HAPPY VALLEY
Sun 1st Jan, BBC One
It’s been a long time coming, but fans now get to see the third and final season of Sarah Lancashire’s cop drama once again starring. It won’t be soon though, most likely in 2018. Writer and creator Sally Wainwright gives us one final visit to the picturesque, but drug-ridden, town of Calderdale.
Embattled Police Sargent Catherine Cawood discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim and sparks a chain of events leading back to the notorious Tommy Lee Royce. Her grandson Ryan has turned 16, and now has his ideas about what kind of relationship he wants to have with the man she refuses to acknowledge as his father.
KALEIDOSCOPE
Sun 1st Jan, Netflix
Spanning 25 years, this all-new anthology series follows a crew of masterful thieves as they attempt to crack a impregnable vault for the biggest payday in history. Guarded by the world’s most powerful corporate security team, and with law enforcement on the case, every episode reveals a piece of an elaborate puzzle of corruption, greed, vengeance, scheming, loyalties and betrayals.
This compelling anthology series takes a non-linear approach, building intrigue and suspense uniquely, with viewers each having a different immersive experience, depending on what order they watch the episodes. Each different order offers a new viewpoint on the story, the characters and the questions at the heart of the heist.
ROMANTIC GETAWAY
Sun 1st Jan, Sky Comedy
Allison (Katherine Ryan) and Deacon (Romesh Ranganathan) are desperate for a baby, but they’ve run out of money to fund any more IVF treatment. They decide to ‘borrow’ £50k from their boss, who they discover is illegally creaming off money from the company.
The only problem is Deacon has secretly added an extra nought to the transfer, and the pair have actually absconded with half a million. Allison is secretly starting to doubt whether she wants a baby after all. Their web of lies kicks off a downward spiral into the criminal underworld of suburban Britain, and pushes them, and their plans for their future together, to the limit.
SILENT WITNESS
Mon 2nd Jan, BBC One
This murder mystery hit returns with two new recruits joining Dr Nikki Alexander (Emilia Fox) and Jack Hodgson (David Caves) for five thrilling new stories told across ten episodes.
Aki Omoshaybi (The Pursuit Of Love, Queens Of Mystery, Real) plays Gabriel Folukoya, an academic, neurologist and pathologist who has spent much of his career in innovative research. Alastair Michael (Ridley Road, Snatch) plays Velvy Schur, the new Anatomical Pathology Technologist trainee. He’s finding his own path, balancing both career and faith. The new series also sees Jack’s niece Cara starting a university course in Criminology, giving Jack little choice but to let her stay with him while she studies.
WATERLOO ROAD
Tuesday 3rd Jan, BBC One
The wait for more of this British secondary school drama is almost over. Back after a break of almost eight years, we’re being treated to a chunky seven episodes of Manchester-based action. There’s obviously plenty of new characters, alongside a few old fan favourites – including Angela Griffin reprising the role of Kim Campbell as the new headteacher.
New additions include Strictly star Kym Marsh as Nicky Walters, Vincent Jerome as Lindon King, James Baxter as Joe Casey, and Neil Fitzmaurice as Neil Guthrie all coming through the school gates. The show continues to navigate an ever-changing social landscape, covering topics like teen homelessness, LGBTQ+, racism, sexism, mental health and the cost-of-living crisis.
THE RIG
Fri 6th Jan, Amazon Prime
A character-driven mystery thriller, The Rig follows the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig as they fight for survival. A strange fog has cur off all communication with the shore, and left them stranded in the fierce waves of the North Sea.
With their support helicopter not flying and supplies limited, rig boss, Magnus, tries to guide his already fractured crew through the evolving crisis. But increasingly desperate efforts to restore contact with the mainland are repeatedly shattered as tensions and paranoia rise, the rig’s systems fail, and a devastating accident brings them all face-to-face with the deadly dangers of one of the most extreme working environments on the planet.
THE LAST OF US
Mon 16th Jan, Sky Atlantic
The creators of Chernobyl return with a lavish small screen adaptation of this exceptional videogame hit. Set 20 years after the world has been decimated by a fungal brain infestation which renders its victims feral, two survivors may hold the key to mankind’s survival.
Joel Miller is shattered by the loss of his daughter during the outbreak. Living on his wits in a changed landscape, he is chosen to take someone very special from Boston to Salt Lake City. Ellie is an awkward teen, who may just be key to finding a cure for the infection. But there’s over 2000 miles of cannibals, violent gangs and zombies between them and potential salvation.
LOCKWOOD & CO
Fri 27th Jan, Netflix
Based on the best-selling novels by Jonathan Stroud, this supernatural action-adventure detective series centres around an epidemic of ghosts in Britain. Their touch brings death, and only children have the power to fight them.
Lucy Carlyle is a young psychic investigator who joins London’s smallest agency, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood and his ever-hungry assistant George. Together they investigate the spookiest and deadliest spectral hauntings in the city, armed only with the tools of the ghost-hunting trade (magnesium flares, iron filings, chains and salt bombs), their courage and a thermos of tea. And this renegade trio are about to unravel a terrifying mystery that will change the course of history.
