THOUGHT THE NEW Golden Age of Telly was finally slowing down? Not a chance. 2018 looks like another great year for the small screen.
1. Heathers
Fans of beloved 80s black comedy Heathers were sceptical when they heard it was to be transformed into a teen TV show – it flips the script somewhat, with the Heathers far from the cookie-cutter popular girls portrayed in the movie.
Original Heather Shannen Doherty is on board in an unspecified role, and scream queen Selma Blair also has a part. We’ll reserve our judgement until we see it.
2. Dancing With The Stars
It’s baaaaaack. Comedians Bernard O’Shea and Deirdre O’Kane are the first two celebrities announced as contestants, with nine more to come. The series begins on January 11 at 6.30pm, and continues for 12 weeks.
3. Black Mirror
The fourth season of Charlie Brooker’s cult series is once again going straight to Netflix – plot and casting details have been drip-fed to us over the past few weeks.
One episode, Arkangel, is directed by Jodie Foster, and takes the idea of helicopter parenting to its very creepy limits:
4. Sharp Objects
This eight-part series, based on the book by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, could potentially be 2018′s Big Little Lies (it also has the same director).
Amy Adams plays a reporter who returns to her hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls – and is also forced to confront her strained relationship with her mother.
5. Maniac
Cary Fukunaga, the director who steered True Detective season one to massive success, turns to comedy with his new Netflix show.
It stars Superbad buds Emma Stone and Jonah Hill as two patients in a psychiatric institution who create new lives for themselves in fantasy worlds.
6. Trauma
An ITV thriller? Don’t mind if we do. The channel’s 2018 offering centres on a father (Life on Mars’ John Simm) convinced that a consultant was responsible for the death of his son – his own life begins to unravel as he becomes obsessed with discovering the truth.
7. The Young Offenders
The surprise hit of 2016 has been turned into a six-part comedy series for BBC3 and RTÉ, shooting once more in Cork with the same cast.
The series should air in early 2018 – watch out for more updates closer to the time.
8. American Crime Story: The Murder of Gianni Versace
We love a big, glitzy TV event, and this promises that in spades – the creators of The People VS OJ Simpson return with an examination of the events surrounding the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace in 1997.
Édgar Ramirez is Gianni, Ricky Martin will play his partner Antonio, while Penelope Cruz is Donatella. Cannot WAIT, TBH.
9. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Well now. After their film Fargo was turned into an anthology series by Noah Hawley, the Coen Brothers decided to make one of their own for Netflix.
The show will be a western in the style of True Grit and No Country for Old Men, with James Franco and Zoe Kazan heading up the cast.
10. Ireland’s Got Talent
TV3 hopes to take on Dancing With The Stars in January with its own imported format, Ireland’s Got Talent. Applicants will be expected to impress judges Louis Walsh, Jason Byrne, Michelle Visage and Denise van Outen. We await it with baited breath.
11. Vanity Fair
ITV love a glossy period piece along with their thrillers, so it’s no surprise they already have one slotted in for 2018.
William Thackeray’s satirical Victorian novel Vanity Fair is getting an adaptation, starring Olivia Cooke as a woman attempting to make her way in English society.
12. Castle Rock
After the huge success of The Handmaid’s Tale last year, Hulu’s new series based on the stories of Stephen King looks very promising.
Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, the show will see Bill Skarsgard and Sissy Spacek playing King characters once more. The trailer references quite a few of the author’s best-known works, including The Shawshank Redemption. Oooh.
13. Waco
Another good historical miniseries is coming our way – this one is based on the siege of a compound belonging to a Christian sect which resulted in the deaths of 76 people in 1993.
Friday Night Lights’ Taylor Kitsch plays the group’s charismatic leader David Koresh, and he certainly looks the part:
14. The Alienist
Luke Evans (Gaston!), Dakota Fanning and Daniel Bruhl star in this period drama concerning a series of gruesome murders in New York. Bruhl plays a criminal psychologist (or ‘alienist’) called upon to investigate the goings-on.