How did you spend your holidays? If you didn’t use your time catching up on all the TV series you’ve been putting off, you screwed up. Because a whole slew more are on their way to your screen any minute now.
Primarily focusing on the first quarter of 2023 (with a few highly anticipated titles that haven’t been scheduled yet), we’ve collected all the premieres you need to get excited for. Forsake your family, abandon any plans that require leaving your house, and open your heart to defeated cater-waiters, a Columbo for the modern era, and a taciturn bounty hunter who still resists showing you his face: This is the way.
The Last Of Us (HBO, January 15)
Stars: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna
What It’s About: During a humanity-decimating zombie apocalypse, a hardened smuggler (Pascal) is tasked with escorting a young girl who possibly holds the secrets for a cure to the deadly virus across the country.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Creator Craig Mazin is no stranger to apocalyptic storytelling: his last collaboration with HBO was the 2019 miniseries Chernobyl. Here, he adapts the beloved 2013 video game of the same name, to near-universal acclaim: as of this writing, the series is sitting at 97% on RottenTomatoes.com.
Accused (Fox, January 22; starting January 24 it will air Tuesdays)
Stars: Rachel Bilson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Margo Martindale, Wendell Pierce, and Michael Chiklis, among many others, because…
What It’s About: …it’s an anthology series. Each episode introduces the audience to a new defendant in the midst of their trial; through flashbacks, we find out the story that led to this court case.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: 24’s Howard Gordon adapted Accused from creator Jimmy McGovern’s British series of the early ’10s, an International Emmy winner for best drama. That version attracted the likes of Olivia Colman, Andy Serkis, and Peter Capaldi, and the American remake seems to have drawn a similar caliber of performers. In addition to the above names, you’ll see The Wire’s Robert Wisdom; Deadwood’s Molly Parker; four-time Emmy winner Rhea Perlman; and Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin.
The Lazarus Project (TNT, January 23)
Stars: Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You); Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters); Tom Burke (Mank)
What It’s About: A shadowy organization uses time-travel technology to send operatives to the past to prevent extinction-level events from ever taking place; Essiedu plays protagonist George, a software engineer recruited by the Project.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Anyone with any involvement in I May Destroy You gets a pass on anything they do for at least the next ten years. Creator Joe Barton also earned a lot of cred with 2019’s Giri/Haji (check out that show on Netflix if you wondered where Will Sharpe had been all your life as soon as you met him in season two of The White Lotus). Lazarus aired in the UK last summer, where it was an instant hit, and was quickly renewed for a second season.
The 1619 Project (Hulu, January 26)
Host: Nikole Hannah-Jones
What It’s About: In 2019, 400 years after the first enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia, The New York Times launched The 1619 Project, telling the history of Black Americans with a critical eye on the violence that defined the country’s earliest days. Hulu’s six-part documentary adapts this work for the screen.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: The 1619 Project was widely acclaimed in print form: creator Nicole Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for an essay she contributed. Few things you watch this year will be as important—plus, your most annoying uncle is already mad about it, so if you plan to tell him why he’s wrong, you should be able to do so knowledgeably.
Poker Face (Peacock, January 26)
Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Stephanie Hsu, S. Epatha Merkerson, Adrien Brody, Hong Chau, Chloë Sevigny
What It’s About: Lyonne plays Charlie, an itinerant casino worker on “sabbatical” who runs into wacky characters wherever she stops during, and many of them turn out to be involved in a criminal matter. To solve their cases, Charlie uses her preternatural ability to detect when someone’s lying.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Rian “Knives Out” Johnson brings his mystery-weaving talents to series TV, crossing case-of-the-week Columbo with The Incredible Hulk. And having the ever-magnetic Natasha Lyonne in the lead may give you the reason to finally commit to that Peacock subscription.
Lockwood & Co. (Netflix, January 27)
Stars: Ruby Stokes (Bridgerton), Luke Treadaway (Unbroken), Ivanno Jeremiah (Black MIrror)
What It’s About: Three teens launch an independent agency to hunt London’s ghosts.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Creator Joe Cornish previously wrote and directed 2011’s cult hit Attack The Block, an alien-invasion story set in contemporary London and starring a then-barely-known John Boyega. Cornish + kids + sci-fi + London = win.
Dear Edward (AppleTV+, February 3)
Stars: Connie Britton, Taylor Schilling
What It’s About: The only survivor of a plane crash that killed his own family members, 12-year-old Edward (newcomer Colin O’Brien) must figure out how to go forward in life.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: It’s adapted from Ann Napolitano’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, and re-teams Britton with creator Jason Katims, her showrunner on the Friday Night Lights TV series. It’s also an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with O’Brien before his début as young Willy in the feature film Wonka.
You, season 4 (Netflix, February 9)
Stars: Penn Badgley, Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey), Lukas Gage (Euphoria), Charlotte Ritchie (the original U.K. version of Ghosts)
What It’s About: As we already know, Badgley’s Joe Goldberg is a stalker and multiple murderer. But he really just loves love!
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Season three ended with Joe departing the U.S. in search of his latest obsession, Marienne (Tati Gabrielle); in season four, he’s fallen in with a gang of rich socialites, who start getting murdered, and not by him. We’ve waited far too long for the return of this suspense thriller, one of TV’s very blackest comedies.
Hello Tomorrow! (AppleTV+, February 17)
Stars: Billy Crudup, Alison Pill
What It’s About: Timeshares are a dubious real estate investment nearly anywhere on earth. But what is life like for men trying to sell timeshares on the moon?
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: AppleTV+ and Billy already have a proven track record: he’s an Emmy winner (and a two-time nominee) for his role as Cory Ellison on The Morning Show. Here you get to see him in retro-future fashions like he’s in Don’t Worry Darling’s Victory Project, and in a project from executive producer Stephen Falk, who gave us one of television’s most refreshing dramedies in recent years: FX’s You’re The Worst.
Snowfall, season 6 (FX, February 22)
Stars: Damson Idris, Amin Joseph, Michael Hyatt
What It’s About: It’s Los Angeles in the ’80s. Some people are selling crack; others are trying to stop them.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: We’ve arrived at 1986. Franklin (Idris) finds himself with few allies and enormous pressures—including from his Aunt Louie (Angela Lewis), who’s set herself up as a competing drug merchant with product from Franklin’s former supplier. It’s the series’ final seasons, so don’t expect every character to make it to the finale alive. ,
The Consultant (Prime Video, February 24)
Stars: Christoph Waltz, Nat Wolff, Brittany O’Grady
What It’s About: When a merger falls through, CompWare attempts to head off disaster by bringing in a creepy consultant named Mr. Patoff (Waltz). Though he faintly weirds everyone out, he continues amassing power, eventually seeming to run the company himself.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Creator Tony Basgallop (Servant) adapted the series from Bentley Little’s novel of the same name; WandaVision’s Matt Shakman directs. And when it comes to actors who can perfectly embody an office weirdo so off-putting that no one can bring themselves to interfere with his schemes, there’s no one better than Christoph Waltz.
Party Down, season 3 (STARZ, February 24)
Stars: Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, Megan Mullally
What It’s About: Waiters toil at the titular catering company, returning after nearly 13 years to once again barely endure their guests and each other.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: The series—co-created by Veronica Mars alumni John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Rob Thomas, with Paul Rudd—was little seen following its launch in 2009, possibly because, pre-Power, few people knew what STARZ was Just like fellow gone-to-soon comedy Arrested Development before it—but with a much longer hiatus—a growing cult has finally earned Party Down a resurrection with most of its original cast, plus The Afterparty’s Zoe Chao. (Unfortunately, production clashed with Fleishman Is in Trouble, so Lizzy Caplan couldn’t return.)
The Mandalorian, season 3 (Disney+, March 1)
Stars: Pedro Pascal, Giancarlo Esposito, Katee Sackhoff
What It’s About: Din Djarin (Pascal), an orphan raised in the Mandalorian faith, finds his life entangled with a small, mysterious creature he now knows is named Grogu.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Pedro Pascal has so much charisma in this space western that he sells his character even when he’s not actually the body walking around in that steel helmet he virtually never removes! And Grogu, the artist formerly known as Baby Yoda, will be back! What more do you need to know?
True Lies (CBS, March 1)
Stars: Ginger Gonzaga, Steve Howey
What It’s About: As in the James Cameron movie it’s based on, a woman’s consciousness is transported into the consciousness of a gigantic blue…wait, sorry: wrong James Cameron movie. In this one, a housewife who thinks her husband is predictable and dull turns out to be completely wrong: actually, he’s a spy!
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Writer Matt Nix is a proven talent when it comes to marrying comedy and action, having previously created USA’s long-running spy show Burn Notice. Gonzaga was arguably the best part of last fall’s She-Hulk, and Howey has been charming audiences since Reba and Shameless.
Daisy Jones and The Six (Prime Video, March 3)
Stars: Riley Keough, Camila Morrone, Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse
What It’s About: Someday, someone’s going to make a miniseries about Fleetwood Mac; until then, there’s this series about a fictional band in 1970s L.A.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Reese Witherspoon executive-produced this adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s fictional oral history through her company, Hello Sunshine, which brought us such TV juggernauts as Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, and Little Fires Everywhere. The series creators are Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who wrote the screenplay for (500) Days Of Summer.
Perry Mason, season 2 (HBO, March 6)
Stars: Matthew Rhys, Justin Kirk, Hope Davis, Wallace Langham
What It’s About: The first season of HBO’s take on the iconic character took Rhys’ Mason from P.I. to lawyer in Depression-era Los Angeles; the second brings a new case and a whole new cast of characters.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Michael Begler and Jack Amiel, formerly showrunners on The Knick, take over for for season 1’s Rolin Jones, who moved on to AMC’s Interview With The Vampire. The new season is set in 1933, as an oil heir’s murder embroils Perry (Rhys) and his partners with some of the city’s most powerful people.
Boston Strangler (Hulu, March 17)
Stars: Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, Alessandro Nivola, Chris Cooper
What It’s About: The limited series recounts the horror of the serial murderer who killed 13 women in Beantown in the 1960s, and the journalists who broke the story about him.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: A 1968 film, The Boston Strangler, was based on Gerold Frank’s nonfiction book about the case, and starred Tony Curtis in the titular role. However, the miniseries has a different angle, with journalists played by Coon and Knightley pursuing evidence that the strangler’s identity is suspect, and that officials involved in the case are corrupt.
Lucky Hank (AMC, March 19)
Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Mireille Enos, Diedrich Bader
What It’s About: Adapted from Richard Russo’s 1997 novel Straight Man, it recounts the mid-life crisis of an English prof at a fictional college in Pennsylvania.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: AMC has been making headlines lately for revoking previously-announced series renewals, but , but they wouldn’t dare do that to Odenkirk, their marquee star from Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad. All of Odenkirk’s recent choices—from the feature film Nobody to the innovative animated series Undone to his sketch in season two of I Think You Should Leave — have shown his impeccable taste, so odds are this one’s pretty good too.
Yellowjackets, season 2 (Showtime, March 26)
Stars: Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci
What It’s About: The members of the titular girls’ high-school soccer team survive a plane crash and try to continue surviving in a forest while awaiting rescue, whatever it takes. The show cuts between the teen girls in the ’90s and flash-forwards to their present-day adult selves.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: A sleeper hit that continued to build buzz through its first season in the winter of 2021 and 2022, the show has been showered with award nominations, and a high-profile acting win for Lynskey at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards last March. But never mind that: We all need to find out what happened to [character redacted] in that finale, and how new cast additions Lauren Ambrose and Elijah Wood fit into the story!
Dave, season 3 (FXX, April 5)
Stars: Dave Burd, Andrew Santino, Christine Ko
What It’s About: The eponymous rapper/comedian tries to navigate life and his rising profile.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: A perennial fixture on lists of the best shows you’re not watching, Dave brings Dave to a new level of success in season three: headlining his first tour. Stops in new cities offer new perspectives on contemporary American life, while Dave’s increasing fame also affects his relationships.
Mrs. Davis (Peacock, April 20)
Stars: Betty Gilpin, Jake McDorman, Margo Martindale, Katja Herbers
What It’s About: Simone (Gilpin) is a nun who uses her faith to do battle against the villain of the title, who is a seemingly omnipotent A.I.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Co-creator Damon Lindelof may not have pleased everyone with the end of Lost, but it’s time to let that go: The Leftovers and Watchmen were legitimate classics that both stuck their landings. And those of us who will mourn GLOW can’t help being excited about seeing Gilpin in a new role that requires her to kick the crap out of her foes.
Dear Mama (FX, April 21)
What It’s About: Feminist intellectual Afeni Shakur and her son, rapper and poet Tupac Shakur, are explored in this documentary series from director Allen Hughes.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Though some may know Hughes best for his collaborations with his brother Albert on scripted features like Dead Presidents and From Hell, he is a seasoned documentarian in his own right; in 2017, he directed the HBO documentary miniseries The Defiant Ones, about record producers Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. Each of the Shakurs lived a big enough life to be solo subjects of a documentary series, but what should make this project especially fascinating is how Hughes shows the ways their work and legacies are entwined.
Fatal Attraction (Paramount+, April 30)
Stars: Lizzy Caplan, Joshua Jackson, Amanda Peet
What It’s About: Married Dan Gallagher (Jackson) fools around on his wife Beth ( Peet) with singleton Alex Forrest (Caplan), but while he regards it as a one-night stand, Alex isn’t ready to let go. It’s based on James Dearden’s novel, which was also the source for Adrian Lyne’s flashpoint 1987 film starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Anyone who just finished Fleishman Is In Trouble must be clamoring for more Lizzy Caplan, and though we’re sad she had to miss Party Down, we’ll take her where we can get her. The Fatal Attraction movie was a buzzy thriller in its day, but it could benefit from a contemporary update, and these three leads are always a lot of fun to watch.
Premiere Date TBDs:
Girls5Eva, season 3 (Netflix)
Stars: Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps
What It’s About: In the late ’90s/early ’00s, Girls5Eva were a pre-fab pop group; now they’re mounting a comeback on their own terms.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Girls5Eva’s sadly underseen first two seasons suffered by being on Peacock, a platform that was, er, “up-and-coming.” Too few people knew it was a nonstop joke delivery system on the order of 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, with which it shared many common writers. (See also: the Saved By The Bell sequel.) A move to Netflix should help get it the visibility it richly deserves as one of the funniest sitcoms of the past five years.
The Other Two, season 3 (HBO Max)
Stars: Heléne Yorke, Drew Tarver, Molly Shannon
What It’s About: The extremely rapid rise of Chase Dreams (Case Walker), a teen YouTuber-turned-pop star, has unexpected consequences for his older siblings and their mother.
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Like Girls5Eva, The Other Two is savagely funny, packing more jokes into one episode than most manage to do in a whole season. It’s also one of TV’s queerest shows, casually building scenes around Grindr fourgys and celebrity gay-baiters. Season two covered celebrity sex NDAs, sponcon, and sketchy churches as part of a broader arc about career burnout; season three could go almost anywhere from here, and wherever it ends up will undoubtedly be hilarious.
Justified: City Primeval (FX)
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Boyd Holbrook, Aunjanue Ellis
What It’s About: Remember U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Olyphant), whose escapades—based on a series of Elmore Leonard stories and novels—were chronicled in Justified? Well: he’s back!
Why It’s Worth Looking Forward To: Justified alumni Dave Andron and Michael Dinner are at the helm of this limited series, which picks back up with Raylan in an adaptation of Leonard’s City Primeval: High Noon In Detroit. A perp named Clement Mansell, also known as the Oklahoma Wildman, is the quarry that brings Raylan to a new town. Nothing has been announced regarding a return for Walton Goggins’s Boyd, Raylan’s lifelong foil, and yes, Boyd ended Justified behind bars…but we can still dream of a prison break, right?