Looking Ahead to 2021: The Most-Anticipated New Series to Help You Await the End of Lockdown
2020 is nearly over at the time of this writing, and if like most people, your best memories of this misbegotten year involved streaming Tiger King and The Mandalorian, you’ll want to know what to use to ease the pain of still being in lockdown so many months later.
Never fear, streaming has you covered again. Here are some of the more intriguing titles coming your way in 2021. Make some nachos and settle into the you-shaped groove on the couch and start your 2021 binge.
Bel-Air (Peacock)
Pardon the pun, but Peacock is offering a fresh – and dramatic – update of the 1990s Will Smith family comedy. Based on Morgan Cooper’s viral video that had the same hip hop verve as the iconic series, the Fresh Prince joins Quincy Jones and other original producers in the reimagining that dives deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases of what it means to be a Black man in America today.
Cobra Kai (Netflix, January 1st) More than 30 years after the events of 1984’s The Karate Kid, the main characters from the film are at markedly different points in their lives in Cobra Kai, originally created for subscription service YouTube Red. After the wild success of their launch of the first two seasons, Netflix is dropping the third season, which takes place after the rivalry between Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai came to an explosive battle last season.
Cowboy Bebop (Netflix)
Based on the 1998 Japanese anime TV series from writer Cain Kuga, Cowboy Bebop is generally considered to be one of the biggest series in the anime genre. John Cho stars in the live-action space western that was delayed by both the pandemic and after the actor suffered a serious knee injury on set. Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Geoff Stults and Tamara Tunie co-star.
Dad, Stop Embarrassing Me! (Netflix)
Two decades after his last series regular role, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx returns to television in this scripted comedy inspired by the relationship with his daughter, Corinne. The father-daughter duo are producing the series, which will see Foxx play multiple characters opposite Kyla-Drew (who plays Corinne). David Alan Grier teams up with his former In Living Color co-star Foxx in the comedy.
Dexter (Showtime)
Showtime gives new life to Dexter (and hopefully regain some goodwill from fans displeased with the first show ender.) Original showrunner Clyde Phillips, who quit after four seasons, returns alongside series star Michael C. Hall to create what the former believes to be “a great opportunity to write a second finale.”
The Dropout (Hulu)
SNL darling and Emmy winner Kate McKinnon tries her hand at drama in her first scripted series starring as disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Based on the ABC News podcast, the limited series traces how Holmes raised hundreds of millions to fund the biotech start-up and became a media darling while hiding the fact that her touted blood-testing machine didn’t really work.
Friends Reunion Special (HBO Max)
The long-awaited special may have been on a break thanks to Covid, but the interest in this special couldn’t BE any higher since a new generation discovered the 90s sitcom on streaming. HBO Max plans to bring the original cast together for a reunion special some time this spring.
Generation (HBO Max)
Zelda Barnz, 19, co-created and co-wrote the script for this with her father Daniel Barnz. This 10-episode half-hour dramedy following a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality tests deeply held beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community. Lena Dunham, who mentored Zelda Barnz, produces the series. Martha Plimpton stars alongside Justice Smith, Sam Trammell and Chase Sui Wonders.
Girls5eva (Peacock)
30 Rock creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are hitting high notes with this musical comedy about a former one-hit wonder girl group that takes another shot at stardom. The rockin’ cast includes Grammy and Tony winners Sara Bareilles and Hamilton’s Renée Elise Goldsberry as well as Busy Phillips.
Impeachment: American Crime Story (FX)
Delayed by the pandemic, this show had been scheduled to air before the 2020 presidential election. The third season of the Emmy-winning FX anthology from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk turns its lens on the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton scandal. Lewinsky produces the season, which is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s best-seller A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President. Sarah Paulson stars as Linda Tripp; Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart) plays Lewinsky; and Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex) is set as Paula Jones.
In Treatment (HBO, fall)
Another blast from the past, the Emmy-winning drama has been revived for a fourth season with a new cast ten years after season three wrapped. Three-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba takes on the role of the therapist (originally played by Gabriel Byrne) as new showrunners join the original creative team for the reimagined fourth season that will offer a diverse roster of patients.
Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Shonda Rhimes writes and runs the show on this drama based on a 2018 New York magazine story about a fake German heiress who conned her way into the New York society scene. Christmas romance breakout Bridgerton was Shondaland’s first scripted show for Netflix but this limited series is Rhimes’ first writing gig for the streamer. Inventing Anna stars Ozark Emmy winner Julia Garner as Anna Delvey along with Anna Chlumsky, Laverne Cox and frequent Rhimes collaborators Katie Lowes. Jeff Perry and Anna Deavere Smith co-star.
Lisey’s Story (Apple TV)
Oscar winner Julianne Moore stars in the series, based on Stephen King’s 2006 horror-romance best-seller, about a woman who realizes her late husband wasn’t all that she thought he was. King will write all eight episodes of the thriller that sees him reunite with exec producer J.J. Abrams, who produced Hulu’s 11.22.63.
Maid (Netflix)
Netflix is hoping that Shameless creator John Wells can recapture the magic he made with the Showtime series on this original dramedy based on Stephanie Land’s best-selling memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. Margaret Qualley (Fosse/Verdon) stars as a single mother who turns to housekeeping to make ends meet in the series that examines poverty in America. Nick Robinson and Andie MacDowell co-star.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (Disney+, early 2021)
The popular sports movie franchise comes to television with this half-hour comedy starring Lauren Graham as a parent who starts her own rough and tumble hockey team, recruiting the famed Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) back to the ice to coach them.
Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)
Based on the book by Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, the limited series reunites the team that produced the big time Emmy-winning project for HBO. David E. Kelley reteams with Nicole Kidman, who stars as a woman running a wellness center trying to reinvigorate the minds and bodies of nine strangers. The cast includes Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Michael Shannon, Manny Jacinto, Regina Hall and Samara Weaving.
Physical (Apple TV)
Break out the spandex and turn up the workout tunes for this one. Rose Byrne stars as a mother who finds herself through the world of aerobics in this 1980s-set dramedy from creator Annie Weisman (Desperate Housewives). Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) directs the pilot for this series, which has Sera Gamble (You, The Magicians) as an exec producer.
Schmigadoon (Apple TV)
Another show with an SNL favorite, Schmigadoon has Cecily Strong back with Lorne Michaels for this star-studded comedy that’s described as Groundhog Day meets Enchanted. Strong and Keegan-Michael Key star as a couple who turn to a backpacking trip to breathe life back into their relationship and discover a magical town (Brigadoon, anyone?) in which everyone acts as if they’re in a musical from the 1940s. They then discover that they can’t leave until they find “true love.” The star-studded cast also features Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, Kristen Chenoweth, Aaron Tveit, Jaime Camil and Jane Krakowski.
The Sister (Hulu) Nathan (Russell Tovey, Grabbers) has tried to forget what happened on the worst night of his life, an evening that left a young woman dead. But when a figure from his past reemerges, threatening his domestic stability, Nathan must decide how far he will go to keep his secrets buried. Based on the novel Burial by Neil Cross, this four-part miniseries hits Hulu on January 22.
WandaVision (Disney+, January 15th)
Following a year without a Marvel feature film or a new series connected to the MCU, 2021 is going to make up for that in a big way with the comic book powerhouse’s roster of spinoffs from the theatrical favorites. First up in Disney+’s Year of Marvel is WandaVision, which launches in January with Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprising their roles as Wanda and Vision, in a surreal and subversive suburbia. There’s more, of course: March brings The Falcon and Winter Soldier, followed in May with Loki, animated What If … in the summer and Hawkeye bows in the fall.
You Season 3 (Netflix). Based on Caroline Kepnes’s uber-creepy novels about a charismatic stalker, Netflix’s You may finally be going beyond its stalker how-to formula. Season 2 ended with the tables turned on Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg, whose latest crush Love (Victoria Pedretti) was revealed to be just as dangerous as he is. Season 3 has Joe and a heavily pregnant Love starting a new life together in the Los Angeles suburbs.
Which show are you most looking forward to? Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments.