20. “Expats” (Amazon Prime Video)
Now that the midsized budget drama has all, but evaporated, and following “Big Little Lies,” “Top of the Lake,” “The Undoing” and “Nine Perfect Strangers,” it almost seems official that Nicole Kidman has moved into the realm of TV. Her latest follows the vibrant lives of a close-knit expatriate community: where affluence is celebrated, friendships are intense but knowingly temporary, and personal lives, deaths, and marriages are played out publicly.” Ji-young Yoo, Jack Huston, Sarayu Blue, and Brian Tee co-star. Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”) is an exec-producer and writes and directs multiple episodes.
Airdate: TBD, via Amazon. – RP
19. “Ozark” Season 4 (Netflix)
It’s always interesting when it seems a show is organically bringing a story to a close instead of dragging it out past its breaking point. Netflix announced that the 2022 fourth season would be the last for the Emmy-winning series, but it will be divided into two parts. How will the saga of Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) come to a close? With so many plotlines to wrap up in one final season, this year should be action-packed and bloody. Don’t expect most of these characters to make it out alive.
Airdate: January 21, via Netflix – BT
18. “The Man Who Fell To Earth” (Showtime)
It has yet to be seen whether the upcoming “The Man Who Fell To Earth” series will take inspiration from Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 cult classic starring David Bowie (any chance we could get a Criterion reprint?), or take most of its story cues from Walter Tevis’ original novel, following an alien in humanoid form seeking to construct a space vessel to ferry water and humans to their home planet with a dwindling populace. Developed by Alex Kurtzman (CBS’ “Star Trek” reboots) and Jenny Lumet (“Clarice,” and, yes, Sidney Lumet’s daughter) who both have experience working in sci-fi television, Showtime’s series stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris.
Airdate: TBD, via Showtime – AB
17. “Barry” Season 3 (HBO)
It has been way too long since we caught up with hitman-turned-actor Barry Block (Bill Hader). The pandemic derailed production on the third season, but Hader revealed in early 2021 that scripts were done for both Seasons 3 and 4, so it shouldn’t be as long of a wait next time. The third season started shooting in August 2021 and has already wrapped, which signals a drop sometime in the first half of 2022. What’s it about? Almost nothing is known but star Henry Winkler has implied that there will be more drama than ever. Just what Barry needs.
Airdate: TBD 2022 – BT
16. “American Gigolo” (Showtime)
People have been trying to adapt the hit 1980 Paul Schrader film about a high-priced male escort who gets involved with a politician’s wife (and a murder). After failed efforts with Jerry Bruckheimer and Neil Labute, the project moved to David Hollander (“Ray Donovan”), who will write, direct, and showrun the ten-episode drama. Who’s stepping into the stylish suits of Richard Gere? None other than the perfectly cast Jon Bernthal. Gretchen Mol, Leland Orser, Rosie O’Donnell, and Lizzie Brochere co-star in this fascinating project.
Airdate: TBD 2022 – BT
15. “The Lord of the Rings” (Amazon Prime)
In November 2017, Amazon bought the television rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy universe for a stunning $250 million, immediately committing to five seasons of television telling stories set within it, making “The Lord of the Rings” the most expensive TV show of all time … before even airing an episode. Filming on the first season took place in New Zealand in 2020 and 2021 (with a pandemic break) and it’s already set to dominate the pop culture conversation right around Labor Day next year. With an almost entirely unknown ensemble (and two episodes directed by J.A. Bayona), it’s time to chase the ring again.
Airdate: September 2, via Amazon Prime Video. – BT
14. “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” (HBO)
Oscar nominee Adam McKay has been hard at work on an adaptation of the book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s” by Jeff Pearlman, and the director of “Don’t Look Up” has assembled one of his truly insane ensembles to do it. To tell the tale of how the Lakers became one of the biggest sports brands in the world, McKay hired John C. Reilly, Jason Clarke, Gaby Hoffman, Rob Morgan, Adrien Brody, Sally Field, Michael Chiklis, Jason Segel, Lola Kirke, Tracy Letts, Julianne Nicholson, and many more. It may have led to a fallout between McKay and Will Ferrell, but it sounds like a win for TV fans.
Airdate: March 2022, via HBO.- BT
13. “Irma Vep” (HBO)
The masterful French director Oliver Assayas made the unexpected decision to adapt his own 1996 film into a mini-series for HBO. Filling the stylish shoes of Maggie Cheung will be Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, playing an American movie star who goes to France to star in a remake of “Les Vampires”—much the same plot as the film with some cultural changes. Once again, the line between reality and performance starts to blur for Vikander’s Mira. The highly anticipated series is co-produced by HBO and A24, and it was still announcing new cast members in November, so this is more likely late 2022, possibly even 2023.
Airdate: TBD 2022 – BT
12. “Tokyo Vice” (HBO Max)
Based on Jake Adelstein’s 2009 memoir, HBO Max’s “Tokyo Vice” serves as Michael Mann’s first time back behind the camera since 2015’s “Blackhat” and the first time back at TV after HBO’s failed gambling and horse racing show “Luck.” About an American journalist who embeds himself into the Tokyo Vice police squad to reveal corruption, Mann shares directing duties here with Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed a little movie this year called “Shang Chi.” The series is set to star Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe. Given Elgort’s #MeToo drama, this one seemed troubled, but he seemed to escape “West Side Story” press unscathed and without controversy.
Airdate: TBD 2022 – BT
11. “Andor” (Disney+)
A prequel series to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” this series centers on Alliance rebel Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) five years before the events of the film. Writer/director Tony Gilroy, the man credited with salvaging ‘Rogue One’ with reshoots and post-production oversight, returns with a writers room that includes Stephen Schiff, Beau Willimon (“House of Cards”), and Dan Gilroy (“Nightcrawler”). The cast includes Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Forest Whitaker returns as Saw Gerrera. More surprises could be in store too.
Airdate: Expected fall, late 2022, via Disney+. – RP
