Five New Shows, Five Returning Shows, and Five Shows Coming Soon in 2020

Five Don’t Miss New Shows

Yes, we’re doing Top 5 lists in honor of High Fidelity, which is definitely on this list.

1. Lego Masters – FOX – February 7 

Joining the realm of competition TV is the new Lego Masters on FOX. Hosted by Will Arnett (a.k.a Lego Batman), it pits Lego builders against Lego builders in challenge matches. Sure to bring us some truly amazing creativity, ingenuity, and no doubt some truly heart-stopping disasters, Lego Masters is sure to be a fun watch for kids and adults alike.

2. Briarpatch – USA - February 6

The main character played by Rosario Dawson must investigate the death of her sister, and unravel what’s really going on, but its hard to catch a killer when everyone’s a crook. It sounds a bit niche - a neo-noir western paired with elements of surrealism overlay the usual murder mystery – but the trailer gives you the feel that this might be more than the sum of its parts.
Starring: Rosario Dawson (Marvel’s Defenders), Alan Cumming (Instinct)

3. High Fidelity – Hulu - February 14

Okay, first, if you didn’t see the original movie (or read the book for that matter) – Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Go watch the movie. It’s brilliant, and you will Not be sorry. Excellent soundtrack, great cast, great acting, catharsis ahoy.
However. Hulu is doing it again, and we are here for it. Zoe Kravitz’s character counts down her Desert Island all time top 5 most memorable heartbreaks in a 10 episode limited series. Don’t miss this.  Starring: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite is My Name), Kingsley Ben-Adir (The OA)

4. Star Trek: Picard - CBS All Access – January 23

Picard is back. Romulan mischief is afoot, and the borg are up to something. Sounds like Star Trek to me! Jean Luc Picard returns to our screens for the first time since Nemesis, a movie that I think we can all agree was … meh at best, in what looks to be a solid entry into the Star Trek saga, with a new crew, old faces, and probably some familiar cyborg monsters.  Starring: Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Santiago Cabrera (Big Little Lies)

5. 911: Lone Star – FOX – January 19

911 but in Texas.
Starring: Liv Tyler (The Leftovers), Rob Lowe (Mental Samurai)

5 Shows That are FINALLY Coming Back

1. Brooklyn 99 – NBC – February 6

If you watch this show already, you know why its awesome. If you don’t …

The best part about Brooklyn 99 is what it does its best to do and not say.

Women are real friends. They don’t fight over boys, or clothes – they back each other up, and they stand by each other. Even if it means locking their friend in the trunk of a car.

It’s a fantastically diverse cast of characters – young, old, black, latinx, white, straight, queer, Jewish .. foodies.. and a man who claims that his preference would be a diet of “flavorless beige smoothies that contain all the nutrients required by the human animal.”

The comedy is front and center, but doesn’t devolve into farcical gags, and even when the jokes are at the expense of their friends, it feels like ribbing between the best kind of old friends.  Also, the character development is exceptional. Just saying.

2. Westworld – HBO - March 15

After a long hiatus, Westworld is back! The hosts have escaped containment and are out and about in the real world. Can Delos wrangle their wayward robots before they get up to some serious damage? Will the story be just as convoluted outside the park as it was inside it? We’ll find out soon!

3. Outlander – Starz - February 20

We’re back for season 5 of Outlander, still in the Americas, and still waiting for a disaster we know is coming thanks to time-travelling shenanigans. Honestly, I’m trying to be objective but I’m in mourning over Roger’s beard. So, what’s next? They’re getting a kitten amongst other things, but that’s just what I’m most excited about.  Expect epic romance, people paying for their past mistakes, and lovely Scottish accents.

4. Homeland- Showtime – February 9

The final season begins! What will the ultimate price for having Carrie returned to the US be? Will the new President be for the better? Homeland has crafted itself a fascinating narrative to mirror the current political stakes, Russian interference and all. But now Carrie isn’t fighting to save the country, she’s fighting for her sanity. Who else is excited to see how this is all going to shake out?!

5. The Walking Dead – AMC – February 23

The extra long mid-season break is over, and the second half of season ten returns to find the survivors fighting off the Whisperers, and a horde of walkers. Can they survive this time pinned between two groups of enemies? … Probably?

BE EXCITED ABOUT THESE FIVE SHOWS COMING LATER IN 2020

1. Killing Eve Season 3 – BBC America

If you haven’t watched this – catch up! Killing Eve pits the spy assassin Villanelle against Eve, an intelligence agent working for MI-5, trying to track down who is behind these assassinations. Inevitably they become aware of each other, and tangled up in each other’s webs. Let’s just say that Season 2 ended in quite a cliff hanger, and so the start of Season 3 could not come fast enough!
Starring: Sandra Oh (American Crime), Jodie Comer (The White Princess)

2. Umbrella Academy Season 2 – Netflix

Seven children born at the same time on the same day all to women who didn’t start out the day pregnant. Adopted by an eccentric millionaire, who raises them to be super heroes, and calls them by  number, not by name.

If you’re tired of comic book movies and shows all being a bit same-y.. give Umbrella Academy a go. Season 2 promises probably even more time travel shenanigans and A+ sass. Starring: Ellen Page (Tales of the City, Juno), Tom Hopper (Game of Thrones, Merlin)

3. Snowpiercer - TNT

Welcome to Snowpiercer – a train housing the last of humanity desperately trying to survive on a planet that has returned to an ice age. The passengers must collectively work together for the train to keep going, but what happens when the fragile order that makes it all run is questioned? A fascinating dystopian scifi story should drop on TNT towards the end of the year. If this sounds so amazing you absolutely can’t wait – hit up your Netflix queue and watch the movie, and then come back and watch this later! Starring: Jennifer Connolly(Alita: Battle Angel), Daveed Diggs (Hamilton)

4. The House of the Dragon – HBO

The first spin-off of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Based on GRR Martin’s book Fire & Blood, rumors have it that we’ll be seeing the story of Aegon’s conquest in Westeros and the dynastic struggles within House Targaryen. Details are still very thin, but this may drop in late 2020!

5. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Disney +

Guys, they’re  making a Marvel tv show that’s presumably definitely in the same timeline as the movies! For all that Agents of Shield started that way, it’s pretty clear now that it no longer has ties to its cinematic parent. Here’s hoping that we get a lot of Sam & Bucky snark as they fight off bad guys.