Black Mirror - Netflix's brutal anthology series - is returning to once again creep us all out. Photo: Supplied
By Karl Puschmann*
Severance
Severance. Photo: Supplied
After an extended three-year leave, Apple's stylish cult hit about a work culture that surgically separates a person's work life from their personal life clocks in for its second season. There are many questions to answer; Did the "Innies" workplace revolution succeed? Do their "Outies" care about office problems they'll never remember? And will there be any more disturbingly surreal dance numbers?
Where: Apple TV+
When: New episodes weekly from 17 January
Black Mirror
In case you were starting to feel too comfortable in our fast-moving, technologically driven world, Netflix's brutal anthology series is returning to once again creep us all out. Each episode puts a creepy and darkly disturbing twist on the everyday tech we all use and don't think about. You'll never look at your phone, your social feed, or the world in general, the same way again. Awful, but recommended.
Where: Netflix
When: TBC
The Handmaid's Tale
Photo: Supplied
As reality distressingly catches up to the horrendous fiction of Margaret Atwood's dystopian nightmare of a book, this adaptation is starting to feel all too real. This sixth season will conclude the bleak, long-running drama so even though it's unlikely let's hope there's a happy ending - for all our sakes.
Where: Sky / Neon
When: TBC
The White Lotus
The White Lotus. Photo: Supplied
In the third season of this complex and satisfying anthology series, indie film queen Parker Posey and comedy titan Walton Goggins check-in as part of the new ensemble cast holidaying at the Thai branch of the luxurious titular resort. This season the show's darkly comedic lens focuses in on themes of death, religion and spirituality - although not necessarily in that order. One cast member described the script as "shocking" while series creator called it crazier than previous seasons.
Where: Sky / Neon
When: February
The Studio
Studio. Photo: Supplied
Movie star Seth Rogen goes direct-to-TV with this comedy about the movie business. Boasting more celebrities than a big summer blockbuster, this 10-episode series follows Rogen's idealistic movie studio head being ground down by Hollywood's cynical reality as he faces the existential threat posed by television's streaming giants.
Where: Apple TV+
When: March
Stranger Things
STRANGER THINGS. Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022 Photo: Supplied
Last season evil was overcome with the help of Metallica's thrash classic Master of Puppets and Kate Bush's sublime pop epic 'Running Up That Hill'. However, the power of song didn't entirely vanquish the terrifying Lovecraftian monsters haunting the small town of Hawkins, leaving the Upside Down's portal open for one final confrontation with the young heroes. Be sure to keep an eye out for rising Kiwi star Nell Fisher, who joined the cast for this fifth and final season of the 80s-flavoured sci-fi horror series.
Where: Netflix
When: TBC
Andor
Andor. Photo: Supplied
The one jewel in the ever-corroding television crown of the Star Wars franchise returns next year to keep fans from completely turning to the dark side. This espionage thriller may be set in the Star Wars universe but it has thus far kept itself siloed off from the usual tropes and characters that the franchise constantly regurgitates in the galaxy far, far away. With its gritty realism and high-stakes plot, the series highlights how bountiful the Star Wars universe can be for storytelling when it's done right.
Where: Disney+
When: TBC
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Knight of Seven Kingdoms. Photo: Supplied
TV execs have been frantically searching for the next Game of Thrones ever since the groundbreaking series went off the air five years ago. The latest attempt to be the next GoT is another GoT prequel based on another of author George R.R Martin's GoT novellas. This series is set just 90 years before the events of GoT and follows a knight named Dunk and his squire named Egg as they roam the lands being chivalrous and getting into all manner of knightly adventures that eventually tie into the main GoT timeline in a major way.
Where: Sky / Neon
When: TBC
It: Welcome to Derry
It. Photo: Supplied
Stephen King's famous killer clown Pennywise gets the prequel treatment in this series that's set in the swinging 60s and explores how the shapeshifting, sewer-dwelling kid killer came to call the small town of Maine home. The creative team behind the well-received recent films are behind the show and star Bill Skarsgård has returned to cake on the clown make-up and tempt children to their doom with his bright red, floaty balloons.
Where: Sky / Neon
When: TBC
Zero Day
ZERO DAY. (L to R) McKinley Belcher III as Carl Otieno, Mozhan Navabi as Melissa Kornblau, Robert De Niro as George Mullen, Jesse Plemons as Roger Carlson and Connie Britton as Valerie Whitesell in Episode 102 of Zero Day. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024 Photo: Supplied
Robert De Niro leads this premium political thriller that centres around a catastrophic cyberattack that causes huge global chaos and significant fatalities. The series promises a gripping narrative dripping with political intrigue that explores themes of ambition versus duty, conspiracies and truth and how the secrets of one's past can impact their future. Netflix clearly has high expectations for the show as they've packed the cast with big-name talent including Lizzy Caplan, Angela Bassett, Jesse Plemons, Joan Allen and Matthew Modine.
Where: Netflix
When: February
*Karl Pushmann is a freelance entertainment writer.
