Whatever else 2023 may have in store for us, at least the television year has got off to a cracking start with the last ever season of Happy Valley on BBC1 and ITV1’s sparkling Stonehouse, starring Matthew Macfadyen as the buffoonish Labour MP who tried to fake his own death in 1974, landing 24 hours apart.
There is, of course, a mystifyingly large number of Irish people for whom Room to Improve, back on RTÉ1 this Sunday, represents the pinnacle of TV entertainment. To them I say: all yours — now go away! Luckily for the rest of us, there’s plenty to look forward to coming up over the next 12 months. Here’s a selection of the most promising new and returning series. Where possible, I’ve included confirmed or approximate broadcast dates.
THE RIG (Prime Video)
Martin Compston (Line of Duty, Mayflies), Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) and Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) lead in a supernatural thriller set on a North Sea oil rig. January 6
THE TOMMY TIERNAN SHOW (RTÉ1)
The increasing reliance on familiar celebrity faces over unknowns with interesting stories to tell has robbed this of some of the novelty that initially set it apart from other RTÉ chat shows. Nonetheless, it’s still a cut above. January 7
THE LAST OF US (Sky Atlantic)
Video game adaptations rarely work, but with Craig Mazin of the superlative Chernobyl behind this tale of two survivors caught in the middle of a zombie plague, hopes are high. January 16
SHRINKING (Apple TV+)
Harrison Ford makes his second foray into television in the space of two months with this series from the creators of Ted Lasso. He plays a psychiatrist who has an epiphany and starts telling people what he really thinks of them. And no better man. January 23
EXTRAORDINARY (Disney+)
Video of the Day
Imagine living in a world where everyone acquires a superpower as soon as they turn 18... everyone, that is, except you. That’s the problem facing 25-year-old Jem (Máiréad Tyers) in this new comedy. Siobhán McSweeney co-stars. January 25
NOLLY (ITVX/ITV1)
Russell T Davies hasn’t put a foot wrong in recent years, turning out hit after hit. He likely has another winner on his hands with this three-part drama about Noele ‘Nolly’ Gordon (Helena Bonham Carter), for 17 years the queenly star of popular, albeit dirt cheap, ITV soap Crossroads, set in a motel in exotic Birmingham. It’s on streaming service ITVX first and ITV1 later in the year. February (date TBC)
SUCCESSION (Sky Atlantic)
The fourth season of Jesse Armstrong’s hilarious saga of the appalling Roy siblings stepping on one another’s heads to succeed their terrifying patriarch (Brian Cox) is sure to be the most purely enjoyable series on TV again this year. Spring
BODIES (Netflix)
The presence of Stephen Graham in the cast of a drama is reason enough in itself to watch, but this adaptation of a 2015 graphic novel has a thrilling premise too: four different detectives try to solve the same crime in different time periods: the 1890s, the 1940s, the 2010s and a post-apocalyptic 2050. TBC
THE POWER (Prime Video)
Sometimes the weirdest ideas can be the best ones, and this series has a humdinger: a world in which all teenage girls acquire the ability to electrocute people at will. Toni Collette stars. TBC
FRASIER (Paramount+)
The fact that not a single supporting cast member from the original chose to join Kelsey Grammer in this 10-part revival suggests it’s more about satisfying the star’s ego than satisfying a public demand. We’ll see. TBC
KIN (RTÉ1)
It’s not damning with faint praise to say Peter McKenna and Ciaran Donnelly’s stylish crime thriller was the best Irish drama series to come along in ages. Production on season two began in July, so it will most likely be autumn before we see it. TBC
DOCTOR WHO (BBC1)
We’ll have to wait even longer to see the three 60th anniversary specials featuring a returning David Tennant, who’ll then pass the baton to Ncuti Gatwa. Christmas 2023
