2020 looks set to be another big year for TV, and these are the most anticipated new shows to look forward to watching this year. 2019 continued to be another major year for the small screen, with more shows, more stars, more streaming services, and just more of everything emerging. The rounded out a big decade of change, which had led into the era of Peak TV and the rise of binge-watching, and there's no sign of things slowing down in the 2020s.
Disney+ launched late last year with more streaming services ing it too, with the likes of HBO Max and Peacock set to debut over the next 12 months as well. Accompanying that is Neflix's continued push to dominate every weekend, big shows from HBO and Amazon, and the traditional networks too.
It's an interesting TV landscape right now, especially with a Game of Thrones-sized hole in the schedule, but there are a lot of new TV shows to be excited about in 2020.
20. Little Fires Everywhere
Based on the novel by Celeste Ng, Big Little Lies. It'll hit Hulu on March 18, 2020.
19. Quiz
In 2001, the case of Charles Ingram, who cheated his way to £1 million on quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, became a big scandal. Ingram's wife coughed whenever he said the correct answers, leading to the victory - until the tapes were reviewed. The story was a tabloid sensation and was turned into a play, which is now being turned into a three-part miniseries, Quiz. It'll star Matthew Macfayden as Ingram, Sian Clifford as his wife, Diana, and Michael Sheen looking completely transformed once more as host Chris Tarrant. It's a story that should be ripe for a fun, melodramatic miniseries, with a superb cast to boot. Quiz will air on ITV later in 2020.
18. Cursed
Based on the new graphic novel from Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler, Cursed follows Nimue (Katherine Langford), a teenager destined to become the powerful enchantress Lady of the Lake (who gives Arthur his sword and Merlin his powers). Mixing the Arthurian legend with some more modern coming-of-age trappings and themes makes Cursed an interesting offering from Netflix.
17. Invincible
The latest of Robert Kirkman's comic books to be turned into a TV show, has a stellar voice cast, led by Steven Yeun and J.K. Simmons, but also featuring Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, and many more. Air date is TBC.
16. Mrs America
Movie stars on the small screen are commonplace, but Cate Blanchett appearing on TV is something still worth being excited about. Mrs America, produced by FX but to air on Hulu sometime in 2020, is about the push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and the backlash led by a conservative woman, played here by Blanchett. Written by Mad Men and Halt & Catch Fire scribe Dahvi Waller, the series has a great cast - Uzo Aduba, Rose Byrne, James Marsden, Sarah Paulson, and (character actress) Margo Martindale are among the regulars - and a premise detailing an important and still relevant part of U.S. history.
15. Y: The Last Man
FX's long-gestating take on graphic novel his monkey Ampersand. Exploring his efforts to survive and adapt to the new order of things, Y: The Last Man promises to be a unique take on the sole-survivor genre, and boasts an impressive cast, including the always great Barry Keoghan as Yorick, and Diane Lane as Senator Jennifer Brown.
14. Hollywood
The mega-deal between Ryan Murphy and Netflix will really get going this year, with a couple of big offerings. Among them is Hollywood, which takes place during the 1940s and has been described by Murphy as "a love letter to the Golden Age". It'll focus on Hollywood and the sex industry, though few other plot details are known right now, but it's easy to imagine Murphy and co capturing the glam of the time while also shining a light on the grimy underbelly of it too. Darren Criss, who was superb in Murphy's The Assassination of Gianni Versace, stars, and the series is expected in May 2020.
13. Your Honor
Featuring the return of Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston to a lead TV role, Showtime's Your Honor is about a judge (Cranston) whose son is part of a hit-and-run. That'll lead to some tough choices and a web of lies. The show has been produced by The Good Fight duo Robert and Michelle King, with Petter Moffat (Criminal Minds) as showrunner, so there's proven legal drama talent behind the camera, as well as an impressive cast in front of it, with Michael Stuhlbarg and Carmen Ejogo ing Cranston.
12. The Outsider
2020 doesn't have quite as many The Outsider, which will begin airing on January 12. The intriguing premise sees this begin as an apparently straightforward investigation into the grizzly murder of a young boy, before taking a big supernatural turn. Ben Mendelsohn stars as the lead detective, and is ed by Cynthia Ervio, Jason Bateman, and Bill Camp.
11. Perry Mason
Robert Downey Jr may no longer be starring (though he still produces alongside production partner and wife Susan Downey), but HBO's Matthew Rhys as the criminal defense lawyer in the biggest case of his life. The logline and setting should allow for a lot of fun and mystery for at-home sleuths, Rhys was one of the best TV actors of the last decade, and there's great from Tatiana Maslany and John Lithgow.
