Les Misérables
King of the bodice-ripper Andrew Davies is the man tasked with adapting Victor Hugo’s hefty historical novel and has assembled a star cast to do the heavy lifting: Dominic West, David Oyelowo, Lily Collins, Adeel Akhtar, Olivia Colman and Derek Jacobi are just a few of the star names here. No songs, sadly, but plenty of quality drama instead.
Sunday 30 December, 9pm, BBC One
Cuckoo
Now that Taylor Lautner has departed, the fish-out-of-water sitcom is on the lookout for another US star to annoy Greg Davies’s middle-England dad Ken. Step forward Andie MacDowell, playing his long-lost sister Ivy, a ruthless billionaire with designs on Ken’s organs.
From Friday 4 January, BBC Three
Luther
He’s baaaack! Idris Elba’s dapper DCI returns for a new run of the joyously silly detective drama, shown back-to-back across four nights. Here he teams up with new recruit Wunmi Mosaku to investigate a spate of indiscriminate – and, as ever, spectacularly gory – killings.
New Year’s Day to Friday 4 January, 9pm, BBC One
Escape at Dannemora
Garlanded with a brace of Golden Globe nominations, this fact-based miniseries has all the prestige credentials you could hope for. Directed by Ben Stiller, it stars Paul Dano and Benicio Del Toro as two New York prisoners who spark a state-wide manhunt, with Patricia Arquette playing the prison employee who becomes romantically entangled with the pair.
New Year’s Day, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
New Year’s Eve TV
For those shrewdly skipping the overpriced club nights and general lawless carnage of NYE, there are tons of small-screen options to enjoy instead. Graham Norton (10.40pm, BBC One) has Olivia Colman, Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce; while The Last Leg of the Year (9pm, Channel 4) boasts Katherine Ryan, Nish Kumar and Richard Ayoade. Then there is the choice of Jools’ Hootenanny (11.15pm, BBC Two) and Madness rocking Big Ben live (11.35pm, BBC One).
The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited
Ten years after they first shambled on to our screens, the cast of E4’s brilliantly bawdy teen sitcom reunite for a special live show, featuring celeb guests, embarrassing on-set stories and, presumably, multiple cries of “bus wankers”.
New Year’s Day, 9pm, Channel 4
Off Menu
Quite how no one has combined the comedy and food podcast genres yet is a mystery, but here to correct that are James Acaster and Ed Gamble, with a series that quizzes guests on their dream meal. Expect lengthy digressions on the awfulness of fennel and engaging food chat from the likes of Grace Dent and Scroobius Pip.|
Podcast
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Neil Patrick Harris’s gloriously ghoulish family comedy comes to an end with this third and final season, as the Baudelaires (including the funniest toddler on TV right now) finally uncover the truth about their heritage. If you were expecting a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.
From New Year’s Day, Netflix
Dogtooth
An unsettling, horribly funny Greek drama from The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos. It’s set in a beautiful, secluded house where a young man and his two sisters have been brought up completely cut off from the world, their father supervising every minute aspect of their lives. A macabre fable about society’s urge to control the young.
New Year’s Day, 11.45pm, Film4
Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour
After keeping shtum on Trump in 2016, Swift finally dipped her toe into politics this last year by endorsing some Democrats. Which means that you can now watch this recording of a performance from her 2018 concert tour guilt free. It features pyrotechnics, multiple stages and at least one giant serpent, naturally.
From New Year’s Eve, Netflix
