“The Crown”
Synopsis: Now established in her reign, Queen Elizabeth II faces personal, familial and political challenges that will shape the future of Britain and its role in the modern age.
What You Need To Know: The second season of Netflix’s British royal family drama has lot of ground to cover. It will be moving at a breakneck speed through seven years of Queen Elizabeth II’s early reign, from the Suez Crisis in 1956, to the retirement of the Queen’s third Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan (Anton Lesser) and the Profumo affair political scandal in 1963, while addressing Prince Phillip’s rumored philandering and Princes Margaret’s tumultuous courtship and marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones (Matthew Goode). However, the royal trio of Claire Foy (“Wolf Hall,” “Breathe”) Matt Smith (“Doctor Who,” “Lost River”) and Vanessa Kirby (“Great Expectations,” “About Time”) are more than up to the task, who are relishing in giving sterling performances for their final season of “The Crown.” With continued quality assured in the casting of Olivia Colman (“Broadchurch,” “The Lobster”) as the middle aged Elizabeth II, it will be interesting to see who will be cast as the young next generations of royals; let the fan-casting for Meghan Markle begin!
Release Date: December 8th
“Gunpowder”
Synopsis: British activist Guy Fawkes and a group of provincial English Catholics plan to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James I in the early 17th century.
What You Need To Know: Kit Harrington is making some smart career moves that should bode well post-“Game Of Thrones.” He executive produced and stars in the BBC/HBO miniseries, chronicling the events leading up to the failed assassination attempt (known colloquially in Britain as Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night) on King James I on November 5th, 1601. Peter Mullan (“Trainspotting,” “Top of the Lake”), Mark Gatiss (“Doctor Who,” “Sherlock”), Liv Tyler (“Lord of the Rings,” “The Leftovers”), Tom Cullen (“Weekend,” “Downton Abbey”), David Bamber (“Camping,” “Medici: Masters of Florence”) and Edward Holcroft (“Kingsman,” “London Spy”) star as members involved in the plot, with Harrington playing Robert Catesby (of whom he is a direct descendant; bonus career serendipity points!).
Release Date: December 18th
“Peaky Blinders”
Synopsis: A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on the Romani/Irish Peaky Blinders gang (who got their moniker from their practice of sewing razor blades in the peaks of their caps) and their ambitious and cunning boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world – by any means necessary.
What You Need To Know: The fourth season of Steven Knight’s (“Eastern Promises,” “Taboo”) Netflix distributed series opens with the Shelby family having escaped prosecution at the last second by Tommy (Cillian Murphy), but estranged from one another and scattered to the winds. However, when a Sicilian mafia threat emerges, differences are put aside to deal with the threat; blood is thicker than water after all. Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”), Adrien Brody (“The Pianist,” “Houdini”) and Charlie Murphy (“Happy Valley,” “Love//Hate”) join the series alongside the central cast of Helen McCrory (“Charlotte Gray,” “Penny Dreadful”), Paul Anderson (“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” “The Revenant”), Joe Cole (“Skins,” “Green Room”) and Tom Hardy (“Locke,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”). All happy families are alike, but at the end of the day they stick together.
Release Date: December 21st
“Black Mirror”
Synopsis: A science fiction television anthology series centered on the unanticipated consequences of new technology on modern society.
What You Need To Know: The chilling Netflix horror anthology series is back with more episodes that will leave viewers staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night and vowing to become Luddites. The fourth season is yet again stacked to the gills with talent, including Andrea Riseborough, Kiran Sonia Swar, Rosemarie DeWitt, Georgina Campbell, Jesse Plemons, Jimmi Simpson, Michaela Coel, Maxine Peake and Letitia Wright. The “Arkangel” episode in particular looks to be an unsettling scathing satire for helicopter, anti-vaccers parents, but one would also hope there is a “San Juniperno”-ish episode in the bunch. We would certainly use a bit of hope after living through the real life “Black Mirror” episode that was 2017…..
Release Date: TBD
