year, will be “Ratched,” a kind of spin-off to Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” that will focus on the titular Nurse Ratched. Ryan Murphy is producing the series for Netflix, and Sarah Paulson stars as the nurse with a supporting cast that includes actors like Finn Wittrock, Judy Davis, Harriet Harris, Cynthia Nixon, Hunter Parrish Amanda Plummer, Corey Stoll, and Sharon Stone. TV producing superstar Shonda Rhimes is making a lot of Netflix moves and the first one that might appear in 2020 is “Inventing Anna” featuring Julia Garner as Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary German heiress who stole the hearts of New York’s social scene – and stole their money as well. Anna Chlumsky co-stars. Also big and notable are “Little America,” an anthology series about the American immigrant experience from executive producers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (“The Big Sick“), Alan Yang (“Master of None“), and Lee Eisenberg (“The Office“) for Apple TV+ which arrives on January 17, and “Bridgerton,” the first Netflix show produced by Shonda Rhimes‘ Shondaland production company (but she’s not writing, FYI), a historical romance series starring Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page with Julie Andrews as the narrator. AMC‘s “Dispatches from Elsewhere,” sounds notable too. An anthology series created by and starring Jason Segel, it’s set for a March 2020 premiere and also features Richard E. Grant, Sally Field, Eve Lindley, and Andre Benjamin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaSsQ6pWH0U
HBO’s “Perry Mason,” executive produced by Robert Downey Jr. and featuring “The Americans” star Matthew Rhys, could be interesting; Cinemax and Gareth Evans of “The Raid” are teaming up for “Gangs Of London,” and that’ll be one to keep an eye on; potentially very big and eyed for our main list, but just missing the cut is “Your Honor,” a big legal drama starring Bryan Cranston and Michael Stuhlbarg for Showtime; Netflix also has the fantasy drama “Shadow & Bone” coming from the producers of “Stranger Things” and the screenwriter of “Arrival“; Ben Stiller directs “Severance” for Apple TV+ and Adam Scott stars; Sophia Lillis from “It” and “Sharp Objects” will star in ” I Am Not Okay with This,” a Netflix show from “The End Of The Fu*cking World” director and comic creator; Cynthia Eviro will star in “Genius: Aretha” about Aretha Franklin; “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes returns with “The Gilded Age” for HBO with Amanda Peet and Cynthia Nixon; Netflix‘s “Locke & Key” long-in-the-works horror fantasy series debuted its trailer today and it looks like something that might entice the YA “Sabrina” crowd.
Quibi could potentially be a big deal in 2020, the mobile-centric, short-form streaming-video platform, founded by former Disney and DreamWorks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, said to launch in the spring if it’s ready. Do we wanna add bite-sized content to our diet and are we going to try and write about it and review it too? Hollywood is kind of betting on it as many, many people are going to be involved. “Spielberg’s After Dark,” a horror series from Steven Spielberg is coming, Guillermo del Toro is doing a horror series, Steven Soderbergh and Doug Liman are said to be making something for the mobile content app and dozens of filmmakers and stars are going to be involved. Other Quibi content to look out for is “Dummy” starring Anna Kendrick, Naomi Watts is doing a Blumhouse thriller, Lena Waithe, Kevin Hart is making a comedic-action series and Idris Elba, Tyra Banks, Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen are all starring in reality-like unscripted shows. Is Quibi the future? Very unclear. Will Quibi make life difficult for film and TV bloggers trying to stay on top of all content? Most definitely.
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1138126950008967180
What else? Katherine Langford of “13 Reasons Why,” will play the lead in Netflix‘s “Cursed,” based on the illustrated novel by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler; Eva Green will star in the BBC period drama “The Luminaries“; Alden Ehrenreich leads the adaptation of “Brave New World” for NBC Peacock; there’s a “Penny Dreadful” spin-off ‘City Of Angels‘ coming featuring Natalie Dormer, Nathan Lane and Kerry Bishe; Ridley Scott directs (at least the pilot of) “Raised By Wolves” for HBO Max; Martin Freeman stars in the FX comedy “Breeders“; “Invincible” is an animated superhero thing with voices like Steven Yeun and Seth Rogen; Brooklynn Prince stars in Apple TV+ teen detective series “Home Before Dark“; Jason Sudeikis stars as U.K. soccer coach in Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso“; Netflix’s sci-fi show “Altered Carbon” (met with bad reviews) has rebooted itself, now stars Anthony Mackie and is called “Altered Carbon: Resleeved“; Juno Temple stars in the Anais Nin erotic drama “Little Birds“; Tahar Rahim stars in the serial killer drama “The Serpent” for BBC; “Jupiter’s Legacy” is a superhero thing that Mark Millar is doing; Peter Sarsgaard and David Strathairn are doing “The Interrogation” for CBS All Access and the gimmick is episodes can be watched in any order; Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Sheen, Sian Clifford star in “Quiz” for AMC and that’s coming in March; Jane Levy stars in NBC‘s musical “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” which has already premiered, as has Freeform‘s “Party of Five” reboot; Rose Williams and Theo James will star in British historical period drama “Sanditon” for PBS; Ryan Murphy’s “Hollywood” and the HBO mini-series “The Plot Against America” starring Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, and John Turturro from writer/director David Simon. That’s a pretty exhaustive and comprehensive look, yeah?
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/953338346348019712
Returning series to note, well there’s hundreds of them, but keep an eye out for new seasons of “The Morning Show,” “The Good Place,” “BoJack Horseman,” “Better Call Saul,” “Dickinson,” “Sex Education,” “The Boys,” “Billions,” “Black Monday,” “The Chi,” “What We Do In The Shadows,” Michel Gondry‘s “Kidding” with Jim Carrey, and well a zillion more. That’s really it, but keep in mind, 600-some shows being released in 2020, (not counting Quibi!) and so this is just small taste. We’re gonna take a nap now as covering 2020 is going to be impossible that is if we survive Trump’s WWIII, good luck! — written by Eddie Kubelsky and Rodrigo Perez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794ug8p0LOY
