Doctor Who
The world’s intelligence agencies are under attack from mysterious alien forces, and only the Doctor can come to the rescue – with the help of her unlikely pals Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole. Jodie Whittaker returns in the titular role with the first of an action-packed double episode guest-starring Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry.
New Year’s Day, 6.55pm, BBC One
Famous Fates
Melding our true-crime fascinations with celebrity culture, this Spotify podcast promises to take listeners on the macabre journey of famous deaths. The fates include the likes of John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, with a new set of five to come each week.
Podcast
Messiah
Tackling the somewhat fantastical proposition of what would happen if a Jesus-like miracle worker appeared in our modern-day society, this new Netflix drama promises grandiose action sequences with an underlying moral core. Or, actor Medhi Debhi in god-like form.
From New Year’s Day, Netflix
Dracula
Claes Bang is the voracious Count Dracula in Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat’s dark, blood-soaked adaptation of the Bram Stoker classic. Something lurks in Dracula’s vast, inescapable castle, and lawyer Jonathan Harker (a bewildered John Heffernan) is his latest prey, unsuspecting of the horrors that await those who linger too long.
New Year’s Day, 9pm, BBC One
Imagine: Lenny Henry – Young, Gifted and Black
With over 40 years’ experience being one of the UK’s foremost funnymen, Lenny Henry joins Alan Yentob to look back on his often radical career, including being one of the most prominent black performers on TV, reinventing himself as a theatrical actor, and being a leading advocate for media diversity. And he has no plans to slow down soon.
Thursday 2 January, 11pm, BBC One
The Deuce
The third and final season of The Wire writer David Simon’s tale of the US porn industry begins 14 years after we first met Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sex worker-turned-porn star and James Franco’s mobster. Now, with VHS on the rise, their livelihoods are threatened.
Thursday 2 January, 10pm, Sky Atlantic
Liam Gallagher: As It Was
Arch ranter and younger Gallagher brother Liam tells his side of the Oasis feud and its decade-long aftermath in this feature-length doc on his solo career. There is plenty of swearing, boozing and archive, but also a surprising amount of reflection – perhaps even maturity – from the Manchester singer.
Sunday 29 December, 10.15pm, BBC Two
What We Do in the Shadows
So good it became a TV series: Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s uproarious 2014 mockumentary studies a bunch of vampires who have flown the old European coop for a new undead life in Wellington, New Zealand. A camera crew follows them as they encounter rival werewolves, bite people, and argue about the washing up.
Friday 3 January, 11.35pm, BBC Two
The Trial of Christine Keeler
It was one of the scandals that came to define modern Britain – the Profumo affair – and has since been endlesly dissected in the media and on screen, yet this adaptation finds fresh ground in humanising the women at the centre of the affair: Christine Keeler (a captivating Sophie Cookson) and her friend Mandy Rice-Davies (Ellie Bamber).
Sunday 29 December, 9pm, BBC One
