From the prequel of Game Of Thrones to the long-awaited final season of Killing Eve, 2022 is set to have something to tickle everyone’s telly fancy.
Here’s our pick of the most hotly anticipated shows of the New Year...
1The Tourist, BBC One and iPlayer, January 1
Fifty Shades star Jamie Dornan plays a Brit in the Australian outback run off the road by a truck. When he wakes up in hospital, he has no memory of who he is, where he came from and, crucially, why he’s wanted dead. Also starring Line Of Duty rising star Shalome Brune-Franklin.
2Dancing On Ice, ITV1, January
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean return as judges alongside Ashley Banjo, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. The show hasn’t even kicked off yet and ex-Strictly pro Brendan Cole has already wound up in hospital with concussion. Bez from the Happy Mondays, Corrie’s Sally Dynveor, and Love Island ’s Liberty Poole are among the eclectic line-up.
3After Life, Season 3, Netflix, January 14
Ricky Gervais is back for a long-awaited final season. Disgruntled newspaper hack Tony is still grieving the death of his wife, but he’s already realising how to make the most of his own life.
4The Gilded Age, Sky Atlantic and NOW TV, January 25
From the creative team behind Downton Abbey. The period drama focuses on penniless Marian (Gone Hollywood’s Louisa Jacobson) as she moves from rural Pennsylvania to live with her wealthy yet snobby aunts in New York – one of whom is played by Sex and The City’s Cynthia Nixon.
5The Masked Singer, Season 3, ITV1, Saturdays at 7pm
Hoping to join previous winners Queen Bee and Sausage is a brand-new intake of 12 warbling celebrities in extraordinary costumes. Brace yourself for Chandelier, Bagpipes, Lionfish, Doughnuts, Traffic Cone, Panda, Rockhopper, Mushroom, Poodle, Firework, Snow Leopard and – my favourite already – Robobunny.
6Peaky Blinders season 6, BBC1 and iPlayer, early 2022
After his botched plans at the end of season five, will gang leader Tommy Shelby MP (Cillian Murphy) finally carry them out properly? Considering the rise of fascism leading to WWII, this final season probably won’t end in anything but soot and death. Tom Hardy’s Alfie also returns, while Black Mirror ’s Amber Anderson joins the cast.
7The Rig, Amazon, early 2022
Martin Compston is one of the crew on board an oil rig, off the Scottish coast in the North Sea. Their journey home is thrown into peril by a major incident. Stars Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen and Schitt’s Creek’s Emily Hampshire.
8Killing Eve, Season Four, BBC One,early 2022
The teaser for the final season sees outlandish assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) entering a church wearing a red cassock used by the clergy of the Catholic Church, and investigator Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) in a blonde wig. Will they finally get together or will they kill each other off?
9Trigger Point, ITV One and ITV Hub, early 2022
Produced by Line of Duty creator Jed Mecurio and starring AC12’s very own Vicky McClure, who plays bomb disposal operative Lana Washington, working to keep London safe in the midst of terrorist threat. The formidable Adrian Lester, from Life And Trauma, also stars.
10Pam & Tommy, Disney Plus, February 2
Downton’s Lily James plays former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson, and Marvel’s Sebastian Stan is Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. The eight-part comedy series tells the true story of their whirlwind romance and infamous 1995 sex tape leak.
11The Tinder Swindler, Netflix, February
Netflix ’s latest true crime doc tells the remarkable story of a conman who posed as a billionaire playboy on dating app Tinder to fleece his victims out of thousands of pounds, and the women who set out to bring him down. It’s thought to be based on Israeli fraudster Shimon Hayut, who pretended to be the son of a Russian-Israeli diamond mogul, enticing the women he defrauded with private jets and lavish gifts.
12Anatomy Of A Scandal, Netflix, TBC
From the producers of Big Little Lies and Gone Girl, this is set to be huge. It’s based on the best-selling Sarah Vaughan novel and tells the story of James (Rupert Friend), a hot-shot Home Office minister whose marriage to Sophie (Sienna Miller) is thrown into turmoil after an aide he has an affair with accuses him of rape. The plot also revolves around ambitious barrister Kate (Michelle Dockery).
13House Of Dragon, HBO Max, TBC
Set 200 years before Game Of Thrones, the prequel to the hit series tells the story of the House Targaryen. The family is on the brink of civil war and a bloody battle that will become known as the Dance of the Dragons. Starring Doctor Who’s Matt Smith and Peaky Blinders’ Paddy Considine.
14Bridgerton 2, Netflix, March 25
Before Squid Games, this Regency London romp was Netflix’s biggest hit, with 82 million households watching the show in its first month. This time the steamy action comes from ladies’ man Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and new love interest Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
15Stranger Things, Season 4, Netflix, expected summer
Nearly three years in the making, some time has passed since Eleven, Will, Jonathan and Joyce relocated to sunny California. But spring break isn’t going to go to plan, as Eleven is in jeopardy again.
16The Lord Of The Rings, Amazon Prime Video, September 2
The eight-part big-budget series, set thousands of years before the movies, brings Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth’s history to our screens for the very first time.
17Conversations with Friends, BBC1 and BBC iPlayer, TBC
Following the success of Sally Rooney’s Normal People comes the adaptation of her debut novel Conversations With Friends. The 12-parter follows Dublin students Frances and Bobbi, who are introduced to older writer Melissa and her actor husband Nick. Melissa and Bobbi flirt openly, while Nick and Frances embark on an illicit romance set to cause rifts.
18The Responder, BBC One, TBC
From the makers of The Salisbury Poisonings, this gritty five-part cop drama stars Sherlock’s Martin Freeman as urgent response officer Chris on a series of night shifts on his beat in Liverpool.
19The Crown Series 5, Netflix, November
Olivia Colman’s reign has ended, and now the formidable Imelda Staunton takes the throne. Season five covers the Windsor saga during the 90s, which will include Charles and Diana’s split and the lead-up to her death. Elizabeth Debicki is the new Diana, Jonathan Pryce plays Philip, Dominic West takes on Charles, and Lesley Manville is Margaret.
20Anne, ITV, Sunday night, 9pm
Shameless star Maxine Peake plays Anne Williams, the inspiring mother who, before her death in 2013, dedicated her life to campaigning as chair of The Hillsborough Justice Campaign after her 15-year-old son Kevin’s tragic death during the 1989 disaster.
21As We See It, Amazon Prime, January 21
From Friday Night Lights creator Jason Katnis, the series follows three 20-somethings on the autism spectrum as they move in together and navigate love, jobs and friendships.
22Derry Girls Channel 4, TBC
Filming for the third and final season of hit comedy Derry Girls wrapped last month and it’s due later this year. It follows school five friends as they navigate teenage life in Troubles-era Northern Ireland. With the Good Friday peace agreement in sight, it’s sure to be an emotional farewell.