10 TV Shows That Will Warm Up Your Winter
Sure, there’s probably anywhere from five to fifty TV shows from 2018 that you still need to catch up on, because there’s now too much television premiering each week for any human person to comprehend. But the new year is less than three weeks away, which means it’s time to start narrowing down which new winter shows you want to add to your DVR (or more realistically, your streaming queue). Here are 10 shows premiering in January and February that should be on your radar.
1) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, January 10)
May of this year was a true rollercoaster ride for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a.k.a. one of network TV’s few true gems. In the space of 36 hours, the show was cancelled by Fox, mourned by fans, and rescued by NBC, where the sixth season will premiere in 2019. The initial 13-episode order has been expanded to 18, and though the season will feature the exit of Chelsea Peretti’s Gina, it’ll otherwise bring you all the hijinks you’ve come to expect from your favorite precinct.
2) True Detective, Season 3 (HBO, January 13)
After an atmospheric and memorable first run, True Detective’s second season suffered a pretty dizzying drop in quality (never forget “It’s like blue balls…in your heart”). So there’s plenty of reason to be skeptical about this third season, but also a lot of reasons to be cautiously optimistic. Chief among them is Mahershala Ali, who plays a haunted detective investigating a macabre murder case that spans three decades. Throw in a co-writing credit from Deadwood creator David Milch, and several episodes directed by Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room), and I’m sold.
3) Roswell, New Mexico (The CW, January 15)
Do we really need another reboot? In the case of this smart, heartfelt reimagining of Roswell-based on the original books rather than the 1990s show-the answer is a resounding yes. The show centers on Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason), who returns to her sleepy New Mexico hometown after a decade away and reunites with her high school friend Max (Nathan Parsons), who’s been hiding his true identity as an alien all his life. Weaving together romance, thrills, and sci-fi with pointed digs at the Trump administration, this show is liable to become your new obsession.
4) Deadly Class (Syfy, January 16)
If you’ve been waiting patiently ever since To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before for more Lana Condor, your time has come! She stars as one of a group of misfit youths who attend King’s Dominion, a secret academy for the Dark Arts where they’re trained to become assassins. Based on the comic series of the same name, the show also has plenty to offer Marvel movie aficionados: It’s executive produced by the Russo brothers, who’ve directed multiple Captain America and Avengers chapters, and stars MCU regular Benedict Wong as the school’s enigmatic headmaster.
5) Black Monday (Showtime, January 20)
Showtime’s new black comedy chronicles the day of the financial crash-nope, not that one, but the one that happened on October 19, 1987, which still remains the worst stock market collapse in the history of Wall Street. Starring Don Cheadle and Andrew Rannells (a.k.a. Elijah from Girls), the show follows a group of outsiders who take on the Wall Street establishment and inadvertently cause the catastrophic crash. Even if you know nothing whatsoever about finance, this show looks fun as hell.
6) The Other Two (Comedy Central, January 24)
Written by former SNL head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, and produced by SNL legend Lorne Michaels, this new comedy centers on two ambitious but unsuccessful siblings-one an aspiring actor, the other a former dancer-struggling to cope after their 12-year-old brother becomes an overnight internet celebrity.
7) I Am the Night (TNT, January 28)
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins reunites with Chris Pine for a dark limited series about the legendary, unsolved Black Dahlia murder. Truly, what more do you need to know? The show focuses on a young girl, Fauna, who was given up for adoption by her birth mother and sets out to uncover the dark (and possibly murderous) secrets of her family’s past.
8) Umbrella Academy (Netflix, February 15)
Based on the comic book series by Gerard Way (yep, the former My Chemical Romance frontman), Umbrella Academy is a superhero show very much unlike any other. Here’s the premise: Seven children, all of them born to women who gave birth without having been pregnant, are adopted by a billionaire who trains them to become superheroes. After his death, the group’s powers are put to the test by an impending apocalypse. Netflix has kept details of the show mostly under wraps, but the cast includes Game of Thrones' Tom Hopper, Ellen Page, Mary J. Blige, and Mindhunter standout Cameron Britton.
9) What We Do in the Shadows (FX, Release Date TBD)
If you haven't seen the genuinely genius 2014 rockumentary on which this new FX comedy is based, please rectify that immediately. Following the domestic life of a group of vampire housemates, What We Do in the Shadows is adapted by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who wrote, directed and starred in the original. The show introduces an entirely new cast of characters played by actors including Matt Berry and Kayvan Novak, and moves the action from New Zealand to New York. It is hilarious and singular and unlike any other vampire story you've ever seen.
10) First Wives Club (BET, Release Date TBD)
This reboot of the iconic 1996 movie has been in the works for a while, and was originally being developed at the Paramount Network before moving over to BET. Like the original, the show follows three women who join forces-in both sisterhood and vengeance-after their marriages fall apart, and sees Michelle Buteau, Jill Scott, and Ryan Michelle Bathe taking on reimagined versions of the characters made famous by Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn.
That's not the Lara Jean we know.