Another year comes to a close, another overlong, ahem, thorough most anticipated list from your friends at The Playlist. This time, we’re talking television and yes, there’s a lot of TV to deal with. Frankly, however, with the explosion of streaming, the second age of PeakTV, now known as the Streaming Age, we’re somewhat surprised this list isn’t over 100 picks long. Disney+ and Apple TV+ may have launched in late 2019, but 2020 really brought us the full breadth of both those streaming services wares. 2020 also brought us, aside from a global pandemic, HBO Max, FX on Hulu, and Quibi (which lasted all of 6-7 months, but that’s another story). CBS All-Access will eventually be Paramount+ and the point is, with players like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon already in the mix, while we are currently in the midst of a content glut, we’d probably be utterly drowning in TV content if it weren’t for the little thing known as the COVID-19 global pandemic that delayed shooting on a lot of shows and pushed quite a number of 2020 titles into 2021.
READ MORE: The 25 Best TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2020
The one thing you will likely immediately recognize being different in this year’s Most Anticipated TV list is the influx and invasion of superheroes and bigger fantasy franchise titles. And if you thought the mid-sized, mid-budget adult drama had migrated to television and thus your grown-up space was safe, guess again. 2021 is the year Marvel Studios invades the television space and there will be six Marvel series adding to the overall competition (with more waiting in the wings for the following year). “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” is coming to HBO Max and so is a “Suicide Squad” spin-off show. If this sounds horrifying to you, just be glad that Lucasfilm is not yet ready with the ten new “Star Wars” series they announced, and likely all you’ll have to endure in 2021 is another season of the Bonanza In Space Western known as “The Mandalorian.” Likewise, be content that J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot company hasn’t finished developing all the DC Superhero TV shows they’re hoping they want to bring to the small screen; it’s only going to get worse. Not quite superheroes, but Amazon is also bringing a ‘Lord Of The Rings’ series to TV in 2021, and so yes, get prepared for the invasion of franchises, superheroes, and the brands that dominate film to soon start taking over your TV, or at least the narrative around it.
READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021
Still, if none of that interests you, that’s fine. The age of PeakTV dramas and comedies made by great filmmakers still thrives (albeit seemingly quieted in comparison this year). Donald Glover finally returns with two alleged seasons of “Atlanta” (though don’t be surprised if FX saves one for 2022), the critically acclaimed “Killing Eve” returns, so does HBO’s “Succession,” “Barry,” “Euphoria,” HBO Max’s “Search Party,” Netflix’s final season of “Ozark” and much much more. There’s a ton of great mini-series coming from top-shelf filmmakers and A-list actors coming too. So yes, prepare to get overwhelmed, prepare to ask yourself, when the hell am I going to find the time to watch all these shows and/or, oh hell, no, I’m not wasting my time with that. Without further ado, to our Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series of 2021. – Rodrigo Perez
Click here to follow along with our various Best of 2020 & Most Anticipated 2021 lists.
65. “The Wheel Of Time” (Amazon)
Rafe Judkins (“Chuck,” “Hemlock Grove,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) adapts James O. Rigney Jr’s popular series of novels for Amazon, as part of the streaming service’s post-‘Thrones,’ pre-‘Rings’ push into the high-fantasy space. The series stars Rosamund Pike and follows the quest to find the Dragon Reborn, who it is said will help unite forces to combat The Dark One (whatever that means). Her character believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual, whom prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it. Great?
Airdate: TBD 2021. – RP
64. “Anatomy Of A Scandal” (Netflix)
David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”) is a busy guy these days. Since the hit success of his HBO series, the showrunner has produced 5 new television shows, including “The Undoing.” He also has 3 other projects currently in development, including an adaptation of author Sarah Vaughan’s courtroom thriller, “Anatomy of a Scandal,” following the ugly media scandal of a political love triangle involving a sexual assault accusation. Twisty and turbulent in typical airport thriller fashion, between Kelley’s recent reconnection with audiences and other pulpy page-turners like “The Flight Attendant” seemingly becoming all the rage again – considering how stupid scandalous everything in the country seems to be every time we click a new article on the internet, the uptick in stories about trashy rich people makes perfect sense. Set to be directed by S.J. Clarkson (“Succession,” “Jessica Jones”) and starring the likes of Sienna Miller, Rupert Friend, and Michelle Dockery, “Anatomy of a Scandal,” has a lot of proven talent behind it, and should fit right alongside other popular binge-watches.
Airdate: TBD 2021 – Andrew Bundy
63. “The Bad Batch” (Disney+)
Dave Filoni, the brain behind “Star Wars’” underappreciated animated series’ is bringing Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. “The Bad Batch”) back for their own show. Introduced at the beginning of “The Clone Wars’” final season, the series follows an elite battalion of troopers with adept combat skills. With an intense sizzle trailer just revealed, it remains up in the air whether the show will be aimed at younger audiences again, or if it’s going for a grittier, military tone, a la “Rogue One,” perhaps intended to tie in to the “Andor” show or “Obi-Wan” series (with Grand Moff Tarkin showing up in the tease). No release date has been set, but, with Grand Admiral Thrawn recently being name-dropped in ‘Mando,’ little Grogu (a.k.a. Baby Yoda) revealed to have been trained at the Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars, and all the star wars Lucasfilm has in store for us, it’s become clear that operating in between the various trilogies, slowly connecting lore dots which leave fans pining for more, is Disney’s main game plan for the franchise moving forward.
Airdate: TBD 2021 – AB
62. “Halo” (Showtime)
If video game adaptations generally don’t work in the cinematic medium, why should we assume they would work at all in the television format? Then again, there is probably a good reason that everyone from Guillermo del Toro to Steven Spielberg has been attached to the long-percolating blockbuster adaptation of Xbox’s lucratively popular aliens versus supersoldiers first-person shooter, “Halo.” It looks, for now, as though “Halo,” which was once a movie and is now a show, has found a home at Showtime. Spielberg is still attached as an executive producer, Pablo Schreiber stars as the marvelously named Master Chief, also known as Master Chief John-117, and if it’s a success, the show could afford creators Kyle Killen and Steven Kane ample opportunities to build a richly imagined sci-fi world in the vein of HBO’s “Westworld.”
Airdate: No premiere date yet, but the series began principal photography in October 2019 and has only recently resumed production. – Nicholas Laskin
61. “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Amazon)
We’re arguably long overdue for a great show about a rock n’ roll band, and wouldn’t you know, “Daisy Jones & The Six,” coming to Amazon Prime sometime in 2021, could just be what we’ve been waiting for. The series is based on a best-selling book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and will consist of a dozen episodes (told in a faux-documentary style, apparently) that detail the rise and fall of the titular rock band in the 1970s. If nothing else, “Daisy Jones” features two great, still up-and-coming performers at its center: Sam Claflin, who played the reptilian rapist villain in “The Nightingale,” will play the band’s swaggering frontman, while Riley Keough, granddaughter of none other than Elvis Presley, will play his privileged but charismatic songwriting partner. Reese Witherspoon will serve as an executive producer, alongside series writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber.
Airdate: TBD 2021. – NL
