Stranger Things Season 5: the finale<\/p>\n
It does feel a bit like cheating to add this one to the list, seeing as it comes out on New Year\u2019s Eve in the US<\/a> – but still, it\u2019s out at 1am in the UK, which officially makes this the first must-watch show of 2026. The Duffer Brothers have a lot of tying-up of loose ends to do: there\u2019s the monstrous Vecna to defeat, Will suddenly has superpowers and also the US military is on the loose. Chances that at least one of the 12 main cast members will die is decent.<\/p>\n Netflix, January 1 at 1am<\/p>\n The Night Manager Season 2<\/p>\n Nearly ten years after the first Night Manager <\/a>took the UK by storm, it\u2019s finally back for a second season \u2013 which presumably means more guns, more sex and more quasi-James Bond exploits. Tom Hiddleston returns (albeit with a receding hairline) to play Jonathan Pine, the hotel night manager of the first season who also managed to bring down international weapons dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). And while we don\u2019t know much about the new threat he\u2019ll be facing, at least Olivia Colman\u2019s eminently capable Angela Burr is back to manage things from the Foreign Office.<\/p>\n (Ian West\/PA)<\/p>\n PA Wire<\/p>\n Has Claudia Winkleman reached National Treasure status yet? She\u2019s certainly most of the way there \u2013 the Celebrity Traitors<\/a> was a massive hit<\/a>, and the BBC is following that up on New Year\u2019s Day with the first episode of season four. It\u2019s just Joe Public battling it out for the cash prize this time, but on the flipside, they\u2019ll be willing to play dirtier than the celebs were. The perfect way to start 2026.<\/p>\n BBC One, January 1 at 8pm<\/p>\n Is Industry the most underrated show<\/a> on television? Quite possibly, which means now is the perfect time to binge a few seasons before the latest airs. Now both free of Pierpont, things aren\u2019t any better for frenemies Yasmin (Marisa Abela) and Harper (Myha\u2019la): Yasmin is stuck in a miserable marriage to Lord Henry Muck (Kit Harington) and Harper is drawn into the orbit of a splashy fintech darling. The end result? Explosive.<\/p>\n A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms<\/p>\n While the decision to adapt one of George RR Martin\u2019s novellas into a feature length series does smack slightly of barrel-scraping, there\u2019s no denying it\u2019ll be a treat to dive back into the Game of Thrones universe. Whilst previous shows have focussed on the weighty subject of kingship (and fighting over said kingship), this promises to be far lighter in tone \u2013 namely, telling the story of hedge knight Ser Duncan the Tall () and his squire Egg () as they attempt to seek glory in a jousting tournament.<\/p>\n HBO\/ Sky Atlantic, January 18<\/p>\n How to Get to Heaven From Belfast<\/p>\n Christopher Barr\/Netflix<\/p>\n Derry Girls\u2019 Lisa McGee is once again working on a TV series \u2013 which of course means we\u2019re extremely seated. The premise of this one is still slightly vague, but it stars Roisin Gallagher, Sin\u00e9ad Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne as three old school friends who attend the wake of an old classmate, only to uncover a dark mystery. Though not too dark: this being McGee, there\u2019s doubtless be a lot of wry humour woven in too.<\/p>\n The Boys has been alternately entertaining and horrifying us since season one came out in 2019; now, the rollercoaster ride is finally coming to an end. Before that happens, though, expect gobbets of insanity to be thrown in our faces like chunks of exploded body. In this trailer alone, we\u2019ve got Homelander firing his laser-eyes into space, the Vought\/ fascism machine in full swing and an unexpected Supernatural reunion as Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki return to the small screen together. In other words, fasten those seatbelts.<\/p>\n Channel 4<\/p>\n Put Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West in a show together and turns out the combination is dynamite. That\u2019s certainly the case for Big Mood<\/a>, in which the pair played long-term (ever so slightly toxic) friends Maggie and Eddie, who have stuck with each other through thick and thin. Until, that is, Maggie\u2019s bipolar starts affecting her behaviour: cue some insane slapstick, and some heartbreaking sadness. And now, it\u2019s back for season two.<\/p>\n Channel 4<\/p>\n Bella Ramsey is of course excellent in anything they do, which makes tuning into this new show something of a necessity. They play Maya, who, along with mum Anna (Daisy Haggard), is forced to flee into witness protection, abandoning Anna\u2019s parents for a life in Scotland. Unfortunately, danger is still on their trail \u2013 two hitmen are tracking them down, while the charming and terrifying Bobby (Tobias Menzies) looks to be closing in too. The synopsis promises this will be \u201cdarkly comic\u201d: it doesn\u2019t sound it, but we\u2019re sold regardless.<\/p>\n Prime Video<\/p>\n Who could turn down the chance to see Catherine Zeta Jones in what feels like her first starring role in years? The answer is nobody, especially when that role casts her as a former international drug smuggler turned glamorous art dealer. She\u2019s put her life of crime behind her (naturally), but trouble surfaces once more when a squad of the world\u2019s most terrifying assassins, the Seven Demons, mark her as their next victim. The first images promise us something ultra-glossy and ultra-silly: perfect for bingeing.<\/p>\n BBC\/Eleven\/J Redza<\/p>\n A prospect to haunt the dreams of anybody who was forced to study this for GCSE English (hello). But at least it looks like it\u2019ll be good: prolific writer Jack Thorne has penned the script, the first-look images promise plenty of grimness and the entire thing was apparently shot in Malaysia. For those who can stomach a return to William Golding\u2019s world of shipwrecked boys going savage, this is one for you.<\/p>\n ITV<\/p>\n What if James Bond was married and had to go to couple\u2019s counselling? Is the basic premise of ITV\u2019s upcoming thriller series. Shaun Evans is the blandly named John Hughes, an MI5 officer who\u2019s struggling to balance the demands of his job with those of his personal life \u2013 namely, marriage to Romola Garai\u2019s partner Clare, who is struggling to trust her very secretive partner. Factor in a new spy conspiracy and things start to fall apart.<\/p>\n Sky \/ Little Door<\/p>\n Time for a good old dose of Welsh noir. Sky\u2019s upcoming crime drama takes us into a remote community by the seaside that\u2019s hiding a lot grief underneath its surface \u2013 such as a three year old cold case unexpectedly reopened by former copper Jackie Ellis (Kelly Reilly) after she makes a fresh discovery. Her original investigation cost her both her family and career, but soon enough she\u2019s reuniting with former partner Eric Bull (Rafe Spall) to solve it once and for all.<\/p>\n BBC\/Left Bank<\/p>\n Didn\u2019t get the chance to see James Graham\u2019s hit football drama<\/a> on stage? Good news: it\u2019s been turned into a four-part TV series starring Joseph Fiennes and Jodie Whittaker<\/a>. For those unfamiliar, it takes us through England\u2019s woeful years in the wilderness as a national team that\u2019s lost it\u2019s way. But what\u2019s this? Here comes Gareth Southgate, former England player himself, who has a chip on his shoulder and a mission in his heart. Can he end all those years of hurt? Spoiler alert: no he can\u2019t (that\u2019s the job of the women\u2019s team), but he does manage to take them to the Euro 2024 semis, and, if the show is anything like the play, it\u2019ll be a heartwarming watch.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t ask for a Legally Blonde prequel, but we\u2019re getting one anyway. Cast from your mind the frankly terrible sequel and straight-to-DVD threequel; this is a glossy, high-end production financed by Amazon and presided over by the original Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon herself. We don\u2019t know too much yet, but we do know that this is a look at high-school Elle\u2019s life, and the first images tease Lexi Minetree as the titular blonde, wearing all-pink. Naturally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s almost the end of 2025. Where did the days go? 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